I always check my bank statements to make sure that our charges match our purchases, like everyone should. One day I noticed a $40 charge from "Smart Step Insurance" taken from our Bank of America account under my husband's name (with whom I share the account) and the charge had been made using our checking account routing number, not a debit card. This caught my attention, because if it were a check written by one of us, it would show a copy of the deposited check. I called my husband and at first he didn't recognize the name of the vendor, so I called Bank of America to dispute the charge. They could not find a phone number with the vendor, so they googled it while they were on the phone with me... And pulled up complaints! I put a dispute on the charge, got off the phone, and then googled it myself and this it what I found.
Smart Step Insurance is an accidental death insurance policy that is solicited by a company underneath Bank of America, so people with Bank of America accounts are the most common victims. They phone solicit and "get approval" for a 2 month free trial membership that you must cancel or they begin debiting your account automatically. The supposedly then mail you information that says all this, but I never received it. The charge per person is $20, but commonly if you are married, they will say they have "approved coverage for you and spouse", so you will see a $40 charge, like we did.
I called my husband, explained what I had discovered, and he said he did remember them calling about two months earlier and he had agreed to read some information on their offer if they would mail him some. He NEVER agreed for the free trial or coverage, and never gave them any of our billing information. THEY GOT THAT ON THEIR OWN (probably through Bank of America) and began billing us without authorization! After finally tracking down a number for them, I called and demanded a refund and cancelation. They told me that they must speak to my husband, since they originally talked to him. He called and finally got a promise of a refund and cancelation, after being solicited for about 10 minutes to keep the policy that he never signed up for in the first place! This all happened yesterday, so we will see if it happens in a timely manner.
Stick to your guns and fight for your refund. They probably did call you and speak to someone or they wouldb't be charging your account, so make them mail you a copy of their recorded conversation or show you proof!
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