When I discovered charges to my debit card that I don't recognize I called the company to find out what was going on. It turned out that I've been getting charged since Nov. 2005 for some kind of ebay tool kit. I wasn't watching my statements closely enough because my husband was fighting lymphoma all of last year and these charges got right by me.
I'm being charged for 3 different things:
1. FastAuctionProfit: $49.95
2. AuctionTaxSaver: $16.80
3. SEO Guide: $9.95
When I explained to the representative that these charges were erroneous and I hadn't made them, he informed me that since the credit card was mine and the information was mine, I must be the one who made the charges. I angrily asked him if he was totally ignorant and had never heard of identity theft. He actually argued with me about whether it was possible for somebody to steal another person's information and use it.
He finally transferred me to "Corporate" headquarters, where I battled it out with "Brianna, " employee number 5011, who insisted, snottily and righteously that I had subscribed to whatever it is they sell. I never did get a cogent explanation of what all the charges were buying "me." I insisted on speaking with a supervisor and Brianna informed me that this "isn't a supervisor issue, " not just once, but over and over.
I told her that at first I was just going to give them the opportunity to refund my money, or I'd turn it over to the Visa fraud folks.By the time I'd fought with Brianna and her attitude for 20 minutes, I told her my next call was to my state's attorney general's office and then to her company's state's attorney general's office and then to Visa.
I asked her where SmartNet is located and she said, "Utah." She then put me on hold for awhile, during which time I searched Utah's business registration database. When she came back to tell me that her supervisor was on the phone but that I could email him, I told her I hadn't found the company listed in Utah. She decided that they are in Nevada. I've written to the Nevada Department of Business and Idustries to find out if that's true.
Tomorrow morning, I turn it over to Visa.
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