When checking my credit card details online on 18 Nov 08 I noticed two payments that had been made, one month apart, to a company in California. As I live in Australia, that rang some bells. Both payments were the same amount $22.94US and both incurred a Foreign Transaction Fee. There were, however, some differences in the details; the first said FRIENDFNDWD and the second FRNDFNDR228. When I put the FRNDFNDR228 details into Google, it took me to a Friend Finder website. I decided to write to them as follows:
- I am being billed from a company which, if it is not you, is using your name. The details on my credit card read:
FRNDFNDR228 610757 1929 PALO ALTO CA* 22.94US
I have NOT joined this organisation and have no intention to. Your search engine says that my email address is not part of your database, so how is it possible for me to be billed by you? If your company is NOT doing the billing then you need to be aware that someone is besmirching your reputation. If your company IS doing the billing, then your reputation deserves to be besmirched and, either way, the payments have been put into dispute with Mastercard Australia.
I received a reply today which reads:
Dear Member,
Thank you for your email. The refund of $22.94 to your credit card has been submitted and will take 7 to 14 business days to post to your credit card, depending on the policies of your credit card company. This refund will show on your next billing statement. If you have any further billing related questions, feel free to contact the Billing Department directly at: Telephone: 1-610-757-1929 or (888) 575-8383 Email: [email protected]
Thank you,
Maritza P.
Friendfinder Team Support
So I immediately wrote back saying:
Thanks for that, Maritza, but there have been 2 payments taken from my card so far. The payment detailed in the original email below was taken from my card on 14 Nov 08 - the first payment was taken on 13 Oct 08, the details of which are as follows:
FRIENDFNDWD 16107571929 GB* 22.94US
I would appreciate that payment being refunded, too.
However, you don't answer the question that I asked earlier - Your search engine says that my email address is not part of your database, so how is it possible for me to be billed by you?
Also, and more importantly, how did you get my credit card details?
I await their response.
How DOES this company get someone's credit card details and then have the gall to bill someone who is not a part of their (dubious) organisation?
I'm going to see if I can report this to the city of Palo Alto as well, as they should be concerned that this company is damaging the reputation of the city.
Tamaresque
Tasmania
Australia
0 comments