I wanted to write in about a recent success I had with a chargeback scenario that I recently had - and given the popularity of the event, I thought it merited a letter to Consumerist.

My awesome girlfriend got me one hell of a birthday gift this year: a pair of three-day passes to All Points West, the music festival put on by Goldenvoice (the guys behind Coachella) that takes place in Jersey City's Liberty State Park. Unfortunately, the weather was less than ideal. It rained for most of the day on Friday, and if you bought a single-day pass at the door that day, Goldenvoice also let you in to either Saturday or Sunday (it was the ticketholder's choice) for free. While I don't quite understand the logic behind this decision (the tickets said 'rain or shine,' no acts were canceled and people do have access to Weather.com), I simply accepted this and was happy to be at the festival.

Saturday was gorgeous - but Goldenvoice did absolutely nothing to clean up the parksite, leaving festival-goers to trudge through ankle-deep, manure-laden mud for the rest of the festival. Again, I was fine with this - shit like this really doesn't matter on the day where you're about to see My Bloody Valentine for the first day in your life.

But Sunday is where the poorly organized festival truly came to a head. We got to the festival at about 12:30 or so because I really wanted to see Todd Barry (he was performing around 1:30). It was pouring down rain - but Todd was going to be in a tent. My girlfriend and I bought ponchos, and began the 20 minute walk to Liberty State Park. By the time we got there, staff was on-hand with a megaphone telling people to return to the light rail station or ferry docking point to seek shelter - and that the festival wouldn't be opening its doors. My girlfriend and I waited in the pouring rain for two hours, and decided that it wasn't worth it to deal with this. Our tickets said 'rain or shine,' and Goldenvoice failed to prepare for the weather and deliver on its promise.

At 4:30, the doors finally opened, but at this point I was back in Brooklyn, enjoying the Internet backlash against APW via Twitter and Facebook. Another friend of mine was actually held captive on a ferry boat in the pouring rain - so I guess things could've been worse.

But what I couldn't believe was that after APW extended a perk to single-pass owners on Friday due to a little bit of rain (as opposed to the torrential downpour on Sunday), that nothing was being done for the cancellation of acts and general poor public relations that took place on Sunday. Details about the fate of the festival were kept to an absolute bare minimum on Twitter and the APW official site, and festival goers were kept in the dark.

I knew that if I attempted to get a refund through Ticketmaster, I would be absolutely screwed - the tickets said no refunds. But I didn't want a complete refund; I just wanted Goldenvoice to compensate us for what they did on Sunday.

After we got home (while the festival was still occurring), we requested a chargeback for 198 dollars - an amount equal to two single day passes, plus some of the ridiculous service fees leveled at us by Ticketmaster. The passes were purchased on my girlfriend's Chase credit card. A couple of days later, she received a phone call at work and confirmed the details of what happened: how Goldenvoice was issuing free passes left and right, how we didn't actually use our passes at the festival and how Goldenvoice didn't follow through on its promise of "rain or shine."

Today, her credit card was credited with the money. I'm glad we got paid back for tickets that we weren't actually able to enjoy, but I can't help but think about everybody else who was also ripped off by Goldenvoice.

Which is it? Is the policy "rain or shine" or "everybody spend four hours in the train station during this torrential downpour"? Yes, bad weather is to be expected and planned for during an outdoor concert, but not on the scale that acts were canceled and concertgoers confined to a train station.

While letting Friday's ticketholders in for a second day wouldn't cost the promoters anything, providing refunds to Sunday's would. Still, does that doesn't make the disparity fair? Would you have fought for a refund of Sunday's ticket price?

(Photo: Flyinace2000

Here's what happened:

I had my first and only rental with Zipcar on August 8, 2009, and I will never use Zipcar again. The poor customer service I experienced during the reservation and after, when I attempted to contact Zipcar multiple times to get a refund, means I will never recommend Zipcar to anyone I know.

Here's the summary:

I rented Mazda 3 McCory from a garage in Sunnyside, Queens, NY. When I received the car, it was covered in bird poop. My traveling companion and I were going to a wedding, and we didn't know if we'd have time to clean the car before the ceremony. (See a picture of the car here: http://yfrog.com/0gzipcarj) We ended up finding a car wash in rural Connecticut, but I was told without a receipt, I wouldn't be reimbursed for my expense of cleaning Zipcar's vehicle.

The car died three times. The first time, I was in East Hartford, CT, pulling out of a parking lot. This was after two hours of driving from New York City, so the battery should have been fully charged. The engine suddenly shut off, all of the warning lights on the dashboard came on, and the gas pedal stopped working. I had to coast over to the side of the road and turn the car off. When I restarted the engine, it worked fine.

The second time the car died was while we were driving in downtown Hartford, CT. We had left the car in a parking lot during the one-hour wedding ceremony and then driven it on I-84 to Hartford, so we assumed the battery issues were over. However, upon making a right turn in Hartford, the car died again, exactly the same as it did the first time. I had to pull over in traffic to turn it off and then on again to keep moving.

When we reached the reception hall around 4:30 pm, I called Zipcar and told them the car had died twice already and I was worried it had severe electrical problems. The female rep told me that previous users had been reporting battery issues with the car, but that the last report was July 22, so she "assumed it was fine." This was on August 8, a mere three weeks later.

We parked the car and went into the wedding reception, where we stayed for about four to five hours. When we came out to leave for the trip back to NYC around 10:30 pm, we found the car totally dead. It wouldn't even respond to my Zipcard to unlock. The rep sent an unlock signal, which didn't work, then suggested we find someone to jump it (I explained that was impossible because we couldn't get into the car to unlatch the hood).

It is now 11 pm, and we are two girls stranded in the middle of downtown Hartford, CT, a very unsafe area. Zipcar tells us they're sending roadside assistance, but that it will take 45 minutes to an hour to show up. We're both wearing dresses from having been at the wedding reception, and I feel like we're just screaming "Mug me!" while we're forced to wait for Zipcar.

I call Zipcar back to ask if we can stay with friends in the area overnight and get our problems sorted out in the daylight. The representative, Kevin, is completely unsympathetic and borderline rude. He tells me it's my responsibility to get the car back to NYC by the end of my reservation (9:30 am the next day), and if I don't Zipcar will fine me $50 for each hour I'm late. That's it, no bending the rules, no empathy.

Around midnight, Zipcar's roadside assistance shows up, breaks into the car and gets it started. The engine makes a whirring noise the entire two-hour drive back, and the car struggles to get above 60 mph. We're afraid to stop at a gas station in case it won't start again. Approximately 30 minutes into our drive home, we get a robocall from Zipcar asking how our roadside service was. We press "2" to indicate we still have concerns and are promptly put on hold for 10 minutes. At 12:30 am. I tell my friend to just hang up because I don't want to deal with holding while I'm worrying if the car will even make it back to New York.

That's just the bad experience with the car. Here's my experience trying to get a refund:

Sunday, August 9 - I call Zipcar and explain the whole story. The rep, Lacey, writes out my complaint and says someone will contact me in three to five business days. She gives me the number for the New York area office as well.

Monday, August 10 - I call Zipcar and talk to rep Andrew, and I'm told to wait for them to contact me. I try calling the NY office number (212-691-2884), but the phone tree won't let me talk to anyone, not even an operator, without a specific contact name. I try for the head guy, Joel Johnson, but end up getting John Eaton in member services instead. I leave a message with John Eaton and my phone number, asking him to call me back.

Wednesday, August 12 - I called at 8:30 pm and spoke to Stephanie. She tells me Zipcar has contacted me already, and forwards me the e-mail they sent "me." It turns out Zipcar has their wires crossed, and the e-mail is directed to the person who rented the dead-battery Mazda after me. The e-mail says they're offering him/her a refund of the difference because they had to switch him/her to a different car. I tell Stephanie that's not me, that's not my e-mail, and that's not even my reservation date. She apologizes and says she'll try and get things sorted out with the New York office.

Monday, August 17 - I dispute the $145.05 charge on my credit card.

Tuesday, August 18 - I call Zipcar to tell them I want to cancel and speak to Lee at 7:00 pm. Lee says I was refunded the difference, and I have to explain again that the refund they issued was not to me and that person is not associated with my account. Lee tells me I can cancel online and to leave comments.

I hope you now understand why you've lost this customer.

Update: Zipcar has responded to Jen's complaints and refunded her money.

(Photo: jm3)

Read his tale of eventual victory and learn!

Jason and his family were customers of Bluechoice Carefirst health insurance when they lived in Maryland, paying $1,000 per month in premiums. After moving to California, the family was eligible for cheaper insurance, so Jason canceled the policy. Carefirst apparently didn't believe him, and kept billing his credit card for ten months. A chargeback failed when the credit card company sided with Carefirst, and so Jason turned to the Internet.

Finally, desperate and seriously not knowing what in the world I could do (and literally more than $10,000 in hole to this whole debacle at this point) I posted a plea for advice on the excellent site Ask Metafilter. Users told me that every state had an Insurance Commissioner and Insurance Adminstration, whose job is to prevent exactly these kinds of abuses.

I contacted the Maryland Insurance Adminstration.

Enter Tara Wilkerson, the first real person who would talk about this situation and try to get to the bottom of it. And she was not happy with what she found. Bluechoice had purged all the phone calls, but did have records of me calling to cancel. However, they said they never received the letters, so they couldn't cancel. They said the first time they had verifiable communication from me was May of 2008, and they would refund my premiums between then and October of 2008 – so… 5 months.

The commission sent me a letter telling me this was my settlement, but that I could protest it and request a formal hearing if I didn't think it was fair. I was tempted to take what money I had coming to me and be happy.

But then it was weird – Carefirst told Tara that they had already sent me the refund, and in fact they did not. I had to contact her and tell her I never got any check. This made her very angry – because she had to go back and ask them what was going on and they said they were "in the process of sending the check," and they were sorry if she misunderstood them previously.

Very shady.

I decided, I'm going to push this more. I called Tara and said I wanted the hearing. I reminded her that they had admitted that they had verifiable communication as of May 2008 requesting cancellation and they continued to bill me another $5k from that point. I told her that this was them admitting that they were untrustworthy.

She agreed. And said she hadn't thought of it in that way, but they were basically admitting to taking $5000 after they knew I was out of state and wanted to cancel.

Today I got a letter: "Our investigation revealed that CareFirst BlueChoice Inc. has violated Maryland insurance law in the handling of your account. Therefore, this Administration has ordered the company to return to you, premiums paid from September 1, 2007 with interest in the amount of 6% per year within thirty days."

I win! And I never even had to attend a hearing.

Turns out that the date of my cancellation didn't really even matter. Their investigation found that CareFirst's own rules state that once I was no longer a Maryland resident I was no longer covered by definition.

Busted, CareFirst. Busted.

Well done! It's nice to see both a useful government regulatory agency and a happy ending.

How Bluechoice Carefirst scammed me, and how I beat them [Chasing Mist]
I really need to solve this [Ask Metafilter] (Thanks, Emma!)

Here's his story. What would you do in a case like this?

I have a story about a situation my parents and I find ourselves in with a local business. I bought my first house last year. So my parents wanted to give me a large birthday/house warming gift this year. They offered to buy me a set of handmade bedroom furniture from a local store/builder they knew. I thought this was great. I would get nice furniture that I could use the rest of my life and we would be helping out a locally owned business.

The local business is owned and operated by a husband and wife. My father is friends with the husband. The wife runs the store and the husband runs the mill where they make the furniture. Besides the store they also sell through catalogs (they are contracted through some national companies).

Early this year my father mentioned to his friend that we were planing on making this large purchase in a few months (my birthday). His friend told my father the bad economy had hurt their business so much that they might close the business before our planed date. So we decided to go in early to help them out.

We went to the store March 22nd, and picked out a king sized bed, a large chest of drawers with a cupboard on one side and a bedside table. I requested some modifications to the bed which resulted in a nominal but appropriate bump in price. In the end the total bill was a couple of thousand dollars (a significant sum in my opinion). Usually they have customers pay half up front and half on delivery. We knew they were having trouble so we paid in full. The furniture would be delivered in eight to ten weeks which should have worked out good with my birthday. I provided my name and address as the point of contact for the order.

As time went by we heard nothing from the furniture shop. After eight weeks I called to get an update on the status of our order. I was told the person who knew about that stuff that was out of town. They promised he would call me back. I never received a call back. So I called again the following week (May 21st, week nine) and spoke to a man who told me the furniture would be ready in two weeks. They would call me when it was ready. I was excited to finally be getting my furniture so I started waiting again.

More time went buy and there was no call. Finally three weeks later on June 10 (twelve weeks after we placed the order) the wife called me. She said they would start working on my furniture later in June and would be ready to deliver mid August. Needless to say I was flabbergasted. They had not even started work after twelve weeks! They would deliver in August (over twenty weeks after we placed the order)! This was unacceptable. She gave me a standard list of excuses: unexpected orders came in, low numbers of employees, unwillingness to compromise quality, traditional summer vacation for employees, etc. My response was clear, "We will take a refund." She accepted this and we ended the conversation.

A couple of hours later (as I was driving) the phone rang and went to voice mail. Listening to the message I hear the woman laying out a different story: actually they had already starting working on my furniture, they had ordered special parts, and they could make delivery in July. So they didn't want to give us a refund. At this point I was quite upset with the whole situation and called my parents to see what they wanted to do, after all they had paid for the furniture. My father said he would call his friend to get the real story about what is going on. That was on the June 10 and so far the friend has not returned my father's phone messages.

Now I understand that unexpected things happen. But this is ridiculous. If our order was going to be delayed by so much we should have been contacted months ago. Why was I told "two weeks" on May 21st when they had absolutely no intention of following through on that promise. Clearly since we paid in full there was no incentive for them to complete the order. What we thought would be a nice gesture actually sent our order to the bottom of the pile. My parents payed with a credit card so a charge back might be an option (we are past sixty days, but the product was never delivered as promised). We thought these people were our friends so we don't want to take the nuclear option if we don't have to.

Furthermore I don't see any reason to compromise on our side. If we allow these people to take advantage of us then they will continue to run their business in the same manner. I think we have a civic duty to not roll over. At any point during the originally promised eight to ten weeks they could have called me and explained that they were having issues. But the reality is they made no effort to communicate with until week twelve. That is two seeks after they originally promised to make delivery.

Do you see any good solution to the situation we are in?

They're probably in a terrible financial situation right now and stuck between increasingly dismal choices, but that doesn't give them the right to hold your money hostage. What we're worried about is they may be so focused on their own sinking ship that they'll inadvertently take your furniture order down with them, and you'll never see your money or your furniture.

Maybe you and your father should show up in person to meet with the couple and settle on a realistic delivery date, and to make it clear to them that friendship or no, your father will have to initiate a chargeback if that date is missed. It's purely a money issue at this point—you need the furniture or the cash to buy something else—and hopefully they have enough maturity to understand that your father wasn't providing them a cash gift.

What do you think? Are we being too nice to the furniture store owners?

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(Photo: Chrispitality)

He writes:

Not sure where else to turn, as Google has failed me. Perhaps you guys would be able to ask the crowd and help me out with my dilemma.

My wife and I are expecting in October with our first child. In advance of this, we purchased a crib set at the end of March from a local, established baby store. They told us it would arrive at the beginning of August, as they had to order it from the manufacturer.

We found out yesterday evening from the friend of the owner that the store is closing... closing now. No one we know has heard anything about it.

I call this morning, and the line is a busy tone. Their website is gone. I'm going by there at lunch, but I have no confidence that they are still open.

Needless to say, we have not received the crib. Our card was charged the day we ordered it. What do we do now? Do we dispute the charge with the credit card company? Would we even get our money back since its been 2 1/2 months? We don't have the stores order number with the manufacturer, and they were supposed to call us when it came in so we could pick it up.

Having a child is stressful enough, but to think we're out $1000 is a little much to take.

A chargeback, of course, is the first suggestion that springs to mind—but there is a 60 day window to initiate a chargeback for billing errors. Since 60 days have already passed, it may still be possible to initiate a chargeback under your "claims and defenses" rights. The difference here is you have up to a year to file the claim, but the amount you charged must still be unpaid. If you're still carrying the debt for the crib on the credit card then it's possible you can initiate a claims and defenses chargeback, but we can't guarantee it.

Before doing any of that, of course, you should try to reach someone at the store and attempt to work out a refund with them. Get whatever you can in writing, even if it's just an invoice for the undelivered crib, so that you have more paper evidence for any further actions you have to take. Then contact your state's Attorney General office and find out what chargeback options you have under state laws and proceed from there.

(Photo: Ed Yourdon)

When he tried to return the mattress, HealthyBack charged him $120 for the non-returnable pillows.

Tony wrote the following email to the CEO of HealthyBack earlier today:

Dear Mr. Mazlish:

In December 2008, I ordered a Tempur-Pedic mattress from healthyback.com.

I didn't like it and returned it within 90 days as per your return policy.

Your company deducted its return shipping charge of $179 from the amount they refunded me. That's fine.

They also deducted another $120 or so for two pillows that they had thrown in for free — they had a promotion where they were throwing in two pillows with every Tempur-Pedic mattress order at that time.

I called to complain about that and they referred me to the "Gift with purchase items" section buried in your return policy page: http://www.healthyback.com/90day_comfort_guarantee.htm (scroll down, way down)

I would be happy to return the pillows — unopened, in the darn box your company shipped them in — but various employees, including people named "Lianna," "Carmen," and "Kharisma Knepshield," informed me that since the pillows were a "gift" (a gift which I am now paying money for), they were not eligible for return. Sometimes these employees told me it was a "sanitary issue." When I informed them that the pillows remain unopened, suddenly it was no longer a "sanitary issue" — but just company policy.

I have these questions for you.

• 1. As Healthyback's CEO, were you aware of this practice?
• 2. Do you see how to send something unordered to a customer and then retroactively charge the customer for it — and refuse a return — appears to be a scam?
• 3. Why does your company insist on using the term "gift" for things that your company charges money for?
• 4. Kharisma Knepshield told me that it was "standard industry practice" for mattress companies to include "gifts with purchase" and then charge for these "gifts." Do you agree? If so, what are some other companies that do this?

Thank you for your time.

We hope HealthyBack's CEO gets back to you, Tony, but in the meantime you should familiarize yourself with the FTC's "Mail Order or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule," which also applies to Internet purchases:

Unordered Merchandise

Whether or not the Rule is involved, in any approval or other sale you must obtain the customer's prior express agreement to receive the merchandise. Otherwise the merchandise may be treated as unordered merchandise. It is unlawful to:

1. Send any merchandise by any means without the express request of the recipient (unless the merchandise is clearly identified as a gift, free sample, or the like); or,

2. Try to obtain payment for or the return of the unordered merchandise.

Merchants who ship unordered merchandise with knowledge that it is unlawful to do so can be subject to civil penalties of up to $11,000 per violation. Moreover, customers who receive unordered merchandise are legally entitled to treat the merchandise as a gift. Using the U.S. mails to ship unordered merchandise also violates the Postal laws.

You might want to send another email to that CEO and let him know that you're aware of this rule even if he isn't, and that you will report him to the FTC and your states' Attorneys General, as well as request a chargeback, if he doesn't have his reps immediately reverse the $120 charge. You can probably phrase it more politely than that, of course, but don't forget that you've got the law on your side. All Anthony Mazlish has on his side is a scam for penalizing customers who, in good faith, take him up on his return policy.

Update: It looks like Tony may be stuck paying for the pillows after all, according to reader Michael Belisle who checked out the fine print. This doesn't make it any less a scam, but the FTC rule likely will not work if Tony knew about the pillows before they were sent, and if HealthyBack notes that they'll charge for a return.

If you order a mattress and the company insists on throwing freebies in with it, be sure to check the fine print before you accept the order, or else you could find yourself in possession of a couple of fluffy "return policy insurance" pillows designed to screw you out of some extra cash should you return the mattress.

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E. writes:

The website imlive.com is a very popular webcam site. They provide (for the most part) adult entertainment with a per credit/ per minute fee of about 1$ per credit (bought in increments of 50$. I was a member of the site since 2006 and used it off and on. Stupidly i allowed the site to save my Credit card info on their site. Then much to my shock I found a 450$ charge on my card two weeks ago from their billing provider (ccbill). And found two "confirmation" emails in my inbox. I put quotes around confirmation as they werent really checking to confirm just cheerily informing me that i had made these purchases. I quickly logged onto their site and called their customer service and literally sat there watching the credits that had been purchased tick away by someone who had hacked my account on their site and was fraudulently making purchases on my credit card.

While on the site i changed my password and called their customer service. This stopped the hacker from being able to use my account. Unfortunately he had already used 250 credits by then. Upon contacting them they were able to disable my credit card purchases from the site (I later just canceled my credit card altogether.) Upon contacting their fraud department i was told that because the purchases were made under my username and pass and that purchases were already spent they were unable to refund any of the money. They offered to replace the credits. I found that to be wholly unacceptable as i really cant afford 450$ worth of adult material. I contacted my Credit card and they informed me that they would open a fraud investigation but they warned me that they would likely run into the same issue. As a good faith step i complied with imlive's request to keep them informed if i had made a decision not to accept their offer of free credits. I informed them that my credit card was investigating the fraud. Thats when the situation went off the rails. And i received the following email.

I am in receipt of your last email.

I want to make it very clear that all personal details regarding your Imlive.com account are held in strict confidentiality, and are never released to third parties.

Please note that it is one's responsibility to keep his Imlive.com account details secure and to not use it on other sites. Imlive.com will not be held responsible if your personal details have been accessed.

There are a number of locations on the site in which you are prompted to change and update your password to secure your details which you have not used in the past two years.

Your Imlive.com account was accessed with legitimate login and password to purchase the disputed charges, and thus we consider these charges as your own.

Nevertheless, since you have been a valued member since 2006 we offered an exceptionally generous solution as we rarely approve refunds for transactions of this sort.

Filing a fraud claim with your credit card company will result in a charge back. Charge backs are considered a serious violation of our terms of use.

If you have already filed a report with the credit company, I will not cover the debit that will result in your account due to the charge back.

In case you can pull back your filing with the credit company and respect the offer we presented, I will refund the last two transactions and bonus your account as previously agreed.

We reserve our right to keep all records of your activity with the Sexual Stress Relief Hosts on the ImLive.com platform.

Sincerely,

Sandy Mills,
Manager
Imlive.com

Not only were they trying to scare me out of a chargeback if one was issued by my credit card. But i think the last sentence is an explicit attempt to illicit fear that somehow my actions on their adult site would be exposed on a public forum. Obviously as i am emailing you to expose this gross mismanagement of security and subsequent lack of accountability for their mismanagement of security i could care less about exposing the fact that i enjoy the occasional viewing of the bare human form. I have yet to hear back from my Credit card company (USAA) but my account on imlive has been closed (by them) and I am beginning to believe more and more that i am out of 450$ because of a security flaw on their site. My account info and password on their site was never given out or used on other sites and was hacked as an obvious use of username/password list hacking software (i.e. software that repeatedly tries u/p combinations until it finds a hit).

E. later sent us an update:

My credit card company agreed to call it fraud and gave me a chargeback for the 450$. After that imlive deleted my account with them. Which is fine with me after the way they treated me. I received no contact from them since.

10. LYING
Remember, the merchant does have a chance to rebut these things. If you tell us that you ordered widget A but received widget B but have no proof, and the merchant sends proof that you actually ordered widget B, you'll probably be getting rebilled!

9. THE CHARGE IS TOO OLD
Please, please check your statement every month. We work within very limited timeframes, and, technically, you are required to notify us of a dispute (in writing! Just calling in doesn't obligate us to do anything), within 60 days of the statement date the charge appears on. Visa gives some extensions: non-receipt and quality. With quality, you have to show you've been working with the merchant consistently to resolve the problem. MasterCard pretty much only gives extensions on non-receipt.

8. NOT GETTING A SECOND OPINION LETTER FOR CHARGEBACKS OVER $100
If you're disputing the quality of something over $100.00 or so, it pays to get a second opinion letter. Within reason, of course. If you're disputing the quality of a repair, on the other hand, you pretty much have to have one. These need to be on a merchant's letterhead and have actual details about your dispute. "Car still broken," will get you started, but if the merchant sends a rebuttal it's probably not going to fly.

7. YOU BOUGHT IT IN FRANCE
The lovely consumer protections we enjoy in the U.S. do not follow you across our borders. If you buy something overseas, the burden is on you to return the item and prove it the merchant accepted the return before we can do anything. International quality disputes? Forget it. Strangely enough, this is the one category that MasterCard is better in as it does not differentiate between domestic and foreign merchants.

6. TRYING TO CHARGEBACK A DIRTY HOTEL ROOM AFTER YOU STAYED IN IT
If you go to a hotel and the room is filthy, leave within 20 minutes and get proof of your checkout, if possible. If you stay the night, you accept the room.

5. NO PROOF YOU MADE THE RETURN BY MAIL
When you return something by mail, GET PROOF OF RETURN. This can not be emphasized enough. Tracking numbers work best, return receipts work as well. When you return something you have the same burden of proof to show the merchant gets it back as they do to show you have it in the first place.

4. FORGETTING THE DATE IT HAPPENED
When asked for dates, please provide them and be as specific as possible. It doesn't have to be exact, but if you called around the middle of the month, April 15, 2009 is better than April 2009, especially since we're going to have to call you to get a more specific range and do the same thing anyway. "Don't remember" is not a valid option.

3. NOT GIVING THE MERCHANT A CHANCE TO FIX THE PROBLEM
Get in touch with them before you get in touch with us. Believe it or not, most merchants are actually on the up and up! If the merchant offers to try to fix whatever problem you have without charging more, you have to give them the chance. If you're from New York and got your car repaired in Florida, you get back home and the repair isn't working right, still have to give them a chance.

2. DISPUTING THINGS FOR THE WRONG REASON
It makes things more difficult and makes it more likely that you will lose. Don't dispute things as "unauthorized" unless you never gave the merchant your credit card number. Don't dispute things as "non-receipt" if the merchant did do something but you didn't get the results you wanted.

1. USING MASTERCARD
With Mastercard (MC) the burden of proof lies on you. If you buy something face-to-face, get home and realize that it's not as described, you're out of luck entirely as you had a chance to examine the merchandise. Also, with MC it's entirely up to you to know the merchant's cancellation/return policy, even if they don't disclose it. They didn't tell you that you couldn't cancel after three days? Too bad. Seriously, just use a Visa. It's easier for everyone.

(Photo: frankieleon)

American Express has given her an "interim" refund in full, pending a review that will involve the credit card company presenting to PIC officials all of Blessman's documentation on the services she feels she was denied.

"One Spurned Purple Ticket Holder Claims Victory" [Washington Post] (Thanks to Megan!) (Photo: Patricia Jones Blessman)

I placed an order for two pairs of shoes on 1/30/09 for $79.57 at DSW.com.

One week later, they still hadn't shipped, so I called customer service. I was told my order had been canceled due to a computer error, but she said she could place the exact same order for the exact same amount. She even 2nd day shipped the shoes to compensate me for my trouble. I received the shoes on 2/6/09, and everything was fine, so I was happy.

On 2/7/09, I was emailed an order confirmation for the exact same shoes but with a total of $100.82. I called and they refused to stop shipment of the shoes, insisting that I ordered MORE of the IDENTICAL SHOES I had just received. Huh?

It is now 2/10/09, and they insist the second set of shoes is en route, even though I have not received any tracking numbers (I didn't even place the order). They say that I can ship the shoes back to them, but they'll only refund me the $79.57 amount (the order I'm wearing), not the unauthorized purchase amount of $100.82.

Essentially, they're hijacking my credit card for an additional $20 that I did not authorize. According to some customer support supervisor there named Ahmed, they're not pleased with the $79.57 price. I guess this is their way of ensuring that they can "legitimately" charge me the $100.82 price that they like, because when I ship the 2nd order back they're going to refund me the lesser amount.

They insist that the $79.57 amount was an error, but I say they'refucked now that I'm fucking wearing them. They can't just ship me another two pairs of shoes at the rate they WISH they'd charged me.

Also, isn't there some law that says a company can't just ship you things you didn't order? Are the two spare pairs of shoes mine without me having to pay for them?

Yes. Brook, you may want to call DSW back and read the following to them. It's taken directly from the FTC's "Mail Order or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule," and it applies to Internet orders as well.

Unordered Merchandise

Whether or not the Rule is involved, in any approval or other sale you must obtain the customer's prior express agreement to receive the merchandise. Otherwise the merchandise may be treated as unordered merchandise. It is unlawful to:

1. Send any merchandise by any means without the express request of the recipient (unless the merchandise is clearly identified as a gift, free sample, or the like); or,

2. Try to obtain payment for or the return of the unordered merchandise.

Merchants who ship unordered merchandise with knowledge that it is unlawful to do so can be subject to civil penalties of up to $11,000 per violation. Moreover, customers who receive unordered merchandise are legally entitled to treat the merchandise as a gift. Using the U.S. mails to ship unordered merchandise also violates the Postal laws.

Explain this to DSW and then file a chargeback on the $100.82 charge. Enjoy your back-up shoes.

"MAIL OR TELEPHONE ORDER MERCHANDISE RULE" [FTC]

She then tried six different ways of solving the problem, from filing complaints with various bodies to trying to track down the elusive store owner to including having 25 TONY staffers come into the store and screw with the staff to calling the T-mobile media relations line and getting an investigation launched. None of them worked. T-mobile did end up "terminating its relationship with the store," the reporter still never was able to return the device and get a refund.

That's a lot of work with little to show for it. Try this order of events instead:

1) Pay for item with credit card
2) Realize you way overpaid
3) Ask to return item for refund
4) Get cursed and thrown out of the store
5) Call credit card company and do a chargeback
6) Get money back
7) Watch Scrubs

What to do if…you’ve been had [TONY]

UPDATE: ALDO Refunds My Sunglass Money

Owner Elga Koehler told The Star-Ledger that the store went bankrupt in August but wasn't required by law to notify customers, or immediately give them their dresses or money back. They'll get their money back "eventually," she said, after a repayment plan was "formulated." Evidently, Elga was unconcerned about how if you snatch away a woman's wedding dress she's picked out and paid for, it will make her very very mad— a point that the angry women, several of whom were dressed in black and wearing Ugg boots, according to an eyewitness account by Daniel Edelman, sought to drive home with their protest. Apparently, their mothers never told them how to do a chargeback.

Millburn bridal shop goes bankrupt without providing brides with dresses [The Star-Ledger] (Thanks to josh42042!)

...I flew from Sacramento to the connection hub in San Diego, where I had a 25 minute layover. While I would not have chosen a 25-minute layover, Southwest doesn't give you your flight times until you've booked....the two gates were in separate parts of the building, separated by security...

UPDATE: Brandon got a refund after a Southwest rep on Twitter saw the story on Consumerist. (He also agrees his statement about not getting the flight times was incorrect, details inside...

I had to be rescreened through security, which took twenty minutes, and run to the gate, carrying my shoes, belt, laptop and backpack.

Upon arriving, a hostile gate agent told me I could not board without first putting on my shoes. After an exchange with this gate agent, she denied me boarding altogether, and I watched my flight (and my bags) leave without me.

As it turns out, all the other flights to Baltimore were sold out until roughly Wednesday, and unless I wanted to fly standby and take my chances, I would have to make other arrangements. Not wanting my bag to sit in Baltimore for two days, nor my brand new boss (I was supposed to be starting a new job today) to fire me, I opted to make other arrangements.

Southwest insists that it behaved appropriately and denied be boarding under Article 10 of the Contract of Carriage (which basically says they can refuse to fly anyone for any reason) but refuses to provide me a refund, under Article 90.

I've left more than one phone message for Fred Taylor and his assistant. None of them have been returned. I've spoken with their customer relations department and their general 1-800 number and gotten no satisfaction beyond a "well sorry that happened but your fare is non-refundable."

I am home now, and my boss was understanding, but it still sucks. I may file a chargeback to get my money from Southwest.

C'mon, Southwest, you couldn't have held things for 30 seconds so the guy could put on his shoes?

UPDATE: Brandon responds your comments:

Couple notes on the comments...

1. I arrived at Gate 1 and was supposed to leave out of Gate 9. Between Gate 1 and Gate 9 is a security checkpoint. Had I arrived at Gate 3, I would have been fine.
2. As for the altercation with the gate agent, I told her I was going to complain to her supervisor about her attitude when I got to BWI, and at that point she told me I wasn't flying on this flight and I could complain to her supervisor right then and there.

Oh, and as for the flight times, they are right: you do get told after you pick the tickets. I was incorrect about that part. And I did notice the flight times when I booked on July 8 (after I got the email); however, knowing San Diego as I thought I did, I figured it would be no problem. And Southwest has always had an exemplary record with regards to holding flights for connecting passengers and rerouting those who are going to miss connections.

UPDATE 2: Brandon got a refund!

I had contacted Christie on Twitter (@SouthwestAir) and she and I were talking this morning before you posted my story. After the story was posted, she was able to convince customer relations to refund my entire return trip ($212). Thanks very much for your help!

(Photo: AComment)

First, here's what happened to trigger the suspended account in the first place:

I attempted to order a memory card from Newegg.com. I say attempted because beyond running the financial transaction and holding my money hostage for a week, nothing else was processed. The only reason I became aware that there was an issue was due to wanting to check the status of my order and attempting to log in. They locked my account which was less than 24 hours old. So I played the customer service game.

First came the email I sent, "I do not understand why my account is suspended.... I just wanted to check my order status. I tried to log in for the first time and it is suspended. Help me understand please."

Then the reply, "We apologize for the misunderstanding. However, we have an account that has a charge back with the same information you have provided. This is the reason we are unable to service you at this time. You will have to take care of this matter before we can further assist you."

Jenn called Newegg to talk to someone about the matter, and was surprised when "they gave me the name on the other account without prompting. The privacy act does not seem to be in their training. The name was my brother's, who lives at my house with me."

Jenn asked the CSR directly, "So, does that meant I'm not allowed to have an account because my brother has an issue with you?" She was told they'd get back to her via email:

The next email they sent said, "Unfortunately, we are not able to re-open your account. Apparently, there is a 3rd account yours is linked to. I have no further information than this.I apologize for the inconvenience."

Now annoyed, Jenn tried reasoning with Newegg via their live chat customer service, which is where the really shocking part of the story comes in—that Newegg is holding Jenn accountable for her brother's actions:

In that chat they gave me my brothers full name and account number. This is making me nervous as that's all private information that should not be released, I don't really care if we live at the same house. They proceeded to tell me,

Phoebe: We have checked that your acct is related to account with customer number CENSORED That account has charge back record with us. so we block that account. The account holder name is CENSORED.

Jenn: Yeah, thats my brother.

Jenn: We have the same address.

Jenn: Shipping and billing, or do you mean credit card information.

Phoebe: Sorry for keep you waiting.

Jenn: Not a problem.

Phoebe: I have checked that you need to let your brother to reversed the charge back with his bank and provide us with proof that shows the reversal was successful done.

Phoebe: We will then be able to further assist you.

Jenn: in order to have an unrelated bank and account unlocked....

Phoebe: Yes, please send the proof of the reversal to [redacted].

Jenn: I have absolutely no idea what you mean by reversed charge either.

Jenn: Are you kidding....

Jenn: Seriously are you kidding?

Phoebe: It is the issue between your brother and the bank. He may have issue with bank.

Jenn: So you're telling me, that I have to go to my brother, tell him that you guys gave me his personal information, tell him that unless he calls you, finds out what it is that you want done, takes care of it, emails you proof that its been taken care of, that I cannot order anything from you.

Jenn: My brother, who has nothing to do with my money and I have nothing to do with his.

Jenn: I just live in the same house.

Jenn: And this is the only way I am going to be able to order anything from you ever....

Phoebe: Sorry for all the inconvenience this may have caused you. I have checked with our related department that we will not unblock your account.

Jenn: Is there a reason why?

Jenn: Is there something I did that violated terms of service in any respect?

Jenn: Or is it simply that my account is related to my brothers account?

Jenn: And I still need to know if its banking information or credit card information thats related.

Jenn: Rather shipping and billing.

Jenn: Sorry.

Phoebe: You brother's account has charge back record with his bank. Your account is related to him since the address is the same.

Jenn: Gotcha, just so I have the facts straight.."

That was all strange enough, but then Jenn filed a complaint with the BBB and her story took a weird turn when a Newegg rep called her directly to explain why they would really never, ever, not in a million years, ship anything to her (emphasis ours):

Since going through their customer service did not get me the desired result, I filed a Better Business Bureau complaint. I was not happy about being used as a collection agency, the financial transaction being done before address verification, or the amount of information they were willing to release to me about someone who I have no legal bond to. Well, they got the BBB complaint, and they called. I answered and the woman on the other end of the phone seemed appalled and apologetic of the behavior of the customer service department and was totally utterly shocked. She requested all the emails and the chat logs to be emailed to her, so I did.

She called me back about 45 minutes after that conversation and said that it had nothing to do with me or my brothers account. Someone, who's name I don't recognize as they gave me that too, did something so horrible years ago that they have banned our address until the end of time. Absolutely no dealing with anyone at that shipping or billing address allowed. I politely said well that's fine but we've only lived here for 3 years that person is no longer here. She said "Well I cant help you, it doesn't matter that you haven't been the owner of that house for very long, its a security issue and we will never ship to you.

I find it truly terrifying that a business can ban an address until the end of time. She also told me that I could still order from them if I got a new address, shipping and billing of course. Which is kind of funny. I have absolutely no intentions of moving or changing my billing, address so I can order things from Newegg.com. I wonder if that's going to go along with Inspection reports when you buy a house from now on? Who will and will not do business with that address? I guess what bothers me more than anything is that I had to find this all out by chance. I was never contacted and told that due to security reasons my money was being refunded and my order was not going to be processed. They obviously don't need the business or the money.

Was Jenn's house the former site of a massive scam perpetrated against Newegg? Was the Newegg rep making up a story to put an end to the drama because the billing department refused to cooperate? We may never know, but it's clear that even Newegg has its limits when it comes to making sure the customer is satisfied. Or is even a customer in the first place.

(Photo: Getty)

After Ilan successfully filed a chargeback on a company, the company decided to bill him directly for the amount that was refunded. What's even sneakier is the company (which Ilan didn't name) waited until after they reported the matter resolved to the Better Business Bureau. Now Ilan's wondering what options he has to fight back.

Here's Ilan's full story:

My wife and I recently issued a charge back with American Express on a transaction with a merchant, as they had not provided the services we agreed to. AMEX reviewed the dispute and found in our favor. However, the merchant is now attempting to bill us directly for the balance AMEX awarded us. Do we have any recourse in this mater? We are concerned they may attempt to collect on this, and ding our credit rating. Can you offer any recommendations?

We had previously attempted to resolve the issue amicably with the merchant via telephone/e-mail, and then eventually with EECB and a complaint through the Better Bureau. At each of these steps the merchant dragged their feet on responding to our complaint. We eventually mentioned the issues in question to AMEX and they recommended we issue a charge back sooner rather than later. In good faith, we waited until the last possible moment to dispute the charges. We were hoping that the company would see the light and decide to work with us, on our credit card.

Up until the point that AMEX found in our favor the company was not responding to our complaints. As soon as we were credit for the amount in question, they responded to the BBB complaint (almost 60 days later). They indicated that the matter was "resolved" via our dispute at AMEX and asked that the BBB close the case.

Now we are staring at a bill that is dated weeks after their response to the BBB. E-mails and phone calls continue to go unanswered.

We appreciate any advice you can offer on what to do next.

First of all, we suggest you immediately re-open a complaint with the BBB and indicate that the company lied to the BBB about resolving the issue. You should also write a letter back to the company and make it clear that you consider the matter settled as per the terms of your original credit card purchase. As far as protecting your credit, you'll just have to wait to see if it shows up on your credit report—if it does, then you can take action to dispute it and have it removed.

You may want to also check with legal services in your state (try your state's Attorney General website) to see whether the company is committing mail fraud by billing you for a transaction that was already reversed.

(Photo: Getty)

The ChargeBackBureau sells merchants a blacklist with names of customers who have done chargebacks. Merchants are supposed to be able to access its lists and deny transactions to customers if they see they're chargeback-prone. When a consumer is put on the list, they get sent an email warning them they're "going to have trouble purchasing goods or services on the Internet in the future." ChargeBackBureua's headquarters are conveniently located in Panama, which is convenient for its American clients, as such databases are illegal in the US. Chargebacks are an important tool for consumers to fight back against merchants who won't give you what you paid for. Here's how to do one. If a merchant won't do business with you because you stood up for your rights before, then you shouldn't do business with them either.

Dispute charges at your peril [SFChron]

We've never seen any merchant try to interfere with consumers' rights on this level. So why would Luxury Car Tuning resort to such a bizarre statement? It could be because they've been burned by chargebacks before—banks tend to err on the side of consumers when a chargeback request is made, and merchants can and do lose their ability to accept credit cards if they exceed a certain number of chargebacks.

Having said that, we can't imagine how the company can enforce such a demand, but maybe the best thing to do is simply take your business elsewhere and avoid them altogether.

Here's the actual text, taken from their terms and conditions page:

Chargeback Abuse Policy
Purchases will appear on your credit/debit card statement as "Tuning Concept" or "Luxury Car Tuning". You agree not to file a credit card or debit card chargeback with regard to any purchase and instead abide by the dispute resolution procedures outlined below. In the event that you breach this agreement and file a chargeback, upon a resolution in our favor of the chargeback by either the credit card issuing bank, the credit card processor or by VISA or MASTERCARD, you agree to reimburse us for any costs incurred in researching and responding to such chargeback, including without limitation, our actual costs paid to the credit card processor or our banks, other third parties, and the reasonable value of the time of our employees and owners spent on the matter, as determined in our discretion in good faith. You further agree that all dispute resolution procedures below will be deemed waived by you, and that these amounts will be added to the original amount of the order, and that this total amount will then be immediately due and payable. If your chargeback is upheld, you agree to pay all of the same costs, in addition to the original purchase price, but we will use the dispute resolution procedures below to confirm and collect such amounts.
 
In the event that a chargeback is placed or threatened on a purchase, we also reserve the right to report the incident for inclusion in chargeback abuser database(s) of our choosing and in our sole discretion. The information reported will include name, email address, order date, order amount, IP address, full address, and phone number. Being listed on such databases may make it more difficult or even impossible for you to use (any of) your credit card(s) on future purchases with us or other merchants. Chargeback abusers wishing to be removed from the database shall make payment to us for any outstanding amount owed to us + $50 for processing and handling by wire transfer or such other means as we may require.

• Chargebacks can be filed on all tickets, whether they were purchased directly from the airline or from a third-party
• You don't have to take a replacement flight offered by another carrier if you don't want to
• You have 120 days from the date of expected travel to file a chargeback
• Depending on merchant policy, travel insurance may be transferable or redeemable

(Photo: Getty)

This is great news for the customers who were surprised to find charges from $600 to $1200 on their credit cards after they'd already paid to attend the conference back in October, but the customer who first brought it to the media's attention thinks Westin should do more:

Dible, however, is not totally satisfied with the hotel's solution and said the company should provide some extra compensation for attendees who had to deal with the hassle of The Westin's decision.

Dible, who first alerted the media to the dispute and has been in contact with many of the other attendees, said some people thought they were victims of identity theft and canceled credit cards or disputed charges.

"When you look at how many people were involved, hundreds of hours have been expended needlessly as a result of the unilateral actions of The Westin," Dible said.

"Hotel plans to issue refunds" [ReviewJournal] (Thanks to Kelly!)
(Photo: Starwood Hotels)

"Conventioneer says hotel asks attendees to pay charges" [Houson Chronicle] (Thanks to David!)
(Photo: Starwood Hotels)

When Russell handed over his new credit card information to buy $10 worth of minutes with Yahoo Voice in October, Yahoo hit him with the outstanding charges for Yahoo Personals.

Here is what happened: Yahoo, as one big friendly internet company, does not firewall its services from one another. The bill comes from Yahoo, not Yahoo Personals. As soon as they received updated billing information, they charged the full remaining balance to the new credit card.

Yahoo didn't care that Russell hadn't used their services for over half a year or that he removed his profile. They refused to vacate the charges:

Unfortunately, since the 3-Day Cancellation period has passed, we can no longer issue a full refund.

However, since your service with us is still active and has not been cancelled, I'm pleased to inform you that you are eligible to downgrade your subscription from Semi-annual to Monthly.

Downgrading will enable you to receive a refund for the unused months. If you cancel your subscription at this point, we will be unable to provide any prorated refund. We suggest you downgrade first, so we can refund a portion of your money.

Russell's story serves as reminder to meticulously document your handling of any account tied to your credit card. Don't let a service lapse: send an email clearly declaring your intention to bolt. Though Russell's bank is willing to help him recover the lost funds, yours may not be as forgiving.

Beware Yahoo Personals' deceptive billing policy [ZDNet]
Thing is, Yahoo!, you harvested and used my Visa number without my permission [ZDNet]

Tom sent us his letter to Royal Farms:

On July 8th, 2007 I pulled over at one of your Royal Farms gas stations to fill up my car.

What occurred at this Royal Farm gas station was a complete shock to me. I swiped my credit card and began to pump gas into my car. While the gas was pumping I got a very important phone call, which I needed to answer. I answered the call and took a few steps away from the gas pump.. The pump continued to pump the gas, however, at some point the pump stopped pumping. I remember hearing a loud click sound when the pump shut off. As this was a very important call, I talked on the phone for a few more minutes.

When I finally got back to the gas pump I was shocked to see that the meter was still running; eventually it slowed but still continued to run. Both the gallons number and the dollar amount continued to increase even though the gas was no longer flowing. I removed the pump handle from my car to make sure.. While holding the pump handle in my hand, I watched both the gallons number and the dollar amount still continue to increase. At this point I called the county police station to report fraud; however was informed that they wouldn't come out unless I go no cooperation from the gas attendant.

As far as I am concerned this is stealing and is no different than me getting gas without paying for it.

I called the gas station attendant to show him what was going on.

He witnessed the problem.

Unfortunately, he was unable to do anything about this and was unable to offer a refund.

I was given the name and phone number for the store manager with instructions to call her the next day. As instructed I called and spoke with the store manager. She promised to issue a refund back to my credit card which of course hasn't happened yet.

On 10/18/07, I returned to this same Royal Farms gas station and the same thing occurred again. At some point the gas stopped flowing however, the dollar amount kept on increasing.

On 10/31/07, I returned to this same Royal Farms gas station and the same thing occurred once again. At some point the gas stopped flowing however, the dollar amount kept on increasing.

On 12/6/07, I returned to this same Royal Farms gas station and the same thing occurred once again. At some point the gas stopped flowing however, the dollar amount kept on increasing.

On 12/13/07, I returned to this same Royal Farms gas station and the same thing occurred once again. At some point the gas stopped flowing however, the dollar amount kept on increasing.

(Photo: jrdnjstn)

Alitalia Airlines
Customer Relations
350 Fifth Avenue
Suite 3700
New York, NY 10118

To Whom It May Concern:

On October 21, 2007 I attempted to check in on time for an Alitalia flight from Tehran, Iran to Milan, Italy for which I was ticketed and had confirmed my reservation the day previous. The check-in agent informed me there was a problem with my ticket and that I would not be allowed to travel. I found this horrifying, as my Iranian visa was expiring and any delay could cause serious problems with Iranian immigration and could bar me from leaving the country.

Through no fault of my own, your mistake forced me to purchase a full-fare ticket on the spot for US$830 to board the flight and leave Iran while my visa was still in effect. In my fax and the attached copy I explain the details of this and attach a handwritten letter from the check-in agent describing the problem. I, in effect, was caused by your mistake to purchase the same seat twice, and for the inflated walk-up fare.

Your airline's actions on October 21 nearly left me stranded in a hostile country with no United States embassy to turn to for help. Had I been unable to purchase that second ticket for US$830, I might still be helpless in Iran struggling to deal with an expired visa at the mercy of government officials. This is a nearly unforgivable way to treat guests on your airline.

On October 25, 2007 I spoke with Teresa in your New York customer service office. She informed my that my initial fax to that office had been lost and advised me to send the correspondence to her personal attention. Upon retransmittal of that fax, Teresa told me any refund from Alitalia would take 100 days and that the refund would likely be only for the less expensive unused ticket for which I was denied travel. The US$830 ticket I was forced to purchase because of Alitalia's mistake would probably not be refunded, Teresa told me.

I hope you understand why this outcome is unacceptable. Your mistake forced me to purchase a second ticket for US$830 on a flight I had already paid for, was ticketed for and for which I held a confirmed reservation. The only acceptable action on the part of your company is to refund to me, in the form of check or credit card return, the US$830 cost of the ticket I was unnecessarily forced to purchase in Tehran.

Further, the projected delay of 100 days to resolve this matter is unnecessary, insulting and ridiculous. I am shocked and angered by your company's mistake and its response to this situation thus far. As such I find it necessary immediately to involve other parties in its resolution.

I have forwarded copies of this correspondence to the Maryland Attorney General's Office Division of Consumer Protection, as well as to the investigative reporting unit at WBAL Television in Baltimore.

I hope you will review the enclosed materials immediately and move expeditiously to bring this matter to its only fair resolution: a refund to me, in the form of check or credit card return, the US$830 I was forced by your mistake to spend on a second ticket from Tehran to Iran on October 21, 2007.

Please contact me at any time to discuss this matter further, by telephone at [redacted] or by email at [redacted]

Respectfully,

John

Why wait 100 days for them to maybe feel like not being criminals? Let's say it all together now....charrrrrgggeeebackkkkk. Call up your credit card company and tell them your story and get your money back. That'll get Alitalia's attention better than any letter sent to a fax machine that feeds directly into the waste bin.

Dear Consumerist, I have a problem with Verizon's customer service (shocking, I know). I'll give a brief run-down of what went on: —I ordered FiOS internet and TV through Verizon at the beginning of July. —I paid for installation with a credit card that has a very low limit that I keep for situations such as this. They were instructed to not bill that card for the monthly bill, and just send me paper bills. —No bills ever appeared. —Of course, charges for FiOS began appearing on my credit card bill. They eventually pushed it over the aforementioned low credit limit. —I called Verizon, but since I never actually got a bill, I don't know my account number. And since I don't have a phone with Verizon, they aren't able to "look up" my information. —I finally got a supervisor on the phone that would give me an "account number", but not the "account number" that the website requires. You see, a normal account number is 24 digits. Only 10 of them somewhere in the middle is the "account number" for the website. The rest are indicators or flags. The number the supervisor gave me was only 15 digits, not 24, and none of the inner 10 digits would be accepted as a valid account number by the website. —I called back and got a website service technician who told me "use the last 6, thanks for calling Verizon" and hung up. The web form won't even let you click the button until there's 10 digits in the box. Anyway, throughout all this, I was attempting to get them to refund the unauthorized charges. Attempting to get an account number was only so I could speak to a person who had access to user accounts. I finally got a woman that said that there was nothing Verizon would do if the charge went through. The conversation: Me: "These charges were unauthorized, placed on my card without my permission, and they caused me to draw overdraft fees." Her: "well you obviously gave us your card information." Me: "Yes, that's true, for installation only. You were not authorized to charge monthly bills to this account" Her: "Well there is nothing we will do once the charges are finished except to possibly switch you to cold invoiced billing." (No explanation of "cold invoiced billing" was offered, and none was provided when I specifically asked. I assume it means "paper") Me: "Well if you refuse to do anything about these unauthorized charges, I'm forced to call Visa and dispute the charges, as they were unauthorized." Her: "Ok." Me: "At this time I would also like to remind you that this call has been recorded." Her: "Thank you for calling Verizon" And that's it. Now my questions to you are 1) Does her "Ok" constitute permission to reverse the charge? 2) What would Verizon do to me if I did reverse the charge? I don't want to reverse the charge only to get a bill for $400 in late fees, charge reversal fees, and "because we want to" fees.

Let's hear your best advice for Dan! Make us proud.

(Is Verizon giving you Verizon Face? Show us your Verizon Face by submitting your picture to our Flickr Pool and tagging it "Verizon Face")

(Photo of A Verizon Face by:martyz)

Sunrocket customers need to immediately start porting their number (here's how), and filing chargebacks with their credit card companies to get their money refunded (here's how).

According to posts on bargain shopping forums, Sunrocket's CEO Lisa Hook resigned last Friday, their call center sent everyone home, and 300 employees were fired. Basically, there's just three people left to handle legal issues and no suitors lined up to buy the subscriber base.

A poster self-identifying as a former Sun Rocket employee wrote, "My condolensces to the people who did the work at SR for there hard work and effort has gone to the toilet because of one Captain Lisa Hook and her horde of AOL washouts." [sic]

"I've been a Sunrocket subscriber for a little over 4 months and had no problems with the service," writes Reader Patrick. "I even recommended it to a few folks (cashed in my reward points in time - whew!). This is a blow for cheapskates like me; I need a landline-like service but I'll never go back to Ma Bell. SkypeOut maybe. RIP little VOIP."

Callers to the customer service line hear a recording stating, "We are no longer taking customer service or sales calls. Goodbye," which then hangs up.

As of this posting, SunRocket still has a new subscriber signup form on their webpage and pitches, "3 Months Free. Act Now! Limited Time Offer."

READ MORE: ATTENTION SUNROCKET CUSTOMERS!: Helpful link and information for your Dead Sunrocket Service (Unlock Gizmo and other options) [Slickdeals]

Internet-call service SunRocket cuts off service [Reuters] (Thanks to Jerad!)

Then after working out there for a few months, the whole kit and kaboodle goes bankrupt and sells your contract to some other gym. They've got five locations. One is 25 miles away. The other four are women-only. That's what happened to Daniel, and they won't let him cancel, but just cuz he's working on his abs doesn't mean he's going to take it lying down...

(Photo: numberstumper)

The following is a merge of information I have already forwarded to the AL and OH attorney general offices as well as the Better Business Bureau of Akron OH.

Date: 6/19/2007
Name: Daniel
Age: 25
Address: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
City, State, Zip: Birmingham, AL 35215-1010
Home Phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx
Work Phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx

—-Info about complaint—-
Firm Name: Fair Finance
Address: 1500 Canton Road
Address2: Suite 208
City, State, Zip: Akron, OH 44312
Phone: 800-877-0457

—-Details—-
Date of incident: 6/8/2007
Did they sign a contract? Yes
Did they inform firm/person of complaint? Yes

Product/Service involved:
Installment Plan for Gym Membership. This company takes out on your credit as a loan and makes monthly payments to your gym on your behalf.

Amount involved: $522.00

Relevant Documentation:

1. Gym Contract with Steel City Fitness (formerly of Birmingham AL)

2. Transfer Letter from Fair Finance (of Akron OH)

3. Called to cancel payments 6/19/2007

Complaint:

I was until recently a member of Steel City Fitness in Birmingham, AL. I took out an installment contract with them in December of 2006 through Fair Financial for $29.00 per month over 2 years. Steel City Fitness went out of business on June 8, 2007.

I was told by the owner (Linda) of Steel City Fitness and the Fair Finance representative I spoke to at the time that I would be debited one more month (June) and then my contract would end.

Yesterday I received a transfer letter - notifying me that my membership was being transferred to 1 of 5 locations. 4/5 of these locations *only admit women* (Riviera Fitness for Women)- thus I am ineligible. I called Fair Financial in regard to this and was told that "since I have options" they were enforcing the contract and I would be required to continue paying them or that they would ruin my credit.

The only one of the locations that admits men is 25 miles away from my home - and the contract states that anything more than 10 miles away allows me to cancel. The representative kept me on hold for 30 minutes reading my contract and running my address through MapQuest - and then told me that since I had an option that they would still enforce the contract.

I did not sign any contract with Riviera Fitness. I signed a contract with Steel City Fitness - which has no more locations as they went bankrupt. I was told that "None of our people would ever say that" when I informed the representative that I was told my contract was ending. I got angry that I was being insinuated as a liar, and the call did not end well except with the promise that "July 16 your payment is due. If you do not pay us this will reflect on your credit."

Thank you.

BBB Complaint: AA967-9BB66-A34B3-9A438-FD700-793E3-FF

Resolution requested:

I want the contract declared null and void as a Fair Financial representative told me prior to the dispute that my contract would be canceled as Steel City Fitness went bankrupt and offered no locations to its members per the contract I signed with them. Fair Financial offered 4 women's gyms as a replacement (I am a male) and told me that since I had options (the single co-ed gym that is 25 miles away from my home - the contract specifies 10 miles) that they were going to continue enforcing the contract that I was under the impression had ended. I have contacted the Ohio and Alabama Attorney General offices and will pursue this matter to its conclusion. I have dealt with Fair Finance for nearly 3 years and this is ridiculous to threaten to ruin someone's credit if they don't accept the shady deal that is offered.

—-

Daniel to tips
Jun 19

I have faxed the following in writing to get it on written record with the finance company:

To:

Fair Finance
1500 Canton Road Suite 208
Akron, OH 44312
Fax: 800-230-3006

ATTN: Laura

RE: Account cancellation due to terms of contract.

Account Information:

Name: Daniel [redacted]

Address: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

City/State/Zip: Birmingham, AL 35215-1010

Phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx

Return Fax: xxx-xxx-xxxx

Account at Gym: xxxxxx (not sure if this is the same account number) - this memo was included in the debit: (800-6509786) and my last 4 digits are xxxx.

As you are aware - Steel City Fitness in Birmingham, AL closed its doors on June 8, 2007. I was told at the time of June 1, 2007 when I reported the closing to your office by a Fair Finance representative who knew the owner (Linda) that my contract would end and my last payment would be June 16, 2007.

Yesterday I received a letter informing me that my membership would be moved to one of 5 locations. 4 of these locations only admit women (I am a male) and the 5th location (Riviera Fitness in Midfield) is 25 miles from my home, and 15 miles from the former location of Steel City Fitness. In either case - more than 10 miles away from the location of my former gym is outside the contract stipulations as I was told them by a CSR earlier today (who also insinuated that I was a liar at least 3 times when I told her what I was told on June 1, 2007 leading that call to not end well).

I can apologize for saying 'damn' a couple of times due to that - but I also thought that this contract was complete as I was told on June 1, 2007. I am insulted that I was told "since you have options we are enforcing the contract" when my options consist of ladies-only gyms and I was insulted when I was told that "legally we have to stop debiting your account - but if you don't pay us on July 16 this will be reflected on your credit."

I have dealt with your company for 3 years, and up until now they have always been friendly and receptive when I ask questions or for assistance.

Today I was kept on hold for nearly 30 minutes while your CSR ran my address through Mapquest against each of the gym locations and ultimately telling me that "since it is within 10 miles you have an option" although checking for myself against both my own address and Steel City Fitness shows that it was 25 miles/15 miles respectively.

I have already made other gym arrangements because I was told on June 1, 2007 that my last debit would be this month since Steel City Fitness was closing. Further - the "options" offered by your company boil down to a single option that falls outside of the contract stipulations that I agreed to with Steel City Fitness.

I am requesting acknowledgment that the contract has been canceled. I was told that there was a 'cancellation' fee although I do not remember agreeing to this in the contract. If there is indeed such a fee - please remit a bill to my home address along with written acknowledgment that our business relationship has ended. I do not appreciate having my credit threatened after being called a liar 3 times.

If for some reason you believe that the contract has not ended please send me written correspondence stating such along with the reason(s) including the specific clause within the contract. Since the only gym available falls outside of the 10 mile limit imposed by the existing contract - and since this gym is also nearly 30 miles from my place of residence - I do hope you can see why I believe the terms of the contract has been met.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

—-

Daniel to tips
Jun 20
A few updates:

1.) I raised enough hell yesterday that I was finally told that my contract was being canceled - but I requested a written acknowledgment of such to be delivered to my home address. Until I receive that I am going to assume that this decision might be an 'oops' and they debit me next month anyway.
2.) I pulled out a copy of my renewal contract with Steel City Fitness that was executed on 12/16/2006. Under the Membership Cancellation section it states that "You may also cancel if Steel City Fitness of Mt. Brook goes out of business and fails to provide facilities at 201 Office Park Drive, Suite 100, Mt. Brook, AL 35223." And unlike my initial contract of 2004 does not specify that I have to accept facilities within 10 miles.
3.) I am assuming that I have not heard the end of this and there may be more strong-arm tactics to push me into another facility. The only available co-ed facility is in a high crime neighborhood 25 miles from my home.

Thank you for looking into this.

We wish Daniel luck. If he keeps pressing his case, he should get the contract revoked. He can also try doing a charegback on the account they're debiting.

Moral of the story: only sign up for gyms with month-to-month contracts. — BEN POPKEN

In a reweigh conducted under the supervision of the Colorado Department of Weights and Measures, Bailey's Public Scales found the weight to be 980 lbs. ASAP Van Lines had billed her for 2100 pounds. Initially, based on her item list, ASAP quoted Candace for 1800 lbs.

The inaccurate weight seems to have sprung from a computer error at the original weigh station, says ASAP Van Lines.

Colorado Department of Weights and Measures is conducting an investigation into the incident.

Candace says she plans on filing a complaint with the State's Attorney.

In an email, Tiffany from ASAP Van Line wrote, "If a customer has any questions on a move, all they have to do is request a reweigh... the best way to close a matter is to just simply follow procedure and remain calm." — BEN POPKEN

PREVIOUSLY:
Update On That ASAP Van Lines Dispute
ASAP Van Lines Responds To Complaint Alleging $400 Bilking
Watch Out For Scammy Movers

The reweigh was planned for yesterday, but according to Tiffany at ASAP, "[b]ecause of the timing for the holiday weekend, and the amount of work for the moving business," and Candace, the reader, was out of town, they had to postpone it. Candace is still waiting for the original weigh documents, which ASAP says the driver has yet to fax. Both parties are contacting the scale where the load was originally weighed to try to get a copy of the weight ticket.

So, we'll check back in again next week and see how it all turns out. — BEN POPKEN

PREVIOUSLY:
ASAP Van Lines Responds To Complaint Alleging $400 Bilking
Watch Out For Scammy Movers
(Photo: FHWA)

The short version is the Colorado Weights and Measures department is going to reweigh the truck later this week and find out who is right and who is wrong. The long version follows...

tiffany: hi, i have a question in regards to the article on your website
benpopken: k
tiffany: how do you judge the accuracy or facts
tiffany: or how can u pose a rebuttal
benpopken: What post is this regarding?
tiffany: the moving company one
benpopken: do you work for a moving company?
tiffany: yes
benpopken: which one?
tiffany: the one in question
tiffany: Considering the volume of your website, I would like to either show you evidence or talk about the move from our side
benpopken: what company?
tiffany: ASAP Van Lines

benpopken: You're welcome to send a rebuttal letter to ben@consumerist.com
benpopken: or I can give you a comments login
tiffany: Thank you very much. I did leave a comment but I guess I feel that people should be able to see both sides and understand while maybe there are scams out there, we are not doing that
tiffany: I am a definite believe in rights for the consumer
tiffany: But I also believe in fairness of the story and accuracy of the facts
benpopken: so these people just have a vendetta against ASAP Van Lines?
tiffany: no
tiffany: I don't think it's a vendetta
tiffany: I think it's just a lack of knowledge about moving perhaps. Because she feels that a moving company cant move 2000 lbs but that is considered a minimum for many companies
tiffany: The customer is always offered a reweight if they feel the weight is not accurate
tiffany: It is their right and we will gladly do it to show accuracy
tiffany: I personally take offense to her implying the name is fake and we are lying. The colorado scales and measures people were more then willing to work with us to get the reweigh agreed to
benpopken: What's your version of the scenario of events?
tiffany: She was given a quote in weight (lbs) through the moving software based on her items list. She had a few extra items we picked up. Her weight was over the original estimate. We called both her and her niece to confirm the balance and delivery information. She did not call back but her niece responded via phone. Agreed to her balance and said to send her shipment as we had a truck leaving that day and she was already in colorado. She apparently talked to her aunt before the aunt called us. she was very mad, yelled, told us she was refuting her card and to keep the items. I offered her a reweigh upon delivery to see the accuracy and we have weight scale tickets. We can easily fax or mail copies and she can have a reweight. The last word she gave me was that we should keep the items and she would be doing a chargeback. I asked her if she could send me something over saying that she was relinquishing items because I didnt want to be accused of theft
tiffany: Then we called her niece who said her aunt was handling it and to not send it. I also told her about the reweigh but she basically kept telling me to call her aunt and was very mad and I told her if she raised her voice I was hanging up, she kept cutting me off, I finally was like fine mam this conversation is done and I will call you aunt and i did hang up. At this point both parties told us to not send it and keep it. I left for out of town and arrived home monday.
tiffany: Monday I came to work to find an email linking me to your site and also some harassing emails. I went to the site and found a completely different version of events.
tiffany: We do not and will not work by cubic feet. Also she said she was awaiting a response but her last word to us was to keep the items and she was charging her car back. Then she accuses me of making up my name and I still dont see why if I was or was not hispanic would matter in terms of her move.
tiffany: So i called her and asked her what she wanted to do, again offered a reweigh, she called me a liar said I wasnt who I said, she was recording everything which I said was fine as I wasnt hiding anything.
tiffany: We readily agree to a reweigh and she has copies of her paperwork
tiffany: all the things she sign have carbon copies for the customer
tiffany: all bill of ladings talk about weight, reweighs, etc
benpopken: Did you ever leave a screaming message?
tiffany: no I did not
tiffany: what i said was
tiffany: very specific
benpopken: Did Aaron ever call her and say the scales were broken and you would now work by cubic feet?
tiffany: From what I was told by Aaron, the only thing mentioned about CF was that we dont work by it, plus he was not trained and does not know about CF, he only knows lbs based on our moving system
tiffany: Plus
tiffany: I am the office manager and I was the one that confirmed with her the job closing giving her the weight
tiffany: The sales rep does not close the job or give the final balance
benpopken: Did the driver assert that they would have to pay $400 more for the cubic feet?
tiffany: no
tiffany: The driver only told her the balance which I had told her and when he would deliver
tiffany: No one will ever work by cubic feet plus her weight which was 2300 is not even 400cf
benpopken: What were the additional items shipped that were not on the initial list she provided?
tiffany: I am getting her file
benpopken: Thanks, we appreciate you reaching out and being open to our questions.
tiffany: Not a problem
tiffany: We picked up 16 items, 5 over her list. She added 2 boxes, The saw was bigger then described, and There was more to the hutch and more to the table
tiffany: Basically the computer gives an estimate based on the average weight for items, so they are estimating. If the table is something Ikea it is probably less and if the wood if heavier, maybe more.
tiffany: So we picked up her items, the truck has an empty weight and then we weigh it with the items and then subtract for the final weight
tiffany: We do not have an additive rate, the price per lb stays the same
tiffany: She also initialed all the spots where this is stated
tiffany: There in nothing hidden
tiffany: Our bill of landings, estimates, and order for services say all this
benpopken: How did it work out after you talked to Colorado Weights and Measures? Did they contact you?
tiffany: Jonathan contacted me, was very nice, we set up a rescale
tiffany: he was very nice and willing to help us with the reweigh
tiffany: we want the reweigh to show this is true
tiffany: So she does not want it until tuesday after memorial day
tiffany: She sent us an email saying either we delivery her with no extra charges, and she had $150 in packing which she signed for and she only wants to pay her weight. Or she continues her chargeback and abandons the items
tiffany: We are happy she is agreeing to the reweigh
benpopken: When are you going to do the rescale?
tiffany: She does not want it until after Tuesday
tiffany: So whenever she wants after Tuesday
benpopken: How does that work, do you send the truck to a CWM facility?
tiffany: They will pick the scale
tiffany: We will send the truck with her items only
tiffany: She will verify they are only her items
tiffany: We will have it weighed with our rep, her rep, and the cwm rep
tiffany: then they will unload her items there
tiffany: and reweigh the truck empty in front of everyone
tiffany: Subtract the empty truck weight from the weight with her items
tiffany: and that is the weight
tiffany: The only real variable might be 50lbs based on fuel said the CWM people
tiffany: But it will be very accurate and certified and the CWM are the neutral party
benpopken: It looks like we've got a date then
benpopken: For us to contact CWM after the rescale
tiffany: Definitely
benpopken: Are they pretty open about sharing that info?
tiffany: I would think so, but we will also offer our tickets from them to
tiffany: And will allow them if needed to release the info
tiffany: They will also verify my name
tiffany: Because as silly as it may be
tiffany: It is my birth name and to be told I am a poser and lying, is very unfair
tiffany: The only reason I will not give her my last name is I don't feel safe for my personal privacy
tiffany: Considering the emails I have received
benpopken: I apologize for that
tiffany: Either way, you can contact us via email or phone after the reweigh
tiffany: Thank you
benpopken: That couldn't have been enjoyable at all
benpopken: esp. if her claims are groundless or based on a misunderstanding
benpopken: We really appreciate your being so forthright. Other companies could stand to learn from your example
tiffany: Thank you very much for also being willing to allow my story and to work with me
tiffany: This will hopefully all have a good ending for everyone
tiffany: you can reach us at [redacted] or [redacted] if needed and we will stay in touch for the reweigh
benpopken: Awesome, thanks. I will follow up with you by the end of the week if I don't hear from you
tiffany: Thank you. Have a good night.
benpopken: Cheers, you too

It's also noteworthy that ASAP Van Lines has a satisfactory record with the Illinois BBB. They are also not on the movingscam.com blacklist. — BEN POPKEN

RELATED: Trouble With Your Movers? Call The Department Of Weights And Measures!

Using freight shipping can be a great way to move stuff for cheap, but scams abound, as this letter from the mother of longtime reader Crayonshinobi shows.

ASAP Vanlines did a whole buncha switcharoos on Crayonshinobi's mom, the worst of which was tacking on $400 more. The agreement had been for cost based on weight, but after the shipment left, said "the scales were broken" and were now going to charge by cubic foot. When the family refused shipment at the other end, the company left a series of screaming and scathing messages.

Crayonshinobi's mom is filing a chargeback and is even going to cancel the credit card she paid with because she's worried about this company messing with your account even after all is (seemingly) said and done. Her tale, inside...

Crayonshinobi's mom writes:

It started with a simple quote for a dining room set. Hutch, table, six chairs. Move from Illinois to Colorado. First quote was 100.00 lower than 2nd quote, which I did accept (thinking gas prices had gone up). In our discussion and written quote, the weight we were billed for was 1800 #s. Less than a truckload (LTL). Aaron explained that his computer could calculate the dining room set and he agreed we would definitely not meet(exceed) the 1800 pounds. I then asked if we could put the table saw on and he stated yes, it shouldn't be a problem. I know for a fact the saw weighs in at 140 pounds.

They arrived at the house on Monday, began packing the hutch and at that point we were told $140.00 for packing material. I called the office speaking with Aaron who assured me he would do something. They took 35.00 off.

Next the driver tells us that we have to pay almost 400.00 dollars more for the cubic feet we are taking up. Once again, I call Aaron and state to him that we are not paying for cubic feet, we are paying for weight. He states he will get back to me after talking to the owner. He leaves me a voice mail and said that the "scales were broken" and that it is correct to charge by the cubic feet.

I call him back and leave a voice mail stating it is not acceptable and I will not pay for cubic feet. Never heard back from him again. Tried emailing and no response.

Tuesday (the next day) the truck is in Colorado!!! I receive a phone call from my niece who states she heard from the trucker and he wants to deliver immediately. I was shocked -as they had just left the day before. They must have drove all night. I immediately call the office and get voice mail. I left a message that there is a discrepency with the billing and that until this is cleared up we will not accept delivery. I also wrote an email with the same information to Aaron.

Aaron calls me and states that I should personally speak with the owner...named Dorri. I call Dorri and a Tiffany answers the phone and states that "he is not available and could she help me". I then explain to her that the agreed upon amount of $1200.00 has turned into 1600.00 and I asked why. She states that we are paying for 2100#'s. My reply was "WHAT COULD WEIGH A TON?"" "YOU ARE TELLING ME A DINING ROOM SET WEIGHS A TON??" She immediately goes into a rampage about how they did nothing wrong and that is exactly what it weighs.
I related to her the exact words from her salesperson Aaron and how it was determined that we would not be even close to their minimum. She didn't care and that is that. She then states that my daughter (she is referring to my niece) has accepted shipment.

I told Tiffany, no she didn't and no she won't. That really angered her and she started yelling at me and I hung up. I called my niece and warned her NOT to accept shipment. She had 2 phone calls from this Tiffany and she left a SCREAMING message at one point for my niece to call her immediately. My niece did not call her and at 5pm Tiffany called her again and yelled at her that she MUST take shipment and pay the money. My niece declined and stated that she must take this up with me since I am the person who contracted and there is a dispute. Tiffany hung up on my niece.

I refuse to pay the additional charges and frankly, they can have the dining room set. I have called my credit card company and put a dispute on the card as well. I will also cancel the credit card after reading the horror stories about this company.

The dining room set was really not worth the 1200.00 to move and certainly not 1600.00 they are charging. We did for sentimental reasons and honestly this is now an issue of ethics and I fully intend not to give in. They can have the set and the table saw (it wasn't a good one anyway).

Should be interesting to see what their next move will be.

(Photo: Getty)

$110 is steep for an exit row, by my accounting, but it **guaranteed** him the seat. You pay for that certainty. An upgrade to premium economy — wider seat, better recline, more legroom — would have probably cost him double, if it were available. An upgrade to business, even more. Some background here.

Bottom line: If you want the **guaranteed** upgrade, you gotta pay, either in miles, points, or cold, hard cash. Sure, you can take a chance and hope for a free upgrade. But to be ASSURED of that better seat? Pay up. I don't see the problem with the charge. The chargeback is unwarranted.

Adam is pissed because he had to pay Virgin Atlantic $110 to get "upgraded" to a seat with extra legroom, but then a guy who just asked a flight attendant for a similar seat got the same for free. When he complained to customer service, he was told a supervisor would call him back (this of course, never happened). Another rep offered him $40 for his troubles. Adam found this offer "insulting."

He wrote a complaint letter, posted inside for your edification. It's pretty clear and to the point, and it threatens a chargeback, which is a good way to let a company know you're informed and serious.

Adam sent this to the regular customer service email line. If he doesn't get a good response, we advise kicking it up the ladder to the CEO or some other such high-ranking individual. CCing it to the DOT isn't a bad idea either. See also 5 Tips For Complaining To Airlines.

(Photo: davitydave)

To Whom It May Concern,

I have been treated very badly by Virgin Atlantic, which surprises me, as I have flown with Virgin at least a dozen times in the last three years and never experienced such poor customer service in the past. You have been my transatlantic airline of choice for the last several years, but I will be switching to British Airways if I can not have this issue resolved.

I flew from Los Angeles to Heathrow on VS 8, on April 19, 2007. I paid $110 US at the gate to be "upgraded" to an exit row seat with extra leg room. When I got on the plane I found that the "upgraded" seat is in fact narrower than the rest of the coach seats on the plane. I was surprised that I would have to pay a premium for a less comfortable seat. Adding insult to injury, a flight attendant seated someone next to me who had not paid the "upgrade" fee. He had just asked the attendant if he could have a seat with more legroom. Why was I charged for the privilege an hour earlier if all I had to do was ask once I got on the plane? This is unfair and dishonest of the gate agents.

When I called Virgin Atlantic on Saturday, April 21, I spoke with Bianca (ext. 32144), who said she was unable to offer me any recourse for my inconvenience and expense. She promised a supervisor would call back within 24 hours, which did not happen. I told her that I have never been called back by a supervisor from any company when promised, but she said someone would absolutely call me. They did not. I called again on Tuesday April 24 and spoke with Malvika (ext. 32970), who again refused to help me. I was then transferred to Ashutosh (ext. 32927), who offered me a 25 voucher for my inconvenience. This is completely unacceptable. I was charged $110 for an "upgrade" that was rendered worthless when someone was given the same service for free. Why would you offer me a $40 voucher when I had been fleeced over $100 cash? That is insulting.

It is my sincere request that you give me a worth-while upgrade to make up for the poor treatment I have received from Virgin Atlantic to date. I insist that you upgrade my return ticket (Heathrow-JFK VS45, April 26, 2007, Confirmation C4MT2X) to Premium Economy. If this can not be done I will initiate a chargeback for the "upgrade" fee with my credit card company.

Please respond to this email within 24 hours so this issue can be resolved in advance of my flight.

Kindest regards,
Adam L

cc: Consumerist.com

— BEN POPKEN

Basically, you do a chargeback when you feel like you're not getting what you paid for, in terms of the quality or type of good or service.

To start a chargeback, contact your credit card company and ask. A dispute process begins and the merchant will have to provide proof they rendered service properly. If the merchant can't provide sufficient evidence, the credit card company debits the transaction amount from the merchant's account and credits it to your account.

Additionally, the credit card company charges the merchant a chargeback fee.

We urge consumers to only use chargebacks as a last resort and never before making several attempts to resolve an issue directly with a merchant. The last step before doing a chargeback is to threaten to use one. Sometimes that's enough to change a vendor's mind and let them know you're serious.

Have you ever used a chargeback? How did it work out? — BEN POPKEN

When Justin finally took the 1994 Ford Taurus home from the mechanic's twenty-four days later, the car made strange new noises. It also was missing its front disc brakes.

He had the car towed back and repaired. When driving the newly repaired car, it stalled in the middle of a freeway intersection. He took it back for further repairs. Driving it afterwards, the transmission once again slipped out.

Justin contacted AAMCO corporate, who told him that the franchise owner refused the refund.

Initially, Sunflower Bank approved Justin's chargeback, but later refused it, saying...

UPDATE: Justin writes, "We spoke to a rude lady who kept changing her story. First, she said that we can't have a dispute if they put a new transmission in (working or not). I told her that made absolutely no sense. After 10 minutes of going back and forth, she changed her story to: "take it to another mechanic, pay them to look at it, and have them send us something saying it's not working right." My concern with this: Could Aamco could blame another mechanic for opening the transmission (possibly voiding the warranty)?"

When Justin asked his bank to do a chargeback, Sunflower Bank said,

By signing the sales receipt you authorized the merchant to bill your account for the transaction and agreed to the terms and conditions of the sale. Since the transaction was face to face, the cardholder is responsible for determining what they are agreeing to prior to accepting the transaction. We cannot dispute verbal quotes or promises in situations involving a signed document.

Our advice to Justin is to shake the contact tree at Sunflower Bank and try to kick his issue up to a more senior representative. Their reason for refusing the chargeback makes no sense and we'd like to chalk it up to an inexperienced employee working in a tiny bank. If that's fruitless, small claims court may be the way to go.

Justin's official letter of complaint:

December 27, 2006 Aamco Transmissions Attn Franchise Owner 6144 Merriam Lane Shawnee Mission, Kansas 66203

Dear Aamco Franchise Owner,

This letter is in response to service rendered at the Aamco, located at 6144 Merriam Lane in Shawnee Mission, Kansas. The services were performed on a 1994 Ford Taurus, in accordance with invoice number 127117.

On the morning of October 16, 2006, I initiated a service call to Aamco to have our 1994 Ford Taurus towed into your shop. Two days passed before I received a call about the condition of our automobile. Your shop manager, John, told me that the vehicle needed a new transmission. John let me know the transmission would cost between $1100 (if it was only the transmission) and $1500 (if the torque converter needed replaced). After I received the pricing information, we spent the next two days discussing the investment in the automobile. I called John again on, or about, October 23, authorizing him to begin work on the automobile.

Throughout the next ten business days, I called five or six times to inquire about the status of our automobile. Each time I was told by John that he would call me by the end of the business day with an update. In those ten days, we never received a telephone call.

On the morning of Friday, November 3, I received a call from John. While I was expecting to hear that the car had been finished, he told me that the price was going to be $500 more than what he previously quoted, giving us a total of $2000 to repair the transmission. John assured me that he would have the automobile finished in two business days if we decided to accept this new price. At this point, we had been without our car for eighteen days. I told John that I needed to discuss my options with the rest of the people involved.

On Monday afternoon, November 6, I called John and authorized him to begin work on the car. Two days came and went, and once again I received no telephone call. On the afternoon of Thursday, November 8, I called John to inquire about the status of the car. John told me the car was being worked on, and he would do his best to get it done that day. He told me he would call me by noon the next day with an update. On Friday, 12:00 p.m. came and went, with no call from John or Aamco. I called John around 3 p.m. to find out if the car was going to be held through another weekend. He assured me the transmission was being put in as we spoke, and that he would try his best to have the vehicle ready by 5 p.m. At 4:45 p.m. I called John again, to see if the vehicle was ready. He told me that he planned to stay late to finish up the automobile.

At 5:45 p.m., Friday evening, John called to tell me the vehicle was ready to go. He then informed me that "the car needs brakes all the way around" and "it is leaking engine coolant." He then offered to put brakes on it. I declined this offer for two reasons: 1) there was nothing wrong with the brakes when we brought it in and 2) I didn't have much trust in Aamco's service at this point. I arrived at the Aamco shop around 6 pm to pick up the vehicle. I had John run the credit card payment through, and I signed the necessary papers. When I started to pull away in the automobile, it was making noises that it had never made before. The car was grinding and squealing as if metal was rubbing against metal. I drove the car home and got to my driveway. My driveway has a slight slope to it, and I was unable to stop the vehicle (as there were no front brakes). The vehicle slammed into the curb and finally came to a stop.

The next day, I jacked the car up and took off the tire to look at the brakes. Another witness, Larry McLary (whose notarized statement is available upon request) was with me as I looked at the braking system. The entire braking system was loose, and the caliper was grinding into the rotor. The brake pad, which was still relatively new, was not even close to the rotor. While we were looking at the brakes, we noticed they had left one of their bungee tie downs in the car, proof the work was done quickly and poorly. We put the tire back on, and lifted the other side of the vehicle. Before we even took the tire off, we noticed that the entire wheel moved back and forth without loosening the lug nuts. I took some video of the braking system with my camera phone, as further proof of the sloppy work.

On November 13, the Schmelzle's and I called Sunflower Bank to dispute the credit card charge Aamco had put on Friday night. I recounted the events leading up to that day with the representative, who approved the dispute on the charge. I then left a message with the Aamco corporate office, to let them know what had happened. Within a couple hours, I received a call back from a representative of Aamco corporate office. They recorded the incident, and told me I would receive a follow up call shortly. At that point, I received a call from you. You informed me that John would be calling me to have the vehicle towed back to the shop.

Two more days passed, and I received a call from John to let me know that the vehicle had been repaired. He told me the braking and wheel system had been replaced. I thanked him for taking care of the situation, and picked up the car that afternoon. I drove the car for a week, and determined the services paid for had been satisfied. The bank was then notified that the dispute could be removed, and payment could be released.

On Monday, December 4, my fianc e Sara and I were attempting to cross the freeway. As we went to cross the freeway, the car stalled. It sounded as if the vehicle was in Park and it did not move. After a short period of fear, the car shifted into gear and we made it across the dangerous intersection. I immediately drove the car over to Aamco and let them know the vehicle was still not fixed. After another two days in the shop, I received a voicemail from John. He told me he had figured out what was wrong, and that I should call him to pick up the vehicle. I called him and he let me know that they had forgotten to hook up the "power steering switch". I was unsure what this exactly meant, as my knowledge of the inner workings of an engine is foreign to me. I picked up the vehicle, and drove it back to work to make sure everything was working fine. As I was crossing the intersection of 95th and Quivira, the vehicle's transmission once again "slipped" and I was stuck again. After a few seconds the vehicle jerked hard, and began to move. This was the final straw for me. I called Sunflower Bank to have them reopen the dispute case, and begin the chargeback process.

This whole experience has not only been a nightmare financially, but has also put our lives in danger due to the poor work performed. Twice, Aamco admitted to, and fixed, things they had neglected to do right the first time. Having no front brakes on the vehicle could have endangered me, or my fianc e, and whoever else would have been unfortunate enough to come into contact with this vehicle. Having the transmission slip while we were crossing a busy freeway could have caused serious harm or death, due to improperly hooking up the power steering. I will not allow my life, or the lives of my loved ones, to be put in jeopardy over careless work. We have been lucky nothing has happened to us so far, but I will not wait until I am about to be run over by a semi to find out what new Aamco mistake will be found. We have been without an automobile for almost a full month, though I will admit that we took five of those days for decision making. This has caused thousands of miles, wear and tear, and gas to be used on other personal vehicles as a result of the vehicle being out of commission.

As a result of this, we refuse to make payment on services rendered. The bank has been informed of the dispute, and has taken the necessary steps to begin the chargeback procedures. We do not authorize any further work to be done on this vehicle. Please let us know what steps you would like to take to rectify this situation.

Sincerely,

William E. and Judith A. S.
Justin R. R. and Sara J. S.

Bill

Receipt

— BEN POPKEN

Hi Ben, I just wanted to let you and everyone else know that the charge-back worked like a charm. It took a while, but we received the refund today for our non-private car and all of the hassle that we went through during our trip to NYC. This was a full refund from American Express, not just the difference, and I thank you and Consumerist and all your readers for all of the advice.

Behold, the power of the credit card chargeback.

It's relatively easy to get one. If a product or service goes wrong and the company refuses to fix it, you just call up your credit card company. Tell them your sob story. Ask for a chargeback. Be advised that requests will require some investigation on the credit card company's part before processing. — BEN POPKEN

First, contact the seller and try to resolve the issue.
1. Sign in to your Google Account.
2. On the Purchase History page, locate the order containing the item you'd like to cancel or have refunded, and click the link in the Item column.
3. At the top of the receipt, click Contact [Seller's Name].
4. Select an appropriate subject for your message from the Subject: drop-down menu, and enter your message in the Message: text box.
5. Click Send email once you've provided the necessary details.

If that proves fruitless, you can ask Google for mediation. *

In this instance, either "I'd like to cancel my order" or "Other" should do the trick. — BEN POPKEN

* This was also covered, in passing, in our Dec 13 post, "We Interview Google Checkout; Promises To Protect Consumers"

That's what some former HP workers have told us over the tip transom.

Pretty neat, it's like they're preemptively matching credit credit's chargeback policies (which typically grant chargebacks automatically for items under $50).

Dave and Bill are such nice guys. — BEN POPKEN

After selling a Tivo on eBay, Homerjay took several turns around the chargeback merry-go-round because the buyer couldn't get the equipment to work.

At this point, the buyer is claiming the merchandise was sold, "not as described." No matter how clearly Homerjay believes his Tivo was described, Paypal is unmovable.

Paypal refunded the money to the buyer. Paypal says that if Homerjay wants his money back, he has to sue the purchaser.

"Does this make ANY sense at all? I feel like I'm being scammed by the seller and Paypal doesn't give a shit," writes Homerjay.

They takes your money, and they takes your chances...but hey, Homer, why don't you go sue him?

Homerjay writes:

— BEN POPKEN

If reader Charlie's letter inside isn't proof enough, then perhaps the profusion of negative reviews at Epinions might be of service.

Steve Martin should compile them into a Shouts undt Murmurs piece.

Lastly, let's take a look at the actual magsforless.com site. It looks like poo. Anytime you see a commerce site that looks like it was designed in three seconds, run away. It probably means they suck.

Charlie writes:

"On September 9, 2006, I ordered online a 2 year renewal subscription for The New Yorker Magazine. My Mastercard was charged $29.50. Over the last few weeks I've left 3 voice mails (888-7620-6298)and sent 3 emails to complain because The New Yorker has no record of this transaction. And I've received no response from Magsforless.com or their sister company, My1mag.com. Our subscription runs out in February. I'd like my money back. It appears anyone who uses them risks having their money flush down the toilet, and your credit card number is questionable hands.

I've contacted various consumer protection organizations. We'll see if they have better luck than I did. Just check out what people on epinions.com have to say about these guys. I should have looked there first. I learned the hard way."

At this point, it seems that Charlie's best route of action is to contact his credit card company and ask for a chargeback. This will refund Charlie's money, as well as charge a fee to Magsorless. Luckily, most credit card companies will issue this near automatically for amounts under $50.

— BEN POPKEN