Upon reviewing my online banking statement, I discovered a pending charge of $19.95 on 6/10/07 by Value Plus.
I was/am not familiar with this company and KNOW I did not provide my banking information to them.
Upon calling the 800 number listed on my statement, I was told I had a "membership" with fees now due.
I emphatically denied ANY association with this company and demanded the $19.95 charge to be removed. I was asked for my email address to send me a confirmation number regarding this credit. I told the person to whom I was speaking that they already had FAR more information than I desired and I wasn't about to give them more.
I was told, "The charge will be removed by the next or the following statement". When I explained that I did my banking online and so do not receive statements, I was told the charge would be removed, "in 3 to 5 working days".
Upon reflection, I became more and more adamant to discover how my personal checking account had been charged by this company unknown to me, so I called the 800 number again determined to find out.
This second call revealed there was no record of my "membership" having been canceled, nor a request for the $19.95 charge to be credited!
This time, when I still refused to give my email address, I was given the confirmation number. I challenged this person when I was told it would take 3 to 5 business days to credit my account, making it clear that I was/am fully aware that this was/is an electronic transaction and I KNOW it can be done immediately, and I expected it to be done so.
Then I called my bank to dispute the charge and was told nothing could be done until the charge was/is posted. I shall follow through on this.
As I had repeated asked the person to whom I spoke the second time how this company could have obtained my account information to be able to charge it without my consent, the bottom line answer was to give me my "Customer Number" and the website address for me to deal directly with them.
So I went to the website, www.valueplus.com, fully prepared to do battle. After extensive searching, I discovered there was absolutely NO information directly related to this "company", which is why I have come here, to you.
My question remains: HOW did this "company" secure all of this information?!?
And now - What are the implications? Do I need to stop banking online?
AND - What can I do now to deal effectively with this "company"?
It's not enough just to report it to this site, although it is worth a great deal, as it forewarns others, but no doubt there are MANY others who have been abused in this manner who have not even known about this site, or even what to do in such an event as a fraudulent charge.
This "company" HAS TO BE STOPPED!
What can I do?
Please advise.
Thank you.
Kathy
Conway, South Carolina
U.S.A.
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