As buying this way means an antivirus company doesn't have your payment details, there's no way for it to auto-renew your subscription once it's up for expiry.ĭon't want to pay? We reveal the best free antivirus software.The changes secured by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as part of its investigation into the anti-virus software sector include: Retailers such as Amazon, Currys and Argos sell standalone antivirus packages that last for a year. Just make sure that when you subscribe again, you keep automatic renewal switched off.Īlso keep in mind that you can avoid buying from the antivirus companies directly. In all likelihood, if you hold out long enough you'll get an email offering you a discounted price. This is also a great time to get yourself a deal.
Plus you can all but guarantee that with less than a month to go until the end of the year, the company will start reminding you to renew or resubscribe. The software will continue to work for entire subscription period, and don't let it worry you with warnings about not being protected - you'll be fully protected right up until the very last day of your subscription. There's no harm in turning off automatic renewal.
Otherwise, ensure you get automatic renewal switched off as soon as you can by creating a proper account with the antivirus service, with a password you can remember. The easiest way to guarantee avoiding the sting is only to subscribe to packages that let you turn off automatic renewal at the buying stage. The CMA has stressed that McAfee's policy changes are entirely voluntary, but consumers can be hopeful of other companies following McAfee's lead and making it easier to cancel subscriptions.ĭiscover the best VPNs to help you beef up security on your computer or mobile phone. This right to refund will also apply to customers who had refund requests refused in 2020. So if there are still nine months to go on your annual subscription, you would get three quarters of your subscription cost refunded. Now, you will be entitled to a refund based on the time remaining on the subscription.
Previously, if a product automatically renewed and you didn't take action within 60 days, you would not be entitled to a refund. What changes has McAfee made for its customers?
You can read more details about this on the CMA's website. Most recently it's managed to get one of the biggest players - McAfee - to make it easier to find and cancel automatic renewal, and also offer partial refunds on unwanted subscriptions that renewed automatically more than 60 days prior to cancellation.
The CMA has been looking into this for several years with the help of intelligence gathered by us. It's often not until your subscription is active that you can go into your account settings to turn off auto-renewal. So not only are you signing up for a one-year subscription, but you're also agreeing to be billed again in a year's time. Many antivirus companies don't let you turn off auto-renewal when you sign up. If you forget to cancel your automatic subscription renewal, you either have to take it on the chin, or brace yourself for a long and arduous call with customer services to claim a refund, without any certainty that you'll actually get one. This is often more than double what you paid for your first year. Antivirus and VPN software services often entice you in with a super-cheap annual subscription, which auto-renews after a year at a much higher price.