Subscription renewal question

[ynot]

I have a question that I hope someone can help answer.  I couldn't find anything on the FAQs.  When buying a "manual" renewal (ie: non auto renewal) subscription, is the "start date" of the new subscription the date of purchase or is the "start date" of the new subscription the day after the previous subscription runs out?  Hopefully someone knows the answer.

[k3tg]

As an example if your current subscription expires March 22 of 2011 and you renew it today for 1 year then your subscription should be good to May 22 of 2012. Just be sure to use the MCPR removal tool when you download and install your new subscription. Customer Service should be able to sort it all out for you. Please be sure to read the fine print concerning the auto renewal of subscriptions.

[ynot]

Per-chance was there a typo in your reply?  Did you really mean to say "if your current subscription expires March 22 of 2011 and you renew it  today for 1 year then your subscription should be good to March 22 of 2012" rather than "May 22 of 2012" ???

And please, what is an "MCPR removal too"?

And If you really need to read the "fine print" in order not to get shafted by your vendor, then you got to question the intelligence of their marketing department!

[k3tg · Accepted solution]

The MCPR removal tool is used to completely remove any remaining traces of the McAfee software that fail to completely remove via Add/Remove programs. It is recommended to uninstall the software when you renew your subscription and download a fresh copy.

In my example that I used the subscription expires March 22 of 2011. If you renew now they have use of your money for 2 months for a subscription that has not even expired yet. If you wait and renew on March 22 then your new expiration should be March 22 of 2012. If you renew now they should give you the expiration of May 22. Once again Customer Service can confirm this for you.

The majority of all software vendors that have an auto renewal feature in the software all have the fine print that explains this and there are always going to be customers that disagree with the auto renewal and how it renews automatically at the current price with no promotional considerations. Best thing I can suggest is to turn the auto renewal function off so that you the customer has control as to whether or not you want to renew or not to renew.

I hope I have answered your questions satisfactory.

[ynot]

Good answer - thank you!  If you read my other discussion thread, you will have seen that I already turned-off my auto-renewal.  I just have to understand the "manual" subscription renewal process.  It's not real clear.

Regarding the MCPR tool, I am licensed for McAfee Internet Suite 2010 and the "promotional" price for a one year subscription renewal is $39.99 (which is a $30 discount from the $69.99 auto-renewal price).  If I buy the "manual" subscription - say for two or three years I get even a better discount...  Now if I "uninstall" my McAfee 2010 using MCPR, don't I loose my original license - in which case it is no longer a subscription renewal but the purchase of the new product license (McAfee Internet Suite 2011 has a discounted price of $49.99 for three machines with a one year subscription - which is still much better than the $69.99 auto-renewal for a single machine).

Am I miss-understanding something?  Does the subscription renewal give me an opportunity to download the older version (McAfee Internet Suite 2010 which I am licensed for) so I can reinstall with the new license key?  My original license was "bundled with my Acer netbook" with a three month subscription and fully integrated with the Acer setup.  I would be very surprised if I could download the Acer version of the McAfee 2010 Internet Suite - so I would be a little worried about de-installing the vendor integrated version and reinstalling the "generic" version.  I've been burned before!

Message was edited by: ynot on 1/21/11 9:57:39 PM CST