Dangerous Trend

Normally I write only about matters animation in these pages. But today there is a subject that needs dealing with that is Internet in nature.

Viruses are a part of the Internet reality. Which means that Anti-Virus software is also a part of the Internet experience. I often wonder if some of the viruses aren`t written by programmers at anti-virus software companies as a form of job security? But that is neither here nor there.

For the last couple of years I have been using an anti-virus product from Micro Trend called PC-cillian. It is okay if used with Ad-Aware and Spybot Search and Destroy as a back up, both very good spyware detectors.

I hate paying the yearly subscription to any anti-virus company. It smacks too much of paying protection to the Mafia. So I put it off to the last minute.

Last Thursday I went out to the Micro Trend web site to renew my yearly subscription. So I am on their secure page filling out my credit card information when I come to a part of the form entitled Auto-Renew Policy but it is not an option, it is a requirement. In order to by their product over the Internet using a credit card I must, must, grant Micro Trend on-going open-ended invasive access to my bank account.

The arrogance of their new enforced Auto-Renew policy is staggering. The naked corporate greed behind their policy is transparent and a very dangerous business precedent to go unchallenged. Forcing a customer to re-buy your product year after year, as a condition of buying it once, borders on the legal definition of extortion if not crossing completely over the line.

The only reasons I went ahead with this transaction was that my computer would be venerable without virus protection and they promised an easy opt-out procedure. This opt-out procedure much be stated in the form of a request to their customer service department, a request! That is galling. But if the exact wording is required for their robot to remove my name from their to-be-stolen-from list, so be it.

In the past 4 day I have submitted my Opt-Out from to Micro Trend over 20 times and have never received the promised Opt-Out conformation email from them. That is more than enough time for a robot or even a human operator. I can only conclude that their Opt-Out process has proven anything but easy or is a complete fraud and they have no intention of taking me off their sucker`s list.

I have talked to my credit card company by phone, yesterday, and have been informed that once any merchant has credit card account information they can put charges on that credit card at any time they wish. But to do so without customer permission does constitute fraud.

Therefore I sent Micro Trend a letter yesterday revoking permission to access my credit card account. One of my reasons for posting this to my daily blog is to warn others of a dangerous Internet marketing trend. I am also publishing this to formally state that:

I here by revoke all permission granted to Micro Trend to remove funds from my account in the future. My August 30, 2007 credit card transaction with Micro Trend is the last transaction I will ever enter into with this company.

I will not, under any circumstances, be renewing my virus protect subscription with Micro Trend after my current subscription expires on August 28, 2008. Therefore any further removal of funds from my credit card account by Micro Trend will be considered fraud and treated as such to the full extent of the law.

Whether or not this Micro Trend`s forced Auto-Renew policy constitutes the actual crimes of extortion and fraud, permission was obtained from me under duress and maintained under false pretences.

This is a very dangerous business precedent that needs to be stopped now before every transaction on the Internet becomes an on-going life-long financial commitment!