Okay, Panic Time CC Charge HElp!

[mydogisbo]

I just checked my CC online I have a charge for $205 to a "AVENEWS Software LLC" I have NO idea what this is. The only software I have done is Video Professor & the Advantage Language & they are both marked as that. Does anyone know what this could be in terms of a reward program??? I'm going to file a fraud complaint with my cc too.

Okay, CC says it is an advertising place in Utah. & gave me their phone number. okay, worry, worry, worry worry.

Thanks!

 

[Maybelle]

I'm sorry, I really can't help you much. Just thinking that it seems to me that one of the offers I did a while back was based in Utah. Have you checked the addresses of the companies you listed, to see if they might be linked? Then you might be able to call them and find out if there was a "linked" offer like some of them have in the fine print. Sorry I can't be more help. I hope everything works out!!

 

[LorieR]

I just checked my CC online I have a charge for $205 to a "AVENEWS Software LLC" I have NO idea what this is. The only software I have done is Video Professor & the Advantage Language & they are both marked as that. Does anyone know what this could be in terms of a reward program??? I'm going to file a fraud complaint with my cc too.

Okay, CC says it is an advertising place in Utah. & gave me their phone number. okay, worry, worry, worry worry.

Thanks!

Were you able to get in touch with them?? Good luck- I hope you get this straightened out!!

 

[mydogisbo]

I haven't tried to call the Utah # yet, since I guess it is around 7:00am there now. I did a reverse look up on the number through MSN & it says it is a landline in Utah XO . . .that is it. There is no number when I do the reverse look up on Yellow pages. It is also not an 800 number. & I haven't done offers with this particular cc in a while. I looked back over statements & just don't see anything related. I also looked back over my rewards records & don't see anything.

This cc is good about disputes though & got me back $100 last summer when a reward when sour because the company went out of business before processiong my refund.

BUT--boy am I stress right now!

Thanks for the well wishes!

 

[missymagic]

Definitely try to contact them...keep notes as to what they say. They put a dispute into your credit card. I have one ongoing right now for 39.95 that I should never have been charged. Infortunately if they say they will credit it they have 30 days to do so before the CC company will take action. I use Bank of America. Hope that helps.

 

[LorieR]

Definitely try to contact them...keep notes as to what they say. They put a dispute into your credit card. I have one ongoing right now for 39.95 that I should never have been charged. Infortunately if they say they will credit it they have 30 days to do so before the CC company will take action. I use Bank of America. Hope that helps.

Wonder how long a dispute takes if the company says it credited my account and my cc says no?? Guess I will have to call and find out! It is only for $13.95 (Gottaplay), which is nothing compared to mydogisbo, but people are getting their credit and they signed up after me!

Mydogisbo, I know it is hard to relax but if your cc has been good with this kind of thing in the past then you know it will be taken care of.

 

[mydogisbo]

Thanks again for the support & reassuring words.

I just called & it had an automated message. It is a newspaper in Salt Lake City. It says "If you are calling about a credit card charge stating AVENews Software it is for a classified ad placed in your local paper."

I have not done this. Certainly not $200 worth. Anyway, left a message saying to get back to me ASAP as I would be filing a dispute with my cc company.

Now off to a skate party

 

[HayGan]

Thanks again for the support & reassuring words.

I just called & it had an automated message. It is a newspaper in Salt Lake City. It says "If you are calling about a credit card charge stating AVENews Software it is for a classified ad placed in your local paper."

I have not done this. Certainly not $200 worth. Anyway, left a message saying to get back to me ASAP as I would be filing a dispute with my cc company.

Now off to a skate party

I would definitely put a fraud alert on your cc IMMEDIATELY! I would do this so that no more new charges can go thru.

I did do a google search for that company and they came up as legit but who knows who used your info with them! Have you run spyware software lately on your computer?

BTW, have fun at the skate party!

 

[azgal81]

Wow that is crazy! Hopefully you can get it all figured out!

 

[alacazander]

Scary very scary!

Keep us updated!

I hope it works out ok! What a PITA!

 

[lilangel]

It's really weird that they have that message on their answer machine.. Why would a company do that ? Unless they have alot of people who didn't realize they sign up for it..Way too fishey!

Makes me wonder if they have a signup offer somewhere where you had to uncheck the box in order not to be charged for this service. This happened to me with magazine subscriptions.. I called the company and they said I forgot to uncheck the box

New software provides flexible online and print options for classified customers.


Salt Lake City– December 15, 2005 – Twenty AAN members are among the first newspapers in the country to embrace a classified software program that allows customers to place ads online or into print via the Internet. Called Avenews Remote Classified Software, the program offers classified customers flexible online options that drives revenue online and to the print product. Newspapers can build online communities that cash in on the growing opportunity of online classifieds. continue to link http://aan.org/alternative/Aan/ViewArticle?oid=oid:154322

 

[mydogisbo]

After calling my cc company & the AVENews place several times this is clearly fraud. The AVENews people were very helpful & emailed me all of the information about the guy who placed the ad. Even his email & phone number (although they tried to call him & said it was disconnected). He has an IP address in NY & a physical address in San Francisco. He placed an ad in the SF newspaper for what is basically a work-at-home "scheme."

The good news is my cc is issuing a refund immediately & as it was an unauthorized charge. Then the merchant has 45 days to try to prove that it was authorized, which they've already said to me verbally that it was fraud. Hopefully the refund will hold & this will be behind me.

The cc company doesn't think I need a new number yet, to wait until after they process the dispute. This makes me nervous, but they are very quick, cooperative & friendly, so for right now I'm going with it.

I only use this cc for reward offers & hadn't used it in a couple of weeks, makes me wonder about how safe the sites are that we give our cc info to. I was relieved in a way that it wasn't some reward thing I signed up for & forgot to cancel or didn't read the fine print!

 

[LorieR]

Glad you got it straightened out. Between what happened to you and what happened to DznyDreams I think I might have to rethink signing up for these offers and giving out my info.....

 

[alacazander]

Glad you got it straightened out. Between what happened to you and what happened to DznyDreams I think I might have to rethink signing up for these offers and giving out my info.....

Yeah me too!

I need to find a virtual cc

I have a p.o. box I use for rewards and a netzero phone number. So nothing actually gets to my physical address. If I find a virtual cc or a debit card with a low balance i'll be very happy.

 

[sunshinegirl]

We had one random unauthorized charge show up like that one time. The credit card company refunded us and we never saw anything like it again, without even changing the card. It was kind of weird. Interestingly, it was NOT a card that I ever use for rewards programs but one that we had used a couple of times for online shopping.

 

[bartleby1]

I'm glad it seems to be working out ok for you.

A few months back, we had someone use our AmEx card to charge airfare in Canada. The credit card company was great and took care of it, but didn't feel it was necessary to cancel the account or reissue us new cards? Very strange. We hadn't used the card in 10 months prior to this and it was NEVER used online.

 

[faithhope]

after years of internet shopping, we only had one problem, that our credit card company promptly took care of.

I got a virtual visa from a symantic rebate (special buying tax software and antivirus software), and am using that for SR and QR offers at the moment.

You can probably buy a virtual visa if you want. I don't remember the company that freeride uses... but they allow you to fund the card with more money.
If I continue to be brave and do more offers, I might have to do that... (not sure since I haven't gotten my refund from gottaplay, yet.)

I'm glad this was a quick and easy fix for you.
Faithhope

 

[missymouse]

If anyone has a card issued by Citibank you can go to their website and download the Virtual Account Number program. This allows you to get a Virtual Account Number that you can even determine the amount that can be charged to it. This is what I use for all these offers and any online shopping I do because first they can only charge the initial S& H or offer price and then if by chance I forget to cancel when they go to charge the monthly fee the credit card is refused and they cancel my account. I have had a few of the offers attempt to charge me a day early so when I called to cancel (usually the offers for 2-3 day trial) they say my account has been closed because my credit card was declined. I view it as an extra layer of protection.

 

[mydogisbo]

Guess what??? The $205 credited, but now another charge for $175 showed up on that card to BAJOBS COM. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR

At least this time they let me change my card number. I guess once it happens twice they're convinced that someone else is using it.

 

[ksloane]

If anyone has a card issued by Citibank you can go to their website and download the Virtual Account Number program. This allows you to get a Virtual Account Number that you can even determine the amount that can be charged to it. This is what I use for all these offers and any online shopping I do because first they can only charge the initial S& H or offer price and then if by chance I forget to cancel when they go to charge the monthly fee the credit card is refused and they cancel my account. I have had a few of the offers attempt to charge me a day early so when I called to cancel (usually the offers for 2-3 day trial) they say my account has been closed because my credit card was declined. I view it as an extra layer of protection.

This sounds like a great idea. I do't have a Citibank though. Anyone know of a way of doing something like this without signing up for another credit card?