Unknown charge on CC

[disturbed1]

I have an unknown charge on my credit card. When I called my bank, they couldn't give me much info, other than when the charge was made, how much, and the name of the company that processed the charge, and no phone number for me to call.

They asked me if I wanted to dispute the charges. I don't want to at this time, cause it may be a legit charge my girlfriend or I made and forgotten about.

Here's the info of the charge
DEBIT CARD PURCHASE AT AZ BUSINESS PRODUC, CALGARY, AB ON 062405 $9.95.

Only thing I can come up with, is some home based business scam.

Anybody else familiar with that company, or recognize the name?

[lumis]

just took a look through canada411 (candian phonebook) and i was unable to find anything for this company.

it is only $9.95, so i doubt it is anything essential to your day-to-day life, but i would still dispute the charges.

[disturbed1]

Not worried about it being $9.95 this month. Just need to keep an eye on it next month too.

My girlfriend has signed up for *free trials* before, and forgot to cancel them once the trial period ended. We both don't remember signing up, nor buying anything online in the past couple of weeks. What we did buy already charged, with the correct names.

[JohnnyCNote]

Make sure your credit card company will allow you to dispute charges less than $50. I once disputed a charge for $49.99 and they eventually told me, 6 weeks or so after I filed the complaint, that since it was under the limit, that they couldn't do anything to help. This was AT&T Universal, by the way.

Needless to say, I was quite angry that they wouldn't budge even for 1¢, and the rep was quite rude about the whole thing. I called back and threatened to cancel and they raised my limit, not that it really helped, but at least it was something.

You always have the option of requesting a new card with a different number. It can be inconvenient, but it's the surest way to prevent recurring charges that you didn't authorize...

[hudsonf]

I think I would go with JohnnCNote's suggestion and get a new card with a different number. Someone made a purchase on your debit card and if it wasn't you or your girlfriend someone may be using your card number.

[AlecWest]

They asked me if I wanted to dispute the charges. I don't want to at this time, cause it may be a legit charge my girlfriend or I made and forgotten about.

Dispute the charge anyway. Doing so does not automatically "ding" a business since, in some cases, they are charges that people simply forgot about. It's the only way to find out what the charge was for. And, if it is legitimate, you can merely cancel your dispute ... at no charge to you or the company. BTW, if you have online access to your account, start checking it "daily" until the dispute is resolved.

Five years ago, someone got hold of my debit card information and started charging up crazy stuff and amounts ... but it all started with a small charge. My credit union refunded the entire amount in 24 hours but required me to sign an affidavit allowing their fraud insurance company the right to investigate. In my case, the company got lucky and caught the culprit. One of the charges was made to a porn website in Texas that required confirmation of the charge ... which is how he revealed himself. They never did divulge the outcome of the case itself ... but did tell me a few particulars. The man's name was Daniel Lee, he lived in Toronto, and the RCMP in cooperation with BellCanada arrested him an confiscated his computer and peripherals.

Not sure to what extent computer fraud is prosecuted in Canada ... but I assume it's taken seriously.

[disturbed1]

Thanks guys. I have been checking my account 3-4 times a day. With my bank, it's a big hassle to dispute charges. They want a statement in writing, show in person, sign some paper work ...... But once we sign the paperwork, the money gets put back immediately. I can call in a dispute, but it takes 3-6 weeks for processing time. There not a huge corporate bank, but I've had an account with them for 12 years, and a joint account for the last 7 with 0 problems ever.

Not worth it if it's just $9.95 once. If I start seeing other charges, I will cancel the CC# and get a new one.

[lordsmurf]

My CC will offer me a "convenience dispute" if under $15. They pay it, just because it costs more than $15 per case to investigate. If I called about a $9.95 charge, it'd be taken care of and over with in 15 minutes.

Maybe yours is the same? Call them about it.

[lumis]

The man's name was Daniel Lee, he lived in Toronto, and the RCMP in cooperation with BellCanada arrested him an confiscated his computer and peripherals.

you see people arrested for computer crimes, or doing something illegal on a computer.. i can understand taking someone's cpu/box, storage devices & media.. but i never understood why they took monitors, printers, keyboards, toasters, blenders, etc.. i think they do it just to be mean..

[BJ_M]

no such company registered in calagary , you have any part of the address such as postal code ?

may be part of a CC fraud where a test charge is made to see if card is active ..

[disturbed1]

The bank said they didn't have any other info. I've been watching my account though. No other charges. I still think my girlfriend signed up for another free trial somewhere. We don't have any emails about any account sign ups either. We both have gmail accounts, so nothing is ever deleted.

Since that Master Card (and all other charge cards) info was leaked a month or so ago, hope this isn't because of that.

[budz]

You may want to just ask the bank to issue you a new charge card. Then contact one of the credit bureaus to ask for a fraud alert on your credit. I'm suggesting this because if someone other than your gf made that charge, they can still use your name to try to open up another credit card acct.

I am a recent victim of CREDIT CARD/ID THEFT and was advised by the detective to contact the credit bureau to put a fraud alert on my credit. Luckily they didn't have my SS# but they had my name which could be used to open up other charge card accts or even bank loans.

If the charges were actually made by your gf then you should be okay. These days it is scary with all the ID THEFTS which is big business for criminals/hackers who sell the information to the highest bidders over the internet.

[pchan]

Remember the 50M CC user records that was stolen in Arizona. Within a few days, a couple of CC issue by the local banks were hit by fraud. Man... these CC thiefs are fast !

[hudsonf]

My credit card number must have been on one of the systems that got broken into. When I got home tonight I got a call from my credit card company. Someone tried to charge over $6,000.00 on my credit card.

[Byronleehk]

I would Dispute the charge regardless of the amount.

Think of it this way, yeah it's only $9.95 but what if it's really a scam and they hit 1000 people? We're talking $9950 easy!

No way man! You can call me cheap but I work hard for my money and I'm not going let it slid.

[AlecWest]

The man's name was Daniel Lee, he lived in Toronto, and the RCMP in cooperation with BellCanada arrested him an confiscated his computer and peripherals.

you see people arrested for computer crimes, or doing something illegal on a computer.. i can understand taking someone's cpu/box, storage devices & media.. but i never understood why they took monitors, printers, keyboards, toasters, blenders, etc.. i think they do it just to be mean..

Considering what Lee did to me, I appreciate "mean" (grin).

BTW, regarding other people who say their bank charges them money to make a dispute. Hmm .... mine didn't charge me a penny. But, it may be because my "bank" is a "credit union" and different rules apply.

[Hardcoreruss]

I would cancel it going forward.

If it is anything important you will notice that the service has stopped or they will contact you asking why you have not paid.

[zzyzzx]

I would also cancel the card. Do not wait for another unknown charge.

[disturbed1]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I went ahead and just opened a new Account, kept the old one active with a little bit of money in it. I have some reoccurring charges, and have to wait for those payments to cycle before I can close it.

There never was another charge btw.

[drjtech]

Out of curiousity I Googled "AZ BUSINESS" CALGARY and the second hit was to www.complaints.com:

========
While reconciling by credit statment I found a fraudlent charge of $9.95 posted to my account by AZ Business Prod Calgary CD. There was no contact information associated with the charge. A goolge search didn't turn up an associated web site

I've contacted by bank to have the charge removed.

Linda M
========

You're not related to Linda M, are you?

-drj

[disturbed1]

Nope, not me.

Same situation though.