Questionable Charges on Credit Card

C

corruptive forces

Bluelighter
Joined
May 23, 2004
Messages
190
Recently, I took up a website's offer of a 3 day, $4.95 trial membership. You can cancel up to 24 hours before those 3 days are up, and this is supposed to keep your membership from renewing. Well, I did this, TWICE, and they still automatically renewed my membership and charged me $24.95. This is the second automatic renewal that has fucked me over this week, however the first was legit on the company's part.

I have emailed them, but as I just did so, I have not heard back yet. Do I have a legal course of action here to get my money back?
 
If you are unable to resolve the issue with the merchant directly, you are protected because you used your credit card. You have the right to dispute any item on your bill that you have, in good faith, attempted to resolve directly with the merchant. Usually this just takes a phone call to your card's customer service department. They may require you to sign some forms etc explaining why the charges are invalid. In the meantime, they will credit your account the amount in question while they reseach your claim.

I used to work for a credit card company back in the day and this happened quite frequently. If you have saved emails or pages that say "your trial membership has been cancelled" that shows the date and time, send those in. If you don't have them, save them. There are shady internet companies out there, but there are also shady consumers who buy--most frequently adult website memberships--and then try to claim that the charges are invalid. Both instances are fraud. The more proof you have the stronger your claim. If you didn't do this time, just remember to take these steps in the future.

Also, save any correspondence with the merchant in question to show you've made an effort to resolve it on your own.

Good luck!
 
OK, I have a check/debit card kind of thing that was used for the "purchase."

It works as an ATM card, but also doubles as a Visa, and is usuable just like a credit card, only it automatically deducts from my checking account.

Does this still work via the same procedure as your typical credit card?
 
that would probably depend on your bank's policies, some may protect you, some may not.
 
this is a common scam run by many porn webmasters. Sometimes you agree to terms buried on their website. However, some of these webmasters have still been convicted for misleading customers, and recurring billing. Dispute it, and.. the less reputable the company, the better you look.
 
Haha, I have had this happen to me before too. What you have to do is call the people that they use to swipe and process your Credit Card and they will take care of you and credit you back. When I called the guy on the phone was very helpful and he appologized and said that these sites are always doing this and it's nothing new.
 
Call the bank who issued your debit card and explain the situation to them. I believe most debit cards carry fraud protection beyond the first $50 (mine does).

This is a very, very common scam. :(
 
thanks everyone

^ Thanks :D

I use US Bank and they are a very lagre, natoinwide bank. Hopefully theyll have me coverd.

Partykid12 said:
What you have to do is call the people that they use to swipe and process your Credit Card and they will take care of you and credit you back.
Click to expand...

What people are youtalking about? I'm really not too sure what you are trying to say.
 
you could always tell the bank that you lost your card and to issue you a new one, and then when you get a new one it will have a different number and the charge to to old card wont work anymore because its not the same number
 
you could always tell the bank that you lost your card and to issue you a new one, and then when you get a new one it will have a different number and the charge to to old card wont work anymore because its not the same number
Click to expand...

This will not always work and is, in fact, not good advice.

As I said, I worked for a big VISA card issuer and any card that had prior authortization before the card was reported lost/stolen can still be transferred over to the new number. Some banks did this automatically (with auto charges like your monthy cable bill for example), and others would examine each charge.

Bottom line, don't try to use alternate routes in getting the charges stopped. It would really suck to go through the hassle of getting a new card with new numbers and then the charge appears again. Simply report it to your card company.

Oh, and any card that is tied to a VISA (such as my US Bank Visa Check Card) is required to offer protection to those who use it. Again, each bank can set what amounts the cardholder is liable for, but in terms of purhcase protection on returned items...as long as you used plastic, you're covered.
 
Okay, well I use a US Bank Visa Check Card, as well :) I'm assuming this means that I am covered and that I should contact VISA (?)

According to my US Bank Online Banking "portal," there isn't a whole lot they can do, at least online. Maybe I should git off my lazy arse and call them.


Is this $50 purchase protection something that they protect you UP TO $50 or only for things that exceed $50?

I am sorry if my questions seem redundant here, I just want to make sure that I am completely clear and understanding on what method of action I should take. You guys have been great, I cannot thank you enough. ( I guess I could give you some of the money I get back from this, but I'm not sure how that would work ;) )
 
Simple advice...... call 1-800-US-BANKS, press 0 three times to go right to an operator and say "I need to dispute the charge from x merchant on y date." They will say ok, thank you. In a few days you will be issued a provisional credit. You will get a form in the mail asking you to put an X next to the reason why you feel the charge is invalid, sign it, and send it back. After a while you will get another notice that, more likely than not, will say the issue has been resolved in your favor and the temporary credit to your account has now been made permanent.

US Bank has been wonderful to me over the years. But yes, you need to get off your butt....

And seeing as you have a US Bank account, you can easily wire that money my direction ;)
 
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