Has anyone else experienced this? I’d love to hear from you to compare notes and/or get some useful advice. I’m partly annoyed and partly creeped right the hell out…
I looked at my bank statement online over the weekend and noticed something a bit odd. Anyone who knows me could tell you that I’m not what you’d call a sports nut. Why, then, is there a subscription charge for “SI Magazine” in my transaction history? Looking back a couple of weeks there was another charge that escaped my notice, and that one was for “EW Magazine.” Each charge was for $24.95.
Oh, goody.
I flagged the two transactions, and received notice today from the bank that if I want to investigate them as possible fraudulent activity then they’ll have to turn off my card and issue me a new one, immediately. Well, sure, but I sort of need the card I have. There are payments due, right? My other option was to contact the party responsible for the charges to see if they’d remedy the situation. Oddly enough, the line items included an 800 number to call. (For the record: 800-586-5305.)
Sure. Let’s try that first, shall we?
I called, and right away I knew I was in for a fun time. Have you ever dealt with those voice-response automated systems? “Please respond with Yes or No.” Over the course of the next six minutes I found myself saying “No” several times to such questions as, “Would you like me to reverse the current charge and sign you up for our special deal on blah blah blah for the next so-many months?” I also discovered that both subscriptions had been ordered on the 4th of December, last year.
That’s funny. I’m sure I’d have noticed a couple months’ worth of Entertainment Weekly and Sports Illustrated strewn about the house. At no time, by the way, was any company name given so I’d know who I was actually dealing with. The word “fishy” doesn’t begin to describe it, folks.
So. Six minutes per call, two calls, and I spent the entire time speaking clearly and distinctly while thinking quickly enough (I hope) to dodge the little verbal pitfalls strewn in my path. Oh, yes, they went to great trouble in order to phrase questions in a way designed to elicit a knee-jerk “Yes” response which will actually lead to more charges to an account they had no business accessing in the first place! They really, really wanted my business money. Too bad they weren’t providing any sort of service at all, let alone one I wanted in the first place.
Let this be a lesson to you, folks. Watch those bank statements closely! Be careful where you use your credit or debit card! (No, I haven’t figured out where I messed up. I don’t do shopping online from strange websites or any of that nonsense. Argh.)
