On Jan. 11 I received an email with a pre-approved loan offer. I stupidly filled out the form, including my bank account number. While filling the form out there were numberous pop up ads offering me credit cards. I clicked them off and clicked on "NO" to refuse the offers. I was turned down for the loan but on Feb. 1 there was a charge to my bank in the amount of $159.95.
This turned out to be an electronic check made out to EDP for a Sterling Card. I never ordered or wanted this debit card. I called the customer service number on the check and reached an endless recording that told me their operators were all busy and I needed to get on the website or call back later.
I called at least 50 times and finally got an operator who took a message and said someone would call me back. They NEVER did. I went to the website and they are supposed to have live chat support. Good luck with that. They are always not in service. I wrote an email telling them that I never ordered or wanted their card and wanted an immediate refund. This is the response I got:
There is one way for you to have a charge. According to the order submitted online on %1-11-07% for the prepaid card, the Terms & Conditions were agreed to and authorization for the one time application and processing fee was given. The prepaid card is not a credit card. The prepaid card does not extend your credit. You will be able to load money onto the prepaid debit card it will only be good for the amount you apply. If you are experiencing a charge at this time, this means you should receive your prepaid debit card in the mail within 15-20 business days from the date the money is received.
"After reviewing the proof of authorization for your order of the prepaid debit card, according to the date _1-11-07% you submitted your online order and per the Terms and Conditions you agreed to you are not eligible for any refund. As stated on the order, cancellation requests made more than three (3) business days from the date you submit your online order will not receive any refund. Once the order has been submitted it is an automated process which can not be stopped. At the time of submitting the online order, the computer IP address, time and date was captured for security. You may request the prepaid debit card to not be mailed to you or keep the prepaid debit card order as is. Please let me know, if you want to stop debit card from being mailed or leave order as is in either case no qualifying refund applies.
Thank you,
Melissa"
I never got anything saying I had ordered this card or that I had 3 days to cancel. I know I clicked NO on every card offer but they took the information, including my bank account number, and used it to rip me off almost $160.
I called my bank to report fraud and unfortunately because I gave that other company my bank info and they used it to scam me there is nothing they can do. I was told I would have to settle it with the card company. I was told that I should close my bank account and reopen another one and that was all that could be done. They have had many such scams from these people and I guess we must pay for our own stupidity.
Stay away from those online Cash Advance places or you could get scammed too. This was an expensive lesson to learn.
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