Scammed?

Off Topic
1

Here’s what happened:

A phone call woke me up this morning.In my state of drowsiness,someone told me I was an Amex preferred customer and that they entered me into sweepstakes to win so and so.They wanted to sell me magazines,GREAT OFFER,$3.79/week,7 magazines,good magazines.But the lady was only 2 weeks into the job,didn’t know how to answer some questions I threw at her.

Some guy calls me later,explains it in more detail.Bottom line $65.69 per month for 12 months.I get 7 magazines a month,every month for 4 yrs.Now I accepted reluctantly.They also giving some nice ass watch.Ok.
I usually never accept these.I gave reasons.They convinced me.FRIGGIN STUPID ME.They needed credit card # so I can be billed.I gave it to them!Mistake!I asked for a # I could reach them at.He gave a toll-free one to me.

After putting down the phone,I realized I didn't want $65.69 per month.It's too much.I am not prepared to commit 4 yrs.So I called the #.No one picks up.I get worried.

In the end,after speaking to my dad,I cancelled my credit card,just in case they wanna bill me.I’m STILL trying to call that # up to tell them I didn’t want it,and it would be useless for them to try and bill me anyway,since the card has been cancelled on the same day.

Tell me I’m smart.YEAH RIGHT.I’m such a fool at times.I cannot believe I woke up like a #### idiot.I usually decline all these,just today,I declined but in the end gave in.What a fool.

BTW,assuming I can’t reach this “toll free phone number” they gave me,can I get bad credit for this?I don’t want to have bad credit history,cuz i cancelled the card.They haven’t sent me anything,it’ll be a while before they do.I don’t want bad credit.If I tell the credit card company that I suspected it was a scam because of unanswered business phone,will it be ok?

Sorry guys,I know u don’t hear of such foolishness often.But I’ll be wiser.

2

What time do you consider “morning”? I ask, because if they called at, say, 7:00 in the morning, your mistake would have been continuing the conversation after you realized that no one was hurt, dead, or in need of great assistance. I know I can’t fault you for decisions made right after being woken; I sure wouldn’t want to be held accountable for things that I’ve said/done in the morning. The situation sucks, though. Did you find out if your card got charged before you cancelled it?

3

I am assuming that you contacted your credit card company and told them the story. Your credit card company would be most happy to heard from these people! Every year people like these steal billions of dollars from you and me. Yes, that is right they steal from us! The credit card companies pass along the cost to us. Make sure your credit card company knows, your state attorney general knows (see your phone book) and the FCC knows. Put these people behind bars where the belong. Best of Luck.

4

Lesson – NEVER give your credit card number to any one that CALLS YOU. In fact, give no personal information whatsoever. Greatly lessens the chances of being scammed.

5

I fucking hate cold calling tele-marketing etc. If they are a con or criminal it is even worse. You did the right thing stopping your credit card. You should report your experience to some sort of consumer watchdog, either public or private. You might want to think about the other information you gave them to see if they can use it against you.

6

It’s a total scam. My girlfriend got caught on it. Here’s what happened… after she signed up with one “company” other telemarketers kept calling her and saying “This is your magazine company you recently signed up with, and just for joining we’d like to give you this gift… yadda yadda” Then they flip on the recorder to show everything is legal(My ass, because they don’t have the whole conversation recorded they don’t have any proof for a court that it’s legal) and they say they need to verify your info. So they’d read back her info and she’d say yeah that’s me. Then they’d say real quick “Do you understand this is a new account?” Very ambigous, what they’re implying is you’re starting another account for them to withdraw money from your credit card or bank account.


My girlfriend ended up having 4 of these companies taking out 49.95 every month. We contacted the bank and they tried to find out the companies names and put a stop to it. They couldn’t, the way the companies work, they put no name and they can keep withdrawing from your account. So we closed their account. When I finally got the # to one of the companies, I called and I got the Customer Service people, who said they couldn’t discuss it with me since I have no account with them. However I did find out it’s all a couple of offices, pretending, ok they say they work for all these differeng magazine subscription companies.


Moral of the story, go to your bank/credit card company. Have them close it and transfer your balance to a new account(otherwise these people will keep withdrawing) and file theft/fraud papers on it. She did, and WashingtonMutual actually gave her back all the money that was taken, and they’re going after the companies.

7 
Dude. 65 dollars for 7 magazines. Nine bucks a piece. I wouldnt pay that much for T-mag. And they're my favorite mag. I'd track them down and kill them. 9 bucks....@*#$)&*!
8

Very interesting fact I learned today from my boss - if you dispute ANY charge on your credit card that you did not sign for in person then you will win the dispute. No matter what. Companies take a risk by accepting charges over the phone, so if you ever charge something by phone due to pressure from a sales person, etc, call the company and dispute the charge. There is no reason to cancel the card, as your credit card company can refuse to put the charge on your card.

9

Most likely these people are criminal. So any interaction with them is going to be negative. When someone steels your keys you change your locks. When someone obtains you credit card number through shady means you cancel your credit card. Just to be safe.

10

Some good advice above – Just so you know, if you dispute a charge on your card, and the vendor cannot prove that you signed for the product, you will win. The customer has a lot of power here. Case in point: I had a guy place an order with me for 392.00 ultrasonic cleaner. We shipped after running his card and getting the money. He had his neighbor sign for it on delivery. Now I am immediately fucked. He disputes charge, says he never got it, doesn’t know me, etc. Neighbors sig – he knows nothing about that. DESPITE the fact that I have all his info, address, phone number, etc. AMEX processes the chargeback. It is not enough that I can show we did business. He keeps the unit free of charge. To get my money bak, I needed his sig on the dfel slip. The customer has all the power in CC transactions.

11

Read Older Lifter’s post again.

And fucking do something about this. Get the law involved. They’re scamming other people too.

12

For some reason the way these crooks withdraw the money from a bank account, if they’re using your debit card, the bank can not stop them. So the bank will suggest to open a new account and close the old one.

13

A credit card is a very different beast than a debit card. I know nothing about the rules of a debit card.