Hey looks like the wheels of fate have picked me up in their treads and dealt me out as a scam victim. Someone got a hold of my debit VISA #, which I only use online at places I trust (Amazon.com, etc.) but apparently I trusted one too many sites, or someone in one of the places got a hold of my info and levied some charges against my account. Luckily I noticed these pretty quickly, which is surprising actually since I normally don’t watch the activity on my account all that often (or at least up ’til now I didn’t).
First off I’ve cancelled my card and will have to wait up to two weeks to get another. No ATM / debit charges for me for 2 weeks. AND now all the sites I’ve set up to auto-charge this card (Mobil Speedpass, Maine Transpass, AT&T Cellphone, Audible.com, etc) need to get updated before they send me nasty notes. Probably about time I retired that number anyways, seeing as I memorized it about a year ago and thus it’s far too easy to impulse buy online.
Today I’ve been making phone calls trying to get more info and get charges reversed. Luckily they are small charges (mostly $1 pre-auth charges, though the ‘real charges’ could come through at any moment).
Here’s the summary so far: (I figured I’d provide the info here in case anyone else has similar charges and googles around and finds my page)
Charges to TLG SHOPPERS ADV PURCH
Turns out that TLG is Trilegiant. I found this website (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/scam_alerts/tlg.html) and they are basically an umbrella company to a bunch of somewhat sleazy looking websites like shoppersadvantage.com and NetMarket. Calling these folks was n’ar completely useless since they wouldn’t listen to me explaining that these $1 charges were just someone checking if the card was valid and that the actual charge, probably for much more. They insisted these must be ‘membership charges’ and that I could have signed up for these from a number of sites like AOL and etc. I tried to explain that I KNOW I DIDN’T MAKE THESE CHARGES but they said my name wasn’t in their customer support system yet and I should check back at the end of the week, though I may need to wait 2 or 3 weeks for my ‘membership to be processed’. I’m going to call these folks again in a little bit to see if I can get someone with more of a clue. (Note – I just called them again and got a more abbreviated version of the same dance, but this time I felt like the person actually heard what I said, but he said I ‘wasn’t in the system’ yet but should be by Thursday (much different than the 2 or 3 weeks mentioned above)
Next charge was to BLOCKBUSTER ONLINE. They found me in their system and were able to reverse the charges and cancel the account promptly. They gave me the e-mail address the person used to fill out the membership form, I dropped it a note and it didn’t bounce. I’m debating dropping them a longer note 🙂
Next charge was to TWX MAGAZINE ORDER. Found out they had subscribed to TEEN PEOPLE, SEVENTEEN and ESCAPE BOATING magazine. They asked if I was sure that someone else hadn’t placed the order for these magazines and I explained that I was 36, my son is only 20 months old, and I don’t own a boat! I had the order cancelled though they said I may still receive a few issues. Golly, can’t wait.
Final call was to STAR CLUB REWARDS who said they hadn’t actually charged my card the $1, that was just what it looked like since they had verfied it was active when they created the membership (with the same fake e-mail used elsewhere)
That’s it. I know I’m lucky compared to most, especially considering this card was my debit VISA it could have been alot worse. Note to self, don’t use that online anymore.
Oh my Gosh! Just looked at my bank statement today and realized that it was happening to me–been getting fraudulent TLG, AOL & Blockbuster charges since March, totaling $108! Googled TLG & found this site–THANK YOU for all this great info. I’ve got a few more phonecalls to make, but I’m gonna get my money back. This is incredibly ridiculous. B of A was fairly helpful, they are crediting my account tonight & will launch an investigation, but I’m going to make some phonecalls too. Ugh!
My story is a little different from the others I see on here. I haven’t used any of the websites or services mentioned here, and my Visa is with Retailers National Bank. I had a charge of $1 show up in February and then two $8.99 charges– one in April and the other one May 12th. I called my cc service hotline and was told to try the TLG phone number on my bill (800-490-2712) which I intend to do during their operating hours. The representative told me that perhaps they typed in my cc number by accident when trying to charge someone else. I don’t buy it.
When I call the TLG people I don’t want to give them my credit card info to look up these charges. After reading about the problems y’all have had I am very concerned. No matter what, I’m cancelling my credit card, but I am just wary of giving them my info. The representative at my credit card’s hotline said to call back if TLG is uncooperative or I can’t get through at their number.
Also, My charges looked like this:
TLG*COMPHME followed by some numbers.
Can anyone please tell me what “COMPHME” stands for? I think I saw “COMPLETHME” somewhere above. Maybe it’s the same thing.
Thanks to everyone for sharing info on here! I’ve never had problems with my cards before except for a recent charge (on this same card) of more than $150 that was reversed. It also had an 800-number listed, but the number didn’t work at all. At least I haven’t been subjected to magazine subscriptions and long lists of fradulent charges (yet).
I have a similar story. A charge for $9.99 from TLG*GREATFN appeared on my credit card this morning. The phone number that was attached top the charge was 877-709-0966. They actually answered on the second ring!! Of course I was calling at 5 a.m. California time. They had a record of me and yes, apparently I was fooled into signing up for a savings club in a very backhanded way. They even told me how it happened. I bought movie tickets on Fandango.com 3 months ago and after that transaction was complete a pop-up asked me if I wanted a $20.00 rebate on my tickets. It said they (I assumed Fandango) would email me a rebate form.
Before I go any further I need to tell you that I was a victim of identity theft back in 1996, to the tune of over $280,000.00!!! It took me 19 months and approximately 300 man hours of time to clean it all up.
I have numerous email accounts now. I am VERY CAREFUL on which accounts I use for which offers I subscribe to and I track EVERY financial transaction in an Excel spreadsheet immediately after I make any transaction. I also block all SPAM on all my accounts. The email accounts I use most I have SPAM verifiers that autorespond to all meesages to see if they are legit.
Anyway, I unblocked fandango.com from my spam filter list and I never received a rebate form from them. Apparently the rebate form was sent from the TNG GreatFun site and was appropriately blocked.
All of this came out in this mornings phone conversation with them and they have agreed to refund my account and drop me from their opt-in email list. We will see if that happens.
Some of you may be wondering how I monitor all my financial accounts and how I noticed the charge the minute it happened. There is a GREAT monitoring service provided by http://www.paths2wealth.com. For less than the cost of a pizza every month I get a free credit report, monitoring of all my financial accounts (banks, 401K’s, credita cards, utility bills, mileage points, EVERYTHING under the sun concerning my financial well being. When something unusual (I pick what is unusual) happens to any of my accounts the monitors automaticlly send me an email or a text message to my cell phone the minute it happens!!! They also provide me with $25,000 Internet and Identity Theft protection with a ZERO deductible through AIG Insurance. They also provide a Wealth Planner that tells me what bills to pay, when to pay them, how much to pay them, and allows me to do “what if” scenarios if I decide to alter my present method of bill paying and/or wish to change my credit situation!! They also provide me with weekly and monthly newsletters and an online talk radio show, all hosted by noted Consumer Credit Author Gerri Detweiler!!!
It took me 3 hours to set up my Wealth Monitors and now I spend less than 5 minutes a day to monitor my entire financial situation.
They are NOT a network marketing company or MLM. Straight retail service. Check them out. Oh, by the way, they have saved me over $90,000 in unneccesary interest, fees and other expenses over the last 12 months!!! Check them out at http://www.paths2wealth.com.
I just got this charge from TLG Buyers today…$8.99 that I sure as hell didnt spend.
Well the # on the statement appears like this: 18002763MA 800
I dont know what to make of that, can anyone give me a # to call to talk to these people directly?
Yeah some story here. TLG*GREATFN for 9.99 comes up on my account. That I did not purchase. they give me to call, at the end of the charge is 1800 562 8888. All automated but they say it is the weekend so I will try later. My credit card company says its an “outgoing telemarketing call” So I am 100% sure i didint order anything over the phone. I will tell you what I come up with. If you have any good advice I will take it.
Darby
I had the same thing happen to me today. I have charges for both TLG Buyers ADV and TLG Shopper ADV. These charges are for $89.99 each! My credit card company gave me the following numers to call:
TLG Buyers ADV – 800.553.4948
TLG Shoppers – 800.526.4848
I called these numbers first thing this morning and they said they open at 9:00 EST. GOOD LUCK!!
I have just found out I was a victim of the same scam as well, my statement gives some info about what happened: WITHDRAWAL @ TLG*GREATFN 100 CONNECTICUT AVENUE 800 285 5903. The amount they STOLE from my is of $ 8.99, my problem is that I am not in the country at the moment, so there is not much I can do, like make all these calls and contacts. There is nothing safe, that is my conclusion. I did try to call the 1800 number and it refers to Great Fun, that I have never heard of. This is very frustrating.
I did a search for Amerikal Neutraceutical and your blog came up. I have no idea what I may have ordered from them on my American Express card, and I call them but receive no answers. Before I tell AmEx to cancel the charge, I would like to find out more about what they are charging me for. Thanks for your help.
Hi! I was trying to find out about the 8.99 charge on my pre paid mastercard because all it says is TLG*COMPHME and I came up with this. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one with pop up charges. I already had one from Shoppers Advantage and called them the second time it showed up. I didn’t notice it the first time. The did reimburse the first 11.99 charge, but said it was too late to reimburse the other. I don’t know why because I never used their service. If any one can help me with this, let me know. The toll free number I got for TLG is 1-800-490-2712. Thanks!
I also came across a 14.95 charge from AP9 PrivacyMatters 1-800-436-0817. Deas anyone know anything about this one? When I called, they said I had signed up for it online 2 months ago, which was not true, but answered why this was the second charge on my card. They also would only reimburse me for one charge, then told me I could get my free credit report in the time remaining in the month. I told them I didn’t want to, then I would be charged for using their service. Any advice on how I can be reimbursed for the other charge, since I never used the service? I even had an acct. #, go figure!
After Google-ing TWX (which I saw charged to my card this morning), I found this site and wow, I too have the same experience as the rest of you. I was just now being charged for a Seventeen magazine subscription that I had been signed up for back in March.
Around that time, I had purchased a digital camera online and soon noticed those fraudulent charges from Blockbuster, TLG Netmarket, and Appera Teeth Whitening… and canceled my old debit card through Bank of America. They quickly credited my account for the charges I disputed while they investigated. I then called all the number associated with these charges and made sure whatever they had my name on was cancelled!
After reading this page, I called up TWX and cancelled the magazine and just waited out the automated system until I was connected to a person… who I made sure had cancelled the mag and who also refunded my money. I also found out it had been signed up thru orangebrick.com which we know doesn’t even exist. So hopefully I get my 12 bucks back and this is the end of this crap. I am figuring that charge had been pre-authorized on my other card which made its way to my new card… because I didn’t even have this card at the time the mag was signed up for.
I shall just keep my eye out for any more weird activity for now…
Hey dude, TLG got me too, TLG Great Fun for $8.99, yeah right, just now dealin with this stuff right now and tryin to fight my way out of this crap, i am in college and workin my butt off and cant my time or money for this nonsense!
OK I called in that 800.553.4948 number and after 30 seconds got in touch with a guy who, while trying to sell me more stuff at every angle, listened to my request, canceled my account, and refunded the $8.99.
I let him go through all his sales pitches and kept saying no until he eventually said he will just cancel it. After about a week I did get my refund:
TLG*BUYER $8.99 DEP
So hopefully thats the end of this, it turns out it originated from a Circuit City gift card offer that I must have signed up for…the lesson learned for me is that, if they have my CC number, never say yes to ANY *special* deals they offer.
Hey everybody,
I just got through the whole process of getting charges to my debit card reversed. This whole discussion helped me find out how to get this done. i can’t begin to express my thanks for the information above.
Wanna see how sleazy this whole “affilliate” industury is? read this http://www.affiliatetip.com/ website has all manner of helpful hints to maximize your take.
what a bunch of crooks!
Thank your for this blog i’m going to cancel my account right now i just got my first TLG*SHOPPER for $9.99. thanks again
if you got any other advice please let me know
Hey, just to add to this great thread. I have been hit with this “referal scam” too. This is against a credit card of mine that I haven’t used in over a year. (And prior that that, used pretty heavily both on and offline.) Charges that happened before I shut down the card number:
05/31 05/31 BLOCKBUSTER ONLINE 18666922789 TX $9.99
06/01 06/01 COL*HOUSE VIDEO CLUB 8002622001 IN $4.95
06/01 06/01 COL*HOUSE VIDEO CLUB 8002622001 IN $12.40
06/02 06/02 TLG*AUTO GOLD18082360 8008767787 CT $1.00
06/13 06/13 TRIMLIFE 701-530-0080 ND $9.95
It’s too late to call any of the merchants, but it sounds like blockbuster might be my best bet to start tracking down the true culprit of this stuff. I would love to know what we all have in common.
Here’s my list of unauthorized charges;
30 day coral calcium Harrisburg, PA
clickandpledge.com 866-999-2542
BMC*Crafters Choice 717-697-0311
MFI*myfamily/ancestrys 800-262-3787
COL*HOUSE video club 800-262-2001
Crossings 717-918-4120
Literary Guild Select 717-919-4120
Lingo.com London
Trimlife 701-222-3863
MFI*myfamily/ancestrys 800-262-3787
advantagelanguage.com 928-556-3086
COS*cosmetique 800-621-8822
clickandpledge.com cor 866-999-2542
1 800 patches INC
1 800 patches INC
AARP 888-687-2277
VONAGE DIGITAL VOI 732-528-2600
Best magazines direct 561-995-6977
Best magazines direct 561-995-6977
I’m just getting into sending cancellations out. My credit union closed the debit card out and has initiated disputed charges. Meanwhile, I have a table full of boxes of unordered merchandise that I was going to return, but if these companies are in cahoots together, why should I reurn anything?
Incidentally, my charges were rung up over Memorial Day weekend on a Visa debit card.
i have a bat mitzvah to go to soon, so to make a long story short, i’ve signed up for things in the passed just for the free gift and sometimes i’ve gotten something good out of it, sometimes nothing and sometimes something bad. so i keep seeing these $10 + charge on my debit card and feel like an ass for signing up for anything, cause i just thought i didn’t remember to cancel something and didn’t recognize the name of the charge. Its been a few months so I tried asking my bank if they could tell me what that company is and they don’t know so i just cut and pasted the name, finally looking it up and found this. hopefully I can some money back or at least figure how to cancel. Hopefully, Jessica
I just got hit on my AMEX with:
TLG*GREATFUN 800-285-5903 CT GREAT FUN JUN 9.99
I’m glad you have this site posted to warn everyone else.
Well…I’ve been trying to call the Travel Advantage morons for 2 weeks and I finally got through. I had to press 2 immediately after calling the 1800 562 8888 # and firmly askedto be transferred to a department supervisor regarding fraudulent charges….and I was immediately transferred….I was given a cancellation fee, the supervisor’s ID #…and the name & where the charges occured…city, state & time….The thing is….it’s at a Super 8 motel. And I would never even set foot in a Super 8 moreorless be registered there under a MALE name…. that’s why I’m so pissed off. So now I’m on hold with US Bank…and I’m going to do the whole “block all 3rd party information” and I’m going to have a new card & new # issued. I just can’t believe this shit….the charge was $99.99…they said it would be returned in 10-15….I highly doubt it….I’m going to wait 16 days and it’s it not back on there, someone is going to seriously get yelled at. again.
Thanks for having this site up…and for all the information and the horror stories….I’m glad to know that this has happened to others and people are sharing information on how to solve these issues.
****while tying this US Bank picked up the line…the fees have been taken off…and a new card is being overnighted to me today….FINALLY, something is being done!
Thanks Matt for the forum.
My story is the same – with Blockbuster online charges, all kinds of $1 Trilegiant services charges, charges to Amazon and various other charges to a book club, and more. I called two of the merchants to find out what they knew about me. Scary. They knew my name, address, phone number, and credit card number (USBank credit/debit card). However, the e-mail each had was for another person – Jane Doe. And the shipping address they used was Jane Doe’s address. Jane Doe had called one of the merchants a few days before I called to ask why they were sending her products she hadn’t ordered. So, I don’t think she was involved – another victim.
Anyway, these are the steps I took after internet research and reading thru this blog.
1) Called a couple of merchants to see what they knew about me, how the charges were made – phone or internet – and whether a credit card verification number was used.
2) Called USBank’s Fraud line & went thru the fraudulent charges with the rep. He agreed to credit all the charges, cancelled my card, and is sending me a new one. He said they will not investigate.
3) Called the Federal Trade Commission’s Fraud line (1-877-438-4338) and reported the ID theft. She asked a lot of questions that will go into a database and I made sure she included the Trilegiant aspect of this, and also gave her this website address. The database is only used by law enforcement. And the only way I would ever be contacted about this is if an agency is looking for a pattern and some keyword in my statement triggers their interest – fits into a pattern they are looking for or something. That is why I wanted to make sure Trilegiant was included in the database.
4) Called Transunion Fraud Alert hotline (1-800-680-7289) to put a “Fraud Alert” on my credit report. By calling one of the credit agencies, the Fraud Alert gets put on the credit reports of the other two credit agencies also. If anyone tries to establish a new credit line in my name (including me) they will call me and make sure it is legit.
5) Went to http://www.annualcreditreport.com and ordered a free credit report from all three agencies so that I can review them carefully and make sure everything is legit there.
6) Called my local police to file an ID Theft report but was told that it would just be a courtesy report. The agency with jurisdiction is the one where the fraudulent charges were made – so agencies all over the country. Told them I wouldn’t bother to file it unless my bank needed it.
7) I plan to write (at the suggestion of the FTC rep and the local police rep) to my legislators and tell them to get going on laws that make it possible for our police agencies to investigate ID Theft in a meaningful way. Apparently, there are jurisdictional issues that make investigations tough. Both agencies said the laws have not caught up with the crime.
8) Plan to file a complaint with the Connecticut BBB about Trilegiant.
I still can’t pinpoint where my identity was stolen. But I figure if lots of people call the Federal Trade Commission Fraud Line to report this scam, we have a better chance of someone tracking it down.
Trilegiant customers who are scammed go to these websites and explain what happened to you for their class action law suits. (Trilegiant are charges indicated by TLG)
http://www.girardgibbs.com/trilegiant.html
http://www.classcounsel.com/
For those of you who do business with Columbia House, this is how I got scammed into this. I noticed that some of the bank statement info on above posts included Columbia House charges.
I was sent a $10.00 check from CH that appeared to be a rebate ck. or a refund. I deposited it.
Since then I have been charged 39.95 per MONTH, which has been paid to TLG*HomProt. WHO KNEW???
I scan my statements…all looks well…I forget it. Not anymore! Since I pay most of my bills using online methods a monthly payment didn’t raise any flags. It should have.
If you are affiliated with Columbia House…beware of checks they send you. My suggestion…cancel your membership with them! If they are linked with ripoofs such as Trilegiant they don’t warrant your business.
Best blog I’ve found so far on this deceptive company.
Thank you!
Linda
Forgive me…I forgot to mention the “service” company my payments were for for. National Home Protection Alliance is one of TRILEGIANT’S sub-companies.
I found offers online through Home Depot for a trial membership with this company….the rest follows the same line of action. One month and then you are billed, and billed and billed.
When I attempted to email NHPA their web address was non-functional. It was only through research that I became aware that Trilegiant was the parent company behind this sleezy scam.
I have sent my information to the Seattle news media in hopes that they will run a story on this decptive company.
Thank you for putting together this forum! What a relief to get this information.
My latest AMEX bill had this line:
TLG*COMPLETHME 800-490-2712 CT 89.99
Funny how that amount just keeps popping up in this forum.
When I called Amex, they said it was for “office equipment”. They will request more details from the supplier. Why would I buy office equipment in the US when I live in Europe? And if I had bought it, I would have used my business card.
One of the major sources of identity theft is unsolicited credit card mailings. The ultimate junk mail. Mail Monitor, a junk mail tracking company, reported 5.23 billion credit card offers in 2004. The FTC provided confirmation of the problem in early 2005, reporting ID theft right at the top of consumer complaints.
There is an answer. Pass federal legislation giving consumers 100% control over their name and personal data. Let them opt-in, rather than having to opt-out, of receiving junk mail. While eliminating identity theft, we can also force the junk mailers to share in the sale of our names and private information, amounting to over $4 billion each year.
Bold, original, even outrageous…but a workable plan.
Jack E. Dunning
i just called great fun yesterday to dispute three $8.99 charges on my credit card (that i knew of). i spoke to a rather obtuse indian-sounding young lady who tried in vain to convince me that i’d signed up for their service through buy.com, and that i’d even received a $100 rebate for my troubles. after 20 minutes of refusing all the new services she threw at me, she said i had to fax in a request to get my money back. after some more verbal wrangling, she agreed to transfer me to her supervisor. the next woman picked up, and i told her that i wanted a refund for the unauthorized charges to my card, and that i wanted all subsequent charges to cease. she said “one moment please,” in very broken english, then hung up on me.
my wife immediately called back, and was lucky enough to get through to someone in texas. after about 20 more minutes, she’d gotten one refund of $8.99 authorized. she was then transferred to a supervisor, who again said we needed to fax a request to get a full refund. when asked how many charges had been made to my account (wachovia only goes back three months) he told us that my card has been getting his since september 2004! $81 worth of fraudulent charges!!! he agreed to cancel the account, guaranteed that we wouldn’t be charged again, and told us that he personally would handle our fax request when it came in. so we hung up somewhat satisfied.
i checked my bank acct. this morning, and guess what? another charge of $8.99 from great fun processed yesterday! i was livid! as soon as i get my money back (if i do), i’m cancelling my CC.
the thing that pisses me off the most is that wachovia assured me that they’d put a block on my account so that great fun would be denied if they tried to bill me again. looks like wachovia is as full of bravo sierra as great fun is.
Dear wjh:
Please visit: http://www.ClickandPledge.com.
Our company provides online payment and credit card processing for a large number of organizations, universities, churches and national police organizations- just to name a few. Serving clients in ever state and over 30 countries worldwide.
May I ask you to call us toll free (866.999.2542) so we can find out to whom you have made a payment to. I assure you that you have made a payment that you do not recognize and do not remember. You can also use our support form if you want and tell us the date the charge was made and the amount and a number where we can reach you- please do not include your credit card number since it is not needed. Someone from our support department will call you in 24 hours and resolve the issue.
Again I assure you that you have made a payment that you do not recognize. Considering we have left a toll free number on your statement perhaps it is best to contact the number first prior to making accusations on a public forum.
Looking forwar to hearing from you.
With Best Regards,
Kami Razvan
CEO
ClickandPledge.com [http://www.ClickandPledge.com]
Dear WJH,
I requested our staff to do an analysis of the Memorial Day charges that were done in our system with your initials. The only charge that satisfies those conditions has the following attributes:
Charged: May 27, 2005 and was made at 8:07:54 AM – EST
Card Used: Visa
Charge Amount: $0.65
The 2nd charge you see on your card is actually not a charge but a credit. The credit was issued to you on 6/1 when our fraud detection algorithm detected the pattern and issued a credit without any means of contacting you considering the phone number and email left for the charge were not yours. (if you wish to know what email address was used, please let me know). Once a fraudulent charge is detected we always try to contact the donor and confirm the charge. If we are unable to confirm the charge we will void the charge and notify our clients accordingly.
Since it appears that this forum is a public forum addressing this issue I would like to provide you with some information from the merchants and vendors side of the story.
The challenge facing companies that process credit cards is how to detect fraud in real time. While we have a large number of measures in place that analyze patterns, in some cases the best we can do is to react to patterns. Systems like ours are sometimes used by thieves to determine if a card is valid before trying to use it. By watching for these patterns, we try to limit the damage that can be done
While you may think you are the victim of the fraud, the merchants are victims as well, with no legal limit on how much we can lose from the fraudulent use of cards. The credit card companies have no vested interest in stopping fraud considering they simply take the money from the merchant and give it back to the card holder. We recognize that the card holder experiences a lot of inconvenience but the largest monetary loss is always with the merchant.
While there are central gateways to authenticate credit cards there is no central gateway to report a stolen card. To report a stolen credit card when we detect one we have to first contact our bank and report the card. Then we must find the phone number for the issuing bank and contact that bank and convince them to transfer us to their security department and explain the situation. This process can take 15 – 30 minutes per card depending on the hold times. Most merchants simply void the transaction and if they detect it after the fact they credit it back.
We would really appreciate a note from you confirming that the charges referenced above are the ones in question, or a call to our support department so we can resolve the situation.
Looking forward to hearing back from you.
With Best Regards,
Kami Razvan
CEO
ClickandPledge.com [866.WWW.CLICK / 866.999.2542]
Dear Mr. Razvan,
I did receive the credit from your company. I am puzzled, however, as to how this business with my credit card began. I never clicked on a pledge for anything and am firewalled up the kazoo, to the point that I cannot access many sites because of security compromises to my system. There appears to be a common denominator on this thread, with certain companies (and I would call them unscrupulous) whose charges appear on an individual’s account, and then they are expected to jump through hoops to have them removed, almost to the point that it’s hoped they’ll just give up and roll over. I still have a pile of packages in my dining room waiting to go back and, quite frankly, I really do not feel pressured to get them out. I never ordered any of this crap and fortunately, my credit card company has restored all charges that were made. Ultimately, we all pay for these with increased costs of doing business. I am reluctant to make any contact with any of these companies (including yours) over the internet for fear with what they do with the email addresses harvested from the complaints!
wjh
I thought I’d share my experience, since I was expecting bad, but it turned out okay, and I may be able to shed some light on this for others.
I’m sure many of you have heard of websites like “freeipods.com”, where you can get a free ipod or some other nifty electronic toy by signing up for an affiliate offer, and getting some friends to do the same. Well, Trilegiant is one of the big providers of affiliate offers for these so-called “freebie sites”. And there is a whole network of users out there who do all these sites trying to get free stuff. The problem they run into is running out of offers that they can do, because you can only do an offer once. So, say they’ve done Great Fun already – they can’t do it again. Unless, of course, they use a dummy email address, dummy phone number, etc, and a different credit card number. So those who see a ton of charges from different companies, I’d guess there’s a good shot you are a victim of of one of those people who needed a new credit card number so they could do an affiliate offer again and get one step closer to their free toy. Something you may attempt to do in getting to the bottom of it is to find out from the company(s) that bill you if the account was created via an affiliate, and if so, which one, etc. You may be able to track it back to a freebie site user, and if you can, the site owner will probably be willing to give you contact information for the person who was credited for completing that offer … and since that person is attempting to have a free item shipped to them, chances are, the site owner will have an accurate address for that person.
Trying to complete one of these freebie sites is how I ended up with Complete Home charges on my card. I wasn’t the victim of CC theft, so I don’t know if the above suggestion has any real value or not. But, I’m very diligent about cancelling my trial offers. I use a website designed to keep track of these offers, notify you when they are about to end, etc.
I noticed a charge on June 10 from TLG*COMPLETHME for $8.99, but I was on a business trip that week, and didn’t have a chance to call them about it, even though I knew I had cancelled the trial offer. I forgot by the time I got home. So yesterday, July 5, the same charge shows up. I called them, expecting a fight. The CSR who answered (Maria) wasn’t very helpful, because she could only tell me my account had been cancelled in March, and I would need to fax in my statement, call someone else, etc, to get it reimbursed. I asked to talk to a supervisor, because I figured that it was just a different account than the one she saw that was cancelled. Turns out it was, one that my girlfriend signed up for (okay, me, using her name :).
When I talked to supervisor Christopher, I told him that I had signed up, but I cancelled. He said it was signed up for in mid-March, but doesn’t show that it was cancelled. I braced myself for the impending battle, knowing that my tracking system only keeps records for 3 months, and this would have been cancelled in late March, about 3 1/2 months ago. I started by asking when the trial turned into a “membership”, hoping it was more recent than it sounded so I might have my cancellation number, and he told me April 2nd, so I should have been billed in May, June, and July. This got me curious … I would have noticed the billing in May, and I didn’t. So I went back to my May statement. I thought I had my out … if I cancelled in late March, and wasn’t billed in April or May, it’s reasonable that to assume that I wouldn’t still have my cancellation number in June or July. So I told him I wasn’t billed that month. His response was that he would go ahead and cancel my account, which would automatically trigger a credit for the July billing. Then he said he would issue a credit for the May and June billing, since that’s what they show they billed, even though I couldn’t find the May charge. Without me having to do anything, he made sure it was taken care of.
I just thought I’d share that, since it is evidence that maybe they have taken to heart some of the complaints, and changed their ways. I don’t know if others will have similar experiences, but mine wasn’t bad at all.
i have these charges on my credit card for 1. i didnt approve this so please opt me out……
Dear WJH:
Our team informed me of your response.
I understand your concern. We did not charge you – please note that we provide payment solution to thousands of organizations. Please do me a favor- go to Google and search for ClickandPledge and see who is using us. The links you see on all these sites are not fake or bogus. We are a reputable company – you also have first name and last name and I encourage you to do a Google search on my name as well.
Now how did your charge appear in our system. Let me explain:
Your card must have been stolen. The people who have stolen your card have visited a client organization and have made a small charge to see if your card is valid and then must have gone around and made the additional charges. Simple!
Our security system has detected your card as a card that is abused and has credited you back immediately. I am sure you agree that you did not contact us and that the reversal was done by us and not at all initiated by you.
Please read our privacy policy:
http://www.ClickandPledge.com/Privacy/
Please also see our BBB Online seal and also search for any complaints against our company. I simply ask that you let me know if you see anything anywhere.
You can email me directly: Kami@ClickandPledge.com if you wish to continue this discussion or I can gladly continue our discussion on this public forum. I can also gladly list your name and the address that was used for the credit card charge on this forum if you wish to see why you were charged and how it was done. Again we do not charge anyone- people visit sites and they make donations using our system to nonprofits, organizations, and political parties and candidates, etc.
Considering I am giving all the tools to research us and my full name rather than initials in an indexed and searched public forum I would like a courtesy call so we can resolve any other issues you may have.
We take security and privacy very seriously at ClickandPledge and I will continue this discussion until all issues are resolved.
Again you can call me personally toll free: 866.999.2542 (540.961.9811) – extension 3211. Our company address is:
ClickandPledge.com
2200 Kraft Drive, Suite 1175
Blacksburg, Virginia 24060-6344
If you also want to see where we are located visit:
http://www.VTCRC.com
Once again thank you for your time.
Regards,
Kami Razvan [Kami@ClickandPledge.com]
CEO
ClickandPledge.com
When I noticed the greatfn charge on my Visa I googled greatfn and got this site. I have read most of it from the start. I did go to one of those ipod sites and applied for free stuff. Sending all of that back and making sure I didn’t start getting billed for all of that took me a lot of time and money. That was about a month ago. I did get a trial membership card from great fun, there is no place that I can even use it. Stupid me I didn’t realize that was another one I needed to cancel. Honestly I don’t remember signing up for the card, and, if there would have been something in the envelope about cancelling or a fee I would have done it quickly. So now it looks like I get to spend some more time on the phone. Lucky me. Good luck all!
Wow. I never thought this would happen to me, but seeing this entire page is just making me more pissed than ever. I got a TLG*Greatfn charge to my Wells Fargo account. But I have a different number than any posted. It’s 800 709 0966. I called and it was their technical services. They said to call back in the morning. Obviously. It’s 2:30 in the morning. But I can’t change debit cards! And I don’t haven’t signed up for anything online….I usually don’t. And you all are lucky. Only 1 dollar and 8.99 charges. I have been charged 9.99 at least twice a month for the past 6 months. I put an inquiry into wells fargo and they also gave me the same runaround, “You’ll have to call TLG and then make a claim.” I don’t want a friekin claim runaround! I want my money back!
ooh,I am on the same boat TLG great fun was being charged to my amex gold account since jan-05 i dont know where they got my card, I have to get my money back
Well it looks like I am in the same boat as ya’ll.
Here’s the summary of my experiance:
1.) The list of charges:
TLG*Netmrkt $1.00 (one of those billed once)
TLG*Netmrkt $7.99 (4 of those all billed on the 28th of each month)
2.) The name of the financial institution:
Capital One
3.) The state where you currently reside:
Arizona
4.) All physical materials:
None, never got any email either.
This has apparently been billed to my credit card every month starting back in January 05. I don’t pay very close attention to my statements as I don’t use the card except for random purchases at gas stations and I never charge more than $9 at a time. So when I’d get my statements I would just assume that it was a gas station and pay my bill. I never caught on or noticed that it was the same charge (which was my mistake and lesson learned). Anyway, I went online to pay my CC bill last night and found that it had been pushed overlimit…which never happens. So I got to looking at the charges and noticed the Netmrkt thing…looked at past statements and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t there!
I called the 800# attached to the charge and it gave a generic “we’re closed call tomorrow” message. So I called my CC and of course the fraud dept. was closed as well. Hopped online and did a search and found this place. Thank you to everyone for all the information as it helped me immensly this morning.
I was able to reach Netmarket by calling one of the numbers someone here supplied (the one on my statement told me they were unable to take my call). I was able to cancle and get a refund from Netmarket. The lady didn’t seem suprised that I wanted to get rid of it. So I was told that the refund would be issued within 10-15 days so I’ll be watching my statements. Capital One was awesome, they reversed the overlimit fees and are putting a watchdog on my account to make sure that the only transaction from that company is the refund. After that I’ll be changing my number. I highly reccomend Capital One to anyone who is going to carry a credit card.
Here’s a list of the numbers I was able to glean out for anyone who is having problems specifically with TLG Netmarket:
1-800-562-8888 (this is the one I had luck with just ask to be transferred to the membership department)
1-888-696-2753 ext.3
1-800-209-7131 ext. 3
My advice is to make SURE you get a Cancellation Number from Netmarket when you call them that way if the charges continue you can turn the number over to the proper autorities. Also, you’ll have to ask for the refund, none will be offered. Good luck ya’ll and I’ll post any updates that I may have.
I have a different perspective. In my case, I actually voluntarily joined one of the Trilegiant sites (Everyday Values Online) to get discounts and cash back rewards on gasoline, credit card, and other purchases. But after about 3 months of membership, I have yet to receive any of the rewards I was promised, including a $20 giftcard I was supposed to get for joining this service, which cost me $1 for a two-month trial period (it was supposed to be around $9 or $10 monthly after that). Unfortunately, every time I’ve called customer support, I get the run around. I think this is a much bigger scam than it initially seems. As others have mentioned, take a look at this page: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/scam_alerts/tlg.html
Do a Google search on Trilegiant and you’ll find lots of information about class action lawsuits and settlements in Florida and California, and many stories like yours and mine, about how even those of us who’ve tried to join these “services” legitimately are being defrauded. Be warned though, their customer service folks are very nice, well-trained, and sneaky. They’ll apologize numerous times, promise to make everything okay, and make you feel great, but their promises always fall through. I’ve been waiting for over a month for a reward that was promised to arrive in 10 business days. Such has been promised twice already, but of course the check never shows up, and when I call back they conveniently claim to have no record of my previous requests. Every time I compalin, they beg for me not to cancel my membership, and keep offering me extensions of my “trial period,” during which I pay nothing to be a member (but I don’t seem to get anything either!). Like other posters, I also fell for the fax line, whereby one of the operators told me to submit a request for my giftcard in writing. Of course, Everyday Values continues to claim it never received my fax, despite the fact that I have proof of its receipt.
After reading so many negative things about this company and its sub-organizations like Everyday Values, I went ahead and cancelled my credit card, so as to avoid any fake charges. I guess I’m fortunate to have escaped the difficulties so many of you have faced, but I’m furious about the deceit and the fact that Trilegiant has wasted so much of my time.
Hello fellow ID victims,
I recently recieved numberous phone calls from the number 1-223-2263. I called the number but there was no answer. I looked if up on google and found this website. I recieved e mial from ebay stating that some actions were taken by unathorized users. After I read all the wonderful luck people have been having I changed accounts, phone number, and all e mail accounts. I live pay check to pay check and I wish I could find these people that are doing this and have a little chat with them, my 50cal and myself would have only one word BOOM. Thanks for all the advice you people offered it helped and I am glad that someone made this website up. Thanks again.
Phil
I was charged $8.99 by TLG GREATFN. I never knowingly signed up for them. I was inadvertantly got screwed when I bought a airline ticket with cheaptickets.com. I found that info out when I talked with TLG people. I’m very disappointed with cheaptickets.com. They inserted this TLG scam within the ordering process. Shame the cheaptickets.com and TLG’s sales and marketing department. What a crooked affiliates. They’re a bunch of white collar thiefs. I called TLG and told them to cancel me and threatened to file reports against them, which I will do.
I just found out that TLG is Trilegiant at http://www.trilegiant.com. And that TLG is a parent of cheaptickets.com. And orbitz.com maybe part of that umbrella. There is a file against TLG on the Better Business Bureau http://www.connecticut.bbb.org/commonreport.html?compid=41001179&national=Y .
Dear Matt,
I found this web site by accident when looking for something else, but wanted to share the information I have with you. I am an independent associate of Prepaid Legal Services. We offer both a family legal plan, and what is called the Identity theft shield. If you will go to my web site http://www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/michellescoggins you can get more information as to what these 2 plans are. As a victim of identity theft I am sure you will see the importance of truly being protected. We are the only company to my knowledge that offers protection against identity theft. I also am afraid to say that after being a victim the first time you are more likely to become a victim again because the thieves will sell your information to others. If you will contact me by email and give me your phone number I will call you with more information. What we have is available in all 50 states and 4 providences of Canada. Thanks for your time
Michelle Scoggins
Thanks for the info. The same happened to me so I called the number for TWX-Magazine and got them to cancel and refund me my $40. for the magazines I didnt order. Would have never found that number on my own thankx alot!!!!
I noticed a $24.00 charge from TWX. I called and they refunded my money and said that Fredericks of Hollywood said I wanted the magazines. I often shop at Fredericks online, I would never order a magazine subscription. I will never order from them again.
Just an FYI, Michelle Scoggins comment above has a link to a pyramid scheme, masquerading as a “legal club” of sorts. My friend at work participates in it and aggressively markets the same prepaidlegal.com plan. Its just like other pyramid schemes, except there are lawyers who may or may not give you legal advice. BEWARE, all pyramid schemes are illegal.
For those of you that called TWX and got them to cancel your subscriptions and refund your money, how long did it take for you to recieve the refund??
Phew. I looked at my online statement tonight and had two TWX charges totaling up to almost $200 combined. I nearly had a stroke. I googled the phone number on the statement and found this miracle of a page.
I called both numbers and it turns out it was for the stupid US Weekly and People magazine that I do in fact remembering getting a trial for through the entertainment.com site back in May. The cancellation process was pretty hassle free as its automated (thank goodness I could take action at 12:30am), but let’s see how long it actually takes for the cancellation to go through. I do recall picking up a 3rd magazine so I’ll be on the lookout for that 3rd surprise charge so I can go cancell that too.
For the TWX cancellation, the automated system said that the cancellation refund would be processed within 1 to 2 buiness days, but could take up to 2 billing cycles for it to appear.
I had to sign up for this blog and just wanted to let everyone know this one. We too are being scammed with these people but i know where ours originated from……….FYE music store! I bought come CD’s using my credit card and they asked me if i wanted “free” issues of magazines. All of a sudden, all these mags start comming to our house that we never signed up for and my card gets billed when I know for a fact I never gave them my card………….ONLY ONE SWIPE FROM FYE and now all these magazine companies have my information and credit card number. FYE is where mine started!
Dave