OEM software purchasing problems from Savapoint - please help!

kizatt

i ordered norton internet security from savapoint and they've sent me an oem version which isn't what i wanted or thought i'd ordered. having no knowledge of oem licencing regulations, i thought it would be best to avoid them & get the full consumer version instead. obviously all i've got now is a cd with no packaging or instructions which says on it 'not for retail/resale'. seeing as the packaging would be no use to us & we'd probably never use the instructions, i can cope as long as our licence will be valid & we'll get the same support etc from symantec as we would have otherwise. i went back to check the savapoint website & it doesn't say anywhere on the product details that it's the oem version, but it does say that on the identical products that don't have free cd burning software bundled with them (but i didn't buy those ones, so i didn't read all the details for them! although, they didn't bother to send my free cd burning thingumy anyway!). i get the impression that this site will only have the oem ones, so i won't be able to insist on getting the 'real' one & would just have to get a refund supposing they would agree to that & they may decide not to refund my postage. according to some of the posts i've read on money saver, oem products can only be sold if you buy hardware at the same time & is restricted by not getting support from symantec & not being transferable to another computer should you get a new one, but others seem to think oem is just as good as the real thing, but cheaper & would therefore always buy it. i'm now totally confused & don't know whether to fight with savapoint who i bought it from (again moneysavers are divided on their opinions of how good they & their customer service are...if only i'd read that far before i ordered!) or just use it & hope for the best. i also contacted a dti consumer helpline just to find out what my rights were, but the guy didn't seem to know anymore than me about the licencing issues - he's passing it on to trading standards, so i suppose i'll find out if they've broken any rules by selling it to me, but even if i don't that won't help if symantec refuse to do automatic updates or any of the other stuff over the next year.

i have now contacted symantec to sort out my confusion - they replied:

"OEM means Original Equipment Manufacture.
These are the manufacturers of computers and peripherals, such as Dell,
Compaq, Hewlett Packard, Gateway, and IBM.

Symantec OEM software should be included free of charge with its
companion
product (hardware, software, etc.)
The software is the same. The only difference is the subscription
length--typically 90 days from activation, and the cost of subscription
renewal.

All stand alone sales of OEM products are illegal and Symantec will not
be
able to refund this product.

If you wish to have your money back you need to go to the store where
you
bought the product and they will have to refund you from there."

have savapoint sold me this OEM product through some loophole even though i didn't buy any hardware? should i return it to them & demand a refund?

any advice much appreciated

penrhyn

I just checked the savapoint site and it does say "Please note this is an OEM promotional product (Fully featured program with 12 Month Licence)" I assume you have a product key, so if it instals OK it will tell you what licence you have and for how long. However if you are unhappy go for the refund!
If you have have an older Norton product you could by an Upgrade, Amazon are selling Internet Security 2005 for £25.99 (free p+p). Ther are also some used bargains from the Amazon shops from around £18(Probably more OEMs though)

kizatt

thanks pendlejh. i think savapoint have obviously missed the oem info off the product details for the nis with free nero software - the nis products sold alone have more complete details including the oem info. i maybe should have checked the info on those sold alone, but didn't realise that they would have more detailed product info & of course went for the one with the free gift!

we have a 365 day subscription & a product key, but i didn't want to try it until i decided for definite whether or not i'm keeping it (mind you, that might help me make up my mind!). if so many companies are selling oem software without restriction, are symantec wrong to say it's illegal?

woo

I understand that OEM products can be sold with any hardware to be installed or a complete system. I have bought OEM software when building PCs and find it useful, getting fully functioning software at a fraction of the price. Who cares about manuals....

drlight_2

If you have a Norton disk and you have a norton serial number then you own a valid licence from Norton and should have no problems from Norton updates and support as they know you have a licence from them not anyone else.
The talk about hardware and legalities is really between Norton & Manufacturer's.

kizatt

thanks everyone. i've emailed savapoint & i'm waiting for a reply. if they're happy to refund me i think i'll go with that & maybe try pendlejh's suggestion of amazon - at least i know where i am with them!

meclive

im confused at what the problem is... you bought a norton product whcih you wanted (fair enough you didnt know it was an oem product) but it comes with 12months updates... whats the problem...?

Liquid_Stool

don't bother spending the money, try this - buy ANY version of norton antivirus older than 2004, and when installed, you'll get 12 months of updates, AND it effectivley becomes the 2005 Version because of all the bits, Symantec kindly add in (supoposedly this is to stop you doing exactly what i've just told you).

My local rip off palace - sorry PC World was selling norton antivirus 2004 for 2.99 in january, but like i said, once you've installed it, it becomes 2005 effectivley.