I was contacted by CapitalFirst, and told I qualified for a Mastercard with a $2500 limit. The person I spoke with could barely speak English. She would send me a packet for $19.95 S&H, after which I would have 7 days in which to decide on the fees and membership.
After a divorce, my credit had suffered, so I figured it was worth $19.95 to check it out. Of course, they had my checking account numbers for that $19.95 check online, and again, I would have 7 days in which to make a decision.
I received the packet on Tuesday, June 11. After opening it and seeing the contents, I immediately tried to call the customer service number to cancel my "membership". Of course, I could not get through, only received a busy signal.
Luckily, I bank online, and checked my account the next day. On June 12 (one day later, not seven) Capital First withdrew $159.90 for registration and annual fees. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, I tried to contact them to get my money back. I talked to several people, who said their customer service line was experiencing difficulties, and that they would take my number and have someone contact me. Of course, no one ever did.
I found the consumer complaints Friday night, and discovered the scam. Thank God, I enjoy a close relationship with my bank, and was able to get the charges reversed right away.in fact, my bank was familiar with Capital First, and knew about the scam.
Kudos to The consumer complaints, and thank you. I feel sorry for the poor saps who do not have Internet access, and who don't find out this is a scam until too late... I intend to report this to my State Attorney General's office - Perhaps if everyone does that we can stop these companies that prey on the unsuspecting, or the poor who do not know better...
Gary
Marietta, Georgia
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