Direct2Drive Charges $149.85 For Stuff You Didn't Buy

Reader Andrew noticed a funny Paypal charge from Direct2Drive, a site that lets you buy computer games online and download them to your computer. Direct2Drive had helped themselves to $149.85 from his account, even though he didn’t order anything from them.

Further obscuring the matter, the line item billing description for each charge read “test.” Like someone at Direct2Drive was giving something the old college try and it just happened to involve taking about $150 from his Paypal account. The money was deducted instantly out of his bank account. The refund has been less forthcoming.

A refund was soon automatically initiated, but Andrew has to wait for the refund to show up in his Paypal account, and then at least another three days for the money to get back into his bank account. Running on a tight budget, that’s cash Andrew could really use this week.

Then there’s the insult to injury. “My communications with Direct 2 Drive have been ridiculously awful,” writes Andrew. “They have zero way for me to contact them by phone, and they’re literally sending me canned responses via email regarding phishing and account security. The basic wording, “See unauthorized charges from us? Better talk to your bank then. Not our problem.”

Because of this lack of communication, Andrew has filed a request asking Direct2Drive to close his account. 36 hours later, it’s still pending.

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