This all started back on April 17. I got an e-mail from my credit card company saying there was suspicious activity on my account. I went to their web site and found some information on the transaction but not really enough to figure out what it was.
I ended up calling the card company. The charge was for $19.95 and was from the previous day. It was from telemarketing company. The card representative said the company contacted me. Well I hadn't ordered anything like that. The rep said maybe the numbers had been transposed because that does happen. But to be on the safe side she wanted to close out the account and issue me a new card. My main concern was if the merchants who automatically charged the card (Earthlink, Netflix and Results) would have any problems. The reps said no that the first charge would be honored but after I'd have to make sure that the company had the new card number.
This happened early on April 17.
I thought well isn't it great that they altered me to this problem. Nothing to worry about right. Wrong.
By Friday of this week I called the card company back to find out when the card was mailed and when to expect it. It took then until Monday, April 21 to mail out the card. It would take 7 to 10 business days to reach me. I said you've got to be kidding.
It also turns out that when a card is closed due to fraud the automatic charges are not honored. I found this out because I was contacted by Netflix saying there was a problem with my account. They had tried to charge my credit card and it had been turned down.
I called the card company again. I found out that I'd been given bad information about the honoring of automatic charges. I was also told that I would get the card in 5 to 7 business days not 7 to 10. I should probably get the card on Saturday or for sure on Monday. I was given the new card number.
I contacted Netflix to explain the situation to them. I said I had the new number but really didn't want to give it to them because I didn't had the card yet. The guy there said it wouldn't do any good because the card had to be activated.
I am not happy about this at all. I can't believe in this day and age that it would take almost a week to get another card out to me. There is no reason for this long of a wait at all. When people today have so many things automatically charged to their cards, it is imperative that you get a new card in a couple of days so you can inform your merchants of the change in the number.
I also don't understand why it took so long to mail the card out to me in the first place. The original call to the card company was before 7am on that Thursday but it takes until Monday to mail out the card.
The Netflix guy said I had 30 days to update my information. I went to Results yesterday to explain what was going on. They charge my account on the second of each month. I figure it is going to be a real close call on that one. They put a note in my account. I guess you get a $10 fee if the credit card is rejected but they'd refund that to me. I guess I'm grateful that I only have three accounts that do things automatically.
The added pain to all of this is that this is the only credit card I have. I was so proud of myself to getting down to just one card. This points out just how silly that is especially when getting a replacement card takes so damn long. I've solved the problem of only one card. I applied for one over the phone yesterday. It should be out to me in 7 to ten business days. I wonder which card will reach me first. Oh and the current one I have now, the one that's caused me so much bother. Well once my new card arrived the old card will be gathering dust.
1 comment:
In the past, we've had things charged to a credit card, but now, like most New Zealanders, we have everything charged to our cheque account through automatic payments and direct debits. The account number is useless to fraudsters because, being a cheque account, they can't charge things to it. Neither can they set up an unauthorised automatic payment because they need to submit a form with our signatures, and the bank sends us a notice before it begins; the whole process takes several days. But, then, Kiwis don't get paycheques, either: Their pay is direct deposited. So, I suppose we're used to everything being electronic.
At any rate, all of this means that this kind of situation, and all the hassles, wouldn't come up here. I've lived under both systems, but I think I like this one better.
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