PCWorld misselling again

Sunwac

PCWorld were heavily criticised in March 2018 forcing customers who bought a laptop to pay a £50 set up charge even when one was not wanted by the customers. PCWorld told the BBC and the consumer organisation Which that they promised to stop this practice and refund all customers that were missold.


Yes they have stopped that underhand practice but replaced it by a more evil aggressive upselling of a £269 so called “Ultimate Software and Setup Pack”. You might have only have wanted your new laptop to be set up for you to use and your old files moved across from your old PC but were you told that you could not have just that done but you had to have a 2 years subscription to Office 365 and McAfee? Notice that you can’t pick and mix bits of the Setup Pack, it’s all or nothing. If you want a set up and files moved from your old PC, and who doesn’t, you have to have the rest. Were you missold these extras of software you did not want?


If you had bought Office 365and McAfee yourself and got them installed yourself you could have changed your mind in 30 days and got full refunds direct from Microsoft and McAfee. But not if PCWorld had already preinstalled them as part of the “Ultimate Software and Setup Pack”. PCWorld at Guiseley are refusing to remove and refund a customer who did not want and does not know how to use Office 365 and McAfee. They are saying it is not possible to refund the money.


If you have been missold software as part of the so called “Ultimate Software and Setup Pack” that you did not need, or if you have changed your mind and want a refund, do not let PCWorld get away with their latest underhand aggressive selling scam.


When will PCWorld start being fair and straight with its customers?

DoaM

:spam:
You've already posted exactly the same thing in Consumer Rights.

Uxb

Pretty common in all walks of life.
Based on your explanation I cant really see it as misselling.

Firms regularly make up packages of items to sell which only a few parts of the package will be useful to most customers.
I can think of TV/phone packages, car breakdown packages and others.
When I buy insurance for my home I'm effective forced to buy protections I don't want simply because every insurance company bundles it in for everyone.
No I'm not going to "loose my house keys" - ever - being one such example.

[Deleted User]

Please don't spam the forum with duplicate threads, especially ones containing dubious accusations of scamming and mis-selling..

Sunwac

You are correct.

Sunwac

If you call into a PCWorld store to buy a laptop and ask them to port your files across from your old PC the chances are that you are not compute savvy. You are not a PC techie. If you were you wouldn’t go down that route. But many folk are not computer savvy and don’t have any other option. They have to trust PCWorld.


That trust is fractured when they are sold additional bits of software at an overall inflated price that they can’t use and don’t want. They could say no, but if they did then PCWorld won’t just do the simple task of porting their files across from their old PC because that service is tied in with the sale of a 2 year subscription to Office 365 and a 3 year subscription to McAfee. That’s the bundle that the package. That is aggressive deliberate misselling.


What compounds the misselling is that if you had made a conscious decision to buy and install these self same packages yourself. And after30 days use decided that you did not want those packages Microsoft and McAfee will allow you to get a full refund. When PCWorld pre install and pre register this self same software, all part of the ‘helpful’ set up and personalisation service, you can’t get a refund because they will argue you have been registered but they have full control of the process. You’re well and truly stuffed like a turkey.


That compounds the misselling by taking away the consumer’s right to change their mind and get a refund. It is fare worse than their previous trick of compulsory charging a £50 set up fee up to March 2018. £269 is a bigger hit on the wallet than £50.


I do not make a habit of posting comments on the Forum. I am not familiar with the etiquette but I struggled to find an appropriate spot to post this concern about PCWorld. This is a seroiusexpression of concern about a practice that needs to be stopped to protect customers who place their trust in PCWorld.

Cornucopia

Thread closed.

Cornucopia

OP's other thread is here: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5937814