Garbage

[REDACTED]

Excellent review of AVASTs current customer service here (although according to this help with installation is free--which was not true in my case as obnoxious, fraudulent upselling techniques were employed  )

http://www.pcantivirusreviews.com/Reviews/avast/Internet-Security-Software/

Technical Support: 50%

Avast's technical support department is a big let-down for us. For an otherwise good product, Avast really misses the mark when it comes to support.

On the surface, their support page looks really good. There's a searchable knowledgebase, forum link, support ticket link, and even a prominent phone number to call.

But then things get murky. Fast.

If you want to submit a support ticket from the user interface, you're forced to walk through several selections (with an annoying pop-up, no less) just to be allowed to ask your question.

After submitting, it says you'll get a response in a few days--even if you label your question, "critical."

We're not talking about recipe software here, we're talking about security software. You need to be able to rely on the manufacturer to help you when you need it. The lack of clarity and transparency here is no good.

If you opt to call them, there's a whole host of new problems to deal with.

First, the rep we talked to said they have support centers in the Czech Republic as well as the US. We ourselves were always routed to Costa Rica, no doubt because of the similarity of time zones.

While it's true they will give you "free" support for minor issues like installation help, configuration, etc., that's where the free part of the equation ends.

If you have a virus infection, you're going to need to pay a one-time fee of $119 for them to remove it (or $179 for a year's worth of service). This is the highest one-time fee of any manufacturer this year.

Aside from our own experience with their technical support, we've had numerous complaints from readers this year that fell into two categories:

    that Avast hasn't always fully removed viruses even after paying the fee.
    that they've been given a "hard sell" to try to up-sell them to the yearly service.

Yuck.

It's a serious ding in an otherwise good Internet Security suite.

[REDACTED]

Dave R   Above post shows how one reviewer rates avast tech support compared to others.   Again, as you say, one wonders why AVAST condones these behaviors

I wonder how other A/V software vendors do compared to  avast when it comes to
billing practices and similar?  Perception is everything, and the perception is avast
could do better, frankly.

What's the deal with the third party support?
Almost everybody feels ripped off, or subjected to high pressure tactics, but it remains
and avast condones it.  Feel sorry for the novice user.

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Dave R-- see the comparison with others here

http://www.pcantivirusreviews.com/Comparison/  where AVAST tech support is rated "Poor" compared to others

[bob3160]

Why are you addressing David R when I don't see any replies from him

[REDACTED]

oh sorry, wrong Dave,  I was responding to this Davexnet

Offline davexnet

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Re: Garbage
« Reply #22 on: Yesterday at 11:19:43 PM »

    Quote

I wonder how other A/V software vendors do compared to  avast when it comes to
billing practices and similar?  Perception is everything, and the perception is avast
could do better, frankly.

What's the deal with the third party support?
Almost everybody feels ripped off, or subjected to high pressure tactics, but it remains
and avast condones it.  Feel sorry for the novice user.
Report to moderator   Logged
AMD64 4200 X2, 2.2GHZ, 2GB RAM, EVGA 8600GT, XP Pro, Vista Ultimate, PCLinuxOS 2013
avast! 2014 Free, MBAM free.

[Quiksilver]

Interesting that on the same list provided, Bit Defender is also rated "Poor" in technical support.

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I wonder if they use Digital River???   

My situation with Avast did not end to my satisfaction, no admission of the fraudulent upselling  or cancellation of charges due to the scamming done by the initial call to "free" support in Costa Rica...

Contining to research who I will be changing to -- It will not be Avast. Nor would I ever recommend Avast to anyone.

[bob3160]

I wonder if they use Digital River???   

My situation with Avast did not end to my satisfaction, no admission of the fraudulent upselling  or cancellation of charges due to the scamming done by the initial call to "free" support in Costa Rica...

Contining to research who I will be changing to -- It will not be Avast. Nor would I ever recommend Avast to anyone.

I totally agree that your experience with the third party support and Digital River leave a lot to be desired and a bad taste in anyone's mouth.
Consider choosing your protection for it's effectiveness in actual usage situations. Not base on some laboratory testing results.
I've been protected by the free version of Avast since 2003. The only time I've used AIS is when I earned a free license to it through referrals.
IMHO, Avast still offers the best protection at a price everyone can afford, FREE.

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I have had good protection from Avast for many years and currently have premium.  I will no longer use AVAST because of their "support"

When I called for help to reinstall my Avast Premium when it was knocked back to Avast Free, I was scammed into purchasing "Total Support" by a "tech" in Costa Rica making fraudulent claims that my computer was severely compromised (.   I was frightened and purchased it, later realizing that I'd been scammed-- a friend who knows computers laughed when I told him the sorts of things that I was told to make me believe my computer was compromised and he said "oh boy were you ever scammed".   

Avast did agree to drop the 179.00 charge for "Total Support" but, refused to acknowledge to fraudulent upselling techniques employed and insisted that I pay 119. for a one time service....   I have tried to no avail to have them drop this charge.

Complaints regarding this type of behavior by Avast's support are all over the web.  Avast must condone the behavior of Digital River as they have done nothing to change the situation.   Does Digital River pay Avast a percentage of the support contracts they sell?  I wonder if that is the case, since Avast does nothing to stop the behavior despite countless complaints on the web.

I will not continue to use a company that claims to have free computer support, at least for installation (which is all I called for), and then scams folks into believing their computer is severely compromised...

[Eddy]

anjou there is no reason at all to pollute this webboard with the same thing over and over again.