Beta Mum's Blog Beta Mum on 22 Apr 2008 09:33 pm
Platte Media Mania
Nearly a year ago, my beloved son caused me a small financial loss, when he used Amazon’s one-click service to order a book - about quilting.
It was the subject of the book, when it arrived unexpectedly, that alerted me to the possibility that someone had been clicking where they shouldn’t have.
He fessed up, I sent it back and was refunded the cash - minus postage and packing.
I disabled one-click to avoid future mishaps.
Now though, with the wisdom of age, his wanton clicking has managed to sign us up for a service which installed insidiously misleading software on my computer.
A menacing little mole now pops up all the time telling me I owe them £29.99.
A bargain.
Nearly thirty quid for a few ill-advised clicks of the mouse by a nine year old who is too young to have legally signed up for the service in the first place.
When I first noticed the nasty little unremovable icon, I asked him if he’d signed up for something.
“No,” he said, looking a little too innocent for comfort.
As the days passed and the uninstall progamme didn’t work, I asked again.
In the end I made my way, via Platte’s indestructible icon, to a website, and found a phone number.
Before calling what I assumed would be a premium rate service, I asked him again to just tell me if he’d signed up for a film service.
He denied it and denied it and then left the room and shut himself away upstairs while I argued with a man in the British Virgin Islands about his insistent pop-ups.
After I’d spent 12 minutes on the phone - at a cost described by the unflappable Abdul as national rates, although whose national rates he omitted to mention - Ben came into the room crying…
“I did sign up for something Mummy. I just wanted to watch some DVDs. I didn’t say yes to any downloads.”
We’d already had the download discussion. Unfortunately I hadn’t broached the no signing up for things rule.
“And anyway,” he continued, “I couldn’t watch any films. It wouldn’t let me.”
So now he’s said he’s very sorry and I should take the money out of his bank account, which is far healthier than mine.
But I’m loathe to give money to this bunch who’ve been the subject of numerous discussion threads and reports to the OFT and Trading Standards.
I’m not techno-savvy enough to remove the bloody thing, so if my computer is destroyed by the Trojan Horse, I may be away some time…
on 24 Apr 2008 at 12:41 pm 1.Expatmum said …
If they’re that far away, at least they can’t come knocking on your door. I would look into some very strong parental controls to keep the little imp out in future.
on 26 Apr 2008 at 11:33 am 2.Andy Merrett said …
Hi Cathy,
I run the MBS Victims’ Forum (MBS were the company that Platte Media took this evil software from) and we’ve heard so many stories like yours that we’ve lost count.
For standing up to this joke of a company, we’ve now been threatened with legal action. If I don’t remove info and links about how to remove Platte Media’s software, I will be taken to court and probably sued.
At the risk of shameless self-promotion (this is all completely non-profit by the way) could I draw you and your readers to the following link, which briefly outlines our “plight” and a course of action.
CALL TO ACTION! DISTRIBUTE PLATTE MEDIA / MBS REMOVAL METHODS ACROSS THE WEB!
Time is of the essence, as we’ve been given until Friday 2nd May to remove the material that is so offensive to Platte, despite their software being so offensive to us, and being under close scrutiny of the OFT.
Thanks for your time, and I do hope that you never have cause to fall victim to this menace again (the company, that is, not your son!
Andy
on 27 Apr 2008 at 6:26 pm 3.Beta Mum said …
expat - i’m not sure there is anything I can do to stop him signing up for stuff without realising he’s incurring charges. Reputable companies ask for credit card numbers, which would obviously have stopped him - for now.
Andy - good luck. They seem a ruthless bunch. Michael Pollitt obviously took legal advice before writing about them. The OFT are being particularly toothless about the whole thing.
on 29 Apr 2008 at 12:52 am 4.PC Repair Birmingham said …
I have found a removal guide on this website. please feel free to use the removal guide
http://www.theeasypc.co.uk/wordpress/?p=31
on 30 Apr 2008 at 4:29 pm 5.Platte Public Relations said …
Platte Media’s websites and pages are content rated and as such can be blocked simply by parental controls readily available as part of Internet Explorer and Firefox. We do offer advice to parents/guardians on the protection of minors at our website see http://www.plattemedia.com/links/contentrating
We would like to highlight that Platte has a well defined policy towards minor access and request that parents / guardians who discover a minor has assessed our site to contact us in order that we cancel the account, uninstall the software and at the parents discretion, block the computer from being able to access any Platte Media site in the future. Our customer service team can be contacted on 0845 017 8386, 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 11am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday.
We do not feel the use of credit card age verification is fool proof, primarily due to the proliferation of pre-paid cards which are available to individuals under the age of 18. We therefore continue to advocate parents/guardians taking steps by employing parental control solutions readily available to prevent minor access to any website that could be considered harmful to minors.
on 30 Apr 2008 at 5:17 pm 6.Platte Customer Services said …
Dear Mrs Keir
We have been alerted by our Public Relations team about your case highlighted on this forum.
Our website provides visitors, who wish to subscribe for immediate access to our film download library but are concerned about providing credit card details and personal information online, with a means of subscribing to our site by downloading our access software.
Before an individual can download our software they must first click through 7 separate screens and click to accept our terms of subscription. Despite this process we do see cases where individuals click through the screens without first reading the information on them. The postings of individuals who have done this are the reason that you have read the negative postings that you refer to above.
Where a minor has been responsible for downloading our software our policy is to remove our software and cancel the account. No charge is due as a minor cannot enter a subscription contract. Please contact our customer services team in order that we cancel the account. Please call 0845 017 8386. Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and 11am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday.
Platte Customer Service Team
on 30 Apr 2008 at 8:49 pm 7.Nigel Thompson said …
In response to the comments left by Platte customer service team, I my self have contacted the number and told the operator that my 12 year old must have signed up to the site. This was met with that’s ok after I pointed out his age the operator said if I give him my name and address he will send out a form and to complete this and return it with a copy of my sons birth certificate.
This I will not do.
With people like this operating a scam on such a level as this is so wrong.
If people require the service that this company is offering then they should have a credit card check.
I will be contacting the OFT and seeking advise.
This is also a thing that watchdog would help with.
So please email or write to them.
on 02 May 2008 at 3:38 pm 8.Sussex said …
Nigel: You and Yours have been following this story since last year and will, I’m pretty confident, welcome contact about it. Because they have been running it, I don’t think Watchdog will become involved.
For contact details of the You and Yours, go to the BBC Radio 4 website and look for You and Yours where there is an email facility.
I find it extremely disturbing that Platte are using these websites to insist that all is completely above board and, by implication, those who say otherwise are lying. I think they need to consider for themselves the implications of libelling individuals when they are themselves so keen to litigate against forums who are helping victims.
on 03 May 2008 at 12:13 pm 9.Beta Mum said …
Thanks for all the advice.
I don’t want to contact Platte again, as they didn’t offer to remove the software when I called the first time and I don’t want to give them any details about my son or anything else.
All I can say is, my technical know-how has increased exponentially since that icon popped up.
on 05 May 2008 at 6:50 pm 10.Seedfut said …
HI all, Have contacted Watch dog but we all need to contact them. If my 6 year old can sign up through (allged) 7 screens then something needs to be done.
MA
on 07 May 2008 at 7:44 am 11.Sussex said …
Seedfut: If you had read my earlier comment you will see that the story is already being covered by You and Yours on Radio 4. They are always looking for further follow ups on this story.
Because of the Radio 4 involvement, Watchdog are very unlikely to want to take up the story, and have been approached by a number of others in the past years. I suggest you contact You and Yours via the Radio 4 website. You can also ‘listen again’ to earlier reports. This links to the original story:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/items/01/2007_28_wed.shtml
This links to their latest follow up:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/items/01/2008_14_fri.shtml
(I hope those links will work)
As the person who originally took the story to You and Yours, I can assure you that they are still extremely interested in the matter, and will be very interested to hear from people who still have complaints about them in spite of the undertakings made by Platte/MBS to the Office of Fair Trading.
By the way, anyone who feels they have been unfairly treated in this matter should also complain to the OFT. Remember to refer to the undertakings which Platte have made since they are liable to be prosecuted if they fail to keep them.
The OFT link is here:
http://nds.coi.gov.uk/content/detail.asp?NewsAreaID=2&ReleaseID=363175
on 07 May 2008 at 3:31 pm 12.Sussex said …
This may come through double - not sure why it didn’t appear first time round.
Watchdog won’t take this up as it has been followed on a regular basis by You and Yours on Radio 4. If you visit their website and look under ‘Beware’ you can find the most recent update in April 2008, with the original programme still available back in July 2007.
Do contact them if you have more to say - they remain interested in the story. Also, do contact the Office of Fair Trading and let them know what happened to you and why you feel this company’s activities are not desirable. Platte (and their predecessor, MBS) made undertaking to the OFT about their trading methods which, if broke, will result in criminal prosecution.
on 10 May 2008 at 8:02 pm 13.Ravings from the Shell said …
<strong>Executive Action…</strong>
A couple of weeks ago BritInCalifornia was passing through, and apart from the excellent activities he mentioned on his blog post, we also, for old times sake, got geeky and assisted a friend who had fallen foul of one of the more pernicious and possib…
on 30 May 2008 at 8:15 am 14.linda cousins said …
i had platte media on my screen rang them and they knew my address where did they get it from
on 31 May 2008 at 8:47 pm 15.jonesy said …
These bunch of idiots have made me so angry with infesting my machine with this! i am the only one that uses this computer and i assure that i haven’t signed up to this rubbish! I checked the ip registration with my own ip which don’t match! which makes me believe that this had come with some virus that self installed on this computer. i tracked the ip that was registered to platte media and its somewhere near harrogate, skipton.
I have decided not to waste my money calling them, i know what these people are like, they will just send me back and fourth. i will gather all the infomation i have on them and send it off to OFT, hopefully this billing system will be thrown out the window and i am sure it will! now i will have to find a way to remove this s**te, then publish it! and i would love to see them take me court over it!! B******ds!!!
on 31 May 2008 at 8:51 pm 16.jonesy said …
oh, and thanks all for the useful links.
on 31 May 2008 at 10:29 pm 17.jonesy said …
finally removed platte media from my machine! took me a good hour! you need to delete it from the registry using regedit. using regedit find anything using the name platte, theres loads! go to edit, keep pressing ‘find next’ in regedit until there is know trace of it, also in system32 folder do a search for pm, delete pm_proc1, pmproc2 and also delete the pm_setup, hope this helps. this is the first time i have ever posted any advice, but they p****ed me off! so i will p**s them off! email me if you need a more detailed explaination. chrisjonesjunkmail@yahoo.co.uk good luck, hope you all get rid of this rubbish and don’t pay them a penny! they maliciously installed this without my knowledge.
on 25 Jun 2008 at 4:29 pm 18.David said …
platte media are crooks.
I read article saying free downloads I downloaded software as soon as I did I seen it wanted nearly 30 pound a month which Is disgraceful amount.
I uninstalled software and did not download anything.
I got no cancel page or was asked if wished to cancel. I got no onscreen messages before they demanded payment for a service I was not using.
After 3 days got requests for the money.
I deleted and did search and removed all platte items.
but kept getting them. I emailed company. only then I found a cancel page this took 4 days.
and told them I had not used service but they still wanted 30 pound for the month even though service cancelled which means if I paid I would be paying for time after which I had cancelled. from day one.
all they want is your money wether you use the service or not.
on 01 Jul 2008 at 8:31 am 19.Platte_Victim said …
Use the manual procedures published by Easy PC to remove Platte from your PC (see below), it works for XP, don’t know about Vista.
1 First of all open My Computer > C:\ > Windows > System32
2 Scroll down to PM_proc1…. (in alphabetical order).
3 Open ‘Task Manager’ by press Alt,Ctrl,Del in order at same time.
4 Click on the Processes tab at the top of the window
5 Find and ‘End process Tree’ the following two files PM_PROC1 & PM_PROC2 so they dissapear from task manager (some times you need to do this in safe mode)
6 Close task manager
7 Click Start, Run, and type regsvr32 -u pm_dll.dll
8 In the windows thats browsing c:\windows\system32 delete the files known as PM_PROC1 & PM_PROC2 along with any other file called PM_######
9 click Start, Run, and type in Regedit
10 Press F3 and type PM_PROC and click the find next button. When it finds a result delete it
11 repeat step 10 again until you find 0/zero results.
12 Close all screens, and delete the icon off the desktop.
13 Reboot.
On no account give any information to Platte regarding yourself, they try to drag you into calling their so-called ‘help’ desk’.
This company are an absolute disgrace.