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.
I just got hit with a TWX*Magazine charge yesterday on one of my checking accounts and freaked out because that account is strictly for my bills and I was worried it might cause checks to bounce.
A quick Google search led me here. Thanks for the phone numbers and info. I’ll be cancelling and disputing the charges with my bank and getting a new check card asap.
TWX strikes again.
I got hit three days ago, well two technically. On the 15th at 2:57 AM there appeared a charge for $1 from “TWX*AOL QSTORE 888-265-9269 NY”. Minutes later, 3:07 AM appeared this “ALL STAR HEALTH.CO 800-875-0448” for $449.55.
I called the number for all star health and they reversed the charges no problem, then called my bank (Citibank debit mastercard) and had the number changed. New card arrived today.
allstarhealth gave me the information that was entered into the order, some or all of which may be falsified. The billing address was correct, my first and last name had been reversed on the order. The ship-to information was:
Mark Chalie
515 Victory St.
East Brewton AL, 36426
775-878-9027
chyco25@yahoo.com
Don’t have the slightest clue who this person is, if they got the card themselves, “bought” the number from some shady dealer, or what. 775 doesn’t match the area the stuff was being shipped to. Really wondering why it didn’t ship to me instead — they normally don’t let you ship things to addresses not listed on your account unless you specifically add them.
The $1 charge looks like a normal “test charge” which these theifs use to make sure the card is active and able to be charged. If the $1 goes through, then they just start running up the bills.
I’ve been contacting every company online that I ordered from in the 2-3 days prior to alert them that their financial/user databases may have been compromised. There aren’t too many other ways for someone to get all this information on so many people.
Read through this thread (well, read the start in 2005, then the later posts in the past couple months), after seeing a pre-auth for $1 on my card for “TWX*MAGAZINE ORDER 800-927-9651 US”. Great information! It seems my daughter had ordered merchandise online at Delia’s (delias.com), and answered a popup ad while she was checking out (“But Dad, it said they were free magazines!”). I explained that she almost spent >$90 of my money without any warning at all. She was duly apologetic.
The phone number that worked for me is up ^^^ a few postings, 800-601-1958. The comment toward the start of the thread worked, where I said “no” to every prompt (even non-yes/no questions) and was transferred to a rep, who answered within 2 minutes (on a Saturday morning). She promptly & politely canceled the three 90-day trials my daughter requested. I also asked to be put on any opt-out or do-not-call lists, which she also did for me.
So, with all the conspiracy theories through this thread, also consider that our family members should be considered “leakage” too, and need to be wary of the same ploys used ever since direct mail marketing appeared in the 1960s-1970s: “free” isn’t free. Checking a checkbox on a website without reading the fine print elsewhere is legally agreeing to the terms.
I suspect others in this thread probably unknowingly “authorized” some of these purchases. Those guys are slick, and I agree have low ethical standards. All the same, we’re the first ones on the hook for our lack of diligence. I know for me and my family, we have to be more careful and take more time to educate our kids on how these scams work.
Cheers!
Just received a temporary authorization from TWX Magazine Orders in the amount of $1 I called them and they said the order came from FYE, the store in the mall. So apparently using your charge card at FYE can bring these on.
Ripped me off too. But I intend to get it ALL back, and this I hope, will help:
“The settlement requires Trilegiant to pay a combined $8.325 million in restitution to all consumers in Alaska and the other 15 states who either have already complained to Trilegiant or their Attorney General, or who complain in writing within the next nine months.”
Press release State of Alaska
TLG*Autovantage hit my bank account yesterday.
$109.99 I had $40.00 in my account so guess what I got charged bank overdrafts.
I called the 1800-759-7218, it seems they have had me a member since 9/2003.
It occured to me that I remember calling the bank regarding a similar issue in the past.
I don’t think they ever removed me from the membership.
I called the bank to get all transactions from this company since 2003, they said I can go online and get it…NOT online only goes back six months.
I have disputed the charge with the bank and Autovantage gave me a cancellation number.
I guess I’m going to need to create a fraud file in my file cabinet and start documenting these events.
Oh my god,this TLG*NETMARKET charged my account for $114.99 though i already cancelled this two months ago..and now theyre starting hitting my debit card ugggh..
So it gets worse. Trilegiant is now partnering with Bank of America, and is in charge of their “Privacy Guard” service. I stupidly signed up for this, and was asked a million questions about my identity. Soon after, I had charges appear that were very high, with the TLG logo attached to them. I called BofA, they directed me to TLG, I called them and cancelled and received a refund. But now I feel like I just gave all this sensitive info to TLG, and that perhaps they’ll just sell it off. Any ideas about what to do to prevent this? And to draw attention to this dangerous partnership?
yea i got the same deal with TLG and so for they only took out $1 and i cant find out what for. i called the # for them and and all i got was a damn recording to leave a msg. i fell like such an idoit bc i was acually filling out this survey to try to when a gift cerificate and yea it asked for my visa # and some of the stuff i was actually trying to purchase to try to win but heard nothing about this company.. i guess ill wait and see if i get charged anymore
TLG*GREATFN…This is a big scam.
Greetings everyone. Recently my mom took hold of my grandmothers bills. Mind you, my grandmother is 85 years old and doesn’t have a computer — at all. My mom and I were going over some of the bills, and noticed a charge of $9.99 to “TLG*COMPHME” on one of the bills. Curious about the charge, I Googled the 800-Number [(800)-636-2379] next to the merchant name (TLG*COMPHME). Google returned a website address of “http://www.lgbtcampus.org/index.html” of “National Consortium of Directors of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Resources in Higher Education.” Now, I know my grandma and this was the biggest red flag I’ve ever seen. So I Googled the “TLG*COMPHME” and found this forum in the results. We have yet to sort through the rest of my grandmothers bills, but this charge of $9.99 was recorded on her Chase bill on December 20, 2006. As I searched through and read more of this forum, I became aware that this is a scam. Now, my question is how can I get this charge removed, and get this thing taken off the bills. We plan on closing and canceling all of my grandmother’s credit cards, but if this is indeed an ID Theft, how can I restore grandma’s ID? I’ve seen a lot of references to Buy.com and Amazon.com, can anyone verify that either of these websites could be the starting point of this scam? My aunt does have access to the credit card and has made purchases on Amazon.com, but is there anyway to pin-point any kind of information regarding this charge?
I will be calling the 800-Number on the bill later this evening, and will post an update then.
Thank you all for the information everyone has provided. And thank you to Matt for hosting this forum.
After shopping online for ten years-I got hit with 10 $1.00 unauthorized charges as well as one for $9.95 and $6.95. I purchased from three new sites that I had never bought from before and because I am cautious I purchased through Amazon.com and Paypal.com. I called my bank immediately as each of these were charges pending. The customer service rep suggested that I cancel my account which I did. He also suggested I contact the police-which indicates I plan to prosecute and also I suspect legitimizes my complaint. This scam is not compliments of TLG, but of the TABLE MOUNTAIN TRADING, INC with subsidaries, Advantagelanguage.com,Privacymatters.com,Offertrack.com,Schoolfunding,Galswin,Offerpark, 207 West Phoenix Avenue. Flagstaff, AZ 86001. The website says free CD’s.It seems TMTrading.com has a relationship with Amazon.com wherein Amazon shares customer information. Last year, when I had a problem with an order at Amazon for a gift that was totally botched, I found a way to Jeff Bezos. Today I sent him a letter asking him to verify Amazon’s relationship with TMTrading. It’s interesting to learn of TLG’s relationship to Banks and the whole security issue. I plan to ask my bank tomorrow. AdvantageLanguage’s schtick is to send you a package (padded envelope) on the outside there is a notice in red ink that says open immediately time sensitive material-one also at the bottom. There is also a Z-e/usps deliver confirm scan -which shows the item has been delivered to your address. Thus if and when you dispute this item, they can show the bank that they in fact delivered an item to you. The item is what looks like a CD with the word Spanish written on the outside of it. I am returning it via UPS on Monday. With all the open immediately blaring at you—you forget that once a package is opened you cannot return it with a return to sender note to your postman. It is a brilliant scam. You don’t know its coming–they send it to you and debit your bank account at the same time. Did anybody contact the newspapers and get a story out of this? I have access to some top newspeople/network level, but I need to now if this story has already appeared in some form. Another small company I purchased from Folica.com, proved interesting. I googled Folica.com, and got my results. On the first page, I scrolled down to “search within results” and clicked on it and typed in “fraud”. The search brought up a page similar to this one. Loads of people complaining about unauthorized charges on their credit or debit cards. Many of them complained about charges by a company that used various letters and numbers rather than a title. I had one of those in my batch of unauthorized charges too–it was BMC*Z00BA717918106901–anybody recognize any of the names here?
It is really helpful to hear about other experiences and how you handled your bank and the companies. I think there is a network of these creeps and as I think Matt speculated, they partner with major companies with huge databanks and they mine that databank slowly-but one only has to imagine the amount of money these people get away with. If former Disney corporate people are involved you can bet there are bucks to be made. Why else would they put themselves at risk?
Thanks and I would love to hear from anyone that recognizes any of the names I’ve put up here.
I recently had 10 quick $1.00 authorizations to my credit card. I saw them immediately and cancelled the card. I then began calling the phone numbers on the authorizations and found out that most of them were accounts that were opened in my name and address, but with a fake/false email account. I had the shoppers advantage Videoprofessor, true.com, marketlabs, TLG netmarket and blockbuster online. I called a few and managed to get them to close the accounts. I put a fraud alert on my credit account and filed a police report. I don’t know what more I can do. Since no charges went through, I don’t expect to get any product but I’m prepared to be harassed and spammed by these companies. that tlg shoppers advantage tried to tell me that I had opted into all of these accounts by purchasing something on the internet, however, it doesn’t explain the fake email addresses that they had on file. I suspect that this was a scam, as someone in a post mentioned, that allowed them to win prizes, or get an ipod for having opened so many accounts under their name. I don’t know, all I do know is it is very frustrating to have this happen. Why else would all these accounts be opened in my name and address?
my bank account is at wells Fargo bank and when I received my new card after cancelling the one being used by these scammers, I called the bank to activate the card. I am met with an announcement that after I activate my card, I can chose to listen to a message that will help me assure the security of this new card. Press one if yes and two if no. I thought I knew what was coming given the heads up on this blog about Trilegiant partnering with banks to offer high security–Duh!!! Right on time-there is a voice telling me Trilegiant had a program and if I were interested please hit one–I hung up—-this website has been a godsend to keep us informed on what looks to be a widespread fairly complicated highly successful scam that dances just this side of illegal fraudulent practices.
I actually have a $15 CREDIT from these guys in January. Wonder what’s going on with that… just checking to see if the account is active? Of course, who is going to complain about free money? Continuing to watch my statements very closely.
29DEC2006 BMC*CRAFTERS CHOICE – $15.71 (CREDIT!)
billed to Bank of America debit card.
Account opened in TX, currently living in Japan (Military FPO/AP address)
FYI… BofA recently merged with MBNA hmmm. BofA’s fraud protection is not through trilegient though. From their terms of use agreement…
These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) set forth the legally binding agreement between you and FIA Card Services, N.A. (“FIA Card Services”) regarding Privacy Assist® (the “Service”). Intersections Inc. (“Intersections”) will provide some or all of the Service to you.
Just realized these assholes have been charging my mom for the last seven months! Any chance I could get all that money back? For the Cheaptickets Gold one, I got two months back now and for Shoppers Advantage four months. I’ve been skimming through the two years worth of stuff here, but I need advice as to if I can take legal actions if they refuse to give back… they suggested writing a fax, but I’m not convinced they’ll ever respond… Can’t believe these kinds of things happen in the States, and I’ve never seen it elsewhere!
Ok guys, this happens with me too, I was charged with $99.99, in a card that’s have only $300.00 limit, that is so easy to check, TLG TRaVEL ADV, they put phone number, membership number, I never ask to be a member for this company.
I call the company and immediatelly they gave me the confirmation number for the cancelation, I hope this works.
I can’t understand why this happens here in US, where’s the law for this?
Stealing money for you account, now I can waiting for everything.
RR
Wow! Your posting just made my day. I have spent my entire Easter weekend holiday filing police reports, FTC reports, affidavits of Identity theft, letters to businesses, etc. and am absolutely sick to find out there is a pattern here because Well’s Fargo is in “bed” with Trilegiant (TLG)! My card was also charged to BMC, which I found out is an acronym for BillMatrix Corp – a financial services company who works with financial institutions, banks, and small business, providing services. In my case, BMC was a company that processed payments made for another company, Metro PCS, which is listed as a “wireless provider” of pay-as-you-go type cell phone services. Never had an account with Metro PCS, but my Wells Fargo Visa was charged. Did you read your Wells Fargo credit card statement this month? Just so happens that they are having a “special promotion” for credit card “protection services” they are offering their customers through—you guessed it—Trilegient. And when I reported the fraud on my account, guess what…I was offered to try Trilegiant’s credit protection service at a reduced rate for the first two months. (I completely agree with Matthew’s blog where he states: Ironic that PrivacyGaurd is the same company as TLG; seems like basically the same thing as the local grocer in downtown Chicago buying “protection†from the local gang. Pay them 90 bucks to protect you from fraudulent charges, or they will fraudulently charge you for even more.)
The other letters to the right of BMC on your statement are differnt than mine—probably another “shell” company of Cendant, the umbrella company of Trilegiant, which is also another umbrella company for many other smaller companies pulling the same scams, all owned by Trilegiant, like we see in all of the postings on this site. Check out the Comsumer Affairs website about Trilegiant–This is a very large, organized, slippery, fraudulent, wealthy syndicate that the government, and private individuals have tried to stop for years, but they just open up all these little companies that Consummer Affairs says are so purposely hard to trace their origins, that they legally shell themselves to allow them to get away with fraud for years before anyone can discover who they really are.
So, how come all of the major commercial banks seem to be involved with them? My theory, and only my theory at this point, is because they are greedy and because they, too, have to pay their share to this huge, strong-arm, “protection service” just like the rest of us! The difference is, they get a “cut” of the pie.
(I used to get phishing scam emails all the time for my Wells Fargo account, which scared me enough to make me want to close it. When enough customers do this, the banks bottom line starts to slide. Can’t really blame them for wanting protection either, because all of us on this site know how expensive and time consuming Trilegiant can be. It wasn’t until Wells Fargo got in cahoots with Trilegiant that I stopped getting these emails. And I remember getting a few for the other banks and companies like AOL that also ended up doing business with them, too. But don’t feel too sorry for them, because the banks are also getting rich from us po’folk.)
This you may not believe, but guess what else Trilegiant owns? They own McAfee Antivirus, you know the software you use for your privacy wall, firewall, spyware protection, antivirus, etc., on your home computers. And AOL’s Security Center…This is also TRILEGIANT! But even if you get rid of that source for accessing your personal information, guess what—Trilegiant is also in partnership with Experian, YES, THE CREDIT BUREAU, EXPERIAN, and they SHARE information according to Consumer Affairs. (You have got to read about Trilegiant of ConsumerAffairs.com! It will completely blow your mind!)
Okay, I think we can get the big picture here. In my opinon, it is just extortion, plain and simple, but it’s not Chicago, Matthew, it’s the world—Trilegiant is worldwide.
So, what can we do to protect ourselves? Probably not a lot, but I’m still going to go down fighting. (1) File a police report. Chances are they won’t do a thing, but it helps protect you and prove your position, (2) File a report with the FTC (Trilegiant and your bank doesn’t like this because the electronic transfer fraud is a federal offense, and when there are enough complaints, the feds go after them. (They don’t care about how much it costs.) This is also a very, very quick process over the phone or internet, and you can download their package which tells you exactly how to handle this situation. (3) Call your State Attorney General’s office, tell them about your situation, and ask to file a complaint against the Trilegiant companies and your banking institution. (4)Post to blogs like this to help others realize they aren’t alone and to help the various law enforcement agencies establish a case against Trilegiant and their partners. (5)Immediately close all your accounts at that banking institution which is partnering with Trilegiant if you have experienced any of these fraudulent charges on your accounts. Incidentally, several suits brought by many different State’s Attorney General’s Offices have determined Trilegiant practices are unethical and fraudulent, even if you accidentally signed up for services that you didn’t realize you had agreed to receive, because they have purposely made it difficult on you. Don’t feel as though you deserved this; Robert is way off base in his comment, as probably is involved with Trilegiant somehow. Their business practices have been proven may times to be dishonest with the purpose to confuse innocent consumers. (Again, check out Consumer Affairs.) I have found that credit unions that don’t have to answer to stockholders, are more concerned about their customers than the corporate financial “bottom line.” They are much safer places to keep your accounts, and provide almost all of the same services, at a much lower fee or for free. This will also help protect you from getting additional charges against your new credit or debit account number, since the bank and Trilegiant are in partnership using “unfair business practices” to force you into a service you don’t want (and didn’t need before Trilegiant.)
FTC:
http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft
Just in case you aren’t familiar with this, what happened here is called Identity Theft.
(While at the FTC’s site, make sure to download their identity theft packet. It explains every step you need to make with sample letters and forms to save you time. If you send your bank/financial institution a dispute letter (provided in free packet and the affidavit (a fill-in the blank form is also provided) your bank must furnish you with all details regarding any fraudulent charge to your account.)
Consumer Affairs:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/scam_alerts/tlg.html reference #’s next to BMC iwith Well’s Fargo’s between BMC charges and Wells Fargo.
Search for Trilegiant on their site because there’s a lot more than this lengthy history!!)
Got ripped off by TLG GREAT FUN. I did notice this 9.99$ charges to my bank account. When i called TLG, they told me that i was signed by accepting buy.com mail-in rebate. ( i had to call 15 times, whenever i called after the messages the call would get disconnected ). TLG gave me a cancellation number and said they will refund the money. Hope i get it.
My TWX Magazine Situation Resolved!
I had 3 pre-authorizations on my bank account yesterday from TWX, and another one today. I called the TWX #800-773-3142, NY yesterday, got the auto system. Hung up when they asked for my CC#.
Naturally I was freaked out, and found your page when I googled TWX. After reading all of your comments, I felt armed enough to get to the bottom of my issue. How they got my full credit card number I still don’t know, but this is how it worked out for me:
Today I called and emailed my Bank (Fifth Third)to report fraudulant charges, but didn’t cancel my card yet. The rep said that I could watch my account and once any charges posted take action then. Like many of you I use my card for a lot of auto W/D’s and really hoped I wouldn’t have to get a new card. After I spoke with my bank, I decided to call the 800 number for TWX again. This time when the auto assistant asked if I wanted her to “explain a charge on your account statement” I said “NO”. Then it askes if you want “to cancel a magazine” I said “YES”, then it asked me “what phone I was calling from, couldn’t find my account”, etc. So out of frustration I pressed “0”. To my surprise, it worked. Of course there was a message or two trying to discourage me from speaking to a human, and insinuating that I would be on hold for a very long time.
I got an operator named Samantha McNeil in under a minute. (This is Friday at 4:30 pm EST) I still didn’t know what was going on so I told her niceley that I had these items show up on my account and that I wasn’t authorizing them and wanted her to cancel any order. I had to keep asking questions in order to find out what they were. She was very nice and cancelled everything I asked her to. I had to ask for a confirmation #, but she gave one to me right away. She even gave me her Ext # 5717 when I asked for it at the end of the call.
I realized that I had accepted on line offers for free subscriptions to Spin, Blender, Popular Mechanics, and Fast Company Magazines about Christmastime, and I have been receiving these mags. It seems that somehow in accepting the free offer, they can renew the subs if you do not contact them to cancel.
The Irony is that I did want to continue one of these four subscriptions, and she told me the exact date I would be billed for it in June.
(I shopped on line through Shoppers Advantage, BMG, Dr.Ink, Amazon, & International Wine Cellars. I also shopped at a Value City here in Toledo, OH that had a free subscriptions with purchase, so I bet that the same situation will happen with Woman’s Day & Better Homes from Meredith Publishing down the road). I will read & print all the terms & conditions when I shop on line from now on!
Hopefully my info will help some of you sort out your situations. I haven’t had any problems with any of the other companies like AOL or Blockbuster yet, and hope I don’t. BTW, 5/3 didn’t ask me if I wanted to buy fraud protection and wasn’t aware of any complaints for TWX yet.
Good luck to everyone, and thanks Matt for keeping this thread going since 2005. If we aren’t vigilant they will all get away with this stuff!
I dont know the website. But today I got A $36 dollar fee on my account from TlG family funsaver. This is the first this has happened to me and another person from my bank got the same thing. I dont know if it was columbia house that they got it from or what. If anyone has any info for me please respond to dkjs3405@sbcglobal.net. Ty
I have been repeatedly charged for “TMX garbage” for over two months now. It seems to be for several magazines I never authorized. I wanted to know how they got my credit card number but they would not reveal this… so I back-tracked. Come to find out I was offered 3 free months of some mags from FYE music/movie store. THEY GAVE THEM MY CREDIT CARD INFO!!!! This freaks me out. What’s next? Is the grocery store going to sell my credit card info to a carlot and a car show up in my driveway?
The charges keep coming in…I call…they promise to stop…the charges keep coming in…I call…they promise to stop…etc., etc., etc.
TMX is evil! How do we stop this? Quit using our cards?
Help!
I have the same problems and i my bank took care of everthing i had to close the account. close your account itsthe only way to assure they wont take money out!
Hey everyone, new guy here. So this is my story, I decided to do the ONE-TIME credit report offer, for just a low $1. No membership, etc. Well, After one week I got billed for two $29.95 charges. I decided to give my bank a call and see what these bogus charges came from. Well I got PrivacyMatters 1-800 number but, before doing so I decided I’ll research online about this. I found your site, which is the best thing that has happened so far today. But, I can safely say I had this situation taken care of in an hour, with 30 minutes waiting for PrivacyMatters to open (This is research time included, as well). The lady I talk to named Clarice was an absolute God send. She did not try to deter me from cancelling my “membership”, she actually found a second subscription for another organization that she said she will cancel for me. Wow, two birds with one stone. I bet I was on the phone with her for 5-10 minutes. I couldn’t believe how easy it was… So don’t let those bogus charges get you down, it may not be so hard to cancel. Thanks for your help everyone, I’m gonna catch a nap before I go to work.
How did you get that number for the TLG great fun saver? I have the same problem and i don’t know how to take care of it!!
Napster and Greatfun were charging my account for memberships i never subscribed to. A Napster rep. told me that AOL music was brought out by Napster and apparently they gave out their client info. to Napster.Hey i have nit been a member of AOL for almost 1 year, so why am i being charged for something i never asked for and who told AOL to give out my info……………
The # for Greatfun is 1-800-290-8603 and don’t let them tell about all of their great services and $10.00 rewards……
Iwas given a simons gift card for 100.00 in April, I went to use it yesterday , June and was declined. Somone had used the 100.00 at COL*HOUSE VIDEO CLUB . Now I have to dispute it, FAX and it will take 1 month inf found in my favor. That’s just plain wrong. I’ll wait and see
I just noticed 3 charges for 11.99 on my credit card that I did not authorize from TLG. I am going to call them this morning when they open. I did notice that there is an investigation going on and a class action lawsuit. I don’t know if the lawsuit is still effective, but I’m going to find out. My card was maxed out and the charges from TLG put me overlimit and I was charged $39.00 overlimit fee.
I noticed an 11.99 charge to my account that was done on the 14th while I was on vacation. Thanks for the info in this blog. I’m going to mark it for future reference. My wife says that she doesn’t have an account with Great Fun, but she’s been receiving checks from them that we have never cashed because they have $110 fees attached. I’m going to call the 800 number on my statement and cancel everything. Then, I’m talking to my bank. Will let you know how it goes.
26 June 07 Noticed a $119.99 charge on our Amazon/Chase Visa card from “TLG ShopperADV” followed by an eight-digit number. Called Chase’s dispute department, was told they couldn’t help as TLG (Trilegiant) was a third party, but did confirm they were affiliated with Chase.
The next morning we called TLG’s number 1-800-562-8888, and after 5-minutes of rude and aggressive sales pitches, got a confirmation number for our request for them to reverse the charge and cancel the membership we did not authorize. Ali said it would take 10-15 days to reverse the charge, but tonight, the 29th I see the charges were reversed fully at our Chase online account. We sent a warning to Chase, and Amazon.com that we would close our accounts with both of them if this happens again. They shouldn’t be “affiliated” with such a shyster-like company. Will also complain to the Federal Trade Commission, as I believe they regulate (ha!) the banking industry. Thanks all, don’t lose hope.
June 29th 07 I noticed several $1.00 charges on my visa bank card that were not made by me.Shocked I notified the bank immediately cancelling the card then began the long process of calling the states attorneys office,credit report companies and all of the on line companies to cancell the products I DID NOT ORDER!! I happened across this blog looking for marketlabs and was suprised/delighted/and saddened to see there are so many others and for so many years in my situation. Same scam different companies. Heres my list… Video Professor,1-800-424-0277, Privacy matters(credit report),1-800-436-0817, NandN labs(hoodia),1-801-253-7619, Doubleday book,1-717-918-2665, Online supplier(setting up web site),1-800-930-9182, Sci stamps,1-888-434-0055, Value max(gas card),1-888-205-2257 still looking for Market labs.It looks like they were trying to set up there own web site. Good luck to All!!!
Hello,
Has anyone figured out who this marketlabs company is and how to stop the charges?
so far I’ve gotten a $25 yahoo voice mail charge, 3 $1 from A9 companies (including privacymatters123 which is ironic), two from different auction information sites, and one from 1-2-3 inkjets for $16.95. I canceled my card this afternoon, but I guess these will squeak in for a couple more business days. Has anyone had any luck beyond recouping money? Seems to me this scam will continue as long as we’re all happy with just getting our money back. This inkjet one seems interesting, as some product seems to have been purchased. When they open in the morning I’ll see what they can tell me. Keep on keepin’ on
Mike
I am getting way angry, because I have been getting charge of 29.95 dollars that I have no idea who charging me. All I see my transcript saying “Transaction Description: MC-ONLINSUPLR8009309182-V 800-9309182
Amount: ($29.95)
Confirmation Number: 1070719D 0MDGM1C15J”, and I don’t know what the heck hat means to me. I hae been getting this for months now, any one has surgestion on how can I found out who charging me and what should I do?
I found a charge on my Amazon Chase card for $119.99 from a TLG company that actually turned out to be “Chase”. Go figure!
I disputed and they told me it would be 10 to 15 working days for it to be taken off. I guess I have to pay them, the ones that started this fraud, interest on the $119 for another 2 weeks.
What a scam!
I’m trying to find out who marketlabs is also, got a $1 charge from them.
I dealt with the membership thing years ago. Now I’m wondering if I had $1 charges or other strange ones and just assumed my husband was the culprit. Interestingly, I just received a check $69.95 from Trilegian saying they have reached a settlement agreement with CA. I’m researching before cashing – especially since today’s Oprah was about scams!! Good luck everyone.
Thanks Matt for all your hard work.
I called this place TWX Magazines – 1-800-773-3142 because they had charged me for Runner’s World, Bicycling, and Men’s Health, which I had agreed to 3 month trials on Expedia. The automated system said they they would refund my $69 for these three magazines within 1-2 business days.
I have been mud wrestling with TLG Travelers Advantage and Bank of America Visa for two days over a charge of $119.99 on my statement. It is removed now. Please be aware TLG Travelers Advantage could not find me in their data base by name and address but insisted that I must have purchased a membership from them. They wanted me to give them my credit card number in order to locate me in their system. I didn’t provide it.
Today TLG wanted me to provide the alleged membership number on my billing statement. I instructed the B of A rep on the conference call with us not to give it to TLG. My position is that if TLG did not have my name and address in their system the only way they could get my credit card number was from B of A. I have never responded to any of the offers, rebates etc. referred to as ‘negative options’ through any entity. I have sent a complaint to the Florida AG office that this appears to be collusion such as that between Chase and Triliegent recently settled in California. Don’t be anxious to provide these vendors the info they ask for as it appears to be a ploy to draw out more info from you, then cross reference codes with the Visa company to justify their charges. Instead, dispute it through the credit card company who is, unfortunately, financially in bed with these sleazy vendors. Watch out for check counterfeiting. I just went through that. B of A allowed four checks against my account that had an entirely different name, address, sex and signature. If you need more on this I will explain further. BTW, I am shopping for a new bank to do business with. Any suggestions?
I have been getting TWX charges for about 6 months now. I have contacted my bank, filled out all of their forms, I have called TWX and told them to cancel anything they have. I have cancelled my card and received a new one, and still the charges come. It is incredibly frustrating to say the least!!!
Ok so have you ever made a purchase online and it says fill this out and receive 15 dollars off now? Well its the biggest scam chase and other credit card holders have going on for them. You fill out the pop-up and they bill you 11.99 a month untill 5 or six months later that you didnt know what it was and then refund you 2 months. Keeping 3 months of your so called premium. They make money off the law of averages. I remember not being able to access the rebate once it came to my email. This TLG is a subsidary of several large banks. TLG are the biggest scammers. Do your homework you will be amazed at the people who get sucked in to this just like my self. For months i couldnt get it stopped until i used an attorney freind of mine to call them. It blew him away as well!!!
I also received the 11.99 TLG*COMPHME. Anyone could tell me which number to call to cancel it?
The scam continues: I found monthly charges for $11.00 on my Bank of America Master Card from TLG*TRVLADV this month and last month. I have no idea how these TLG*TRVLADV people got my card number. I first called the bank and complained. They said I had to get the “merchant” to reverse the charges and told me to call 800-318-2709. I did a web search on the number and found this blog. I then called the bank again on their lost/stolen card number. I told the bank that my card was compromised and had unauthorized charges. I requested the bank to cancel my card and to credit me for the unauthorized charges. The bank said that they would issue me a new card and give me credit for the unauthorized charges. If they don’t do this, I’ll be back!
If this blog of complaints against TLG was started in Jan 25 2005 and there have been people complaining since 2003 and this is now Nov 29 2007, why is TLG still out there?
I have found 22 sites in the last hour (since I got off the phone w/ my CC company) where people have leveled complaints against TLG’s different divisions and 9 sites where people are happy they exist. There has to be something more we can do to rid ourselves & others of the continuing potential scams run by this company.
Hi,
I started getting charges a few days ago after filling out one of those websites where you look at adds, consider them and you can get a free xbox 360 (fucking stupid). The sad thing is where i got the website from was my fav magazine Gamepro. The only thing I did buy was a subscription to gamefly. the charges I did not make where TLG shoppe, TXW and a few other charges from places i never heard of. this is bullshit and someone needs to do something about it. We need to ban together and put a stop to it.
I just had 2 suspicious authorization charges on my paypal debit card. They were for $1 each. This is to notify you that a payment of $1.00 USD was made to TWX*AOL VIDEO 888-265-9269 VA using your PayPal ATM/Debit Card. I have never given AOL my debit card information. I called and instantly had my card cancelled and am having a new number and card issued. I have put my netflix on hold and after reading this blog I will probably be cancelling my netflix. Because if this is where that company got my information I don’t need to watch videos that much. I found this blog via looking for information on this. I will be calling my attorney generals office and filing complaints against this company.
I just had 4 charges at $25.00 each on my bank account. 2 for yahoo voice and 2 for twx. I have no idea how they got there and it is right before Christmas when I really needed the money. I contacted the yahoo number and they ask for alot of information, birthdates, zip codes, card number, they sound like someone taking my personal information and will scam me more, but said they would elimintate the charges Found out about TWX from this website and called them and finally got a representative and she said they do not show me having an account but would forward the information to their customer service. Cancelled my atm card and will try to pursue further. This really caused a burden on me as I have low income and two children to try to buy Christmas for, now I have even less money to do so. I am considering canceling any and all electronic ordering of anything. I wonder if netflix is part of the culprit, I’m probably going to cancel them too, because their name has come up here. In fact anyone I see in this blog I will try not to do business with and will try to follow up with the Attorney General etc. Thanks for the info, I would not have had a clue otherwise.
I recently had 4 x 25 USD charges made to TWX*IIA AIM CALL OUT888-265-9269 . Then one charge 129.95USD to Academic Super Store Austin. Seems like they were trying my card first.