BEWARE OF PHONE SCAM - WC Budget Savers MN
Complaint
wra
Country: United States
I noticed a $24.95 charge, for WC Budget Savers MN, on our online bank statement today. I did an Internet search for the name listed (WC Budget Savers MN) and came up with this page. I called the number listed here, (800) 475-1942, (since there wasn't one included with the charge on the bank statement), to find out what this charge is for. I was told that someone (presumably my husband - who has no recollection of the call), approved this service over the phone from an incoming solicitor - they offered a $1.00 trial period (which was supposed to include a coupon for $40 in gas), then when not cancelled it jumped to $24.95 per month. This started in June for $1.00. Our bank account was then charged $24.95 for the months of July, Aug, Sept & Oct - before we caught up with it!!!
The person I spoke with was not able (or willing) to provide me with any account information. I was told that they send out only ONE welcome letter and that is it. Apparently, that letter includes website that you can go to for discounts of some sort. No other info is available. Not even an account number or a way to find out what you are supposed to be getting for your monthly $24.95 fee.
I told them I wanted the account closed immediately and the money refunded or I would report them. I was told that the ONLY that could be accomplished would be by completing and mailing back a form that they first have to mail to me - it will take 7-10 days for this to arrive and no telling how long to stop charges and get the refund after that. She could not tell me how long that process will take and insisted that there was NO OTHER WAY to stop future charges and/or recapture that which has already been bilked. What a scam!!!
The person I spoke with was not able (or willing) to provide me with any account information. I was told that they send out only ONE welcome letter and that is it. Apparently, that letter includes website that you can go to for discounts of some sort. No other info is available. Not even an account number or a way to find out what you are supposed to be getting for your monthly $24.95 fee.
I told them I wanted the account closed immediately and the money refunded or I would report them. I was told that the ONLY that could be accomplished would be by completing and mailing back a form that they first have to mail to me - it will take 7-10 days for this to arrive and no telling how long to stop charges and get the refund after that. She could not tell me how long that process will take and insisted that there was NO OTHER WAY to stop future charges and/or recapture that which has already been bilked. What a scam!!!
Comments
Rosemary Ramirez
she has a prepaid visa from check cashing store that sends text
messages when money is removed..thankfully theres no more money on
that card..haha theives
Dispute fraudulent charges through your bank, close the account due to fraud or they will keep taking your money, and file fraud complaints with FTC, your state Attorney General, the Minnesota Attorney General, and at www.ic3.gov
They cross the line regularly, but with enough confusion and deception to muddy the evidence with "plausible deniability".
1) Their pop-ups are constructed in a deceptive manner, failing to conspicuously disclose what you are signing up for, possibly pre-checking the yes box.
2) They show up when consumers are buying from some other company and has already provided account information to that other company, so it appears to be some discount with that company.
3) They obfuscate responsibility for fraud by using only a transient pop-up disclosure under control of a third party with no way to determine definitively what the consumer saw, and they refuse to identify the third party merchant through whom they got your account number.
4) Consumer surveys of "customers" of one of these crammers by a state Attorney General found that most "members" didn't even know they were being charged, a small number thought they had cancelled, and almost none had obtained any benefit. The "product" is generally worthless, having been constructed to ensure that it is difficult to impossible to actually obtain a net benefit exceeding the monthly costs. Most "customer service" calls deal with cancellation.
5) VISA recently required that all their merchants that have any pop-ups for such offers MUST require the ocnsumer to re-enter the card number, to make the consumer aware that they are about to be charged again. There are consumer reports indicating that not all merchants have done this.
6) The Senate Commerce Committee held hearings last year on such deceptive internet marketing.
7) The FTC requested public comment on problems with such "negative-option" marketing, and is considering tightening regulations in this area.
If they already have the information they need to start chargihg you, then they can just "make up" that you "agreed". They have every incentive to do so, and there are no consequences to their fraud, since they are calling anonymously and the telemarketing companies benefit from the fraud.
Even FTC's TSR requirement that they record the call does NOTHING to prevent this fraud, since they will just bullsh*t the consumer about having such a recording, delay until most consumers give up, and when forced, just say they "couldn't find the recording, must have been an error" with no consequences for criminal acts.
Telemarketers lie. They are thieves and criminals. Do not talk to them.