unauthorized debits from checking account
Complaint
Annie Teter
Country: United States
On Feb 25, 2008, these people debited my checking account for $149.99, causing 4 checks to bounce along with the accompanying overdraft fees. I called the 1-800-2802028 which was listed next to the charge on my bank statement and left messages all day yesterday after i discovered the charge. I then googled medcare rx and discovered they have done this to literally hundreds of people! My bank is investigating and i'm going there today to open a different account. I'm not sure how these people got my routing number and account #, except i did get a payday loan from some company called Zip19 recently, which is how i think they got the number. i'm just trying to get the word out to as many people as i can because these people need to be stopped!
Comments
Many other complaints of unauthorized charges, starting in Feb. 2008.
Some report charges appeared a few days after applying to some "on-line payday loan" site. Others claim they had never applied for a payday loan. One report connects fraudulent charge with phishing e-mail.
A number of reports are that when contacted, company promised to refund the charge "within 5 to 7 days", but no refund was made. Despite promises, no reports anyone got refunds except through disputing through their bank.
Address provided appears to be mail drop in Champlain NY, near Canadian border.
Allegations by company that consumer verbally signed up for some "health insurance card", or that consumer agreed to some "free trial" health insurance a year ago and therefore agreed to charges now, after a year had passed [sic]. Consumers claim they never heard of them. A number of complaints from consumers who already have employer-provided insurance. No complaints show under phone number earlier than Feb. 2008.
No reports of anyone actually being called by this number, no claims of telemarketing calls, or actually claiming to have signed up for any "insurance".
One consumer reported company played some recording they claim was consumer's verbal authorization, of which consumer has no memory making. (Fabricated "authorization recordings" were associated with a Canadian connected business billing scam a couple years back.)
Charges allegedly siphoned thru Village Bank, Minnesota, phone number: 763-398-3550. Bank response would appear to indicate they have had other fraud complaints against their "customer", as they knew the company and phone number from just the amount of the charge. Bank is "avoiding knowledge of" their customer's fraudulent activities.
https://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/8002802028
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-800-280-2028
Indicates they are getting billing information from some other source, rather than recent telemarketing:
"mike - 28 Feb 2008
on feb 19 this company took 149.99 dollar out of my account..i called them an d speak to them and told them that i never order anything from them , so they canceled everything , and told me that there were going to refund my money within 3 to 5 days. until this day i haven't receive anything .. i called them back and no body has answer my calls .. i have left several messages but no luck yet.. and it is truth when i talk to them they gave me a my previous address,i haven't lived there in two years..
..."
Their bank: Village Bank, Minnesota:
"...
Linda - 26 Feb 2008
Update on information that I have on this scam company. The bank they use is a bank out of Minnesota called Village Bank. Their phone number is 763-398-3550. I googled the phone number my bank gave me to get this information. I called this Village Bank and told them that my checking account had been debited for $149.99 without my knowledge or authorization and I was told by my bank that their bank initiated the debit. This bank after only hearing the $149.99 amount popped out the phone number 800 number of this Medcare RX. I told her they were a fraud scam and she said, we don't know that!. I said I worked for a lady whose husband was with the FBI and we would be investigating. I'm also going to call Consumer Reports and see if they will do a story on it. Oh yeah, there is a web site www.greghatcher.com/financial that has every routing number of every bank posted on the web. Why would routing numbers be posted. Everyone that reads this should call Village Bank at 763-398-3550. Maybe if they are swamped with calls, they'll do something. I'll get my $149.99 back, plus the "domino effect" bounced check charges once this matter is cleared up.
Lori - 26 Feb 2008
I called the Village Bank and they won't, can't do anything about it. They told me the name of the Co. is Wessex and gave me the 800-280-2028 # to call. A lot of help that was! The women could have cared less, I felt like telling her I hope they do it to you and see how you like it!
..."
Possible phishing:
"...
Ray - 26 Feb 2008
If you recieve a email wanting you to update your bank information, DONT DO IT! I think this might be a way medare rx got all my information. I was sent a email from what I thought was my bank. It had the banks logo on the top and letter style and font just like a normal web page from my bank. Yes I did fill it out, and when I went to my bank they told me they would never send a email asking me to update banking info.
My bank and police dept. are still investigating. I will post when I find out more.
..."
Provided mail drop as address:
"...
Vee - 22 Feb 2008
I finally was able to make contact!!!!
I pressed the number 3 Option for Customer Service and a woman named Sarah Mead answered the phone. Said that she doesn't have an extension. I inquired as to how they got my checking account info. She claims that on February 7, 2007 someone gave them my info and that for one year free health insurance was available. I never rec'd a darn thing! I told her that it was illegal and to discontinue trying to deduct funds from my account and to remove my info from their files. She agreed. They are located at 1176 Main Street in Champlain, NY. Good Luck!
Ray - 22 Feb 2008
I was able to get through after 6 phone calls in 3 days. I also talked with Sarah Mead who promises a total refund in 3-5 days. Thier address according to Sarah Mead is: MedcareRx 1176 Main st. Champlain New York 12919. She would not give me her source for getting my bank info, other than I called in for a membership, which is a total lie! I think they buy this info from other creditors such as collection agencies. Law of averages say they'll make money. I will follow up with this at the police department. Identy theft is a felony!!!!
Vee - 22 Feb 2008
I agree because I have never applied for health insurance. I have always worked for a company that provided excellent benefits. Instead of going to the police, have your bank contact the Federal Trade Commission. My bank is checking into too. We have to be so careful about ordering things on line, banking on line, etc. Nothing is safe today. If you go into Zaba Search.com, you can find anyone in the United States address and telephone number. My mother's number is unlisted and pays for that service and it is listed under ZabaSearch.com Take care!
Joey - 22 Feb 2008
Here is the website for this so called company. After Sarah giving me the wrong web address I figured it out. it is http://medcarediscountrx.com
Don't put www in there it won't come up. BTW The contact info on there is bogus.
Ray - 22 Feb 2008
I thought this was thier website: http://www.mdcarerx.com/shop/
Joey the one you listed shows Louisiana with different 1-800 #'s ((shrugs))
I will get my money back so help me god if I have to go to New York myself and track down Sarah Mead personaly, which is probably a bogus name. Good luck everyone!
..."
Note that when company was contacted, "Sarah Mead" provided this address: "1176 Main st. Champlain New York 12919". This appears to be a mail drop used by Canadian companies to establish a "U.S. address". Common in cross-boarder scams.
http://www.bordermail.us/bm_directions.html
"medcarediscountrx.com" contact info shows this:
902 Clintmoore Road Suite 214, Boca Raton, FL 33496 (800)407-0109 Fax 877-866-2664
Google finds this at matching address and phone numbers:
http://www.discountdiabeticsupplies.com/admin.html
Google finds this at the same address, so it also may be a mail drop:
Green Advertising
902 Clint Moore Road Suite 214
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2828
Phone: (561) 989-9550
Business Types: Advertising Agencies, Advertising, Marketing & Direct Mail
Google finds cached page for "www.mdcarerx.com/shop".
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/01/interbill.shtm
Cross-border "business directory" scam, targetting small businesses, using call centers in Toronto and Montreal. They used a Nashua NH mail drop to create the appearance of a U.S. mailing address. Note use of recorded "business address verification" call to fraudulently "prove" victim had agreed to place an order, in order to coerce payment.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/05/datacom.shtm
"The defendants ask the business to confirm its name, address, and telephone number for the directory listing.
After getting the listing information, another telemarketer would call back from the “shipping department” to verify the provided information for shipping. The defendants would record this telephone call and later use the recording as “proof” that the directory’s purchase was authorized. "
This person reports getting hit by the similar "RX Smart" scam last year, and now by this one recently.
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-800-280-2028/4
"Dean - 1 Mar 2008
RX Medcare. That company is really a scam I have been a victim twice now... first one was actually on 05/25/07 show like this on my bank>>>>(RX 888-230-1711 AUTOPAY M0103512382)<<<<$279.99 and talked to my bank told them about it and told me that it was some company that they do not know anything about... so, my bank gave my money back but after a few months later charged me $149.99 on 02/29/08 showed on my bank like this >>>(RX 800-280-2028 MEDCARE RX 800-280-2028 RX)<<<< I think they are changing the way how they do transaction everytime and wait for a few months to charge the account again. If you have been charge on your bank account just close that account and get a new one do not post or use you account number thru online or even give it over the phone. Some how if they get you account number they can easily get the routing number for any bank some of the bank like BofA, WAMU, etc, have same routing number on all accounts."
"RX Smart" has many reports on complaintsboard.com, as well as on this site, with pretty much the same line as "medcarerx" when called, supposedly money would be returned in "7 to 10 days". Consumers report no indications about how they got account numbers, with no one claiming they had actually ordered any product, and in one case consumer reports had not used that account in 8 years. May have been making random ACH charges.
http://www.bordermail.us/bm_directions.html
"We are located at 1176 Main St Champlain NY
(First exit after the border).
From Montreal, take 15 South to the Lacolle Border).
Take the first exit after border. Make a left on Service rd, and a right at the first stop. We are located at 1176 Main St (also called RT 9)."
...
"Mail boxes for Individuals:
Receive and send mail from your US based address.
No volume restrictions on your mail box
Not a P.O. box, but an actual address. Receive Bank statements, Government documents, etc. v
Accepting deliveries from the US Postal Service, FedEx, UPS and DHL.
Ideal for Ebay users and Amazon.com customers
Mail forwarding to your home or business anywhere in the world.
Mail boxes for Business:
Shipping, receiving, and merchandise fulfillment.
Personalized services for your virtual US office.
Daily mail drop-offs to Montreal Quebec.
Warehousing
..."
----------------------------------------------
From BBB report on "RX Smart". Note that this organization uses a mail drop at "1320 State Route 9, Champlain, NY 12919". "State Route 9, Champlain NY" is the same street as "Main St. Champlain NY". "RX Smart" and "medcarerx" appear to be structured similarly, engaged in similar unauthorized account charging, and both use a mail drop in Champlain NY next to the U.S. border, close to Montreal. Supposedly "RX Smart" was dropped by Zions Bank and Modern Payments back in July 2007: http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/rx-smart-c17790.html
"1320 State Route 9, Champlain, NY 12919" appears to be "Freeport Forwarding". They appear to be both a mail drop, and an order fullfillment house.
http://freeportforwarding.com/
BBB reports on "RX Smart":
http://detroit.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=80&bbb=0332&firm=53002896
http://search.buffalo.bbb.org/codbrep.html?ID=200342281
"Reported on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 2:42 PM
...
Customer Experience
Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the BBB due to unanswered complaint(s).
Business Contact and Profile
Name: Med Express
Phone: (866) 599-6552
Address: 1320 State Route 9, Champlain, NY 12919
Business Category: Pharmaceutical Suppliers - Foreign
BBB file opened: November 27, 2006
Additional Locations and Phone Numbers
4856 32nd Blvd, Detroit, MI 48201, Wayne County
5534 Trans Island, Montreal, QC H3W 3A9, Canada
(888) 230-1711
Customer Complaint History
The company's size, volume of business and number of transactions may have a bearing on the number of complaints received by the BBB. The complaints filed against a company may not be as important as the type of complaints, and how the company has handled them. The BBB generally does not pass judgment on the validity of complaints filed.
Number of complaints processed by the BBB
since the firm's BBB file was opened in November 2006: 46
in the last 12 months: 43
Complaints Concerned:
Selling Practices (8 complaints)
5 Unresolved
3 Company did not respond
Service Issues (12 complaints)
10 Unresolved
2 Company did not respond
Credit or Billing Disputes (16 complaints)
4 Unresolved
12 Company did not respond
Delivery Issues (2 complaints)
2 Unresolved
Refund Practices (7 complaints)
1 Unresolved
6 Company did not respond
Contract Disputes (1 complaints)
1 Company did not respond
Alternate Business NamesBack To Top Automated Debit RX
North American
RX Smart
Government ActionsBack To Top The BBB has no information regarding Government Actions at this time.
Advertising ReviewBack To Top The BBB has no information regarding Ad Reviews at this time.
Additional InformationBack To Top This company is actually located in Canada with the address within New York state being a mail drop. The majority of the complaints we receive on these Canadian firms involve consumers being misled into believing that they will be approved for a special product if they pay an up-front fee. The Bureau has never heard of a consumer having a positive relationship with one of these companies. Consumers that pay the associated fee never receive the promised materials and most do not receive a refund for the paid fee.
The Better Business Bureau advises consumers who have been victims of these companies to file a dispute with their financial institution immediately in order to possibly recoup their losses.
..."
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/i-found-out-some-things-c15913.html
SHAUNA
You didn't "forget" you signed up, nor do you have to wait for them to send some phoney paperwork to get their charges reversed. That is a ploy to string you along while they keep charging you. If they can delay you past the 60 day dispute period from your statement date showing the fraudulent charges (under Reg. E for checking accounts, or under FCBA for credit cards), they know your bank won't help you. For this amount of money, what are you going to do? Sue them? They are already playing cross border games to hide their address. They win.
Their charge is fraudulent, so immediately dispute it thru your bank as fraudulent, and close the account to prevent future fraudulent charges.
Follow up with a WRITTEN DISPUTE to your bank, and if necessary, send a fraud affidavit. Make your bank reverse the charge.
File complaints with FTC, your state AG, NY AG (they are using a mail drop in NY near the Canadian border), and BBB, so they start a complaint record visible to other consumers. However, don't depend on these complaints to get your money back, push your bank to do that. Electronic payment fraud is growing, and the only check on it is proper handling and reversing of charges by consumers' banks.
https://www.recol.ca/intro.aspx?lang=en
https://www.recol.ca/trendsandstats.aspx
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-800-280-2028
These two items may be useful.
One claims that some company "Sheffield,Olson&McQueen,Inc, 651-695-2500" is claiming to be their payment processor, and also claiming to be a "victim" themselves. I don't know whether I believe them.
The other claims to be from "Med Care RX" itself, claiming to be a legitmate business. If so, then why are they getting huge numbers of fraud complaints all at once? Maybe they are just trying to limit their losses for reversed charges.
"Dave - 2 hours 46 minutes ago
My co-worker got hit with this scam this weekend. We tracked down the processing facility which is Sheffield,Olson&McQueen,Inc.. Their # is 651-695-2500 and they said they would work on getting his money credited back to his account today. They said he had authorized the transaction from an address he has not lived at for over 6 years. Sheffield,Olson&Mcqueen are being taken for a ride by MedcareRX as well. RAISE HELL and we can get this scam shut down."
"David - 1 hour 59 minutes ago
Med Care Rx has been in business for over 10 years helping people with discount prescription and non prescription medications. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the customer service phone number 1-800-280-2028 and an agent will be happy to help you!
David Anderson
Customer serice"
http://somi.com/index.html
"Sheffield, Olson & McQueen, Inc.
2145 Ford Parkway, Suite 300 St. Paul, MN 55116
Main Phone: (651) 695-2500"
If you want to find the truth, why don't you call contact "SOMI", and ask them what their relationship is with "MedCareRX"? You might then call the Minnasota Attorney General.
"Village Bank MN" (thru which one consumer reports the charge was made) is also in MN.
After being on hold forever, we spoke to two men, Rob and Angelo. Both were exceedingly rude. They both also threatened to file harrassment charges against both my husband and myself since if you look up ADI-MED nothing exists. Turn around being fair play, we've had a lovely discussions with FTC and AG Como's office. Our bank and lawyers are both pursuing legal action against this type of fraud and identity theft.
"File harassment charges"? What a joke! They are the thieves, but it is not uncommon for crooks to throw out threats. They want to throw off or confuse as many of their victims as they can, since if they can delay any action at disputing their fraudulent charges for 60 days, your bank may no longer assist in recovery of the stolen funds.
It is common for scammers to run several related scams under different names. It tends to spread out the complaints resulting in fewer complaints against each name, attracting less attention.
Just report it to your bank as a fraudulent charge. They should be able to simply reverse it, as long as you report it promptly, yanking it right back out of their account. If they took the money already, under FRB Reg. E it is THEIR bank that gets stuck, for opening an account for crooks, not yours.
To invoke your dispute rights under FRB Reg. E, dispute immediately and follow up in writing, making sure your bank receives your written dispute within 60 days of the statement date of the statement showing the disputed fraudulent charges.
File a fraud affidavit with your bank, and a theft complaint with your local police to put the crime on record. Also, be sure to close the account or credit card they charged to prevent additional fraudulent charges in the future. Don't waste your time treating this as a civil matter; it is simpler to reverse as criminal fraud, as long as you report it promptly. If they are stealing money, they aren't going to be around to pay off if you sue them.
It is already apparent that this particular group of scammers has access to consumer account information, since the "medcare rx" charges are reported in many complaints to have occurred without any prior contact, just like this charge, allegedly by "ADI-MED". They may be illegally buying account information from either some other shady merchant, or possibly from a bank or payment processor employee.
They also have access to EFT payment systems, which means that some company with such access is acting as their agent to process their fraudulent charges. This is different from a lot of cross-border scammers such as typical "advance fee" loan scams, which usually try to get payment via Western Union. See the reports of the similar payment trail for "medcare rx" above.
There are laws and banking rules regarding one company laundering other companies' charges through their own merchant account as their own, as this practice can hide fraud activity.
As you noted "ADI-MED" does not appear to show up in any search, which is another indication that this is no legitimate company, not even a debt collector. By all means contact AG Cuomo, as this group, if connected to "medcare rx", appears to have at least some connections to NY.
Your bank can determine who their bank or payment processor is, that company has a location in some state, and would be required to have contact information including both phone number and physical address for this "ADI-MED", which would be required to have some business license in some state. If not, then their payment processor may be in violation of U.S. "know your customer" rules, designed to block fraud and terrorist money transfers, something Dept. of Homeland Security may be interested in.
Fraudulent businesses require the services of payment processors willing to look the other way, so when you find fraudulent businesses transferring money, you also look at who they are using to do it, since they are likely to be assisting other scammers.
Their supposed names are probably aliases, but phone numbers often tie together related scams better than names, since they sometimes use the same phone number for several scams.
Presumably you got their phone number from your bank in connection with disputing their fraudulent charges. What phone number did you contact them at?
On top of disputing the fraudulent charge through your bank to get them to reverse it, file complaints with FTC, and the office of New York Attorney General Cuomo. Periodically, FTC and Canadian authorities sweep up cross-border telemarketing scammers, many of which are based in Montreal.
http://usmedicaltrust.com/about.html
"866-842-6851
...
United States mailing address:
1176 Main St. Suite A #722
Champlain, New York
12919
...
Second address:
1050 East Flemingo Suite W257
Las Vegas NV
89119
..."
Here is their BBB report.
http://www.bbb.org/upstate-new-york/business- ... in-ny-57103441/
Is there a connection between "US Medical Trust" and "Medical Discount Services"?
Do either have a cross-border connection?