TotalAV doesn’t exactly have a stellar reputation so it comes as no surprise that one of our clients got in touch seeking help to fix a payment issue they were having with that *cough* service *cough*.
In discussing the issue, come to find the client didn’t even know what TotalAV was, never mind install it (not technically savvy), and don’t have a PC to install it to anyway (AV is pretty much an outright scam on iOS/Android devices… but that’s discussion for another day. Ed.).
At time of writing TotalAV annual subscriptions are £119 for basic, £145 for mid-level and £179 for ‘pro’. So why are they taking multiple ‘pre-approved’ payments just shy of £200 from someone that’s never purchased, installed or used the ‘app’?
When disputing the claim through the payment gateway, it was declined because TotalAV apparently responded within the timeframe set for disputes to say the payments were legitimate. For what? What service did those payments purchase? Where’s the purchase confirmation receipt? What contact information was used to confirm the order? And where’s the ‘license’ (presumably with instructions to install so as to remove insidious adverting and upsell links)?
More troubling about the payment gateway declining the claim is its violation of the Statutory Rights period (14 days in the UK) within which purchasers can request refunds without question; a payment being confirmed as ‘legit’ by TotalAV misses that point entirely; the client requested a refund, a refund should have been had.
And people wonder where the 5 star and rave reviews about TotalAV come from… by TotalAV paying for them.