| Just Call the Bank If Vonage tried to pull this and wouldn't let you cancel your account, why not just call up your bank that your credit/debit card is issued through and tell them to no longer accept charges from Vonage? That's what I would do... Vonage wouldn't get their money so they'd turn your service off eventually anyway. |
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mobbo
join:2005-04-13
Denton, TX | I tried doing that but my bank said that wasn't possible. I would have to cancel the card they were billing and get a new one. I know that sounds stupid... I mean how easy is it to just NOT allow someone to take your money, but I've experienced that before with 3 different banks (USAA, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo) when similar things occurred. It's gotta be some sort of regulation that keeps banks from doing it... so consumers can't just buy things and not pay by just blocking payments. Could be wrong. |
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| reply to matrix3D
said by matrix3D:If Vonage tried to pull this and wouldn't let you cancel your account, why not just call up your bank that your credit/debit card is issued through and tell them to no longer accept charges from Vonage? That's what I would do... Vonage wouldn't get their money so they'd turn your service off eventually anyway. while may work once they send it to collections your in deeper water and now your Credit is Jacked up.... |
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| reply to mobbo
I think banks are reluctant to do it but I am sure from a technical standpoint that it is possible. You can go down and pay $25 or whatever it is now to put a stop payment on a check. I don't see how this is really any different. As for laws and regulations, there are plenty of consumer protection laws that don't allow companies to continue charging you for a service or product you no longer use or want. If that wasn't the case, what would stop me from creating my new widget company and billing everybody in the country for it? |
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| reply to SteveLV702
And that would be when you contact the credit reporting agencies to dispute it and notify them that you repeatedly called them to cancel it and they continued to bill you anyway. I would also follow it up with a letter to your State Attorney General and a copy going to the Better Business Bureau. You could also use this as a threat when attempting to cancel -- most businesses don't want to have to deal with an AG or the BBB and this usually forces their hand. |
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fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | reply to mobbo
said by mobbo:I tried doing that but my bank said that wasn't possible. I would have to cancel the card they were billing and get a new one. I know that sounds stupid... I mean how easy is it to just NOT allow someone to take your money, but I've experienced that before with 3 different banks (USAA, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo) when similar things occurred. It's gotta be some sort of regulation that keeps banks from doing it... so consumers can't just buy things and not pay by just blocking payments. Could be wrong. Regulation E requirements are what drive the banks to act in a certain way when handling what is considered "fraud" issues...
When you may a purchase on card, you are willingly giving your card number to someone and therefore you are authorizing the purchase on the card. Regulation E deals with unauthorized transactions. Technically, you're not contesting an unauthorized transaction, rather, you are disputing delivery of service.
Most banks, all that I'm aware of and dealt with, treat these claims of disputes under Regulation E. In order to deal with a fraud issue, they are to assume the card was compromised or stolen. Because they are liable for anything over $50 of the transaction, and most banks will go after all of it for you anyway including deposit account based check cards, they cancel your current credit card.
Unlike a check, there is no way to simply stop ONE transaction from happening again.. all the merchant account/clearing house looks at, really, is if the card is valid, the merchant is valid, and if all the security features of your card (that they check) match.. house number, zip code, etc. So long as that happens, they will approve the transaction pending your availability of funds.
The banks can't place a "stop payment" on a credit/debit transaction the same as a check so they make you cancel the card and reissue one.
When you do dispute a charge, you're also required to sign an affidavit stating the facts of the reason why you want to contest the charges - they want to know the reason, and if it's a matter of stolen cards, you have to sign that you actually didn't make the charge yourself.. remember, fraud works both ways.. the consumer can be committing fraud as well. (A side note, they still investigate and ask EVERY merchant for an answer and the merchant will usually ALWAYS get a charge-back fee even if they are in the right)
For your protection and the banks, the cards are canceled to avoid further liability, you get a new one in anywhere from a day to 10 and life goes on.
The biggest pain in the ass is updating anyone that had that card number for automatic payments..
There's a little explanation for ya... |
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| Thanks for that great post! That's a super explanation for those of us techno weenies that aren't finance experts. |
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| reply to mobbo
What bank do you have? o.O With BoA if i don't want a purchase going through all i have to do is put the wrong PIN in at an atm 3x & the number used by company x to bill me is locked out. Also, they will freeze the acct if you ask them to for 24 or 48 hours. Blocking specific transactions isn't legal, you could end up doing it all the time & end up stealing products/services.
- A
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LETS GO METS! |
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| reply to fiberguy
If you ask for Regulation E form, get the person's name, date, and time you asked if they don't know what it is. After 30 days, you bank gets nailed for failing to give you a Reg E Form and has to credit the charges. |
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nitzanPremium,VIP
join:2008-02-27
kudos:2 | reply to matrix3D
said by matrix3D:And that would be when you contact the credit reporting agencies to dispute it and notify them that you repeatedly called them to cancel it and they continued to bill you anyway. Valid advice- but it's an incredible pain in the behind to actually do...
most businesses don't want to have to deal with an AG or the BBB and this usually forces their hand.
You're thinking in terms of a business that actually cares. Vonage doesn't give a damn about it's customers, and if you think an outsourced customer support agent in the Philippines making $3 an hour is going to care about you threatening them with the AG and BBB you're very wrong unfortunately.
What can you do? just don't get Vonage to begin with... |
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fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | reply to cameronsfx
said by cameronsfx:If you ask for Regulation E form, get the person's name, date, and time you asked if they don't know what it is. After 30 days, you bank gets nailed for failing to give you a Reg E Form and has to credit the charges. You don't need to ask for a REG E form.. you just need to report the charge.. I would find it 100% hard to believe that any call center rep or customer service agent doens't know how to handle a contested or "fraudulent" charge on a customer's account.
But, simply getting a name, date, etc. isn't enough proof to save your behind on a 30 day nailing. What all the banks or credit card companies I've ever used have done is they start the process on the phone which puts it in the system,... the paperwork just follows for your signature... or in the case of most banks, you simply go in to a branch in person, sign the paper and the two will meet up.
Banks are usually not the problem.. the merchants are  .. the banks typically always get their money back based on their risk management practices. |
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