If you buy a computer from Fnac, know this...

Here is the letter I sent to Fnac management on February 3, 2015:
Madam, sir,

I purchased a computer at Fnac Parly II on Saturday for the sum of €1200 (copy of the invoice attached).

The salesperson (M...) was very professional and gave me all the attention a customer deserves. Before filling out the invoice, he also encouraged me to purchase antivirus software; specifically, Bitdefender. I trusted him completely, and very satisfied, even gave him a generous tip (€20) before leaving to head to the checkout.

However, upon returning home and installing the computer, I found that the Bitdefender installation CD was very intrusive, as it asked the customer many personal questions. It was only at that moment that I realized it was a Fnac product. I have nothing against Fnac, quite the contrary, but I simply asked for antivirus software, not a membership form.

I also did not ask to benefit from an online storage "cloud" that I have no need for.

To conclude, the installation CD asked me to remove the existing antivirus on the computer. If I had known that there was already an antivirus – even a trial version – I would not have purchased a second one.

That was too much. I decided not to install Bitdefender after all and to go back to the Fnac store in Parly II on Monday evening to get a refund of €80; which I did, convinced that everything would go well, given the amount of the computer purchase.

After a rather brief conversation with the salesperson, I was able to speak with the IT manager, Mr. xxxx, who is also the "acting manager of the store." However, this Mr. xxxx was unyielding because I did not have the cardboard packaging for the CD and that it was not the "policy" of the store.

I tried to make him understand that I had not purchased just this antivirus, but also a computer for €1200. I also explained to him that at other large groups, like Office Depot (where I worked for a while about ten years ago) or Leroy Merlin (a friend works there), they do not hesitate to refund the customer to build loyalty.
But after half an hour, we were still at the same point. It seems to me that even if the CD had gone through "losses and profits," the Fnac store in Parly II would not have suffered irreparable damage.

All this to say that I am extremely upset, not so much about my purchase as about the "store policy," to the point that I do not wish to install the Bitdefender antivirus on my new machine, hoping to forget it as soon as possible.

I am sending you the CD as an attachment. You can deactivate the account I entered at the beginning of the installation, Saturday, January 31, 2014.

I hope for a prompt response from you, hoping that you will show a bit more "policy" than the "acting manager" of the Fnac Parly II store, who seems to have the reasoning of a department head.

In the meantime, please accept, madam, sir, the expression of my distinguished salutations.

On February 16, 2015, I received a response from Fnac's Consumer Service, signed S. yyyy:

I have taken note of your letter with attention... I deeply regret the inconvenience you have reported... We cannot provide a refund... Regretting... I ask you...

For our part, we deeply regret, but we will henceforth purchase our video and IT equipment online. It works very well, and there are no persuasive salespeople to urge us to buy antivirus software for €80 when there are plenty of free and equally effective antivirus options online. Goodbye Fnac!

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