I too was phoned by these losers in the beginning of April. The rep (speaking in broken English) told me that I could get a credit card and only have to pay their shipping and handling fee of $19.95 and a $54.90 fee the first month and $99.00 in 12 months. I gave him my checking account number and a check # for the $19.95 S&H fee.
After he was through with his "sell" he transferred me to a "third party authorzation". This is where they record you answering questions on an automated line (meaning once you get to this point you don't speak to a human again and the call is over). It asked if I agreed to the $19.95 fee and a few other questions. I finally wised up after all of the questions asking if I agreed to the terms and when I was asked if I accepted their offer, I distinctly said NO. I wanted to speak to the salesman again, but the phone call was over after the recording.
The $19.95 was never deducted from my account, but six weeks later $54.90 was deducted from my checking account by Premium Mega Saver (PMS). One week later a charge of $99.00 for Hartford Auto Club (HAC) was taken from my account. The phone numbers for the companies is listed on my bank statement.
I never got an answer at PMS (1-866-237-0313) which redirects you to another phone number (1-800-276-3079) which I have yet to get through to. I called HAC at (1-800-840-1964) and spoke to a guy named Eric and told asked him about the $99.00 deduction. He said it was part of Advantage Capital's program. I told him I did not sign up for Hartford Auto Club and what was it. He said it was an emergency roadside assistance plan. I told him I did not need this since I'm covered through my auto insurance company. He said he would review "The tapes" and get back with me. Still no answer as of today nor is anyone answering the phone at Premium Mega Saver.
These companies are in fact connected to each other. When you call PMS their menu askes if you are calling about Advantage Capital or HAC and if you had deductions from your checking account. Well, three weeks later another charge for Premium Mega Saver came out of my account. PMS is a calling card plan. I got a paper card in the mail with no instructions and only a 1-888-276-8014 number and PIN on it and the never answered customer service # (1-866-237-0313). Why would I pay $54.90 a month for a calling card when I can get less than 5 cents a minute.
I called my bank and explained the situation to them. They were very aware of these companies and advised me to close my existing account and open a new one. I agreed and they did it free of charge. They said if you request the bank to stop payment for an ACH withdrawal, the company will change the amount by a penny or their name. My bank is also going to monitor my old account to see if HAC or PMS try to make any further withdrawals.
An ACH withdrawal is what the bank calls an Automatic Clearing House Withdrawal where a main bank gets the money from your bank account and then transfers it to the companies. My bank gave me the info for HAC and PMS. They each have a company ID# that you can give to the ACH which happens to be First Premeire Bank and their number is (1-605-357-3000). I called them and gave them the story. The lady said that they had thousands of customers. I gave her the customer ID# for HAC (#4010224240) and PMS (#9010224242) and she gave me the same customer service phone numbers I had. I told her they are always busy and theses companies were frauds. She said she could forward a message to the repective "Customer Service Management Team" for HAC and PMS and gave her my phone number. As of today I have not heard from them. I'm going to continue to call First Premeire Bank.
I doubt I'll ever see my $208.80 again, but they won't be getting any more of my money since I closed my account and I suggest you do the same if you have been contacted by any of these companies. I sure wish I had seen this site before, but rest assured, I'll do as much research on the net before making another silly mistake. I hope this helps other people and brings down Advantage Capital, HAC, PMS, and the rest of the scammers working out of Miami, Florida.
James
Shreveport, Louisiana
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