On 02/22, I checked by bank balance. It was at about $11, sad on its own. On 02/23 at about 10 am, I checked again. It said that my balance was about -$116. As I viewed my statement, I saw a debit from a company called Premier Membership Clubs. I had no clue who this company was. I researched online and saw that they're listed on many scam alert sites. They also have an F rating with the BBB, and had already had 39 listed complaints at about 10:30 am. That had climbed to 60 complaints at about 4:00 pm.
What my statement showed was that PMC had debited $99.49 from my checking account. There was an additional $28 charged to me for NSF. I called their "customer service" number (818-380-5710). First, there was an automated message stating that the company became my customer service once I "authorized a purchase" of an item that never was defined. Further on, the same recording asked if I was calling regarding an "authorized debit" to my account. It also stated their hours of "service"; then stated that if a customer service agent wasn't available, I'd have to: A) leave a message with an answering service, B) leave a voicemail, or C) email the "company". My first call led to the answering service. The operator was very rude. Before I could describe the situation at all, he interrupted. I gave him the information he requested, outside of my bank account number (which was requested). When I told him I'd never heard of the company before, he again interrupted and said, "Ma'am, you just stated the name of the company. You HAVE heard of it." I told him that I only learned the name this morning from my bank statement. He stated, "No, ma'am. You obviously learned of the company when you signed for your membership." I asked what my membership was for. He stated that he didn't have that information available to him, but informed me that I would also have $14 debited from my account monthly for this mystery membership. When I questioned further, he interrupted and used profanity. I requested a supervisor. He stated that no supervisor was available, and that he was the only person who could "assist" me before releasing the call.
I called back, left a voicemail. I wasn't given the option to speak to a human.
I called again, and another (nicer) representative from their answering service stated that my information would be forwarded to a customer service representative, and I would receive a call back. This has yet to occur.
The fourth call told me to send an email. No option to talk to a person.
The fifth call was another voicemail.
I tried to settle this dispute with this company my whole morning, but have yet to speak with their "customer service" department. I'm not sure that one even exists.
I printed out several documents from other people that have had this company debit their accounts w/o authorization. I only had a few, as there are over a hundred complaints online. I also printed off the report from your site. I took all of this to my credit union. My bank account has now been closed due to this fraudulent activity. It seemed pretty cut and dry to the branch manager. The charges will be reversed, but my credit union will now be losing money due to this fraudulent company.
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