- Report: #1200879
Complaint Review: Tech Escalations - Internet
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Author Confirmed
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Tech Escalations
Internet, USA
Phone:
Number listed not working
Web:
Tech Escalations.com
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Tech Escalations This company misrepresented themselves to be Norton Symantec and charged me $300. They don't tell you on their website Internet
This is a company that goes by the name of Tech Escalations. You will find them on the internet at TechEscalations.com. The phone number on the site changes all the time but when you call it after you realize you've been ripped off, it won't work. You will dial the number only to hear click and be disconnected. There is a customer service email address. I wrote them BEFORE taking further action, only to have it bounce back as undeliverable. They advertise that they answer the phone 24-7. That's a lie as well. The phone number on my receipt that came from docusign.com doesn't even work. It was only when I was unable to contact the company personally that I had no choice but to take further action.
This all started when my computer was infected with the trojan worm/virus in the process of updating a program. My computer froze up and the Norton box came up telling me I had been infected/hacked and to call them immediately. I did not find this unusual since I have Norton security on my computer and have used them for years. The insignia was there and the same colors. I had no reason to believe that this was not Norton. Two phone numbers came up and my computer began a loud beeping noise that would not stop unless I turned off my computer. It had been hacked. I immediately called the number representing itself to be Norton. It was NOT Norton. When they answered I explained why I was calling and they continued to represent themselves to be Norton for over an hour while a technician attempted to solve my problem on the phone. I continuously explained to him that Norton had given the green check to the download prior to me downloading it and why would they do this. He continued to play the game of being Norton. Then when he was telling me what todo in an attempt to fix the problme, I kept telling him to remove the Norton boxes on my computer that were blocking me from seeing what he was asking me about. He still went along with being Norton. Finally after an hour of not being able to help me he informed me that he would have to transfer me to another department since my problem was more serious and I had been hacked. I assumed this was standard operating procedure.
At this point he informed me that it would cost me $299.00. I objected saying that I had a subscription to Norton and why was I having to pay anything since they had Ok'd the download and I pay for the annual service that fixes any problems. He informed me that my problem did not come within that contract. He never once said that I was not speaking to Norton. NOT ONCE now in a conversation going on two hours. So another person came on to take the payment on the phone and confirm that I had a problem before I called. I know now, this was to protect them in the future so they could document a problem. So after taking a credit card payment they sent me a document to sign from docusign.com. DO NOT sign anything from them, as it's not really a receipt. Then a second tech came on after a moment transfer. He took control of my computer remotely and began working for about 50 minutes. I realize now all he did was add two programs to my computer that are FREE on the internet for anyone to download. He was unable to remove the fraudulent Norton box and insignia along with the beeping because I realize now it's his company that probably hacked me and to get it removed they wanted $300.00. After it was over he told me it was $300 not $299 and that I had a year warranty now and could call them anytime. All of this was a ruse to sell me a contract for maintenance and repair. I wanted neither. I still believed I was speaking to Norton. All three people I spoke to; the first tech, the man taking the credit card info (he's called a verifier), and the last tech, all had the chance to tell me they were not Norton and none did. It was this fraudulent representation, that provided them with the abillity to rip me off for $300.
Luckily I got wise and called my bank who immediately cancelled my credit card used in the transaction. I told them the truth that the phone number doesn't work and the email bounced back as undeliverable and I was ripped off. They said that cancelling the card was the right move under these circumstances. The company called me the next day and I told them not to contact me again and that I knew they had ripped me off. I have since blocked their number on my phone.
I am filing this report in good faith. I am a licensed attorney and I know companies like this exists and that I had no way to recognize such a well develped fraud and scam. I have also notified Norton of this misrepresentation. I will notify the Attorney General in my state as well. I can only hope that others who are victims of their fraud report them as well. Only when compaies like this are exposed for what they are, frauds, will this stop. I know I could file a lawsuit but the time and energy it would take is not worth it. I am relieved of paying them thanks to my bank taking quick action. As for the stress and aggravation, well that will take longer to subside.
Finally I want to add that upon calling Norton and having them pull my security history on my computer, they found the trojan worm/virus and they found and have documented that it was BLOCKED by then at the time it tried to attack my computer and hack me. So when Tech Escalations said I was infected and hacked, it was THEM who was attacking me. The worm/virus was already blocked. This is how deep the fraud goes. They misrepresent a problem to a non-tech person and then go for your wallet. DON'T BE FOOLED!
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Anonymous
Paradise,Florida,
Refund Received
#2Author of original report
Sun, January 25, 2015
As the original poster, I am writing in with an update. After cancelling my credit card due to their original fraud, this company began calling me non-stop. I'm sure this was related to realizing that they were not getting paid for their misrepresentation. I blocked their number so it went straight to voice mail. After all of this I received a letter from Bank of America telling me that the company had issued a refund to my card that had been cancelled. In addition the company emailed me telling me they had issued a refund to me. They must have finally figured out that I was on to their scheme. The card was already cancelled before the refund so no money actually exchanged hands in our transaction. I am just thankful that I was on to their scheme before they had a chance to get money from my card. Please be aware of this company! There are plenty of companies out there who are honest and will help you when your computer gets infected - this is not one of them. Although they did issue a refund to me, it was not due to me calling them, as when I tried to call them the number just kept going dead. I emailed them as well, I stated this in my first writing above, and it bounced back as undeliverable. I still have that email in my saved emails. I believe they issued the refund because they knew they had been caught once the charge card was cancelled and the charge denied and a BOA fraud report filed, and I wasn't going to let them get away with it. I fully intended to notify the Attorney General in Florida, the BBB and anyone else I needed to in order to get a refund. I learned a hard lesson. I hope my experience can save others from the same experience I had.
