I have not had an account with Progressive Direct since about November. I made a payment in April to pay off my remaining balance with them. At no time have I EVER authorized an automatic withdrawal from my account, where they take out your payment every month automatically. I have done EFT withdrawals from my account over the phone, or by their website, but NEVER more than the amount I specified, and only authorized for that transaction. So they should not even have my account information in their system anymore, since I am not their customer and haven't been their customer for some time. Today is July 31. They sent me an email today:
This is a reminder of your upcoming automatic EFT withdrawal:
Policy number: 663*
Withdrawal date: 08/03/06
Withdrawal amount: $349.00
The process of withdrawing your payment begins on the date indicated above. (Please note that if you made a change to your withdrawal date within the past 24-48 hours, it may not be reflected in this reminder.)
Due to payment processing time, your transaction may not post immediately.in the event that your scheduled payment date falls on a weekend or holiday, the withdrawal process will begin on the next business day.
*
I called them today and they said this was "some kind of error". They were going to have some manager call me back after they attempt to rectify this situation. I asked for email written confirmation of this call, or email written confirmation that they were fixing the situation and was told that they could not email me because they were not allowed to.
I brought to their attention that they seemed to have no problem emailing me about the money coming out of my account, nor any problem stealing money from me. They explained that to email me, the email would have to be reviewed, and that it would take some time. Then I heard some other excuses. They wanted to have someone call me, and that was the only option they were willing to go into. I explained that I would not be home, nor would I be available. I explained that written confirmation is what holds up in court. No dice.
I called my bank and was informed that for the small fee of $29 I could put a stop payment on the transaction, but that because it was only three days away that they could not guaruntee that it would stop the transaction. Of course, I don't have the $29 to do that. That's why I'm so hopping mad about this whole deal. I am extremely low income.
So I got onto Progressive's website and put in the policy number and my driver's license, and whatnot and sent them a friendly little email - see below:
I just got off the phone with one of your representatives regarding an email I just
received. The email states that under this policy number above, that you are going to
withdraw $349.00 from my checking account. As I stated in the phone call, at no time
have I EVER authorized an automatic withdrawal or this withdrawal from my bank account,
so what your company is doing is basically stealing from me, and of course, this is prosecutable.
I have made electronic payments, individually, but no automatic EFT
withdrawal authorizations.in fact, I no longer even have a policy with you people,
and haven't since last year! You are in luck. I happen to be familiar with the legal system and how to prosecute companies like yours who inconvenience people with "computer errors" like this one.
Your representative was either "unable" or unwilling
to send me written confirmation by email that this issue was being resolved but was going to have a manager call me later on the phone. I think it's great that your
company is trying to resolve this issue.
I pray, for your sake, that it is resolved prior to this money being withdrawn unauthorized from my checking account. I also hope that you can provide me written confirmation that this has been achieved, because the prosecution judge will be looking for that type of confirmation in order to acquit you of criminal charges of fraud.
I would like two things from your company:
1. I want written confirmation that you have resolved this issue and that you will not be withdrawing this money from my account.
2. I want all email, phone number, bank account numbers, and any other records you have associated with me deleted from your database and hard copies, with written confirmation that this has been done. This is to assure that you will NEVER illegally access my finances again. Your "word" that you will never do this again, is not good enough. I had your assurance verbally that my business with you was finished and you accessed my money without my permission.
In the case that you refuse these demands, I have made documentation of all phone calls and all emails associated with this issue, to be presented in court at your trial for fraud. I have also submitted all records to usacomplaints.com.Com and any other fraud prosecuting government agencies that I can find.
I may not have much money to go around, which is why your unauthorized access of my bank account ticks me off so much.
If you overdraft my account, you render me homeless because I can't pay my rent!
So, while I am just a little peon in the grand scheme of things, I have a BIG MOUTH, and I know how to be a royal pain in the rear, at the very least. It is for this very reason that customers shy away from "automatic payment withdrawal" or any type of electronic funds transfer, because a simple clerical error can really mess up a person's finances!
Fix this issue. I await your speedy reply.
(my name),
Legal Assistant
At this point, I will be back on the phone with them again, wanting to know what is going on with my money and then we will see what happens.
Does anyone know of any place where a poor person can get these idiots prosecuted? This is not the first time that some company has just arbitrarily taken money out of my checking account without my authorization, and often without any type of warning, causing my account to overdraft. It's a big mess to clean up, and they are not being held legally responsible for stealing.
P l
Rochester, Washington
U.S.A.
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