The Soft Tree Reports & Reviews

The Soft Tree Inc. Reports & Reviews (10)

Tried to get money from a second credit card even after canceling their service

My husband spoke to Soft tree thinking they were endorsed by Netgear for some computer issues we were having. They spent 2 hrs on the phone with him and he allowed them to see his screen and upload software on his computer still thinking they were affiliated with Netgear. They are NOT. They lied. He signed up for a 2 year contract to protect our home then upon searching afterwards realized they were a scam. They also have you sign a Docusign saying that since they are in India, they run their bills through Canada.
Once we realized they were a scam, my husband called them back telling them what we found out. They admitted they were not affiliated with Netgear and told him he could cancel and only pay the Technician fee charges for the Tech's time. We agreed. They emailed him a confirmation that he had cancelled and would get back all but the Tech's fee. BUT what they really did is charge another charge card of his that had appeared on the screen when he was paying them and they were still hooked up to his computer.
Luckily, the second charge card through Apple blocked the charge clearing recognizing it as fraud while our first charge card would not remove the charge and we now have to go through Dispute to get our money back. STAY AWAY FROM SOFT TREE.

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I needed technical help with a new NetGear router, and was led to this service by a misleading "NTGR" website. A person at this site was very, very helpful. I bought a three year service agreement, and received a follow up call asking for my opinion about the service. I gave it good remarks. BUT! I have not received a service agreement, and now, I am warned by Norton that the site is high risk. I have removed the NTGR router, but of course now I'm worried that someone has access to everything. Can't trust anything these days.

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Have you suffered any adversity?

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Received new home hub. Struggling to set up NETGEAR extender. Sought help on NETGEAR website. Whilst there chat window opened up offering help which I believed at the time was a NETGEAR advisor. I explained my issue and was told they could help and technician would ring me which they did. Phone call came from +1(323) 618-6880 and came up as Los Angeles, CA , United States (don't believe this to be true now). Technician needed access to my computer which I gave via downloaded app SplashtopSOS. The technician then explored my Mac and talked about ‘fixation of DHCP server’ ‘assignment of unique ISP’ and something about IP addresses being in conflict due to all the adverts allegedly I clicked on. My IT knowledge is limited (I’m an ICU nurse) so I had to just go with what she was explaining. She then said this was a real problem but not to worry as she could fix it for a price. I asked her how much and she said not to worry it would be fine, very vague. So I went ahead. 30 minutes later she told me this had been fixed. During this time she had complete access to my mac which is now concerning me. I was then presented with a choice of which plan I would like to proceed with (premium, elite etc) ranging from $149.99 to $399.99. I explained I had little funds and I would choose the lower price. I was told as I have so many devices this wouldn’t be sufficient and there was a period of negotiation. After being told many times how I needed this protection I agreed to a modified premium package for $249.99. Technician asked which card I was going to use, I asked to pay via PayPal which I did. Disturbingly the technician still had remote access during this. Some more remote access activity occurred but unclear what this was for. Then I was sent some documents via Docusign and the technician opened this and went through this quickly saying, sign here, sign here and then basically that was done. I asked was there anything I could do to block adverts or protect myself and the technician said not to worry as there was software installed now on my computer! Call finished. I felt hugely concerned and as I now had my mac back and there was no further remote access from the technician I researched the company and quickly realised this is a scam. I have tried to stop the payment but I think I have failed and am now hugely concerned something has been installed onto my laptop and even more concerned as I cannot download any security updates (keep being told there is a problem with my internet). Have written to company to ask for refund. On researching they seem to be actually based in India and are not associated in anyway with NETGEAR.

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- Poland, ME, USA

Scammer's phone 800-956-5079, 323-433-9892
Scammer's email [email protected]
Country United States
Victim Location ME 04274, USA
Type of a scam Tech Support

I recently updated our modem & wireless router and was in the process of signing everything into the new network. I wanted to connect our Netgear Wifi extender as well, and attempted to do this on my own, with no success, so I went on to Netgear.com and used their chat feature to get tech support. I was advised that, in order to resolve this issue, a representative would be calling me. I received a call, informing me that they were from Netgear, I explained the situation and we began troubleshooting. After we had exhausted all of the options that I would be able to do myself, the agent told me that in order to resolve the issue, they would need to access my computer remotely. Having done this in the past with Apple, I didn't see an issue with this, so I granted them access, utilizing the Splashtop app. I was able to see what the person was doing at all times, or so I thought. I estimated that we had 15-20 devices connected to our network, but when I was shown the network utilization, I was shocked to see that there were dozens of unknown IP's that were associated with this new network. The tech asked if we ever connect any devices to a public network. I informed him that I do connect to my work's public network. He said that sometimes on public networks we can pick up bugs/viruses and bring them home with us, but assured me that the issue could be easily resolved. He said that what I needed was a "level 3 technician,” and informed me that since this issue was not with the Netgear device itself, but with the network, there would be a one time fee associated with repairing the issue and getting the wi-fi extender online. Not knowing the first thing about networking, I agreed. The "level 3 technician" came on, removed the unknown devices, downloaded the NetgearGenie app to my computer “to help me monitor the network, so this didn’t happen again,” and we were able to get the extender working. Once we finished he asked if I would mind filling out a survey on my customer service experience. I said I would be glad to and he brought up the survey on my screen. I disconnected him from my device, filled out the survey and then he said he needed to reconnect to my device to direct me to the payment screen. Here's where I began to feel uneasy. I asked if I could get to the screen myself and he stated that it was protocol for them to pull it up for customers. I hesitantly (and against my better judgement) allowed him to access my computer once more. He directs me to the payment screen and I disconnect him again, put in my payment information on "Netgear.com" and prepared to be done... Then he directs me to my email for my invoice. There, I have an email from "The Softwave INC.,” along with a DocuSign request stating my payment would appear on my account as “The Soft Tree INC.” I told him that I would review the documents, but I would not be signing anything at this time. He stated that someone would be calling me tomorrow to conduct a survey (despite the fact that I had already completed a survey). I disconnected the call and immediately took to the web, discovering many stories like my own. I quickly deleted Splashtop & NetgearGenie and began assessing the damage. I found a suspicious document entitled “passwords” and opened it to find 28 pages with random combinations of words and numbers- I then disconnected my wifi & router and called the credit card company, apple support, my internet provider and ran virus software.

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Other than paying for so-called tech support, did you suffer any subsequent monetary losses or computer problems? I was fooled by an "Orbi Support" website https://orbi-loginsetup.com/netgear-orbi-setup/ when I thought it was Netgear.

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I WAS TRYING TO GET A NETGEAR PRODUCT INSTALLED
I DID NOT REALIZE I WAS DEALING WITH A INDEPENDENT
THEY NOTED SERIOUS ISSUES WITH MY COMPUTER AND FOR A FEE WITH A 3 YEAR PROTECTION PLAN
I CONTACTED THEM BY PHONE AND EMAIL AND THE ARE GOING TO REFUND MY CC
THE HAD A GOOD BB RATING BUT I WAS UPSET BY THE WAY THEY HI JACKED MY LOG INTO NETGEAR
I DON'T THINK THEY ACCESSED MY BANK INFO

I WAS ABLE TO REACH THEM BY EMAIL AND PHONE

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Was your credit card eventually refunded?

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Super creeped out by the soft tree experience
they fixed all my problems
then gave me the hard sell for a contract
not sure how much data they stole from my computer
going to have to contact my bank and maybe cancel my cc
all in all not a good feeling

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Victim Location 77705
Type of a scam Tech Support

My computer was slow and I called my company on Net Guild website and I call the number at the bottom of the page. When calling the number, the guy came on and I gave him my email and all my personal information to him, Thinking this was my company I usually deal with. He gave me his badge number, state he was with Net Guild, he told me about a sale they were selling to their customer's, they can get all their wireless devices up to speed. I thought it was great so, I gave him my credit card information. For some reason, he started asking me questions, like how long I've been with their company and other questions, making me feel unease. So,, I made up an excuse and got off the phone with him. Then I went looking for an old number I had for Net Guild, found the information I needed. Then I called the old number and got Net Guild, I begin telling her what I just did, and the number is on their website that I called. THe Lady at Net Guild stated they were going to take another look at their website and have the number corrected immediately. When I explain to her what all this guy said that their company offered, she didn't know what I was talking about. Got all my information change with Net Guild, had my credit card account stop so, I can get a new one. Now I have to get all my devices clean-up as well. Just wanted to warn others of what's going on.

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The Soft Tree Inc. Contacts

Phone:

+1 (323) 618-6880

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The Soft Tree Inc.

The Soft Tree Inc. Reports & Reviews (10)

Tried to get money from a second credit card even after canceling their service

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