Author Topic: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story  (Read 17990 times)

trailrated

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Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« on: January 28, 2015, 09:56:22 AM »
Anyone have anything good? Did you win or lose?

cashstasherat23

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #1 on: January 28, 2015, 10:07:59 AM »
I have had success with it in the past! My parents and I took a trip to Chile this summer, and while skiing my father bought a souvenir t-shirt. When we returned home it was too small, so he tried to contact the shop to exchange it. They never answered, so we opened up a dispute with American Express. 6 weeks later, they confirmed that they would refund the charge for our entire purchase, as they couldn't get in touch with the shop either.

Free t-shirt for my dad, and free sweatshirt for me!

Other times I have disputed a charge when the store was giving me trouble with a refund, ie a big purchase at Best Buy or something similar, and that has prompted the company to do the right thing and give me the refund. American Express is great for this, not sure about any other companies dispute charge policies as I have not had to do anything with any of them.

trailrated

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #2 on: January 28, 2015, 10:35:59 AM »
My buddy was in Brazil for the World Cup and him and 3 friends went to a small convenience store. They each bought something small... a red bull, a 6 pack of beer, a candy bar etc. Each of them got charged ~$3,000.

They each disputed it and it wasn't until about 3 months later when they all sent in their credit card statements showing the same day, the same store, and all of their charges the same that the credit card company reimbursed them.

Would be tough to rack up $12,000 at a quick e mart in one day.

HawkeyeNFO

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #3 on: January 28, 2015, 11:22:18 AM »
Last year I had an issue with a Barclay card.  They resolved it quickly and 100% favorably.  Keep your paperwork - it makes things easy and indisputable.

Angie55

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #4 on: January 28, 2015, 11:34:13 AM »
I rarely have issues with my cards. But last year I had one on my work card that was.... difficult.

I took a business trip to Canada. Booked a hotel which was cancelled and refunded a few days later. Problem was the exchange rate changed over those 2 days resulting in a $35 difference. Within the same time, my card number somehow got into a consulting company from Nigeria and had 12 charges of 99,000Nigerian$. Once I got them reversed I still could not clear them through expense report because we aren't allowed to buy stuff in Nigeria? I had to game the system a bit to get the charges to a state where I could submit them. And I had to do it 24x! I was a little nervous sending that nightmare of an expense report to my boss... That's why they never let me out of the office.

I used to have a lot of issues with companies turning off my cards when I was driving from DC to Boston to get home. I'd go to get gas and my cards would be declined. It was so annoying. That hasn't happened in years though.

socaso

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #5 on: January 28, 2015, 11:48:13 AM »
Just had one last week. My husband had his scissors sharpened and the guy ran the card for $880+. Yikes! The bank actually dealt with it really quickly, he just called them up and opened a dispute and they put the money back in the account right away. The sharpener guy actually called my husband and apologized profusely about the mistake so at least we don't have bad feeling about the guy.

Eric

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #6 on: January 28, 2015, 12:02:54 PM »
As someone who has had to deal with many falsely disputed CC charges at work, please, I beg you all, call the company that made the charge first and let them rectify the situation with a refund.  If that is unsuccessful, then dispute the charge.  (obviously does not apply to blatant fraudulent charges)

andy85

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #7 on: January 28, 2015, 12:28:12 PM »
i just had one this week as well. apparently i bought something online from a shopping mall in Lima, Peru. What is even more reassuring is that it was purchased through 'verified visa' so i had to prove it was me.....funny thing is, it wasnt me!

disputed the charge. got denied b/c it was purchased through some verified by visa program. Called Chase, told me why they had to deny it. He transferred me to the fraud guy who seemed surprised this happened with the verified by visa thing. he closed my card and refunded the charges. so i won! new card in the mail.

Gone Fishing

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #8 on: January 28, 2015, 12:38:42 PM »
Did my first one a few weeks ago.  Mail order pharmacy autofilled a prescription that had expired and my wife was going to quit taking.  I sent it back and request a refund. They were going to "look into it". A few weeks later, nothing had happened, so I disputed the charge.  Only $30, but it went back on the card within a few days.  The less I buy the less problems I run into.  I shop quite a bit online, but try to buy locally if I can, this heads off a lot of problems.  When I do buy online I'll pay 1-2% more if it means I can buy from a retailer with an established reputation vs just the lowest price.     

I'm a red panda

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #9 on: January 28, 2015, 01:15:12 PM »
I've never not had a dispute settled in my favor.

Once I was required to file a police report (to baffled police who didn't know what they could do about it) when someone bought plane tickets. 

Everything other time, I just said so and they took care of it.

I've only once used it for a product that was sold not as described. I bought brand X, they sent be brand Y and never replied to emails when I wanted to exchange. In this case, I just kept all the correspondence.

paddedhat

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #10 on: January 28, 2015, 05:23:22 PM »
I had several over the years, always resolved quickly, and to my satisfaction, except one.

 I once rented a Jeep from a guy that had a great scam going. He had a small fleet of matching yellow Wranglers that he rented by the day, for off-roading in SW Colorado. I have done this many times, before dealing with this guy, but the whole deal felt squirrelly from the start. His scam was great. He inspected the shit out of the thing, after you returned, and climbed over and under every inch of it. He then said everything looked fine, and off I went. He would wait until he knew you were long gone, and file a claim for body damage. It was pretty smart. If he had a unit roll in with a bit of a dent, he would hammer that driver's wallet, then take a shot at a few other recent renters, complete with lots of good evidence.

His first move, after he knew that I was in Nevada, was to contact my insurance agent. My idiot of an agent then opened a claim, without even bothering to call me! I had to threaten to contact the state insurance commissioner to get them to close the damn thing. At the same time he filed with my Visa card. These idiots were even better. Their fraud department just didn't care. They had the attitude that this was just the cost of doing business. "don't worry we'll pay it, and it won't effect you at all". In the end I woke them up by asking if the wanted to be listed as a co-defendant on the sheriff's fraud investigation? That got their attention, and they notified Jeep boy that his claim was on hold, pending a report from local law enforcement. I finally got the guy on the phone and broke the news that I would be back for a personal visit, next summer, and it might be a bit unpleasant. I guess he wore his welcome out, since he was gone before our reunion.

mxt0133

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #11 on: January 28, 2015, 05:43:36 PM »
On our way to the west coast I started hearing a grinding noise while in gear on our car.  When we stopped in Arizona I took it to a dealer and had them look at it.  They said they needed to keep it a day or two, no biggie we can take a taxi or bus around town.  They tried to keep it longer but told them that I needed it a specific day and when I came to pick it up and test drove it, the noise was still there.  When I told them that it wasn't fixed and the noise is still there the service rep told me straight up, "That's what the radio is for."  So I did whatever I could to get my car, gave them my credit card and paid like $1500-1900.

When we finally got to our new place, I called them up to tell them that it was not fixed and gave them the opportunity to fix the situation, they told me they would get back to me.  After a few day they never did and I followed up again, no reply.  By then I had scheduled a check-up with a mechanic my family member knows really well and he wrote me up a letter saying that whatever service they performed did not fix the problem.  I called up Chase and they sent me a form detailing what happened and they immediately removed the charge.

So after that I never pay for cash for expensive services because I know if they don't do what they say I can challenge it.

randymarsh

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #12 on: January 28, 2015, 06:10:39 PM »
I've disputed charges a few times. Always quickly removed and I never heard anything after the initial phone call.

stuckinmn

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #13 on: January 28, 2015, 08:32:42 PM »
I noticed a charge to a company with some generic sounding name like ABC, LLC that neither my wife nor I recognized.  So I called the credit card company, explained I thought it was fraudulent, and the rep said, "I've got the company number right here, I'll conference them in."

Turns out my wife, with my full knowledge and consent, had gone to a friend's Tupperware type party, only this was a party for items designed to spice up marital relations.  The lady that answered the conference call proceeded to explain each item purchased in vivid detail, while I immediately realize my mistake and start loudly and repeatedly stating "Never mind, the charges are all valid, we're good, THE CHARGES ARE GOOD!"  I mean this lady would not stop talking about the products-she went on for a good 3 minutes while I'm trying to tell everyone it was a mistake and we should all hang up.

So that one dispute didn't work out so well, though I'm sure the credit card company now uses that recording in their customer service training classes.

bacchi

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #14 on: January 28, 2015, 09:29:45 PM »
We got gas at a station on the Washington side of the gorge. The gas charge went through fine but a few days later there was a charge from a car parts website (washingtoncarparts.com or something). A look online showed that it was just a shell site and was actually domiciled in Russia and was about 2 weeks old. I called to dispute the charge, which was quickly removed. I then asked to get a new card and the customer rep asked, "Why do you want to do that?"

Lifestyle Deflation

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #15 on: January 28, 2015, 09:51:35 PM »
Only once, but it was actually a great experience while getting my dispute rejected.

I saw a mysterious charge appear on my card for $75 from a rental car place. I hadn't rented a car in over a month so I disputed it.

After a week or so, I got a letter in the mail from my credit card company and a call. The packet they mailed included about 5 pages of documentation, and a full-color picture of me "speeding" in a construction zone (36 in a 25 from a speed camera -- bastards!). The automated ticket system billed the rental car company, who then relayed it on to me a month later.

I kind of felt bad about the dispute since I was actually responsible (disregarding the speed-trap nature of the ticket), but I wouldn't have done it if the rental car place would have just let me know what happened instead of just charging my card without telling me.

jamaicaspanish

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #16 on: January 29, 2015, 12:53:34 AM »
We were remodeling our kitchen.  Decided on granite countertops.
The best price/quality in town was Rock Tops.  A legitimate Business.  Had stores in dozens of cities around the country.  Two outlets in our city.  They did hundreds of installs every year.
We paid for the measure and estimate on our Discover.  Then pre-paid for the entire cost of materials + labor on same Discover.  For some reason, we didn't ask about a cash discount--and dodged a bullet.
On the morning of the scheduled install, we had removed old laminate counter.  Left to have breakfast out with kids (yea!  let's celebrate our new kitchen at iHop). 
On the way to the restaurant, got a call from the "former manager."  He had been fired the day before.  Everyone in his store had not been paid in several weeks.  And calls to corporate went unanswered.  The owners had locked up every store in the country.  And declared bankruptcy.
Former manager still had access to customer numbers and was courtesy calling to let them know that the company was screwing everyone over.  He seemed genuinely sorry.
So . . . our dream granite went up in smoke.
We called Discover.  They immediately reversed the charges.  All of them.  So we didn't lose any money, just time.  Big Credit Card Dispute Win for JamaicaSpanish.
Thought we would go the Home Depot / Lowe's route for countertops
Until . . .
4 days later we got a call from someone who identified himself as a former worker of Rock Tops.  Said he hadn't been paid for weeks.  Said he had a key to the local shop.  Said our granite had been delivered two days before scheduled install.  And for a small installation fee, he could liberate our countertops and install them. 
Well, what would you do if it happened to you?

marty998

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #17 on: January 29, 2015, 05:01:26 AM »
I noticed a charge to a company with some generic sounding name like ABC, LLC that neither my wife nor I recognized.  So I called the credit card company, explained I thought it was fraudulent, and the rep said, "I've got the company number right here, I'll conference them in."

Turns out my wife, with my full knowledge and consent, had gone to a friend's Tupperware type party, only this was a party for items designed to spice up marital relations.  The lady that answered the conference call proceeded to explain each item purchased in vivid detail, while I immediately realize my mistake and start loudly and repeatedly stating "Never mind, the charges are all valid, we're good, THE CHARGES ARE GOOD!"  I mean this lady would not stop talking about the products-she went on for a good 3 minutes while I'm trying to tell everyone it was a mistake and we should all hang up.

So that one dispute didn't work out so well, though I'm sure the credit card company now uses that recording in their customer service training classes.

I bet that lady on the phone loves doing that to stunned spouses who DON'T know what their partners are up to!

I'm a red panda

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #18 on: January 29, 2015, 06:31:31 AM »

So that one dispute didn't work out so well,

It sounds like it worked out exactly as it should have.  A dispute that didn't work out well would be one that was fraudulent and you were still on the hook for.


(I once went on a massive shopping spree before a big event.  The credit card company called to make sure it was me spending, since it was so unusual. I told them, yes, I had made several large purchases at quite a few stores. But they insisted on reading each and every charge to me.  It took a very long time.  I ended up returning a lot of what I bought just because that call made me feel so guilty.)

jackiechiles2

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #19 on: January 29, 2015, 09:26:21 AM »
Wife bought some dress from China as a bridesmaids dress (bride had picked out).  When dress arrived, they were all different shades of the same color. Wife chatted with chinese company on their chat app, they agreed to take the dress back and refund money.   I shipped back, asked for refund.  Stupidly didn't put a tracking number/signature requirement on the package.

Weeks later, I chatted with chinese company on chat app, they denied receiving it, but agreed to give like a half credit or something.  Weeks later, no money received, I disputed with Cap One.

Chinese company responded to the dispute with some document that said they'd never talked to us about it and that there was nothing wrong with the dress. I responded with copies of the chat logs we had from their website.  Cap one refunded full amount week later.

Spondulix

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #20 on: January 30, 2015, 03:32:14 AM »
American Express is awesome with chargebacks. I probably have to do one a year and always win (they often give a credit while they're investigating). I had one dispute I won only to discover later I was wrong (there were multiple transactions, and I got my receipts crossed). It still ended in my favor.

hokiegb

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #21 on: January 30, 2015, 06:04:08 AM »
I had a pretty bad experience recently with a Bank of America prepaid card (so debit, not credit) that I use for work. I noticed when I got my statement that there was a ~$20 charge at a chinese restaurant that I have never been to. Next month three more charges. Went to the restaurant, all the orders were for delivery at an address that I didn't recognize. Asked them to refund the money and they refused, telling me I had to take it up with my credit card.

Bank of America was amazingly unhelpful. I do not think I have ever before been a witness such an impressive display of stonewalling. They recorded my dispute and then closed it the next day without even bothering to have me send in any evidence of the fraud. Which I had, in the form of receipts signed by someone that was very obviously not me. They absolutely refused to refund my money or even investigate the claim. I called and reopened the claim two more times only to have them do the same thing, close it the next day with no investigation. Just completely unhelpful.

bdoubleu

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #22 on: January 30, 2015, 06:33:40 AM »
Had one last year with our Chase Amazon card.  We apparently bought some sprinkler system stuff for ~$200 from an online store (didn't).  It happened when we were on vacation in Colorado, so it was mixed in with quite a few "irregular" purchases for us.  I submitted a dispute online, they reversed it within a few business days, then called for follow-up a few days later.  Then got an official "in writing" document explaining the every step and confirming the charge was reversed.  Super easy process.

Jack

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #23 on: January 30, 2015, 07:18:29 AM »
I had a pretty bad experience recently with a Bank of America prepaid card (so debit, not credit) that I use for work.

Well, that's the problem: I would expect even a company like Bank of America to be much more helpful if the card in question had been an actual credit card.

RunningWithScissors

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #24 on: January 30, 2015, 09:33:33 AM »
Only had one experience and it was resolved effortlessly and quickly in my favor.  About two years ago in January I noticed an odd charge mixed in with my Christmas purchases for a taxi bill from a city across the country.  I had been on a business trip there in the summer and used this taxi company. The driver had used an old-fashioned machine which takes an imprint of the card and not a modern, wireless point of sale terminal. 

I notified the credit card company, they opened a claim, immediately refunded my money, and pursued the taxi company themselves for a refund.  Apparently, taxi companies are well known for making multiple imprints and filing false charges during the busy Christmas season, hoping that people won't review their bills closely.

If a bank or credit provider didn't protect me, I'd drop them immediately.

Ynari

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #25 on: January 30, 2015, 09:48:10 AM »
I did once.

I purchased tickets for what I thought was a concert/performance at a theater, but turned out to be a night club (there were a handful of middle aged folks hanging out in line at 8pm who made the same mistake).  Very, very, VERY misleading advertising.  We left after we realized that the group we were interested in wouldn't even get on stage until midnight. (But they also tried to hide that information, too. Argued that they didn't want people showing up for just an hour to see one thing.)

Said nightclub had a "no refunds EVER" policy, though we asked both the ticket counter lady and their customer support the next day. I threatened to escalate it with my credit card. And so I did.

Credit card company asked no questions beyond the initial report, and I had the money credited to me just a week or two later.

jodelino

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #26 on: January 30, 2015, 10:20:43 AM »
This isn't really a disputed credit card charge, but rather online purchase customer service a couple days ago that was so excellent I feel moved to record it here.

I bought a sweater online from Nordstrom's in after Christmas sales, had it sent to my office. I was out sick the day it was supposedly delivered by UPS. No one at the office had seen it. The tracking info showed that someone with a name none of us recognize signed for the package.

I really wanted that sweater & it popped up again Nordstrom's sale site, though at a slightly higher price, so I ordered it just in case my original package showed up. I called Nordstrom's, got a real person right away, and half expected to hear, "Sorry, someone signed for it at your office, keep looking," but she could not have been nicer and more helpful, immediately reversed the charge, plus refunded me for the difference between the sale price on the one I bought first that got lost, and the slightly higher sale price on the replacement one I ordered. And all this help was for merchandise that was 65% and 60% off. I will definitely shop their sales again!

Tick-Tock

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #27 on: January 30, 2015, 01:07:40 PM »
I had barely finished reading this thread when I got a call from Chase's fraud department about a potentially suspicious charge today.  More than $2,200 at an automotive/tire shop two states away. That card is now cancelled and they'll be sending me a new one.  It was a relatively quick and painless process. 

skyrefuge

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #28 on: January 30, 2015, 01:40:54 PM »
Very, very, VERY misleading advertising.  We left after we realized that the group we were interested in wouldn't even get on stage until midnight. (But they also tried to hide that information, too. Argued that they didn't want people showing up for just an hour to see one thing.)

Not to make you feel too old, but this is pretty much how every non-old-person club everywhere has always operated. Yeah, it can be a little annoying, but I bet the club is rightfully baffled and pissed that you actually went for a credit-card chargeback on that one (and you're lucky that your CC granted it). And I'm not sure how in this day and age a promoter could be misleading about a venue, unless when you showed up there was a sign that said "sorry, the show is actually at another place 3 blocks away!" I personally would have taken the charge as a learning experience and motivation to educate myself better the next time.

I bought a sweater online from Nordstrom's in after Christmas sales, had it sent to my office. I was out sick the day it was supposedly delivered by UPS. No one at the office had seen it. The tracking info showed that someone with a name none of us recognize signed for the package.

I've had this happen a couple times at my office, and both cases it was mistakenly delivered to another company in a different suite in our building. Blindly signed for by the receptionist as part of a pile of packages, and then when the time came for personal delivery, it was "uh...who is this person?" In both cases some Googling of names (either them Googling me, or finding my email on a packing slip, or me Googling the name on the tracking info) led to me getting my package in short order. So maybe your sweater is still sitting in someone else's mailroom just because no one was as proactive as the receptionists in my building? Though I guess even with the laziest office it would just get returned-to-sender eventually? (which is maybe what Nordstrom was counting on?)

BlueMR2

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #29 on: January 30, 2015, 03:26:43 PM »
Yeah, got hit with charges from an Escort Service in a state on the opposite side of the country from me.  Disputed them and got a new credit card number out of the deal too since it'd obviously been stolen somewhere.

Ynari

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #30 on: January 30, 2015, 06:09:56 PM »
Very, very, VERY misleading advertising.  We left after we realized that the group we were interested in wouldn't even get on stage until midnight. (But they also tried to hide that information, too. Argued that they didn't want people showing up for just an hour to see one thing.)

Not to make you feel too old, but this is pretty much how every non-old-person club everywhere has always operated. Yeah, it can be a little annoying, but I bet the club is rightfully baffled and pissed that you actually went for a credit-card chargeback on that one (and you're lucky that your CC granted it). And I'm not sure how in this day and age a promoter could be misleading about a venue, unless when you showed up there was a sign that said "sorry, the show is actually at another place 3 blocks away!" I personally would have taken the charge as a learning experience and motivation to educate myself better the next time.


I'm 22 (lol). I go to a lot of cabaret-style events (which was what I thought this was), but no night clubs, so when I saw the ticket page, I had very different expectations. Here was the event description: http://www.clubtix.com/concordmusichall/lucent-dossier-experience-concord-tickets-298415?p=9144  There are probably a couple of clues as to the fact it was a night club, but it's not my fist assumption (especially as there are no disclaimers on the page, or anything to inform newbs like me about it) when it describes itself as a music hall, and the event says "Doors open 8:30, show 9:00pm", and there's a kick-ass promotional video with a flaming trapeze. (I knew they would be limited compared to their home venue and wouldn't be able to do fire. I wouldn't have filed for a refund if at the very least the venue seemed capable of having some sort of acrobatics. But the ceiling was very low, at most they could have done a little stilt walking, but no aerials or tumbling. The promotional video was certainly just Lucent Dossier's usual promo, but it is misleading to present that as the show I would be seeing if they do not plan on showing something similar.)  My friends and I couldn't find a lot of real information venue, and so we took a chance. And maybe I should have sucked it up and attributed the loss to the risk you take when there isn't a lot of information, and I am lucky to have received the refund, but they're effectively lying by omission by not describing the venue or any show details.

Maybe nothing to go to court over, but definitely misleading enough to warrant a refund.

MsPeacock

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #31 on: January 31, 2015, 04:21:06 PM »
Well, I had my card stolen once and the bank immediately refunded the charges.

My one disputed charge - which was really an issue with Gateway computer (in 1999, and I am still bitter). They sent me a computer that was broken right out of the box. I spent 59 days arguing with them and they would not fix it, would not return it, would not honor their warranty, etc. (And I still will never buy another Gateway). On day 59 I told them I wasn't paying for it and was disputing the charge. My credit card company had no problem stopping payment because it was w/in the 60 days of purchase. Within 48 hours I had UPS at my door to pick-up the computer.

Gateway - I am forever bitter. You delayed my ability to complete by dissertation by 2 months. I spent hours and hours and hours on the phone trying to resolve the issue. I don't recall which credit card company it was - but they were great!

skyrefuge

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #32 on: February 02, 2015, 03:45:58 PM »
I'm 22 (lol). I go to a lot of cabaret-style events (which was what I thought this was), but no night clubs, so when I saw the ticket page, I had very different expectations. Here was the event description: http://www.clubtix.com/concordmusichall/lucent-dossier-experience-concord-tickets-298415?p=9144

ha, so unfamiliarity due to being too young, not too old like I assumed! But yeah, that makes sense too. Anyway, you should have just asked me, I could have told you exactly what Concord was all about. :-) And maybe you just need to know all the tricks that a grizzled veteran like me knows, but I'd say there is plenty of information about the venue. Sure, they don't describe it in words too much on their website, but they have pictures (that are worth 1000). The Trib did a pretty detailed writeup when it opened, and they even got semi-famous/notorious when the ceiling collapsed at a Datsik show (which also caused a pending Manowar show to be cancelled). The fact that you didn't due any seat-selection would have been another clue. Seated venues that are general-admission are extremely rare.

I've only been there once (for a Rusted Root show), but it seemed like a decent-enough place. It did seem like the differential between the advertised show time and actual stage times might have been a bit larger than at other Chicago venues though.

Anyway, it sounds like your beef should have really been with Lucent Dossier themselves, not the venue. Looking at that tour, I recognize all the venues around the country as standard clubs that mid-level rock bands play when they hit those cities. So LD clearly knew the kind of places they were playing and intentionally targeted them. If they failed to communicate that to their fans, then that's on them. You may know who Lucent Dossier is and what they do, but the promoter at Concord almost surely had no idea. He just got contacted by LD's booking agent who determined that Concord was a venue sufficient to meet their needs for this tour, and the promoter agreed to the deal. LD's booking agent said "...and here's a video of what LD does if you want to put it on your website". "Ok, sure, we'll put it up". LD probably would have been just as reluctant to refund your money as the venue was though!

Sounds like a cool event though, I'm surprised it didn't cross my radar before (opener Radiohiro is sorta cool, as far as DJs go), but maybe I'll see you there if LD ever comes around again!
« Last Edit: February 02, 2015, 03:47:43 PM by skyrefuge »

trailrated

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #33 on: February 02, 2015, 03:53:30 PM »
Yeah, got hit with charges from an Escort Service in a state on the opposite side of the country from me.  Disputed them and got a new credit card number out of the deal too since it'd obviously been stolen somewhere.

Did your wife actually believe that one??

(totally kidding I just couldn't help myself)

oinkette

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #34 on: February 03, 2015, 09:12:44 AM »
Part of the reason I like using cash only is because, at various times, I've been unsuccessful with my disputes.  One was an $80 bill at an Olive Garden.  My card wasn't stolen, so even I have no idea how it happend (I guess they cloned it somehow?), so I understand why the company was suspicious. 

I like not having to worry about hacking/stealing/cloning/whatever and going through the hassle of cancelling my card and starting all over. I have one card for recurring expenses, and one for one-off things like gas and other random things (currently repairing things in my house to sell it).  But cash just makes things easier for me.

eostache

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #35 on: February 17, 2015, 07:54:13 PM »
Has anyone used Purchase Security for stolen items on a credit card? My bf bought an item online for $400. It arrived but it was poorly packaged by the vendor and damaged so he wanted to return it. The vendor arranged to have DHL pick it up.
DHL notified us they were going to pick it up today so we put it out on our porch (delivered items are frequently left on our porch). We looked out a little while later and the box was gone. Then a little later DHL came by to pick it up. So it was stolen! We called DHL to confirm that they had not picked up the item.
The item was purchased with a Visa Signature card, which has Purchase Protection for damage or theft up to $500. My bf called Visa and is in the process of filling out a claims form now.

onecoolcat

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #36 on: February 17, 2015, 07:59:28 PM »
I have had success with it in the past! My parents and I took a trip to Chile this summer, and while skiing my father bought a souvenir t-shirt. When we returned home it was too small, so he tried to contact the shop to exchange it. They never answered, so we opened up a dispute with American Express. 6 weeks later, they confirmed that they would refund the charge for our entire purchase, as they couldn't get in touch with the shop either.

Free t-shirt for my dad, and free sweatshirt for me!

Other times I have disputed a charge when the store was giving me trouble with a refund, ie a big purchase at Best Buy or something similar, and that has prompted the company to do the right thing and give me the refund. American Express is great for this, not sure about any other companies dispute charge policies as I have not had to do anything with any of them.

Wow, you hurt a small business because a new shirt you bought shrank.  Good grief.

Sibley

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #37 on: February 18, 2015, 08:34:45 AM »
I used to travel a lot for work, so I've had many problems with fraud. My two favorite:

1. I opened a new credit card (for rewards), and wanted to make sure it was working prior to a business trip. So I bought gas while visiting a friend instead of using my debit card. A few days later, I had $4-5k of charges on the card. Called the company, explained what had happened. They refunded all of the fraudulent charges. Funny thing was, I never paid for the gas either - the charge didn't appear.

2. I always pay for groceries, gas, etc with my debit card. One day I had been doing some reorganizing of my purse and wallet and got interrupted. I ended up going to the grocery store and running all my errands for the week, but realized that I didn't have my debit card or check book, just a credit card. So I used the credit card, figuring that I'd just go home and transfer the money. Got home and Discover had freaked out, they suspected fraud. I guess they really do pay attention to patterns!

RexualChocolate

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #38 on: February 18, 2015, 09:08:26 AM »
I had a fun one with Direc TV.

I was in an apartment on a one year lease. You had to sign a contract for 2 years which was severable at the conclusion of the 1 year lease. Early cancellation required a 20$ per month remaining fee.

I was told this service was 19.95 a month + taxes. However, the total bill per month was in excess of 60 dollars due to assorted Fees I was not made aware of prior to signing the lease. I wanted out immediately and to return their equipment, but was told this would constitute voiding the contract, so I resolved to just get out at the end of the year.

I paid the first month, and the service started going out. It would constantly hang on the image for 2-3 seconds at a time, making it completely unwatchable. You have to be at home for the service technician to come by within a 4 hour window, so it takes a day off of work from someone each time. They came 3 times (billing me 25 dollars each time) and were unable to resolve the issue.

So 45 days in, was lied to on origination and they're unable to even provide the service. I spent 5 hours or so on hold trying to negate the contract, even agreeing to let the service technician come by one last time. They held firm that if I cancelled, I'd not only owe them 20$ * the remaining 22 months, I'd also have to pay for the service technicians and the equipment, which they wanted $500 for.

I was able to successfully mail them back their equipment at no cost, but they then tried to charge my Am Ex on file in excess of $600 for cancelling the contract.

Am Ex went back and forth with them, but when they finally realized it wasn't a charge for services already received and instead punitive charges for cancelling, they took it off of my account.

That then projected me into the wild world of debt collections. I have a >800 credit score, so it was an interesting view into a world I had previously never experienced. They use all sorts of guilt and scare tactics to get you to pay, especially after the debt has been sold. At one point they an automated service calling me telling me I had won "2 free Caribbean cruises and to hit 1 to confirm" which causes them to call you back . You can just tell them not to contact you again, but I'm not sure what that does other than end that particular call. One time I had a fairly reasonable lady (I'm assuming this was still Direc TV's collection department) and a manager got on and asked me if I was the kind of person that doesn't pay what they owe. He said good people don't end up on his lists, so I must not be a good person.

I would try to explain the situation and then tell them to put it on my credit score, I was more than willing to dispute it there, but it has been a year and it looks like they just gave up. It's kind of amazing the "debt" just disappeared (no derogatory marks on credit score). I pulled my free report and don't see anything, but I'll continue to monitor it.

I'll never have a cable contract again.

Chrissy

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #39 on: February 18, 2015, 09:25:33 AM »
Several years ago, I bought a big flat screen for my parents for Christmas.  I think it was Abe's, but it might've been Fry's.  They shipped it DHL, which doesn't deliver to my parents' part of the rural Midwest.  DHL tried to hand it off to the USPS, but it was over their weight restrictions.  So, they handed it back to DHL, who returned it to Fry's.  I could see it all in the online tracking info. 

While this was going on, the company suggested I could wait for the television to be processed (but then they couldn't guarantee they'd have any televisions available to send me (What?  What about the one that's being returned to you?)) OR, I could buy a second television, and they would send it right away via UPS.  I bought the second television.  It arrived for Christmas.

Meanwhile, the company said they didn't get the first television back.  Throughout, they would promise to call me back, but never did.  And, they kept calling it a "return" even though I never received the product, and it was their mistake sending it DHL anyway.  Finally, they confirmed receipt of the television, but the manager would not process my refund.  For weeks.  The customer service people were really sorry about it even tell me, "Yeah, I can see him sitting at his desk.  I don't know why he hasn't processed this."

I disputed the charge with American Express. They were great.  The company's one call to me was to threaten to send me to collections.  Told me I couldn't just steal a television.  I told them they would have a hard time proving the debt given that I had the tracking information that showed it had never been delivered, and that they had confirmed receipt of the item, so maybe they should just go ahead and PROCESS my refund???  Finally, they did.
« Last Edit: February 18, 2015, 09:29:08 AM by Chrissy »

jmusic

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #40 on: February 18, 2015, 09:48:05 AM »
I had a fun one with Direc TV...

That's an amazing story.  I don't have any experience with DTV, but I hate Cox (my ISP) with a passion.  Just because I have internet with them (my only option due to the laws that enforce their monopolies), they've been COLD CALLING ME AT WORK trying to get me to add cable.  I had to tell them 5 times to stop the marketing calls. 

I wish Ting could roll out their ISP service because I love their customer service the few times I've needed it.

Sorry for the off-topic rant.

More related, reading these stories makes me want to cancel all of my debit cards and get an "ATM-only" card.  I use credit cards for routine spending and just need an ATM card to get cash every now and then. 



« Last Edit: February 18, 2015, 10:04:38 AM by jmusic »

Copperwood

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #41 on: February 18, 2015, 11:22:00 AM »
Virgin Mobile is a nightmare to deal with.

they offer free returns within 14 days, but when i called to confirm this, i got some bad vibes.
i was skeptical of the process, so i took pictures of everything i sent and got tracking from USPS.
10 business days went by and no refund. When i called and spoke to someone new each time, it changed to 10-14 business days.

i waited a few days, uploaded all my receipts to Discover and was refunded 100%

WESTOFTHEHUDSON

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #42 on: February 18, 2015, 03:03:25 PM »
Once there were charges for about $400 made in Mexico. I have been to mexico once but I was 4 and did not own a credit card. It took some time and lots of phone calls/patience but I did get it reversed (I nearly paid it at one point because I was so mad) and off of my credit report.

mochila

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #43 on: February 20, 2015, 04:45:05 AM »
American Express is awesome with chargebacks.

Can't agree enough! I don't buy enough stuff to have to do many chargebacks, but when I have a costly or risky purchase, I put it on AmEx if possible.

Last summer I made the mistake of putting budget airfare on my Cap One Quicksilver (no foreign transaction fees + 1.5% cash back, yass!) during the transport workers' strikes in France, with the result that I was stranded and had to buy another ticket on a different carrier that the strikers had decided not to punish. I didn't receive the service, so Cap One credited the charge, only to reinstate it when the airline submitted nonsensical bs documentation challenging the chargeback. I had a week to document my side, via fax (ffs)! It took a month to resolve in my favor. However, the reinstated charge was on my latest statement, and I'd spent about $10 that month, but I had to pay a minimum of $25, even though the airfare charge had by then been removed. I promptly spent the $15 I was forced to prepay, and that card hasn't seen daylight since.

Now I need a no-fee rewards-earning AmEx for my next trip abroad in April!

KD

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #44 on: February 20, 2015, 05:21:00 PM »
Discover card, on going cramming by 'Motley Fool'.  I had signed up for a one year subscription to their newsletter w/my CC.  First year no problem.  I bought it I paid.  The next two years in a ROW they start cramming it on my CC.  Wrote them asking for a copy of the signed contract because if I owed it I would pay.  Nope, couldn't provide it and they backed the charges off.  TWO years.  I look for them to try it again next year.  I will never subscribe to any of their services again.


Overseas Stache

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #45 on: February 23, 2015, 05:33:11 AM »
American Express is awesome with chargebacks.

Can't agree enough! I don't buy enough stuff to have to do many chargebacks, but when I have a costly or risky purchase, I put it on AmEx if possible.

Last summer I made the mistake of putting budget airfare on my Cap One Quicksilver (no foreign transaction fees + 1.5% cash back, yass!) during the transport workers' strikes in France, with the result that I was stranded and had to buy another ticket on a different carrier that the strikers had decided not to punish. I didn't receive the service, so Cap One credited the charge, only to reinstate it when the airline submitted nonsensical bs documentation challenging the chargeback. I had a week to document my side, via fax (ffs)! It took a month to resolve in my favor. However, the reinstated charge was on my latest statement, and I'd spent about $10 that month, but I had to pay a minimum of $25, even though the airfare charge had by then been removed. I promptly spent the $15 I was forced to prepay, and that card hasn't seen daylight since.

Now I need a no-fee rewards-earning AmEx for my next trip abroad in April!

I also agree that AmEx is great at handling Chargebacks. I believe that is because they opperatate a little differently in that they are in control of the entire process. Issuing the cards, being the bank, paying the merchant, which allows them to probably to chargebacks more easily . A while back I used them to purchase $500 of leads that had a Gurantee of making me atleast $1000. Well turns out the leads were no good and many of the people where actually dead. I called them for a refund but they just gave me the run around. So I called Amex and they reversed the charge within a week with hardly any hassle.

I also have not been happy with Captial One's customer service, it just isn't as good as Amex.

If you are looking for another card you should check out Barclay Card  Arrival +. It has great rewards and no foriegn transaction fees. Also when my wife had her card stolen in South Africa they offered to send her a card Next day to South Africa. I would highly recomend them if you are looking for another card.

Vilgan

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #46 on: February 23, 2015, 11:00:19 AM »
I had to do a chargeback like twice, and both times it went swimmingly. I called, disputed, it was resolved quickly and with minimal pain.

The one time I WISH I'd known about the ability to charge things back was when a mechanic was supposed to fix my car. They did the work for $1500 but put the engine back together wrong and it resulted in my engine exploding and needing a complete replacement. The guy who took it apart and replaced the engine was even able to point to exactly what they did wrong (they put a part back on backwards) that caused the problem. When I called about it they gave me the runaround and supposedly changed ownership and a lot of other things and while I debating suing I ended up just dropping it without even getting the $1500 back. I was young and inexperienced at the time, these days I would definitely charge the $1500 back and probably open a lawsuit (a bit harder since my witness was a car repair genius but also a convicted felon who did all his work at his home).

Chargebacks are usually very easy and pain free for the buyer. The issue is that it this really sucks when you are the seller and the chargeback is fraudulent. The credit card company doesn't "eat" the cost, they just pass the cost on to the seller who is then out the money that was charged back. Since it is so "easy and painless" to dispute a charge, that means it is very easy and painless to essentially steal from someone with a fraudulent chargeback. This is something people who do lots of online selling stress about and why I looked into bitcoin when I was liquidating a bunch of video game assets to the same buyer.

MrsCoolCat

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #47 on: February 24, 2015, 08:55:40 PM »
Wow, you hurt a small business because a new shirt you bought shrank.  Good grief.

Seriously. I was duped by the same kiosk on two separate occasions on overpriced cell phone accessories in my teens. I called the credit card company but just thought it was my fault for being naïve. I never went through with the dispute and I NEVER shop at kiosks, again. Lesson learned and paid for it, too.

PatStab

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #48 on: February 24, 2015, 09:35:26 PM »
We have problems all the time as my husband travels the world.  We are always getting charges for stuff we didn't buy.  Like tickets for a concert in England, neither of us have been there.

We have Bank of America, their fraud department is good and we get cards cancelled and reissued in short order.  Bet over the last 4 years we have had at least 7 new ones issued.  I watch our statement online closely.

fa

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Re: Disputed Credit Card Charges: Share your story
« Reply #49 on: February 24, 2015, 10:09:13 PM »
We were remodeling our kitchen.  Decided on granite countertops.
The best price/quality in town was Rock Tops.  A legitimate Business.  Had stores in dozens of cities around the country.  Two outlets in our city.  They did hundreds of installs every year.
We paid for the measure and estimate on our Discover.  Then pre-paid for the entire cost of materials + labor on same Discover.  For some reason, we didn't ask about a cash discount--and dodged a bullet.
On the morning of the scheduled install, we had removed old laminate counter.  Left to have breakfast out with kids (yea!  let's celebrate our new kitchen at iHop). 
On the way to the restaurant, got a call from the "former manager."  He had been fired the day before.  Everyone in his store had not been paid in several weeks.  And calls to corporate went unanswered.  The owners had locked up every store in the country.  And declared bankruptcy.
Former manager still had access to customer numbers and was courtesy calling to let them know that the company was screwing everyone over.  He seemed genuinely sorry.
So . . . our dream granite went up in smoke.
We called Discover.  They immediately reversed the charges.  All of them.  So we didn't lose any money, just time.  Big Credit Card Dispute Win for JamaicaSpanish.
Thought we would go the Home Depot / Lowe's route for countertops
Until . . .
4 days later we got a call from someone who identified himself as a former worker of Rock Tops.  Said he hadn't been paid for weeks.  Said he had a key to the local shop.  Said our granite had been delivered two days before scheduled install.  And for a small installation fee, he could liberate our countertops and install them. 
Well, what would you do if it happened to you?

Much as I can see the possible satisfaction in doing this, I would not.  The employee told you he would be  stealing the countertops and you would be an accomplice to a felony.  No granite is worth a criminal record or jail time.  I can understand the former employee's frustration, but it certainly would not tempt me to take part in a crime as an accomplice.  I assume the employee wanted you to pay him directly.  My guess is you could go to jail for knowingly buying stolen merchandise.  Neither the possibly fraudulent bankruptcy nor the lack of paying employees will be justification in court for committing a felony.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!