[wouldbenerd]

I have a Windows XP system that was not able to send emails but could receive emails. I had many discussions with Bell Canada and they tried to solve my problem. They advised me to contact Norton to help me. I have a Norton 360 subscription which should have helped me. I was not able to get through to Norton Technical Services and waited an hour on the phone. I finally tried another number on the Norton website and found myself talking to a company that serviced Norton subscribers.. . The company turned out to be PCCare247. My problem with them was that they did not immediately identify themselves to be a separate company but alluded to the "we service Norton subscribers" line.

My problem, according to PCCare247 was that I had Trojans on my computer. I was stuck and agreed to a service for $299.00 for a year and they worked on my Trojan problem for 4 hours.

My computer is working fairly well now but I feel scammed. Does anyone else out there have an opinion on PCCare247 or a similar experience with them. Their technical services appear to originate in India. The big problem with this is that I had extreme difficulty understanding the accents and communication was essential in trying to determined my computer's problem.
Love to hear from anyone about this company.
Thanks
Infonerd

[pyritechips]

Moving this to general security where it will get better attention.

[julie44]

I basically had the same thing happen. I thought I was dealing with Norton, too, until it was fixed they wanted to charge me. Iy was supposed to be $100 dollars. Now after 6 months have gone by, they contacted me and said I hadn't paid them the $249 I owed them and that first, my check did not go through. I said I would not have paid over the internet with a check, so they changed it to my credit card company denied the transaction. I said I had not been told any such thing by the credit card company. Finally, they said that their payment server had gone down and they had been going through it and finding the people who hadn't been charged.I told them I never agreed to pay $249 for anything and they said they would accept $100. I was going to pay, but I was generating a security number to use for my Discover Card and after going through all that, they said they didn't take Discover. They wanted my checking account number then. I said no. I made them send me an email that said the total charge would be $100 dollars but that isn't exactly what it said. So, I sent them another email, telling them I would send them a money order for $100. I am still waiting to hear from them. I think they were going to get my credit or banking numbers and charge up the $249 amount. They were threatening me with legal action when I couldn't even remember who they were. It was their mistake (if indeed it isn't just an out and out scam from the get go). I think I will just let them go ahead and try to collect. I doubt that they can do much harm to me from India, and I can always show the last emails I sent that they never replied to as intent to pay. I spent the better part of a day checking all my credit card records to see if they had already charged one of my cards or not-they couldn't tell me what card or send me an invoice or anything. I think they are a "company" that is one that is too shady for me ever to deal with again.

[Cheeseball81]

From what I've read on Google....it seems misleading and scammy.

[Snagglegaster]

Scams like this are legion. The best that can be said of them are that they are usually just scareware, but there are undoubtedly sites using this technique to push malware on consumers. It's exactly the same situation as those sites that want you to download a phony malware removal program; they just hit more bases. It's still fraudulent junk.

[wouldbenerd]

Snagglegaster

Thank your for replying. Yes, I agree, there are scams galore out there. This one from PCCare247 is a little different in that they appeared to be connected to Norton. They say they are an aftermarket source for technical support of Norton. I got connected through Norton's website but I can't figure out how this happened. I have tried to retrace my steps and can't seem to duplicate the trail.

I hope other people don't get caught in this.
Thanks again.
wouldbenerd

[Phantom010]

I don't know but they look like a legitimate business to me.

Doesn't mean they're any good though...

Can they be worst than the Geek Squad?

[Elvandil]

Legit or not, you don't need it. Any technical advice you could get from any such place is available here for free. Start a thread about your problem and you may not have to spend anything.

Those places make the most money off people who never use their services but feel more secure by just having it available. We will personalize your service, and time is not a factor (no "per-hour" rates). Donations are welcome, of course.

Originally Posted by Phantom010

Can they be worst than the Geek Squad?

They'd have to at least smell better. There's nothing quite like 3-day-old geek sweat.

[Snagglegaster]

Originally Posted by Phantom010

I don't know but they look like a legitimate business to me.

Doesn't mean they're any good though...

Can they be worst than the Geek Squad?

You can certainly be a "legitimate" business and still offer crappy products. Personally, I think this sort of junk is at best marginally legal, and marginally useful. At worst..., well, use your imagination. There are plenty of business that look legitimate, but are in fact dubious, and just try to sell essentially useless services and software.

Can they be worse than the Geek Squad? Easily. Most of the Squad's techies may be really green and driven more by sales instead of support, but they aren't likely to infect your computer. Not to say that they won't bend, fold, spindle, and mutilate your computer (and lose all your data) while overcharging you. But that's still probably safer than doing business with a suspicious web site.