After receiving an offer for a free credit report from CIC I checked into it and was told that I would receive a free report and would not have my C/C charged unless I decided after a month to continue receiving their services. I "enrolled" to receive my free credit report. The next day a friend of mine explained to me how this company really operates. I immediately called their "customer service" number and was told that they don't have any record of any enrollment by me. I had the printed out confirmation - with a confirmation number!
After an hour of double checking I was told that I wasn't in the system and that the number was invalid. The next day I received an email saying that my credit report was available at the following link. I immediately called the customer service number and again was told that I was not in the system and that my information, such as SS# and name etc, was not verifying properly.in fact, I was lead to believe that someone was tampering with my credit file. I was not to worry though because since I was not in their system they would not bill my credit card. Since by now I had lost even the smallest amount of trust that I might have had for them in the beginning I put it on my calendar to call them back five days from when the 30 days would be up. When I called, I got a human robot.
As I call them - someone in customer support that is not paid to and refuses to use their brain. They just repeat what they have been trained to, even if what they're saying totally defies all logic. After cursing them out for fifteen minutes at the top of your lungs, they will still say in a pleasant voice (the kind the makes you want to vomit right then and there) Thank you for calling, it has been a pleasure talking to you, please don't hesitate to call us so we can be of assistance again. Have a nice day. Good-Bye. I am sure the company keeps them well stocked with top grade Ecstasy.
I talked real slow and repeated every thing I said at least twice telling them that if someway I was enrolled in any type of program with them I wanted to make sure that it was cancelled that day so there would be no billing on my credit card. I gave them all the information I could possibly give them, including my mother's, boyfriend's, sister's, mother's maiden name, my dog's rabies vaccination number and, my waist size just to be sure. I explained to them that it had been only twenty-six days max since I first was aware that they existed, and that should compensate for any 30 day minimum or maximum or whatever. Well, on July 4th, I checked my credit card online, and lo and behold, the long anticipated and feared charge from hell! $19.90.
I didn't even have to read the description. That horrible number, just setting there on my screen, laughing at me! Immediately I calculated $19.90 in my mind that is $9.95 times two. I had seen it before on other web related charges. They didn't charge me for a month of service. The SOBs charged me for two months. Just to prove a fact. They are above being caught.
At this point I have to thank the Texas Legislation. I don't know much about it, or when or how it originated, but I do know that in Texas it is legal to tape record any conversation that you are a part of without having to inform any one else in the conversation. My business phone system is setup to automatically record any and all phone conversations that come or go through it unless I press a button to override it. I wouldn't even attempt to do business in this present day world without that ability. Every second of phone conversation that I had with CIC was recorded with me asking them their name and inconspicuously the current time and date at the beginning of the conversation. The recordings are already on a CD ready to be sent to whoever can and will use it.
Clay
Austin, Texas
U.S.A.
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