unlawful deduction on credit card
Complaint
Cathy Blakeney
Country: United States
I was charged 87.42, December 25,2010, for something I did not want or applied for. I expect full refund as soon as possible to my credit card, as I did not authorize this, I just received my statement and found out about this. I was'nt even on the computer that day. Can this really be what has happened? I am refusing this charge.
Comments
If you dispute credit card charges within 60 days of the statement date of the statement showing the disputed charge, your bank can reverse fraudulent charges and yank the money back, under FCBA. Be sure to document your dispute WITH A WRITTEN DISPUTE, sent certifed return receipt requested, to establish that your dispute was made timely in accordance with FCBA.
Not only does FCBA allow for disputing unauthorized charges, both VISA and MasterCard have "no fraud loss" policies, but they do require timely notification, which you should do in writing so you can prove it.
You sound surprised that this type of fraudulent charge would go thorugh on Christmas, and when you weren't even on your computer. Actually the month from Thanksgiving through Christmass shows an uptick in fraudulent charges, since such scams try to take advantage of the normally higher rate of transactions to try to slip through their fraudulent charges.
"Work at home", "government grant", "health product", and similar cramming scams normally use "trial offers" to get account information, and then use deceptively hidden "automatic billing" terms to claim consumers "agreed" to monthly charges. They had no intention of just offering their "trial"; they make their money by cramming the inflated charges, and continue doing so until caught, despite "cancellations" or "refund promises".
They also often show evidence in complaints that they cram charges onto accounts from consumers who never even agreed to the "trial offer", which might indicate either that they make sloppy mistakes with account numbers but then run the same scam charges against that account, or that they may be illegally buying or acquiring account information from other merchants, to use in slipping through additional fraudulent charges mixed in with their normal stream of scam charges. This latter category would be expected to be attempted during Christmas shopping season.
File fraud complaints with FTC, your state Attorney General, and at www.ic3.gov
Do NOT trust any cancellation or refund promises, as such scams will say anything to delay you past the 60 day FRB Reg. E or FCBA dispute periods during which your bank can just yank back their stolen money. Dispute with your bank, and follow up with a written dispute or fraud affidavit sent to your bank's dispute address from your statement.
Do NOT use checking accounts, debit cards, or check cards for any payments to anyone you do not know and trust. Limit their use to payments to trusted creditors such as rent, mortgage, utilities, etc. Use only credit cards for retail or online payments, as the fraud protections are stronger and it is less disruptive to block credit card numbers when fraud occurs.