Unauthorized Charges

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Complaint

0
Sean Elliott
Country: United States
I recently began getting charged for various periodical subscriptions that I never applied for.  The charges are exorbitant and in the hundreds of dollars and as a college student - I don't possess that kind of cash on hand.  The bank claims that the company has me on the phone authorizing the charges. I was wondering if I should just go ahead and close my account or will that pose a legal issue?

Comments

  • 0
    tj
    If you didn't authorize this, then the charges are fraudulent, at a minimum erroneous, whether this is a case of fraud by a telemarketer, or by someone using your account information.  They can claim they recorded or whatever, it doesn't make it so.  In fact, it is common for telemarketers putting through unauthorized charges to claim the authorization was recorded, sometimes even producing what they claim was the recording.  FTC has nailed several doing just that, as part of attempting to extort payments.  

    Immediately notify your bank the charges are fraudulent, and close your account to prevent future fraudulent charges.  Any company that would put through one fraudulent charge cannot be trusted not to put through others as long as they have valid account information.

    Follow up with a written dispute to your bank, sent certified return receipt requested to the dispute address on your bank statement.  You must send this dispute IN WRITING, and make sure that your bank receives it within 60 days of the statement date showing the disputed charges to preserve your FRB Reg. E dispute rights, which covers disputes of electronic payments.

    Your bank can reverse any disputed charges due to fraud, but if you don't promptly send a written dispute in accordance with Reg. E, they have no legal obligation to do so.

    Your bank works for YOU, making payments at YOUR direction, and has a fiduciary responsibility to protect YOUR interests.  Just because some bozo claims you said they could take your money, even claiming they have some "recording", does not counter your refutation of that claim.  Nor is it your bank's job to "arbitrate" whether some scammer's claim or "recording" is good enough to convince them.  EVERY scammer claims they were "authorized", and even every merchant making a mistake claims the same.  To do otherwise would be to admit they submitted an unauthorized charge in the firt place.

    If you find that your bank does not handle this matter properly, protecting your interests and not scammers, it is time to find another bank.

    Did they actually start sending magazines, or are they just claiming you signed up for multiple subscriptions and are pulling money from your account without any magazines showing up?  What titles of periodicals, and what company names and phone numbers are associated this incident?  

    Often it is possible to search on phone numbers related to fraudulent activity or scams, since other people who make similar reports on-line will report such phone numbers.
  • 0
    tj
    Any chance you are dealing with this cluster of related "magazine sales" scammers?

    https://complaintwire.org/Complaint.aspx/EOCyDbSpRAC7TgjJ3Y3HJg

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