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Hi all,
Wondering if you can help me, as I'm unsure of my rights after reading the Consumer Rights Act.
I recently purchased some software to prevent me accessing gambling sites. The software, Gamblock, is designed to be installed on your system, after which point it is impossible to uninstall for the duration of the licence (1 year in this case).
I followed the general instructions on the website by clicking on the Download Now button. This took me to a payment page, where I had to purchase the product before the installation package could be downloaded. The installation included a system check called Check my PC, which ran before trying to install the software. On running the Check my PC (which took approximately 30 minutes), I was told that I had to uninstall my anti-virus software to continue with the install. I did this and tried again. Again, the Check my PC (which again took approximately 30 minutes to run) told me that there were remaining elements of AVG installed, and that I needed to uninstall before finalising the install of Gamblock. After 4 tries, Check my PC finally came back to say that I could continue with the install. I did so, and the software seemed to install. A message them popped up saying that my system needed to be restarted in order to complete the install, to which I agreed.
Then, once my system restarted, as soon as Gamblock initiated, my system restartedagain. This happened continuously for about 20 minutes (about 15 restarts), with no explanation. In the end, the only way to stop this was to do a system restore to remove the partially installed Gamblock software. The whole process took 4.5 hours, during which I would have been able to use my PC to access gambling sites, which was particularly more likely given the frustrations I was dealing with at the time in trying desperately to prevent myself from having this access with a very expensive piece of software.
I contacted the company to explain that I had been unable to successfully install the software (which they have a record of), and to request a full refund as I was not able to use the software I purchased. They replied to say that I still had elements of AVG installed (this was incorrect), which is what caused my system to behave 'erratically.' They also advised me to upgrade to Windows 10 (I am on Windows Vista, so this would be an expensive upgrade). I replied stating that I had fully uninstalled all elements of AVG, that this had not been made explicitly clear on their website (it is there, hidden in the FAQs),and that their website claims the software is compatible with Windows Vista so I should not have to upgrade.
I have raised a dispute with PayPal, but they are still refusing to refund, claiming that there is nothing wrong with their product so they don't have to.Their website also states that they do not offer refunds, but it is strongly implied that this applies only after the software is installed, which I have not managed to do.
My question is whether they should refund based on the Consumer Rights Act, and what do I need to do to get this refund so that I can buy other software that I can install.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
VA
Wondering if you can help me, as I'm unsure of my rights after reading the Consumer Rights Act.
I recently purchased some software to prevent me accessing gambling sites. The software, Gamblock, is designed to be installed on your system, after which point it is impossible to uninstall for the duration of the licence (1 year in this case).
I followed the general instructions on the website by clicking on the Download Now button. This took me to a payment page, where I had to purchase the product before the installation package could be downloaded. The installation included a system check called Check my PC, which ran before trying to install the software. On running the Check my PC (which took approximately 30 minutes), I was told that I had to uninstall my anti-virus software to continue with the install. I did this and tried again. Again, the Check my PC (which again took approximately 30 minutes to run) told me that there were remaining elements of AVG installed, and that I needed to uninstall before finalising the install of Gamblock. After 4 tries, Check my PC finally came back to say that I could continue with the install. I did so, and the software seemed to install. A message them popped up saying that my system needed to be restarted in order to complete the install, to which I agreed.
Then, once my system restarted, as soon as Gamblock initiated, my system restartedagain. This happened continuously for about 20 minutes (about 15 restarts), with no explanation. In the end, the only way to stop this was to do a system restore to remove the partially installed Gamblock software. The whole process took 4.5 hours, during which I would have been able to use my PC to access gambling sites, which was particularly more likely given the frustrations I was dealing with at the time in trying desperately to prevent myself from having this access with a very expensive piece of software.
I contacted the company to explain that I had been unable to successfully install the software (which they have a record of), and to request a full refund as I was not able to use the software I purchased. They replied to say that I still had elements of AVG installed (this was incorrect), which is what caused my system to behave 'erratically.' They also advised me to upgrade to Windows 10 (I am on Windows Vista, so this would be an expensive upgrade). I replied stating that I had fully uninstalled all elements of AVG, that this had not been made explicitly clear on their website (it is there, hidden in the FAQs),and that their website claims the software is compatible with Windows Vista so I should not have to upgrade.
I have raised a dispute with PayPal, but they are still refusing to refund, claiming that there is nothing wrong with their product so they don't have to.Their website also states that they do not offer refunds, but it is strongly implied that this applies only after the software is installed, which I have not managed to do.
My question is whether they should refund based on the Consumer Rights Act, and what do I need to do to get this refund so that I can buy other software that I can install.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
VA
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