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I have been a System Mechanic user for a number of years, approximately from version 5. 2 years ago (or thereabouts) I noticed a debit had been made from my bank account. I queried this with IOLO , who explained to me that it was the auto renewal for "live support". I explained that I had not asked for live support, however I learnt that I had been given a free month with an automatic renewal thereafter.
I had neither asked for this, nor authorised it.
A few days ago I noticed a similar debit, now my system mechanic yearly upgrade had already gone through so it couldn't be that. I went back through my bank statements to find that debits had been made since April 2024:
23rd of April 2024 - 16.84 GBP
23rd of May 2024 - 19.73 GBP
25th of June 2024 - 19.64 GBP
23rd of July 2024 - 19.34 GBP
23rd of August 2024 - 19.34 GBP
I queried these with "support" at IOLO, here are the responses:
Me - After an online 'chat' it appears that you gave me an unsolicited 'free' month for Live Support and then activated an auto renew which I have just noticed and now has been allegedly cancelled.
The payments for all of the Live Support should be refunded ASAP, my SMUD payment to extend to 5/25 can remain but unless this matter is refunded (the second time you have done this to me) I will terminate my SMUD subscription forthwith.
Total amounts taken:
4/23 - 16.84 GBP
5/23 - 19.73 GBP
6/25 - 19.64 GBP
7/23 - 19.34 GBP
8/23 - 19.34 GBP
These are ALL from 2024 with the dates in US format for your help. The May payment might be for SMUD but the remaining payments (totalling 75.16 GBP) will need to be refunded through PayPal.
I do not need the Live Support, and have NEVER asked for it. Please ensure that this is not reactivated.
Support - Our apologies for the late response and if you were charged for LiveTech Support.
Looking at your account, I can confirm that your LiveTech 24/7 Technical Support is completely and you will never be billed for it in the future. We've also processed a refund of $23.94USD back to your original payment method. Please allow 7-10 business days for the funds to post to your account, depending on your financial institution's policies.
We regret to inform you that we can only refund the recent charge because of our 30 Day Money Back Guarantee. While we understand your desire for a refund, unfortunately, our company policy only allows for refunds within 30 days of the last renewal. As your purchase exceeded this timeframe, we are unable to issue a refund at this time.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. You may reach us at [protected], available 24/7. Alternatively, you can access our Live Chat feature by visiting www.ustechsupport.com and clicking on the Live Chat window located in the bottom right corner of your screen.
Best regards
Me - This is unacceptable. I can understand a refund policy being applicable to customer driven purchases but how can you state in any fairness that several unauthorised payments made against a service that was not asked for and therefore unfairly charged can in any way not be legitimately refunded, irrespective of any policy you may have (which in this case is void as explained).
75 GBP was debited before I noticed these transactions, the “free month” trial was unsolicited and auto-renewal not agreed.
Please refer this matter with due diligence to your customer service management for reconsideration and refund.
Should you maintain that this cannot take place due to “company policy on refunds” then I would ask you to TERMINATE FORTHWITH my System Mechanic subscription so that a long term customer can uninstall the product and seek an alternative solution (of which there are many).
I look forward to seeing your solution to this issue
Many thanks
Support - Hi Martyn,
Our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience or frustration you experienced.
We understand your desire for a full refund however our system can only allow us up to two months refund. - STRANGE BECAUSE IT WAS ONY 30 DAYS BEFORE ?
We have processed an additional refund of $23.94USD back to your original payment method. Please allow 7-10 business days for the funds to post to your account, depending on you financial institution’s policies.
Once again, please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused. Should you have any questions you may also call us back 24/7 at [protected], or you may use our Live Chat feature by visiting us at www.ustechsupport.com and clicking on the Live Chat window on the lower right corner of your screen.
Warm regards
Me - Martyn Cox
Aug 27, 2024, 12:12 PM PDT
This is a follow-up to your previous request #1180443 "IOLO Payment Query"
I have escalated this matter to Realdefense and would also draw your attention to the following:
RealDefense Reviews 2024 – All You Need to Know | ComplaintsBoard
It looks like your company has a history of billing for services that have not been sanctioned, and I am now another statistic.
Please advise on the progress of my FULL GBP 75 refund, I will be filing a complaint on the above forum in the next two days.
Thank you
Martyn
Support - No response
Me - Hi
I think you will find that your system can be overridden and that a full refund can be made. It is my belief that you simply seem to be refusing to refer this matter to your superiors. What you have done is verging on unlawful as it was not agreed to.
I will wait another 24 hours before I lodge my formal complaint with Realdefense via the website I sent a link for.
You seem to have overlooked the fact that:
- I was 'given' a free access without my knowledge, and
- I was then repeatedly billed on an 'auto renewal' which was NOT sanctioned.
- If you continue with these refusals I will report this matter to the website concerned, as I said iolo have a history of this, about which Realdefense HAVE refunded.
I look forward to your reconsideration.
Many thanks
Martyn
Claimed loss: Excluding the payment in April which was probably my System Mechanic update fee, I calculate 78.05 GBP which approximates to 109 USD to date.
Desired outcome: Full refund of 109 USD as these payments were NOT sanctioned.
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You’ve made it crystal clear to RealDefense that their unauthorized charges and dismissive refund policy are unacceptable. You’re not letting them brush you off, and your persistence in demanding a full refund is well-justified. Hopefully, they’ll realize you’re not backing down until they do right by you — and maybe even rethink their practices along the way. Keep pushing for what you deserve!
Many thanks. This isn't the first time that IOLO have done this, but that time I spotted it more or less immediately. They told me that they cannot refund past 30 days which then stretched to 2 months, so the policy is (as I said) not fixed in stone. If this is not resolved to my complete satisfaction they lose a customer, simple !