Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/10/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I uploaded my receipt from last year when I subscribed to the service after my computer offered a 30-day free trial, and I decided to continue at that time. After losing my job, I got a new computer for school, and the computer came with a year of Windows security. After scrutinizing my email, I noticed that after starting my subscription in March, they sent me another email in December of 2024 letting me know they were going to charge me the ****** after I just paid the ***** for 5 devices; they wanted to charge me triple without my knowledge the following year. I am not able to go through all of my emails every day. I called after seeing the charge this year, and having issues with my account, I had to close my checking account and start a new one. When I spoke with the McAfee customer **** he said he would first send the refund. Sometimes the bank noticed the name and would just deposit it, but if that didn't happen, I had to call back. Well, no refund, so I called back. The first *** stated my refund was paid back through my ****** account and provided me with a number of confirmations when talking with ******; no credit had been issued. I called them back, and the *** stated I used the service and therefore paid for it. I stated I wanted to talk to the supervisor and wanted my refund. The manager was supposed to call me back in 5 minutes, 20 minutes ago. I never authorized these charges for them to withdraw that amount of money from my account. I want my refund back; please help.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/25/2025

  Dear Ms. *************** name is ****** ******.  I am on the Executive Customer Assistance Team at **********************. I want to thank you for working with me regarding your concerns.

  I am not able to provide any account details publicly, but I have contacted you directly by email with information specific to your account. If you have any additional concerns in the future regarding this complaint, please feel free to reply to my email or to reach me directly using the contact information in my email. I am available Monday-Friday, from 7am to 4pm Central Time (**).

  Thank you for contacting McAfee.

  Sincerely,
  ****** ******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/10/2025

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I received a notice via email regarding an annual subscription through Mcafee for $158.99 that I was unaware of at the time it was sent due to my ongoing cancer treatment and side effects of treatment. Due to extremely reduced work hours related to this, I frequently checked my bank account balances. I noticed there was a pending transaction of $158.99 on 2/19/25 and instantly attempted to resolve. I logged on to the website and canceled services and once the transaction posted to my account, I disputed it through my bank. McAfee had outdated debit card information, which when I saw the opening charge initially thought wouldnt be a successful charge due to outdated information, yet it went through. Even though McAfee sees that I canceled the service the exact same day they charged my OLD card and they are aware I disagree with the charge, they refuse to work with me. If I hadnt had cancer, I promise I would have canceled this service as soon as I got an email. Since canceling the service, and even before, I havent used anything to warrant a refusal to reverse the charges. I want McAfee to honor my cancellation request and refund my money.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/21/2025

  Dear Ms. **************** name is ****** ******.  I am on the Executive Customer Assistance Team at **********************. I want to thank you for working with me regarding your concerns.

  I am not able to provide any account details publicly, but I have contacted you directly by email with information specific to your account. If you have any additional concerns in the future regarding this complaint, please feel free to reply to my email or to reach me directly using the contact information in my email. I am available Monday-Friday, from 7am to 4pm Central Time (**).

  Thank you for contacting McAfee.

  Sincerely,
  ****** ******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/28/2025

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Tried to renew a two-year subscription of McAfee protection and ended up with only a one year plan due to the renewal offer becoming obsolete and no longer offered which they failed to acknowledge at first. Two weeks later they realized that I was right and wanted to offer me another two-year subscription which means repurchasing another offer and taking several hours to install on my computer again. All I want them to do is to extend the current subscription for one more year, but they are trying to bait and switch me again. The first time they did this resulted in the fraud department freezing my bank account for six hours two weeks ago. I do not wish to go through this ever again.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/04/2025

  Dear *** *********,

  My name is ****** ******.  I am on the Executive Customer Assistance Team at **********************. I want to thank you for working with me regarding your concerns.

  Thank you very much for taking the time to reach out regarding your experience. I am sorry that it was not the type of experience that we want our customers to have. I have raised your concerns internally, and a full review will be conducted for areas of improvement. If you have any additional concerns in the future regarding this complaint, please feel free to reply to my email or to reach me directly using the contact information in my email. I am available Monday-Friday, from 7am to 4pm Central Time (**).

  Thank you for contacting McAfee.

  Sincerely,
  ****** ******

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/05/2025

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely, ************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/24/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Every year mcafeetechmaster charges me $179.95 for tech support. I have a subscription with automatic charges in June. I did not use it for approximately 2 years. When I went to use it again they stated I had no subscription. I have credit card bank statements showing I am charged every year in June. I sent them the proof and was at least asking for last year's payment to be refunded since they are stating it is not in affect. For 3 days I got transferred from person to person and then promised a manager would call. Weeks later a manager called. When I called back I received the same run around with no resolution. I have the proof of charges. I was denied any service. I want my money back. This is fraud. I had used the subscription several years ago, so I know it was a legit service. That was the reason I just subscribed.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/03/2025

  Dear Ms. **************** My name is ****** *******. I am on the Executive Customer Assistance Team at **********************. I have received your case with the Better Business Bureau and would like to get in touch with you regarding your concerns.
  
  I apologize for the trouble youve had trying to cancel the McAfee ******************************* McAfee TechMaster is a separate concierge service, with their own separate support, which is why our support agents were unable to locate that subscription. The TechMaster Concierge phone number is the one listed on the billing statement, **************.
  
  However, I have reached out to that team on your behalf, and they have confirmed the cancellation of the subscription and a refund for the most recent charge of $179.95. The confirmation number for that refund is 7434345014286850404275.
  
  If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to respond to my email correspondence, or you may call me directly at *****************. I am in the office Monday-Friday, from 7am to 4pm Central Time (**).
  
  Thank you for contacting McAfee.
  
  Best Regards,
  ****** *******
  Executive Customer Assistance Team, **********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/23/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On Nov 2023 I bought 2 McAfee 1 Year Live Safe Software activation Subscription, for 8.99 each + 6% Sales Tax from Office Depot (Receipt is attached). I was able to activate the first one in 3/16/2024. When i activated the second Subscription via the activation key it showed that the key had been activated and software was ready to download but never showed under my account Email : *********************** Activation Key: 4LD4Q-Z3JDY-Y2QV9-J74UR-A22PA On my account it clearly states that as of Nov 2023 i had only used on activation key on March 16 2024 that expired on 16th March 2025. But when i called McAfee customer service the representative kept on convincing that i had used the first key on 3/5/2023. I told him that was a different key as i purchased the 2 McAfee 1 Year Live Safe Software activation Subscription 5 months after May 2023. I also tried the chat but that representative wanted me to now go back to office deport as he claimed it was not scanned. I have attached images of my purchase and my activation history. I feel like McAfee is almost pulling a scam on its customer. I expect either for them to honor the 1 year subscription or provide a refund.****** **************** Case number Case Number : ******** Subject assistance with activation.Following Documents are attached - Receipt from OfficeDepot / Max for 2 - McAfee 1 Year Live Safe Software activation Subscription - Screenshot showing only one Life Safe activation on account : *********************** since Nov 2023 for Life safe

  Business Response

  Date: 03/26/2025

  Dear Mr. ************** name is ****** ******.  I am on the Executive Customer Assistance Team at **********************. I want to thank you for working with me regarding your concerns.

  I am not able to provide any account details publicly, but I have contacted you directly by email with information specific to your account. If you have any additional concerns in the future regarding this complaint, please feel free to reply to my email or to reach me directly using the contact information in my email. I am available Monday-Friday, from 7am to 4pm Central Time (**).

  Thank you for contacting McAfee.

  Sincerely,
  ****** ******

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/27/2025

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/19/2025

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I called McAfee ***************) to resolve a notice on my IPAD stating that I had purchased a Norton protection plan, which I did NOT request, sign up for, and did not want. The charges were $399.99. When the representative was talking with me, he became VERY sexually explicit and inappropriate. He asked me if I was married, said that my voice was very ****, asked me to **********, stated that he would buy a plane ticket and come to see me tomorrow. His perverse comments made me feel very uncomfortable and nervous. I hung up the phone, called the company back, and he immediately answered the phone again and continued to talk very inappropriately. The receipt code for this transaction is W24354656516541251. The confirmation number is MRT-XX47585454714584516541.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/24/2025

  Hello Ms. *********
  
  My name is ****** *******. I am on the Executive Customer Assistance Team at **********************. We have received your case and would like to get in touch with you regarding your concerns.
  
  Thank you for reporting the invoice you received purporting to be McAfee. Just to confirm, the invoice you forwarded to the BBB, did not originate from McAfee, and we suspect it may have been crafted in a phishing attempt using the McAfee name. The number provided is not a McAfee phone number and McAfee and ****** are 2 separate companies for antivirus software.Additionally, I am unable to locate a McAfee account associated with *******************************
  
  Emails originating from McAfee will come from a sender with a mcafee.comdomain, and our official support contact information can be found and verified at *******************************************.
  
  Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for bad actors to leverage the name and goodwill of reputable companies when attempting to scam consumers. We urge you to not click any links included in those emails and to report them as spam/phishing per your email providers reporting process. You can read more about phishing emails in the article found here: How to recognize, and protect yourself from phishing.
  
  You can always report suspicious emails using the McAfee name to *********************************************************. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to respond to my email correspondence,or you may call me directly at the phone number notated in my email.
  
  We apologize for any frustration or concern the phishing email may have caused you.
  
  Best Regards,
  ****** *******
  Executive Customer Assistance Team, **********************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/24/2025

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/17/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have made multiple requests via email for McAfee to delete my account and all associated personal data. Despite this, McAfee has repeatedly refused, stating that they only process deletion requests for residents of certain states with specific privacy laws. This is an unfair and arbitrary policy.McAfees Privacy Notice states that users can request deletion of their personal data, yet they are selectively restricting this right based on location. I no longer use their services and do not consent to my personal information being retained indefinitely.I have emailed McAfee multiple times regarding this issue, but my cases have been either ignored or closed without resolution.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/07/2025

  Dear Mr. ****************** name is ****** ******.  I am on the Executive Customer Assistance Team at **********************. Thank you for reaching out. I can confirm that the support team has completed your request. If you have any additional concerns in the future regarding this complaint, please feel free to reply to reach me at ***************. I am available Monday-Friday, from 7am to 4pm Central Time (**).

  Thank you for contacting McAfee.

  Sincerely,
  ****** ******

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/07/2025

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/15/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On March 12, 2025, I purchased McAfee protection for my laptop, in the amount of $39.99. However, the protection would not download. So I found the phone number ************. Once I called the number, I received a call back from **************** ******, *******, ************** 1:45(canceled call), then March 12, 2025 **************** *********, *******, ************** 12:01(incoming call). While on the phone with the representative, he informed me to download ultra screen so he could have access to my laptop screen. To no avail, nothing was accomplished. Then I was told they would refund my $39.99, while having access to my laptop. To no avail. Since the could not refund my funds, I was then told it would be in my account in an hour. That was unsuccessful. I was told I would get a call on March 13, 2025 and should take 4 hours to successfully be refunded. I have not received my refund. I called my bank, and was told to change my password. I have not heard from McAfee to date.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/21/2025

  Dear Ms. ***************** name is ****** ******.  I am on the Executive Customer Assistance Team at **********************. I want to thank you for working with me regarding your concerns.

  I want to confirm that the phone numbers that you have provided in this complaint are not official McAfee support numbers. To reach McAfee support from *****************, please call **************. I am not able to provide any account details publicly, but I have contacted you directly by email with information specific to your account. If you have any additional concerns in the future regarding this complaint, please feel free to reply to my email or to reach me directly using the contact information in my email. I am available Monday-Friday, from 7am to 4pm Central Time (**).

  Thank you for contacting McAfee.

  Sincerely,
  ****** ******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/07/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In January 2023 I purchased an HP computer from Best Buy that had MCAFEE computer protection that was on it for a year through the purchase. In December 2023 they billed me $149.99 without my consent to do so. I called there ************** number and talked with an East Indian speaking gentleman and explained I never authorized this. After talking for about 5 minutes, he said they would reimburse $100.00 and only charge $49.99 for another year. I agreed and told them to remove the auto renewal. Now on March 7, 2025 they again charged me $149.99. I called the ************** number and spoke to another Eastern Indian gentleman and asked why? He told me that I had another account open through an email that I haven't had for over 2 years. But I told hime for what account, and he said from the computer I purchased in January 2023. I told him that this computer has only had the ******************* and never the ****************** account. When he knew I caught them, he started reading me all the great things MCAFEE can do for me. I told him to refund my account right now. He said he canceled it and would take 2-5 business days to refund **** am a disabled vet on social security disabilty and now I have only a little money in my account because this company keeps doing this without authorization. I have read similiar complaints about this company doing the same thing to others. I do not trust this company at all and am afraid they have and will compromise my account again. Something needs to be done!

  Business Response

  Date: 03/14/2025

  Dear Mr. *********** name is ****** *******. I am on the Executive Customer Assistance Team at **********************. We have received your complaint with the Better Business Bureau and would like to get in touch with you regarding your concerns.
  
  Please note that authorization to charge your payment instrument for renewal is given at the time of purchase, prior to the completion of sale, and again when accepting the terms of the McAfee License Agreement before use of our software. Thirty (30) days prior to the Auto-Renewal charge an email is sent to the customer notifying them of the date their subscription will renew and the renewal price they will be charged at that time.
  
  Customers can stop the renewal at any time by logging into their accounts or contacting our support team **************************************************.
  
  That being said, I do see that you contacted us in December of 2023 regarding the automatic renewal on the account [email protected] refund was processed on this account, and the automatic renewal feature was turned off on this account at that time.
  
  However, in April 2023, there was a McAfee LiveSafe 2-year subscription purchased under the email address ****************** and that subscription began to automatically renew on March 7, 2025, per the terms of the license agreement.
  
  I do see that you contacted our support team on March 7, 2025,and a refund was processed for the automatic renewal of $149.99. The autorenewal feature was turned off on the account ****************** at that time as well.
  
  Additionally, we received a bank confirmation that the refund of $149.99 was deposited back successfully on March 7, 2025. The *** (Acquirer Reference Number) for this transaction is ***********************. This type of reference number is shared between the merchant and financial institution. If you don't see the funds in your account, please reach out to the refund or fraud department at your bank or financial institution with this *** to locate the refund.
  
  If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to reply to my email correspondence.  
  
  Thank you for contacting McAfee.
  
  Sincerely,
  ****** *******
  Executive Customer Assistance Team, **********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/07/2025

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On March 5 2025, I contacted McAfee to ask if all my devices were covered under the Total Protection Plan which I have a contract ending June 30, 2025. The technician, ****,removed the program because of an error message and after almost 3 hours of failed attempts, was unable to reload the program. Additionally, technician,******, worked 2 more hours and then supervisor, ******* worked another 2 hours with no ********** that point my computer was exposed as there is no McAfee program on my computer. I purchased another anti virus program and have asked McAfee for a credit of *****, which is the 4 months remaining on the useless contract. Many promises were made to call me within various time periods nothing is resolved

  Business Response

  Date: 03/14/2025

  Hello Ms. ******
  
  My name is ****** *******. I am on the Executive Customer Assistance Team at **********************. We have received your complaint and would like to get in touch with you regarding your concerns. I have tried to contact you by phone, but I was not able to reach you.
  
  As a goodwill gesture, I have processed a full refund of $162.55. You should receive an automated email confirmation, and the funds should be available to you within 5 business days.
  
  If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to reply to my email correspondence.  
  
  Thank you for contacting McAfee.
  
  Sincerely,
  ****** *******
  Executive Customer Assistance Team, **********************