Unauthorized Charges to my Bank Card
Complaint
George Charpia
Country: United States
I Noticed in April 2010 a charge of $14.95 on my Bank Statement listed as "Check Number" with no associated number of a check. At first I thought it was a charge by my bank for reordered checks. I saw the charge again in May and intended to follow-up on that with the bank but, for some reason, I failed to do so. When I saw the charge again this month, I called the bank and had them investigate where the charges originated and held the phone as they did so. They came back to announce that the charge is from Savings2Go and that they had No Contact Information or Number to give me to pursue this.
** I had dealt with them a year or more ago on the same membership that I Did authorize for a Free Trial period. I called to cancel the membership and they did, as I recall, cancel it with no trouble. **
After further investigation, it clear that they began charging the $14.95 fee to my account on January 5, 2010. It has been billed on or about that date Each month since. It Appears to me their view on the matter is: "NEW YEAR - NEW OPPORTUNITY".
Whatever the case, there are UnAuthorized charges Totaling $89.70 to my bank account to date! Being currently Unemployed, this is truly a hardship that I did not ask for nor do I deserve. If Anyone can help to keep this from recurring in the future, or prevent this from happening to anyone else, You Have My Undying Gratitude.
G.H.Charpia 06/09/10.
** I had dealt with them a year or more ago on the same membership that I Did authorize for a Free Trial period. I called to cancel the membership and they did, as I recall, cancel it with no trouble. **
After further investigation, it clear that they began charging the $14.95 fee to my account on January 5, 2010. It has been billed on or about that date Each month since. It Appears to me their view on the matter is: "NEW YEAR - NEW OPPORTUNITY".
Whatever the case, there are UnAuthorized charges Totaling $89.70 to my bank account to date! Being currently Unemployed, this is truly a hardship that I did not ask for nor do I deserve. If Anyone can help to keep this from recurring in the future, or prevent this from happening to anyone else, You Have My Undying Gratitude.
G.H.Charpia 06/09/10.
Comments
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/leisure-plus-and-savings-2-go-c173759.html
BBB report, rated "A+", which means they pay BBB to be "accredited".
http://www.bbb.org/dallas/business-reviews/in ... ano-tx-31000023
From what you describe, not only did they engage in fraudulent and unauthorized charge cramming, after you had clearly cancelled and they had in fact ceased charging you last year, but their charges are posted with deceptive descriptions to both hide what the charge was supposedly for as well as who was charging it, and with no contact information that would normally be present with an EFT charge. It is normal for such charges to show name of company, state, and a contact phone number, all of which were missing from your statement.
Immediately file a written fraud dispute with your bank, and close the account due to fraud to prevent additional theft. Include a copy of your statement to show their deceptive EFT information.
In addition, contact the company directly and demand your money back. Follow up with a written demand, sent certified, and also file a BBB complaint (including a copy of their deceptive statement information). In your demand, indicate that they had processed your cancellation a year ago, and no longer had any authorization to make their recent charges.
If you have any lack of cooperation, file fraud complaints with FTC, your state Attorney General, and your local police. Include a copy of your statement showing the deceptive charge information.
Push your dispute back on your bank. They should be treating this as not just a business dispute, but the electronic equivalent of a forged check, since this company in effect tried to appear to be your bank to cram through their charges.
If they balk at refunding the whole amount, indicate the statement information was deceptive and hid the fraudulent nature of the charge, making it appear to be a bank service charge. If your bank fails to assist you, you would be wise to move your cecking account business to a different bank, then file a complaint against your bank with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, at www.occ.gov
Also be aware that such scams are often connected to fraudulent telemarketing operations, to convert access to account information into the appearance of "authorization", possibly through deceptive calls, and sometimes even through fabricated or doctored alleged phone recordings they may claim are of you "authorizing" their charges. The recordings may be complete fabrications, may have excerpts of some innocuous call edited into a different script, or they may just claim to have such a recording to string you along allowing more crammed charges.
Document your disputes IN WRITING, mailed certified.
11 Advertising Issues
160 Billing or Collection Issues
38 Contract Issues
57 Customer Service Issues
28 Refund or Exchange Issues
36 Sales Practices
Regardless of their rating, that profile is consistent with customers unhappy with their "product", trying to get their money back, possibly due to deceptive or hard sell sales practices or cramming, and having problems doing so that led them to file a BBB complaint.
Also note that the company has agreed to BBB arbitration. That is often a sign of a company that got in trouble, and had to at least create the appearance they were straightening up their act. It might also indicate they may be subject to a consent agreement.
They might cave to a BBB dispute accompanied by the other regulatory complaints.
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-233-2773
Negative-option free-to-pay conversion marketing using preacquired account information (obtained from a marketing partner like a bank) often results in complaints of unauthorized or fraudulent charges, as the telemarketers already have all they need to start monthly charges claiming consumers "authorized" the charges.
I AM DISABLED & FURIOUS THAT RIP OFFS LIKE YOU PEOPLE CAUSE US CONSUMERS WHO HAVE DONE NOTHING HAVE TO BE PUT THRU ALL THIS UNWANTED HARDSHIP!! WE HAVE ENOUGH ON US!!
I AM MAKING A COMPLAINT WITH THE BBB AS WELL & WILL PROSUCATE YOU TO THE FULLLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW!!! THIS IS STEALING & FRAUD~!! I INTEND FOR YOU TO PAY EVERY CENT YOU HAVE STOLE FROM ME **AGAIN** THIS MONTH AFTER I WENT THRU THIS ALREADY WITH YOU LAST MONTH!!!!
YOU JUST KEEP ON STEALING & RIPPING OFF PEOPLE!! MY BROTHER IS A LAWYER & THE OTHER 1 WORKS..LET'S SAY THEY HAVE 3 LETTERS & THEY DON'T LIKE PEOPLE WHO BREAK THE LAW....SEEMS YOUR GUILTY OF BOTH!!!
On 6/4/12, a rep called me from (231-668-4502 @ 5:09pm and was on the phone for 3 minutes). This person wanted to confirm my order for the diet supplements, told me that they had shipped and then proceeded to try to upsell more promotions, specifically savings 2 go. I adamantly told her no, told her that I was NOT authorizing any charges to my account, and she became sarcastic and rude to me. She pestered me as to why I wouldn’t want to try the product, so I told her that I do not authorize charges to my account for any reason because they are ridiculously difficult to cancel despite claims that “it is sooooo easy to cancel for ANY REASON”. She told me that this call was being recorded too.
On 6/5/12, I reviewed my bank account as I do every single day for safe-keeping, and noticed that sure enough, my account had been illegally charged. This charge of $8.00 was unauthorized and you can verify this by pulling your recorded conversations for the dates and times of my calls. I want my money back. I did NOT authorize this charge and am VERY angry for this incredible inconvenience of my time and energy.
I called the number that was listed on my bank statement (1-800-448-0166 @ 9:08am and was on the phone for 9 minutes). I first spoke with CeCee and was told that I would not appear in your system for 7 – 10 days. I asked to speak with a supervisor and was transferred to LaTanya, who gave me the same spiel that CeCee did. She offered to escalate my claim (whatever that means) and gave me your address which I will be writing a letter to immediately following the close of this email.