Lessons Learned
 

Wow, my credit card company just called me and asked me about some strange charges on my business credit card (as if those of us with MS have enough money to just give it away). They explained that there are two companies that are being investigated. Visa explained to me that some on-line surveys can result in instant charges to your credit cards,..., even if you don't give them the number!

I am still on-hold with one of those BS companies to have all of their charges credited to our account.

It seems that hundreds of thoudands of people are being scammed for $39.95/month and $14.95/month.

The companies are TodaysEssentials and ShoppingEssentia. You will read about these companies in the Wall Street Journal within a few weeks.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE: Be aware.

-Vic

Here is the public complaint website asscoaited with this mess. Our local TV reporter is now taking action too!

http://ap9-shoppingessentia.******co...218113376.html

-Vic

Yeah !!!

VISA is nailing these guys! They just told me that not only will all of the money be refunded, but they are also billing the offenders $25 per charge in additon to what they charged me. So, a $1 charge will cost them $26 !!:D

I could not be happier!

My company will get a credit of $471 !

The offender will have to pay a wopping $771 !

This feels so good!:winky:

-Vic

Glad that was caught and a good fix for ya :D

Have you bought anything from any of those "as seen on tv" things?

I used to work for a company that took the inbound calls for most of the crap that's sold on infomercials, and the wording the TR's (Telephone representatives) have to use is scripted in such a way that they can trick or mislead you into buying something that was not advertised and not quite totally explained when they read the scripting to you. (they're required to read the script verbatim)

I wont buy anything off of an infomercial now because of all the different things that they can talk you into. It was getting more and more deceptive sounding at the time I got fired (yay! they fired me! I was so happy!)

Oh my gosh, Vic! That is WILD!!! Thank goodness they got caught.

Geez, we always have to be on the defense anymore.
At least your story turned out OK. Think of the scams out there duping people. Dateline had one last night...


Thanks for the info..

*slowly backing away from Vic and hiding my credit cards*

My DH sent you didn't he? :eek::eek::eek:

Thanks for the info Vic!

Good for you! Glad your credit card co is stepping up and nailing them!

Victor,
Glad you were able to get the credit card company to take action.

Thanks for the info...credit cards are going to ruin the world;) just don't take mine away!

When in doubt, just put your cards in a zip-lock back filled with water and toss the bag in the freezer. If you really feel the need to charge something, the time it takes for the cards to thaw will give you time to reconsider your purchase.

Alternatively, you can just shred them like I do. That way there are no disctractions.
:D
-Vic

I agree, BGB. Calling the credit card company first and cancelling the account is the required first step before you shred any cards.

Thanks,

-Vic

FYI and warning!!!

If you go to the link that Vic provided in his first post, BE CAREFUL!!

There was an ad for the company mentioned as the culprit in his post. I'm not even going to post the name of the company in case it calls them back! LOL!!

It planted tracking cookies and persistent cookies in 6 places on my PC despite all my security, firewalls and high security. I did a full scan and clean last night (scheduled for every three days) and it reports the results to me. I had to do a full shred to get rid of all the stuff!! I'm checking it again tonight just to be sure!

GRRRR!

RW,

We found the same problem with cookies on one of the PC's in the office and it appears that the cookies were very difficult to eliminate. Our IT guy (my nephew:)) took 30 minutes just to get rid of them and to block them permanantly. Our firewall is pretty darn good, so these are really malicous.

Unreal, hiddeous stuff indeed.

-Vic

ok - let's make this a lesson learned thread!

In 2004, Mastercard called me out of the blue - ~$2000 in questionable charges from computer supply companies in California. Relatively painless process - just change card numbers and spend 5 minutes telling them what's legit. Lesson learned: do NOT use the same password on Hotmail and PayPal (it took a couple months to figure that one out...).

In, um... last year? Got hit with a 19.95 charge every month for some goofy shopping club on mastercard. Caught if on month 3 or 4. Lesson learned: be VERY careful when you click "ok" on the ftd site when ordering flowers. That's where they got me.

Tom

I hope that we are all careful and pay very close attention to our credit card bills.

I agree, Tom. This thread should be entitled "Lessons Learned". Maybe our moderators can change the thread title for us.

-Vic

do you want me to? i love to push buttons. :D

All this talk of freezing cards and cutting them up is making me dizzy :(:(

Uh... Hold on. Just what exactly which button is it do you want to push? I get nervous when people start pushing buttons...

T

Please do change it. That would be great!


Hang on to something, Shelly. You don't want to fall ! :eek:;)


-Vic

Is the card the type that you can just tap it on something at the register to pay for something? (the kind with the radio frequency chip in the card) Those are dangerous, because someone with a special scanner can walk right past you and "suck" the credit card info right off of it. I refuse to get one of those cards.

Erin,

It was just the typical card with a magnetic strip on the back.

Nothing fancy...'cause I am tooooo cheap for fancy stuff.:D

Thanks Vic!

Another Lesson Learned:

I should have known....

My wife and I have done everything possible to rid ourselves of debt. We all strive for that, I am sure.

Right now, I am watching the House Finance Committee discussing HR 5244 which is the credit card holders bill of rights. It deals with credit card rates and credit card company practices. Obama & Maloney are the authors of HR 5244 I think. There have already been Credit Card Company representatives under the gun (earlier in the week) regarding their practices.

So, what did I learn????

By paying-off 95% of our debt, and all of our personal and business credit cards....our FICO scores were blasted! We went from the 825 range down into the bottom of an outhouse. I just checked my FICO score as of 15 minutes ago...and it is unreal.

Fortunately, both democrats and republicans support this bill in a one-sided slam-dunk.

When it passes, the FICO scores will be returned to their previous standings and nobody will get wacked by these companies.

Sorry for the rambling,..., but I am stunned.:eek:


C-Span is a great way to see what the Congress does...

It's really sad, Vic, but ever so true. I use my Cabela's card for 99.9% of all my transactions so I can get free stuff (it amuses me). I also pay it in full religiously. My credit score is off the charts and my income is now less than I used to spend dining out.

Today, I received my first Black Signature card. It has no limit.:eek: Credit card companies are absolutely predators and I'm thankful that I have enough sense not to take that one too seriously!

I really feel for all the parents trying to teach their kids financial responsibility when even many colleges are into the game.

I have heard that you can't even rent a car without a credit card!

Cindy,

Who would have ever thought that you would be penalized for being a good steward of your money?

Who would have ever thought that operating on a cash basis, which is what our parents taught us, would be detrimental?

-Vic

No kidding. It's almost fashionable to be up to your eyeballs in debt. How are today's parents supposed to explain to the younguns that credit cards are not the answer when a tank of gas will eat their entire paycheck for the week?

It's as if our society is now taught to posture ourselves most advantageously for a future of insurmountable debt!

I have one card I use for most times when I need a credit card. It's from my credit union and has a very low interest rate with a small limit on it. I pay it off monthly.

BUT, I have 5 of those no limit cards in the safe. I take each one out once every three months on a rotating basis and charge something small on them. This keeps them in the mix, if you don't use them they get cancelled.

When the old man was waiting for disability to kick in and he had no medical coverage, these cards saved us. We bought meds, paid doctors, paid the child support, and used them for when we absolutely had to pay a bill or needed groceries.

When his disability kicked in we paid every one of them off and put them away.

I may be careful with credit but I realize the value of having good credit. My FICO is close to the top of the scale and I intend to keep it there, just in case I'm next. I want to be able to tap home equity without any problems, and have money if and when I end up waiting for disability to kick in. I have a disability policy, but after everything I read about people filing for their short and long term disability and being on hold for over a year or the insurance company refusing you after taking your money for so long, it's always good to have a backup!

I use the same system, RW. Also, when I want a big ticket expenditure, I call each one until someone gives me a year of 0% on a transferred balance. Keeps me in cars and computers.:cool:

RW, they don't get canceled if you don't use them....unless you signed something to that effect....unused credit cards stay on your record until YOU cancel them.

This thread has been a real eye opener and a warning for all of us.

I really appreciate it.

But the really neat thing is it is inspiration to get out of debt. And I bet that never occurred to you Vic! Thanks for being inspirational!

:)

Since Vic has given the opening, here is a link for anyone interested in debt-free living guidance. Dave Ramsey is kind of the resident hero in this department, he's a real champion for the cause.

http://www.daveramsey.com/


It's all on the up and up, Ramsey is also a Bible believer and incorporates faith into much of his financial guidance.

My sis and BIL have been following his advice for several years now and just installed their custom-designed inground swimming pool. It was their mutual reward for a job well done. I won't lie, my BIL is a good earner, but they also had got themselves wrapped up in credit cards and mortgages, robbing Peter to pay Paul, if you will. They got serious about it when they finally realized how much $$ they were donating to the big interest machine.