On 10/22/08 I checked my credit card statement online so that I would know what balance was due. To my complete surprise, I saw a recent transaction for $14.95 from a merchant called "At Home Rewards". I had NEVER heard of them before so I did a little investigating. I just so happen to be a FRAUD INVESTIGATOR for the government. I "Googled" the company name and it took me to this site, Complaints.com, as well as to usacomplaints.com where I found NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS of UNAUTHORIZED CHARGES appearing on credit and/or debit cards. Luckily, I happened to catch this bogus charge only a day after it was posted so I immediately disputed the charge with my credit card company. I called the At Home Rewards number: 877-636-6858 and finally reached a representative after hitting zero on my phone. They have a computer, voice-prompted menu that won't allow you to talk to anyone directly unless you hit zero (they don't tell you that though... I just tried it and got lucky). I first asked for the company address... The rep. Immediately was suspicious and wanted to know why I wanted the address (I knew this would happen, that's why I asked for the mailing address first). After much hesitation, the rep. Finally gave me the adress: 9500 W. Dodge, Omaha, Nebraska 68001. Now, I have not yet mailed my letter (so that I have concrete proof that I canceled my membership via telephone), so I'm not sure if this is a bogus address. Do NOT just rely on the automated voice response which gives you the choice of canceling your membership by entering a number... Do that, but also press zero so that you can talk directly to a representative. Make sure to get their name, ID # and time that you called... Then tell the rep. That you NEVER AUTHORIZED this charge (s), have already disputed it w / your credit card company or bank and that you have reported it as FRAUD. That will let the At Home Rewards Rep. Know that you mean business! The rep. Said I should see a credit for the $14.95 fee they charged to my credit card within 2 - 5 business days... Let's just see if they refund the fee like they said.
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