Stopzilla Rebate Scam, Unauthorized Renewal, Internet
In September of 2011, I purchased Stopzilla for $39.99, with the promise of a $30 rebate. The rebate check never arrived. Stopzilla itself seemed to be causing a LOT of crashes and other problems for my computer, to the point where some tech guys ultimately told me to trash the computer and buy another one (which, after trying everything else, I did).
In February of 2012, I received an email saying the Stopzilla rebates were delayed but I should expect mine soon.
In August of 2012, I contacted Stopzilla because I realized I'd never received my rebate. I also informed them that I absolutely did NOT want my account to be automatically renewed. I got a response from "Nick W" saying he could send out my rebate if I called him directly (he did not address the automatic renewal). Unfortunately, real life happened, so I didn't contact Stopzilla again until September.
On September 24, I saw on my online banking that Stopzilla had billed me $49.95 for a renewal. I wrote several emails and also called their number. After several attempts, I was told that the $49.95 would be refunded (hopefully, it actually will) but regarding the $30 rebate, they'd have to have a supervisor contact me in a couple hours (it was early afternoon at the time). I verified my email and phone number and waited. No one called.
This evening, I called Stopzilla again. I spoke with "Ryan" who said that the rebate was no longer available. All he could normally do was give me a discount on a renewal but since I had canceled my account, I was out of luck. To quote, "There's nothing I can do."
Conclusion: even if the $49.95 actually is refunded (I'll take a leap of faith and assume that it will be), I'm still out $30 for a service I only used once or twice because it crashed my computer.
After some research, it looks like the Stopzilla business model is as follows: sell a substandard virus removal tool that some say is actually a virus itself, by offering a substantial rebate. Don't actually send out the rebate checks. If people cancel their account, renew it anyway on the chance that they won't check their online banking and notice. Then, if people complain, apologize and give them their money as though it were some innocent mistake and not the internet equivalent of the Ford Pinto strategy.
I've thought it over and assuming that the $49.95 is actually refunded to my bank account, I'm not really willing to file a lawsuit over the missing $30 rebate. However, I definitely WOULD be interested in a class action lawsuit, even if I break even, on sheer principle.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
STOPzilla
Boca Raton,Florida,
STOPzilla Apologizes
#3UPDATE Employee ..inside information
Fri, July 05, 2013
I am sorry to hear that you have had this experience. While Ben seems to have handled your problem well, STOPzilla still apologizes for the situation. Thank you for your input; we aspire to improve our customer experience each day.
STOPzilla has been relentless in improving the quality of our software, and in the last two years we earned excellent marks from independent groups like West Coast Labs and OPSWAT for the superior detection rate of our product.
Our tech support line never has and never will be outsourced. We house a purely US-based support staff and have been doing so since the company's inception.
Again, I apologize that you had a bad experience, and we hate to lose you as a customer. If there is anything we can do to keep you protected, feel free to call on us at 1-888-522-2005.
mrmeyerhofer
Muncie,Indiana,
United States of America
Rebate offered, some concerns withdrawn, some remain
#3Author of original report
Mon, October 01, 2012
Last week, I spoke with Ben from Stopzilla who agreed to send me the $30 rebate. He was very pleasant and helpful and I'm glad to finally have this resolved. He seems to share some of my concerns, as well, and promised to contact the reps who had previously given me bad information. He also asked me to post this update, which I'm happy to do.
To be honest, despite being relieved that this has finally been resolved, I'm still somewhat troubled by the fact that my case was so poorly handled by so many previous reps. I would respectfully conclude that while Stopzilla eventually resolved the situation and did the right thing, it's quite troubling that the only way I could get satisfaction was to make this case public on the internet.
I should add that I also attempted to contact Stopzilla via Facebook; today, another unnamed rep (NOT Ben) also contacted me and asked that I take down my report because it was "borderline libelous." I'll withdraw and apologize for the "substandard product" and "scam" portions of my complaint and concede the possibility that we could be in error or that my experience with the actual Stopzilla software could have been unusual.
I have decided not to remove the entire report, though, because despite the VERY positive and professional way in which Ben handled the situation, there are remain around five reps who made critical errors: 1) whichever rep did not cancel my account when prompted, 2) whomever didn't send me the rebate, 3) the rep who refunded the renewal fee but insisted that I needed a supervisor to call me back regarding the rebate, 4) possibly the actual supervisor who didn't call me back, and of course, 5) the rep who said flat-out that I couldn't get the rebate anymore, "There's nothing I can do," etc.
I'll stress once again that Ben handled the situation extremely well. I would just respectfully ask Stopzilla to consider what would have happened if I hadn't told my story on Rip Off Report, and how to avoid having this kind of situation happen again to another customer.