Signed up for Unwanted Account protection plan.
Complaint
Phil
Country: United States
For anybody signing up for a Best buy credit card, BE AWARE you are also signing up for HABC's "Account protection plan". They charge you a certain amount per month and if you don’t notice it before 60 days you can’t get your money back. If this was something I wanted or was aware about, why would they only give me 60 days to cancel it?????
I bought an entertainment system before moving into my new home and signed up for the Best buy credit card because I was told I would have 3 years to pay off $3,200.00. After a busy summer of moving in, I came to notice on my 3rd statement just yesterday I was being charged for something called "Debt Cancellation". I called Best buys Customer service number, after arguing with 3 or 4 people that did not speak good English and were no help at ALL they referred me to "HSBC INSURANCE SERVICES" they told me that this was the company that was charging me for the UNWANTED service, Best buy then told me that this company could only be reached through the mail and they had no phone number I could call to talk to somebody...LIES!!
I found the number for this company online in a matter of about 30 seconds, I called this morning and these people were even less help, they claim I have to send them a letter in writing to cancel this SCAM of a service that I never wanted in the first place, Oh and also that I will not receive any refund for the $80 they charged me for some Bogus service to which I have no clue what its even for!!
I called the store and spoke to the Manager to inform him of my displeasure that I was not informed that by signing up for his company’s card I would be signing up for this account protection plan as well. Of course there is nothing he can do for me!! Once again a company in America gets away with Theft!!
SCAM....SCAM....SCAM!! DONT SHOP AT BEST BUY!!
I bought an entertainment system before moving into my new home and signed up for the Best buy credit card because I was told I would have 3 years to pay off $3,200.00. After a busy summer of moving in, I came to notice on my 3rd statement just yesterday I was being charged for something called "Debt Cancellation". I called Best buys Customer service number, after arguing with 3 or 4 people that did not speak good English and were no help at ALL they referred me to "HSBC INSURANCE SERVICES" they told me that this was the company that was charging me for the UNWANTED service, Best buy then told me that this company could only be reached through the mail and they had no phone number I could call to talk to somebody...LIES!!
I found the number for this company online in a matter of about 30 seconds, I called this morning and these people were even less help, they claim I have to send them a letter in writing to cancel this SCAM of a service that I never wanted in the first place, Oh and also that I will not receive any refund for the $80 they charged me for some Bogus service to which I have no clue what its even for!!
I called the store and spoke to the Manager to inform him of my displeasure that I was not informed that by signing up for his company’s card I would be signing up for this account protection plan as well. Of course there is nothing he can do for me!! Once again a company in America gets away with Theft!!
SCAM....SCAM....SCAM!! DONT SHOP AT BEST BUY!!
Comments
Nothing in the contract I signed stated anything about this service, after threatening Legal action against this company I was credited my money back and this "service" was cancelled on my account and remaining balance
Best Buy Credit card subscribers BEWARE, they are adding this service onto your account without telling people, and without your signature or aknowledgement of this "service" and if you dont catch it wihin 60 days it's too late and they will steal your money.
My name is Sean McGrew, and I’m a Legal Assistant to attorney Dan Bryden, with the law offices of Sprenger + Lang. We are conducting an investigation of Best Buy and HSBC’s “Account Shield” debt cancellation program, and trying to gather as much information as possible. After reading your blog regarding your issues with Best Buy and HSBC, although your situation was resolved without legal action, I would like to speak with you regarding this matter. Please contact me at smcgrew@sprengerlang.com. Thank you.
The federal agency that has been nailing banks engaged in these fraudulent "credit insurance" rackets has been the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. They and FDIC got a settlement out of Discover for over $200 Million in penalties and consumer redress.
Immediately file a fraud dispute with HSBC in writing, mailed certfied return receipt requested, demanding return of the entire amount. In addition, demand that your card be blocked immediately to prevent all further charges.
Since HSBC is a partner in this little racket, they will probably ignore your complaint, or claim they can only reverse charges back 60 days (Sounds like that is what they did.). File the written dispute anyway to establish the date of your fraud dispute, since SOL for fraud disputes is actually 1 year, and might be enforced back further by federal agencies due to the collusion between Best Buy, HSBC, and the "insurer" (which might be HSBC itself).
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File consumer fraud complaints against HSBC and Best Buy with FTC, your state Attorney General, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
www.ftc.gov
www.occ.gov
www.consumerfinance.gov
www.consumerfinance.gov
As the new kid on the block in Washington, with authority to regulate consumer lenders resulting from Congress's attempt to deal with the financial mess through enacting the Dodd-Frank Act, they have been establishing their authority through key lawsuits against large banks caught in consumer fraud. Their mandate isn't tainted by mixed responsibilities, like FDIC, FRB, etc.
I am a reasonable person and this is my only credit card I have ever had an issue with, I believe Best Buy should be held accountable for these charges because I was misled in their store by their employee. Unfortunately I have made multiple calls and spent hours on hold only to get the run around and told I need to speak to someone at a different call center, HSBC, Capital One,, Citi, Debt Protection, Account Shield...ect.... It is very frustrating dealing with a company this big.
As long as you are just calling on the phone, they can keep passing you around from call center to call center, while they keep taking your money.
With any such scam partnered with your own bank, recognize the full scope of what you will need to stop this.
1) Make sure you get a reliable banking partner. Banks that steal your money don't qualify. Some of the large national banks can be trusted (Google <bank name> fraud or scam or check complaint sites to see what they do), or choose a local or regional bank or credit union.
2) Dispute all fraudulent charges IN WRITING, mailed certified return receipt requested to the bank's dispute address from your statement. Be sure to dispute promptly, as the federal dispute rules, FRB Reg. E or FCBA, generally require disputes within 60 days of the statement date of the statement showing the charge.
3) Scammers practically alwasy claim "you agreed", whether they used deception or just made it up. They hope most victims just go away. Bank partners often claim the same thing. The scam partnership contracts often require that bank employees send disputes back to the very scammers who faked the "sale", rather than processing the dispute in accordance with federal regulations. It you put up with it, you lose.
4) That is why you dispute with your bank IN WRITING so they can't deny receiving your dispute. That matters when you have to file OCC complaints against the bank, as they like to reject the disputes as "untimely", or even just claim they never got any dispute. Written notice, mailed certified, trumps that bogus claim. It also sets the bank up to have to choose how far they want to push it, or what their next federal bank audit will want to look into.
5) Although bank disputes may be limited to going back 60 days, federal SOL is 1 year, not 60 days. Don't accept the bank or scammer's offer of just 2 months of refunds, which they will attempt to pass off as "all they can do". If they don't give all your money back, or at least the last year, go balistic with complaints to FTC, your state AG, OCC, FDIC, CFPB, etc. They don't want to buy you off with returning your money, make em pay.
Last thing they want is a bunch of other suckered customers to wake up and realize they too have been fleeced for months to years.