I hate to admit the following:
They charged me 19.95 as PMI for 9 months before I noticed it.
I have no idea how they signed me up for it. I cancelled it but was out the money.
Get this: Three months later, they started charging me AGAIN with a different company name. They charged 1.00 and 29.95. THIS TIME, I was watching my account. I called the number on the charge and it turns out that they listed three "memberships" in my name.
One "membership" was the PMI one that they had gotten away with charging me 19.95/month for 9 months.
The other two "memberships" were for Credit Alert Services and they had only charged me once before I called and complained. That they are refunding. They know EXACTLY what they have to do to avoid a fraud claim. Because they are refunding it and they never got away with charging it once, I can't claim fraud.
The only reason I think I MAY be able to claim fraud is because this is the same company. I believe the second two "memberships" were generated by the company themselves. They had an old charge card number that used to generate money and they decided to try using it again with a different company name. All I can say is thanks for the $180 class in how to avoid being swindled on the net.
I have CANCELLED the card number that they had. They CANNOT charge me again. It involves a lot of hassle for me, though, because I have about 10 places that legitimately charge me every month and I have to call of them (utilities, gym membership, cell phone, car payment and insurance type things).
So, I guess you have to admire their ingenuity, though. They're the cockroaches of society. They figure out the rules and stay REALLY on top of them. If you are less on top of your finances than they are on top of theirs, they get your money.
I HATE them and I wish I could do something to them. It looks like I can't do fraud, though, because they're refunding the money.