Jeff canceled one of the two lines on his AT&T Mobility family plan, and on his next bill he noticed the remaining line had been charged for mobile-to-mobile calls on the AT&T network—even though those minutes are supposed to be free.
EHarmony Reunites Customer With His Money, Apologizes
By March 6, 2009
David, who we noted earlier this week was out an extra $140 because eHarmony decided to open a second account in his name, has written back with an update.
United Promises There's No Fee, Then Takes $150 Out Of Your Account
By March 5, 2009
We all know that just because a rep on the phone promises you something, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily true. But in Alan’s case, two different United reps both confirmed, repeatedly—he asked several times before completing the purchase and again before canceling—that he could cancel his tickets within 24 hours of purchase without paying a fee. A week after he canceled, he was hit with a $150 non-refundable fee that one United rep admitted was a new policy that wasn’t in writing—but United still refused to reverse it.
Watch Out For Payment Date Errors—And Related Finance Charges—From Chase
By March 4, 2009
Mike used an Office Depot Visa card issued through Chase to take advantage of a pay-no-interest deal through 2008. He paid off the remaining balance a couple of days before the offer period ended, but Chase still slapped him with a nearly $40 interest charge. Why? Because they’ve been “having problems like that” with Office Depot cards.
E-Harmony Gives You 58 Dimensions Of Suck By Billing You For Two Accounts
By March 3, 2009
Update: eHarmony has returned the money.
Cox Agrees To Remove Undisclosed Charge, Then Changes Their Mind Without Saying Anything
By February 28, 2009
Cox told reader Don that they would waive a $55 service fee they hadn’t previously disclosed, but then changed their mind without telling him. Now Cox is telling Don that if he pays the $55, they’ll return it to him as a credit next month. Yeah, sure they will. Should Don trust them?
Verizon Wireless Accused Of Wrongly Billing NY Customers State Tax
By February 25, 2009
A class action lawsuit has been filed against Verizon Wireless accusing it of passing directly to customers a “metropolitan commuter transportation district” tax that the company was actually supposed to pay. Albert Levy, who filed the lawsuit, points out that Sprint has never charged the tax to customers. Verizon Wireless calls the accusation “silly,” and says they’re billing it correctly. Perhaps not surprisingly, the actual wording of the tax law leaves the matter up in the air.
By January 16, 2009
Macy’s now admits that it was an in-house software glitch that caused them to charge in-store debit card users twice on the Saturday before Christmas. [StorefrontBacktalk] (Thanks to Evan!)
Mint Alerts Users Whose Accounts Were Fraudulently Charged
By January 15, 2009
A couple days ago, we wrote about a fake company called Adele that was fraudulently charging 25 cents to credit cards. Personal finance site Mint heard about the scam too, and they reviewed their users’ records and notified them if they found a fraudulent charge.
Did Adele Services Charge Your Credit Card? The Company Does Not Exist
By January 13, 2009
The Boston Globe says that credit card users are noticing a mysterious charge for about 25 cents from Adele Services in Melville, NY. The trouble is, “There is no business by that name listed in Melville, or registered to any business anywhere in New York, for that matter.” No one knows yet whether these small charges are tests for larger unauthorized debits, or if this is the entire scam. Either way, check your statement and be sure to file a dispute—and request a new card—if you come across it.
Vonage Says "If You Hang Up We'll Cancel Your Account"
By January 10, 2009
We don’t know what the hell happened with this customer service situation, but somehow the CSR for Vonage decided that when Sarah abruptly hung up on him, she agreed by default to a service cancellation and $92 cancellation fee. That sounds like the kind of angry-CSR “mistake” that can be fixed with a second call—but according to the next CSR Sarah spoke to, that’s just Vonage policy. What?
By December 31, 2008
If you used your debit card at Macy’s on the Saturday before Christmas, you might have been charged twice.
By November 18, 2008
Over on Elliott.org, a woman describes how her $29 Days Inn room ballooned to a $180 charge when the hotel’s owner refused to honor the deal, and what she did to get the difference refunded. [Elliott.org]
Tonik Insurance Sneaks 20% Premium Increase On Customer After Approval
By October 13, 2008
Tonik is the rad, x-treme! lifestyle health insurance for young people who can’t afford regular insurance—sort of the Poochie of health insurance, except it’s not going to go away. Aasma wrote to us to let us know that when she signed up for it over the weekend, she got a nasty surprise after she submitted her credit card information.
Don't Even Look At Your Hotel Room's Minibar Or You Might Get Charged
By October 7, 2008
My wife and I are there right now. We opened the minibar last night to put a piece of pizza in there in a pizza box. This morning, there’s a $26.04 charge for food on the bill slid under our door. Why? My wife just called to ask and was told, “If you open the mini bar door, there’s a sensor in there and if you move anything in there… you get billed for it.” In our case, we must have jiggled a $20 bottle of wine.
Honey, Was That PotBelly's Sandwich $4.23 Or $858,432?
By September 28, 2008
Sorry PotBelly Sandwich Works customers, you can’t order the Chicken Salad Sandwich unless you qualify for a mortgage. Ashley’s husband thought his usual lunchtime meal cost $4.23, but, as his wife discovered when trying to pay their credit card bill, the sandwich actually costs $858,432.06.
Charges Filed Against Bed, Bath & Beyond Manager Who Refused To Allow 911 Call
By September 11, 2008
Police have charged Elizabeth Miller, the manager of the Bed, Bath & Beyond in Lexington, Kentucky, who refused to let a couple use the store’s phone to call 911 to report a three-year-old locked in a van, and refused to make an announcement over the store’s PA system. The charge is “failure to report dependency, neglect and abuse, a Class B misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of 90 days and a maximum fine of $250.”
Blockbuster Double Dips In PayPal Account; Naturally, PayPal Does Nothing
By September 10, 2008
Blockbuster debited Anthony’s PayPal account two days in a row for the same monthly plan. PayPal won’t help—they say it’s between Blockbuster and Anthony, offering further proof that PayPal is a great service only as long as nothing goes wrong.
