Payment Protection sign up fraud
Complaint
Belinda
Country: United States
Two months ago (January 2010) I noticed a $30 charge on my Discover credit card for "PAYMENT PROTECTION PPD". I called into Discover to investigate the charge, and they told me it was a recurring monthly fee that I was being charged because I was part of their Payment Protection Plan.
I never signed up for this service.
I told the representative on the phone that I never signed up for any such service, and demanded a refund. She told me that because I had been signed up for the service for so long, she would not issue me any refunds, but she would cancel my enrollment.
I continued to demand a refund, and she told me Discover would have to conduct an "investigation" that could take 4-6 weeks. If Discover could prove that I did not sign up for this service then she would issue me a refund.
I never heard anything back and called in 6 weeks later to inquire about the status of my investigation. I was told that no one ever started any investigation, and if I wanted to request one, I would have to wait ANOTHER 4-6 weeks for them to determine if I signed up for the program. I asked to speak to a manager, was denied and told the only thing I could do was continue to wait.
Two weeks later I received an email from Discover saying they had refunded the fees they had been illegally charging me SINCE MAY 2009.
There was no apology in the email, no statement showing there was ever any "investigation", and no mention of refunding any interest I was charged on these fees.
This company is illegally signing people up for extra services without consent and charging them monthly. "Buyer" beware!
I never signed up for this service.
I told the representative on the phone that I never signed up for any such service, and demanded a refund. She told me that because I had been signed up for the service for so long, she would not issue me any refunds, but she would cancel my enrollment.
I continued to demand a refund, and she told me Discover would have to conduct an "investigation" that could take 4-6 weeks. If Discover could prove that I did not sign up for this service then she would issue me a refund.
I never heard anything back and called in 6 weeks later to inquire about the status of my investigation. I was told that no one ever started any investigation, and if I wanted to request one, I would have to wait ANOTHER 4-6 weeks for them to determine if I signed up for the program. I asked to speak to a manager, was denied and told the only thing I could do was continue to wait.
Two weeks later I received an email from Discover saying they had refunded the fees they had been illegally charging me SINCE MAY 2009.
There was no apology in the email, no statement showing there was ever any "investigation", and no mention of refunding any interest I was charged on these fees.
This company is illegally signing people up for extra services without consent and charging them monthly. "Buyer" beware!
Comments
One day, I was like I should probably call and cancel this. Not sure why that particular day, but it hit me. I started doing some research and ran across a post in which the person said they got a full refund from the time it was put onto their account. I immediately went through all of my statements and figured out how much I would expect to get back, then I made the phone call. It was actually pretty simple. I called, told them I want to cancel this, again, because I never signed up for it. She said okay, not a problem. It would take about 1 billing cycle to refund you the money. I didn't even have to ask...or argue!
That same day they opened an investigation and put the initial refund of the 2014 fees and interest charges onto my account. About 3 weeks later, I saw the rest of the fees credits to my account, followed by an e-mail from discover saying the investigation was closed. The amount refunded was spot on (minus the interest fees) with what I calculated.
I have received a case number number from discover and am awaiting my refund.
Thank you all for your help.
www.consumerfinance.gov
They filed a lawsuit against Discover over this issue several years ago. Discover settled, and they are subject to a consent agreement as a result, that includes consumer redress.
I actually called Discover after finding this website and guess what, I did not sign up for this program either! I've been a member since 2009 and was just told that Discover will investigate, and I do see a dispute in my account-I'm hoping my outcome will be as good as the others here. I feel so bad for not being more diligent about looking at my monthly statement.
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/discover-consent-order/
Many of these scams avoid mail contact, preferring to collect through harassing and abusive phone calls, which often start with calls to relatives used to "embarrass" and coerce payment while evading validation.
if they are legitimate, but the debt is not, mail them a dispute letter, indicating that this is not your account, and demanding they send proof. Mail it certified. If they continue to harass you for payment without providing proof, you can sue them. If it looks like this "account" is real but fraudulent, file an id theft complaint with your local police and get a copy of the police report, which you can use to dispute fraudulent accounts, including if they're on your credit report.