(WSVN) - She had a great time on vacation in Mexico, but when she got home, she discovered a crook had a good time with her credit card. When she disputed the fraud, the card company said, “Too bad!” Why? Tonight’s Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
Get away. In a car. On a plane. Go away and enjoy yourself.
Joanne Chalom: “Yes, we travel a lot. We like going places, new adventures.”
Joanne and her husband have seen the states and the world.
Joanne Chalom: “We have been to Spain, Portugal, we recently went to Mexico. It was a great experience, except for the last day.”
Notice that pause from Joanne — because of a stop at a souvenir shop in Mexico.
Joanne Chalom: “We picked up this decorative plate. You can see it goes really nicely with the ones we picked up from Portugal and Spain.”
She charged the $41 for the plate on her credit card. A couple of days later, when Joanne got back to South Florida, she checked her statement.
Joanne Chalom: “I got a big surprise when I got home. There was an additional charge: $1,400 for a jewelry store.”
The problem? Joanne had not purchased anything from a jewelry store, so she moved quickly.
Joanne Chalom: “OK, I’ll just call my credit card company and report the fraud, and it’ll be taken care of.”
When Joanne disputed it, the $1,440.79 charge disappeared while the credit card company investigated.
Two months later, they wrote to Joanne that the charge was “valid,” because the card was “in your possession” and “chip card technology cannot be counterfeited.”
Joanne Chalom: “Because I have the physical card, it had to be my responsibility.”
Meaning the $1,440, plus interest, was back on her statement.
Joanne Chalom: “So I’m stuck paying $1,400 for something I never purchased.”
Joanne kept fighting and asked the credit card company for a receipt to show where the jewelry charge was made. They didn’t supply it, but in turn asked her for a receipt.
Joanne Chalom: “They want me to prove the impossible. How am I supposed to present to them a receipt for a product I never purchased?”
Joanne went online to try to find the store where the charge was made. As far as she could tell, it doesn’t exist.
Joanne Chalom: “And this has been going on for months. It’s frustrating. Can you help me, Patrick? Can you help me, Howard?”
We will try, Joanne.
And after a little digging, we think we know what might have happened. Wanna explain it, Howard?
Howard Finkelstein: “I would bet there was a second machine under the counter registered to a different business, and the clerk swiped the card on that machine, creating the $1,440 charge. More importantly, Joanne does not have to pay, because federal law limits her liability to $50 for any unauthorized use, which this clearly was.”
I contacted Joanne’s credit card company, Barclays. They were great. They told me they would look into it.
A few days later, I got an email that began: “The investigation is complete. It’s a positive outcome.”
We will let Joanne pick it up from there.
Joanne Chalom: “Finally, will permanently remove the unauthorized charge and the interest for the charge.”
Joanne then asked Barclays to waive the $99 fee for her credit card for the next year.
Joanne Chalom: “As a kind of thank you for the frustration that they caused.”
Patrick Fraser: “And they said?”
Joanne Chalom: “They said, ‘Sure!'”
Her credit card headache is gone. Joanne is happy, after her call to Help Me Howard.
Joanne Chalom: “You managed to make more headway in two days than I could in five months. So, thank you.”
You are welcome, Joanne, and glad we could help you.
Now, if you get a false charge or don’t get something you paid for with a credit card, be sure to dispute it, but to avoid phony charges, never let the card out of your sight in places like a store or a restaurant.
Need some tips on how to handle credit card disputes? The links are under this Help Me Howard story.
Your travels caused troubles? Feel like taking flight to avoid them? Let us take charge, and you don’t even have to give us credit for helping.
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News
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