Unauthorized Charges to Credit Card
Complaint
Justine McNair
Country: United States
I submitted a payment in the amount of $18 for my husband's past due balance for an old Oprah Magazine subscription last week. Sunrise Credit Services posted that payment to my account not once, but twice, leaving me with a negative account, and non-sufficient funds fees from my bank in the amount of $28. I was advised on the date that I called, which from my recollection was on the 7th of July, that I would be contacted within 48 hours with a resolution, and the funds would be directly deposited back into my checking account. Weeks have gone by, and still I have heard nothing from management in regard to this gross error on behalf of this company.
It would be in the best practices of customer service and satisfaction to refund not only the extra charge of $18 back to my account, but the NSF fee associated with it as well. It is absurd to think that anything different is upholding their company's reputation for superior service.
It would be in the best practices of customer service and satisfaction to refund not only the extra charge of $18 back to my account, but the NSF fee associated with it as well. It is absurd to think that anything different is upholding their company's reputation for superior service.
Comments
They are known for concocting suspicious "subscription renewals", claiming people "agreed" to renew, to retain subscribers for the publisher. They straddle the line between claiming they are "selling" the renewal, and hinting that it is "delinquent" and the account is in "collection".
Are you even sure you really owed them anything? You may have been "conned" into paying to "renew" what you had no obligation to pay.
Was this a payment by check, or a phone authorization of an electronic payment?
Dispute unauthorized charges through your bank promptly, under FRB Reg. E for debit card EFT disputes, or Reg CC for fraudulently submitted checks.
Your bank can reverse unauthorized charges made within 60 days of the statement date of the statement showing the disputed charges.
In the future do NOT authorize payments directly from your checking account. Use only credit cards for payments to any party you do not know you can trust, as the fraud protections are stronger and you avoid NSF problems if they run through unexpected charges without authorization.