It seems as though more and more businesses are trying borderline tactics to get money. Twice, in the last six months, I have had a company try to get money from me for reasons that were clear as mud.
The first example occurred in July. I was actually on vacation and a phone number called my cell phone that I didn't recognize. I didn't answer, but the party called back several more times. Finally, I answered and was told that the magazine company that I had ordered subscriptions from was trying to alert me that there may be another company that would try to sell me the same magazines for a lesser contract price. That may sound more like a good, proactive, customer service call to most folks; for me, I was scratching my head explaining that there must be some kind of mistake because I hadn't ordered any magazines and wasn't planning to order any magazines. [breath] The operator's tone changed to a more threatening pitch and then proceeded to tell me that there was absolutely nothing that I could do, I had signed a contract for 6 magazines a month, to be delivered to me for the next three years . . ."WHAT???? . . . Oh, no I didn't!!!! and Oh no I won't!!!!" . . . at that point, the line went dead.
The long and short of it is this: apparently, I got a magazine subscription for free because I bought something, and this company purchased my information, including my credit card number, and it was time to pay up. After several weeks of research, I finally traced the transaction back and discovered I had in fact used my debit card for the initial purchase and the bank was more than happy to reverse the magazine charges and keep an eye out for any suspicious transactions. I didn't know the company name, address, phone number or location. I had nothing . . . thankfully, no mysterious charges since.
The second example was a few weeks ago. I rented a car for work. I noticed a big gash on the rear side of the passenger back bumper, after I left the airport rental office. I took a picture and immediately called the company to explain that I had just left with the car and the damage must have been to the car prior to my driving it. Not only could I never get a live person on the line, I never got anyone at all. Last week, I received a letter detailing the damage and my part to pay: $275.00. Unbelievable is all I could think. I put it aside to deal with later. Truthfully, I was tempted to write a check and be done. Something stopped me and today, I put a call into the dispute department listed on the letter. Thanks to two very nice individuals (Hazel and Shane) I am now waiting for an appeal. It may work, it may not, but had I not taken the chance, had I just assumed I wouldn't have a chance to reverse the charge, I would have definitely owed $275.00. Now, I have some time and hopefully, it will get overturned. I nGaged a bit of moxy, mixed in with good ole southern charm, and just might have saved some money!
I'll keep you all posted.
Moral of the story: Don't ever assume, it makes and ass out of you and me too . . . ass•u•me . . . Also, don't just roll over in this difficult economic time. If you think you are right, don't back down. Stand up and fight if you have to. You probably don't have anything to lose, but a lot more to gain.
Climbing down now, from my soap-box that is . . . Be nTouch
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