One morning I received a phone call stating that I had been entered into a sweepstakes where the prize was a trip to Australia for four. The young man, whose name I believe was Keith, then informed me that in order to increase my chances of winning I should take advantage of a magazine subscription bundle they were having. I would receive five magazines for the price of $4.99 per week. Of course after hearing that I'd thought I'd stumbled across a pretty good deal. Keith then informed me that for participating in the sweepstakes I would receive a free diamond studded watch. I explained to him my hesitancy however he insisted that I at least try it for the free gift. This of course made me relieved because I had no money to buy a mother's day present for my mom, and the holiday was steadily approaching. After asking me about what my hobbies were and what I intended to major in as a college student, He then told me that my credit card would be charged right away and that he had to transfer me to his supervisor because he'd only been working at the company for three days and that his supervisor could give me details on a payment plan.
His supervisor seemed harmless enough and even asked me how Keith's performance was! The supervisor then informed me that the subscription would be for 33 months at a rate of $39.31 per month and that I would get the last 27 months for free. This sent up a red flag and I made a mental note to ask just how long the subscription was later. The supervisor began asking me the same questions about my college major as Keith, and when I informed him of my major he said that he'd send me two magazines that were relevant to them and that because of this I could place this subscriptions on my tax write off for next year.
He asked me for my credit card information, and like an air-head I gave it to him. Towards the end he gave me a tracking number and a sweepstakes claim number that I'd have to use if I won the vacation. When he asked if I had any more questions I started to ask him for contact information and the phone call was disconnected. Since I have a metro pcs, calls are sometimes dropped so I didn't think too much of it, however I still decided to check my online bank statement. The title was international rea, virginia bch. Later that night I decided to call my bank and cancel the payments however I was informed that because it was still pending it couldn't be stopped until the payment actually went through. When I asked for the contact information they had for the company, again nothing could be seen because the transaction was still pending.
After going online and reading so many postings that are exactly like mine, I have come to the conclusions that I had been had. As of now I have already filed a report with the BBB and making arrangements for a lawyer just in case.
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