Debit Charges
Complaint
Donna Andre
Country: United States
Do not know who this company is or who is associated with them. They took a debit of $19.95 out several months ago, did not get money returned, had a new debit card issued. Now, charges have been debited again from my account for $19.95. I don't even know who this company is and have not joined any clubs. Recently paid off and closed all accounts and club memberships that may have been associated with them. There is no phone number attached for me or the bank to call. They just pop up and take money. Guess I need a lawyer to get to the bottom of it.
Comments
https://complaintwire.org/Complaint.aspx/5qZYb6aQYgA9MgjLW_IOLg
They get your billing information from other companies you may have done business with, claiming you joined their "membership club" and "authorized" their charges. Often that "authorization" was buried in fine print or even a link to another page, or in some fast-talking telemarketer's script, and you were never intended to know what they would later claim you agreed to.
Dispute all fraudulent charges through your bank, and follow up with your dispute IN WRITING to preserve your federal dispute rights under FRB Reg. E or FCBA.
They probably obtained your debit card as above, setting up their charges to automatically debit your account. That type of charge may continue to be processed for a couple months even after you changed your debit card number, because they are claiming you authorized repeated automatic debits. It is a security weakness in the ACH and EFT billing systems that they are exploiting.
Cancel your debit card and close the account it is linked to, due to fraudulent charges, to prevent future fraudulent charges. Do NOT obtain, activate, or use debit or check guarantee cards for any purpose, as they are a security risk that allows direct draining of your checking account by scammers. Use checks only to pay companies you already know and trust. Never provide your checking account number for purposes of payment, such as "phone checks" for the same reasons.
The EFT systems are being routinely exploited by numerous scammers who prefer the weakened security and legal protections available to consumers of that form of payment. Since the fraudulent charges they submit are small, they have little to fear from the authorities or or private citizens.
Use ATM cards ONLY for getting cash from ATM machines under control of your bank. Use credit cards for all other retail or on-line payments, as they are simpler to cancel in case of fraud.