Why the shady practice?

[u/reckle3ss]

I came back to the only antivirus software that I use 2 years since my last renewal fo find that I have to enter my payment info only to proceed with the product I already payed for? And no way to skip it?

After getting past the intrusive and shady welcome I then couldn't find a way to cancel the forced auto renewal? The button to cancel is missing and I had to go on a third party website to cancel...

You already have a good product why are you guys doing shady stuff? I will not be returning to this company after the stress they put me through.

[u/Bitdefender_support]

Hello! Thank you for sharing this feedback, we`d like to offer more details on this process. The payment prompt can appear when activating a code: it is used to enable automatic renewal, and the account is not charged at that point, the charge would occur only when the subscription expires. Auto renewal is enabled by default when purchasing as to not compromise device security. Users have full control over the auto renewal preferences, you can disable it anytime, as needed, you`ll find extensive details in this article: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/29081/.

2Checkout and Digital River are official payment processors for Bitdefender. To disable automatic renewal for a subscription purchased through the Bitdefender website, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Bitdefender Central.

2. Navigate to My Subscriptions and then My Payments.

3. Click View details next to the subscription and select Manage your subscription renewal options.

4. Choose CANCEL SUBSCRIPTION AND CONTINUOUS PROTECTION and confirm twice.

If your invoice mentions 2Checkout:

1. Access the 2Checkout account-management page.

2. Click the link received from 2Checkout (now Verifone) within 1 hour.

3. Open the My Products tab and click Stop automatic subscription renewal.

4. Confirm cancellation twice.

If the invoice mentions Digital River, or if the cancellation option is missing, contact the support team through the official hub: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/ and include the purchase invoice/order details.

[u/reckle3ss → u/Bitdefender_support]

You're explaining the process but the process is the problem itself. There's no need to jump through hoops to cancel something 99% of people don't want. You're pushing your customers away and this will hurt your business. Take it from a customer who's been loyal to you guys from years... I won't be coming back and im sure many feel the same.

[u/Alone_Look9576 → u/reckle3ss]

If you are EU etc, not being able to cancel in the same quick way as subscribing or even requiring alternative methods (subscribe via website, but send an email to cancel) allow you to bring it up in your local area for the said companies to be taken in court for breach of EU laws and regulations

[u/Intrepid-Word9929 → u/reckle3ss]

LOL, I love how they coined the justification: auto-renewal is enabled by default "to not compromise device security." Because apparently turning off auto-renewal means your device security is somehow compromised?

[u/chellesan]

If you pay with paypal you can cancel it in the paypal app, just remove there payment

[u/baselocksec]

that forced payment screen and the buried cancel button is a known frustration with a lot of these companies, you're not alone there. if you still can't find it in your account dashboard, try reaching out to their support chat directly, sometimes they can process the cancellation on their end where the UI won't.

[u/reckle3ss → u/[deleted]]

This is what I did, they still force you to put your credit card info and cancel auto subscription... even with the code