Complaint about MYOB locking me out and I having to pay $550 ransom to get access to my business files

[Dale13]

 Our business purchased the MYOB program in 2002 and updated every year until 2013 and as we do not use payroll I have just kept going.   In the past - MYOB would request (every 2 years) verification and I would just click on the tabs and it was all done.   Today - however the message came up saying that I could not do on-line and had to ring in.    I then was told that 35% of my MOYB was all corrupt and that the only way I could get access was to pay a technician to fix the problem and I was given the bronze, silver and gold options.    I had no choice as they could not get me access as my files all very apparently corrupted (this was repeated).   Whilst waiting on the phone .... I went through the process of trying to access and  I noticed there was a tab that said I could access but I would only have 14days access.  So I click it and yes there was my MYOB all fully functioning and nothing wrong with it.   When the MYOVB guy came back he tried to convince me that the corruption was invisable and still going on..    I was not happy as I was having pay $550 (bronze) just for someone to verify my access so I could use my MYOB.    I had no choice.

I was transferred to a technician and it took him less that 10 minutes (although I believe he really dragged that out as I could see on the screen what he was doing and my files were never corrupted and he did not have to do a recoery as they tried to tell me).     My question is to MYOB.   I am going to take this to the consumer protection as I believe you held me at ransom and it was unfair.   Before I go ahead - I want to know,  do you think this is acceptable practice?      I would have liked to have emailed by complaint straight to MYOB but after searching for a complaints section - I have had to come here.   

[gavin12345]

Hi @Dale13

I found your post very concerning. I have not yet heard of MYOB staff stooping to such a low level, and I hope for MYOB's sake there is a serious misunderstanding here. If not, I too would recommend reporting this behavior to Consumer Affairs or ACCC.

Can I ask what version of MYOB you are using, is it v19 and earlier or AR2013?

If you (or others reading this post) ever again feel held to ransom by MYOB in this manner, be aware that there are others (outside MYOB) who can assist with urgent confirmation issues as well as examining your file to see if in fact there is corruption or not. PM me if you need contact details.

Regards

Gavin

[Steven_M]

Hi @Dale13

I'm sorry to hear about your situation and your experience.

I should mention that MYOB is encouraging clients on older versions of the program to contact us to have a discussion around making sure that the current software still meets their requirements and possibly whether the latest version of the program will better suit their needs. Once that discussion has taken place we would enable confirmation of their company file and possibly send out a quote to arrange for that upgrade. I understand that you have spoken with Tanya from our Live Chat team yesterday (29/01/2019) in regards to that.

In terms of the phone conversation you have had, can I ask what was the number you called and/or the website you obtained that number from? The reason I ask this is that we have had a small number of people, sadly, affected by a scam that does involve a company impersonating MYOB support. Based on the wording you have used in your post it sounds like you may have been a victim of such a scam and I do want to make sure that we do pass this case on to our security team to ensure that it is reported. Unfortunately, I am unable to see a charge from MYOB on that $550 so I would be unable to look into that charge further. 

Going forward, I personally would:

• Ensure that your antivirus software is up-to-date and that you do run a scan over the computer
• Look at restoring a backup of the company file via File>>Restore.
• If software was download or emails sent to yourself that you don't open/download or action anything to do with those emails

To ensure that you are contacting MYOB in future do make sure that you are viewing the MYOB website (should be www.myob.com/au and our primary contact number for support is 1300 555 123

Once again I'm sorry to hear of your situation and that this has occurred to yourself.

[DuncanS]

@Steven_M @Dale13 @gavin12345

Steven,

I often work on weekends.

The 1300 555 123 number previously gave a code 24 hours a day.

Can you please confirm that it is necessary to call MYOB during working hours to get a confirmation code.

It is clear that the subscription model is preferred by software companies.

The subscription model may well be the best model for a business owner.

Conversely, a business owner with little use of MYOB features may prefer to buy outright.

Duncan

[Steven_M]

Hi @DuncanS

As mentioned, we are encouraging clients on older versions of the product to contact us to discuss their current software and making sure that it meets their requirements. If that client does contact us and has that discussion with our phone-based team they will be able to confirm online (or via phone using the automated number) going forward. 

If a client has not contacted us and had that discussion we would encourage them to contact our phone-based team on 1300 555 151 (during working hours*) to discuss their account and product in more detail. Once that discussion has taken place they should be able to confirm using online (or via phone using the automated 24 hour) as per normal.

*There may be some cases where a client is unable to do that and we do work with those clients to arrange for that discussion to take place*

[DuncanS]

@Steven_M

It is interesting that someone is conceivably impersonating MYOB and gaining access to computers.

Some of my long standing clients have never turned on MYOB.

Some of my clients use MYOB daily/weekly.

The subscription model is a hard sell to a Business Owner (especially older) who do not wish to turn on MYOB.

My advice to those starting a business is that the subscription model and using the features of MYOB is essential to a good business.

Duncan