I got diet pills for $109, but never ordered them
Last week, I found a pending charge, which eventually posted, on my Bank of America checking account for $109.65. The charge showed up as:
CHECKCARD 0426 REVENUESHIELD866882318 866-8823186 UT
Now, I’m pretty observant about my expenditures, and if it’s not in Quicken, it’s probably on a receipt in my wallet (or my wife’s purse). I KNOW Stacie wouldn’t have spent that much without running it by me (not that I have to approve, but she would have confirmed it fits in the budget), and I KNOW I didn’t spend $109 for “Revenue Shield”, so I did some more investigation.
I called the number from the BoA transaction and got a voicemail stating the company’s website is “Extreme Lean Rx.com“. I couldn’t leave a message, and they told me to put in a ticket through their site to contact support or billing.
I plugged some search terms into Google and out popped a few results from ComplaintBoard.com RipOffReport.com. There’s actually a SLEW of scam reports across the web for this company, and it’s not the first time I’ve been received fraudulent charges by them.
How did they get my card information??
My past experience with this company, which also goes by “Hoodia Fat Burn” and “Lean Life PM“, among many other aliases, started when I completed an offer for my wife’s “Free” laptop a couple years ago. I used my GM Card to complete all the offers, and one was for a free 7 day trial of Lean Life PM. I canceled within the 7 days, and got a refund of all charges except shipping, and moved on. Everything was peachy.
But then a year later (last summer), I found some charges on my GM Card from Lean Life PM and Hoodia Fat Burn. I called GM Card, who reversed the charges successfully, and figured it was over again. But then they billed me the next month! I got those reversed, and this time I canceled the old card and got a new one issued.
But now they have my debit card information! Considering I NEVER gave out that card for any online transactions except Amazon and other major vendors, I wonder how they got it. Today, I actually received the diet pills for which I was charged, but the sender information on the package is simply “Fulfillment CTR, OKC, OK 73109”. Not very helpful.
Who is Extreme Lean Rx?
But it seems I’m not the first person to get hit like this. Channel 5 in Fayetteville, AK posted a story about a woman who got charged by Extreme Lean Rx just as I had. She has tried to return the pills, only to have them rejected by the sender. She has tried phone calls, letters, emails…all to be ignored. She has been hit for over $250, which makes me wonder why she didn’t cancel her card immediately. However, I didn’t cancel my GM Card right away because I figured it was a one-time thing.
The parent company goes by a number of pseudonyms including “Physical Enhancement Labs” and “Pure Energy“. Here is the Better Business Bureau entry for Physical Enhancement Labs. They certainly do not have a stellar track record.
Reading further through the article, it appears PEL is only the supplier, not the billing agent, for these diet pill scams:
With “the volume we do, we can’t please everybody,” Clanton said. “I’ve got a list of all the people we’re refunding.”
Alameda’s name isn’t on that list. Clanton says that’s because Pure Energy is also a supplier, filling other company’s orders.
“Because it has our address they think we’re the ones that charged their credit card,” Clanton said.
What do I do now?
Well, as soon as the charge changed from Pending to Complete in my account, I called Bank of America to report the fraudulent charge. I told them I called the number listed on the transaction, but I couldn’t leave a message. They asked the standard questions like whether I lost my card or loaned it to someone else (definitely not). They reversed the charge and told me I would be receiving an affidavit I must sign confirming the offense and a few other terms before they could proceed with the investigation. They then canceled my card on the spot and reissued a new one (which I got today).
I got the affidavit, confirmed I did not order the said product, signed it (along with my wife who is on the account) and sent it back today.
One additional hassle to arise out of this was needing to call any merchant, like Verizon (for Dry Loop DSL) and my gym, to change my debit card information for autobilling. I spent an hour just with Verizon trying to chase down the right person who could change my billing information. See, when you sign up with Dry Loop DSL, you don’t get an account number, just a phone number (usually the one you had before cancelling the voice account). In the end, they just pointed me to their DSL account page to change the information.
Lessons Learned
1. Be careful to whom you give your credit and debit information. Obviously in this case, I never provided any diet pill company with my check card digits, so I don’t know how they got them.
2. Be vigilant about monitoring all of your bank and credit accounts for fraudulent charges. Don’t just look for big charges. They could also try to scam a few pennies or dollars off of you, which would fly under most people’s radar.
3. Bank with an institution with excellent customer service. My experience with Bank of America and Household Bank (who owns GM Card) were very professional and prompt. I’m not sure how small, local banks would handle these problems though.
4. Don’t hesitate to cancel your card. As soon as you find a fraudulent charge (for a product or service you didn’t order), CANCEL THE CARD! Most banks and credit card companies are happy to reissue you a card since it costs them very little compared to the hassle of litigation with these scam artists.
I’m also interested whether any of you have been hit with similar scams in the past, and the outcome of each. Comment on this post and let me know!
UPDATE!
I got a letter from Bank of America a few days ago that they have resolved the dispute and the credit they issued to me is permanent. That is, they have confirmed it was a fraudulent charge. It’s unfortunate that each person must dispute these transactions themselves rather than the banks and CC issuers taking down the perpetrators directly.
Wow, that’s crazy. I hope it never happens to me, but now I know what to do if it does. Thanks for sharing.
We receive this type of complaint a LOT at the BBB…I wish I could say it’s only this one company but there are many unscrupulous people out there. You’re very lucky to have a cooperative bank who reversed the charges. For others who aren’t as fortunate, I would encourage you to file a complaint with the BBB. It may take a while but a lot of times it will result in a full refund. (Then I’d consider getting a new bank…) And remember you can research any company at our national search site- search.bbb.org. This will help you determine where the company’s headquarters is located. Or you can call your local BBB and let them look it up for you.
Mary, thank you very much for the added information. Anything to help consumers with these issues is much appreciated. I will be filing a BBB complain against both the supplying company and Lean Life PM. I should have filed the complaint against Lean Life last summer when they charged my GM Card.
You sound like a true kindred spirit, with all of your Dealbusting!
The truly confusing part really IS how they got your checking account information. Yet another reason to check and update all accounts on Quicken every single day. I’ve noticed more than one “mistake” charge this way.
Yeah, I was about to call an Indian restaurant where we ate this weekend because I thought they double-billed us. However, we at there Saturday and Sunday (it was really good food) and it just happened that the two bills were only 6 cents off of each other. Luckily I kept the two receipts to verify, but I was confused when I saw both transactions hit Quicken at the same time.
It seems like there are quite a few companies out there that do similar monthly charges. They make it next to impossible to unsubscribe (even if you never subscribed in the first place).
Girls Gone Wild got in serious trouble a few years back for doing the same thing.
Thanks for the info on how to clear the situation!
Last year I purchased movie tickets online using Fandango. After the purchase, I was offered the “opportunity” to sign up for Reservation Rewards, which I did thinking it was free. But it wasn’t. It was $10 a month which I later discovered on my banking statement. I’m sure it was in tiny print, so I never considered it fraudulent – just sneaky.
As for debit card fraud, I don’t know why more people don’t use Wachovia. They offer the same protection for your card as credit cards. I know someone who was able to recover money after purchases appeared that they never made.
dude that is nuts!! I have never seen them switch cards like that, I really wonder how they got your debit card information!!! Atleast you were quixk enough to catch it and do something about it, think about all the people who pay month to month not even knowing….
Yet another reason why debit cards suck. Sure, it has the ease-of-use of a credit card, but it pulls money right out of your checking account. What if that had been your last $109, or if the charge were a lot larger? You could have been hit with fee after fee if you had other pending charges, and Bank of America would not have an obligation to reverse those fees even in the event of fraud.
Sure you might hit fraudulent charges with credit cards, but they are so much easier to reverse (no affidavits to sign and return) and you don’t take a hit to your bank account if you check your statements before paying.
Yeah, I’m very hesitant to use my debit card for online transactions for that very reason, but I’m also loathe to use a credit card because it’s more of a hassle to track those expenditures in this month’s budget when I don’t need to pay for them until next month. I’m just lazy I guess.
Great post. I guess, looking on the bright side, it did give you something to blog about…… 🙂
I only use my credit card for online transactions for this reason. If I ever experience a fraudulent charge, I’d rather not have my checking account balance exposed. It just seems safer to use the banks money.
Nathania –
Wachovia charges free checking users for Quicken download access, therefore, it’s a question of a fraudelent $109 one-time charge vs $4.95 each month for the duration of your account.
Clever Dude –
Thanks for sharing the cautionary tale. That totally stinks. Something sort of similar happened to me with a Restaurant.com purchase, which is why I never do business with them anymore. I want to buy just what I buy and not have other stuff piggy backed onto my purchase. Makes me think that I should stick to cash at brick and mortar places and revive the neighborhood.
This post is exactly why I refuse to:
1) Participate in any ‘free trials’ where I have to give a credit card number
=> Free stuff isn’t worth the potential hassle
2) *Ever* use a Visa check card.
=> Even with a cooperative bank, the potential for problems is simply too great. If a fraudulent withdrawal causes other checks to bounce, the costs aren’t so easily contained. Even if you only use the card at ‘reputable’ merchants, this data has a pernicious habit of escaping. Once free, information *cannot be contained*.
3) Use auto-billpay from my checking account.
=> Same as above. Though the charges likely wouldn’t be ‘fraudulent’, just mistakes. It’s not unheard of for utility bills to be incorrect for example.
You don’t even need to use a debit card anywhere for its number to be stolen (e.g. Bank of America employee gets a laptop with debit card numbers on it stolen). From the moment you activate a debit card, you are at risk of having your entire bank account wiped out at any time. I don’t know how anybody could ever activate a debit card knowing this, but then I realize a lot of people simply don’t realize it.
If your bank gives you a debit/check card, never ever activate it. Destroy it or stick it in a safe. Use credit cards and you won’t put your own money at risk.
Nick (Punny), I now understand your argument. However, I’m still loathe to use credit cards simply because I can be more lax and let the balance roll over to the next month. You can’t do that with debit cards.
However, I WILL consider your statement for our own personal finances. Also, since I might be switching to ING Electric Orange for my main banking, I’ll need to consider ramifications from that switch to our overall finances.
My rules:
1) Don’t use debit card except at banks
2) Don’t get combo visa/debit or mastercard/debit cards. Tell the bank you just want a standard debit card.
Why? Legally the rules are such that you must notice things much quicker with debit-cards or you’re on the hook. I’d be interested in the research here, but I believe it is a few days with debit cards and like 30 to 60 days with credit cards.
Common-sense though says that you’d rather contest charges with somebody that doesn’t yet have your money (a credit card) rather than with somebody that does have your money (a debit card).
A little story to illustrate what happened to me. I got mugged in Rome. Credit card and Debit/mastercard stolen. My mom immediately reported them stolen. (And the CC companies later tried to tell me that wasn’t good enough — I had to report them stolen. B.S. Phones in Rome used to suck.) Everything seemed good until a month later when charges started to clear (making their way from Europe). I got $1000s taken out of my checking account and had to fight to get it back. The credit-card company of the card I’d canceled sent me a new bill — that was easier — I just told them I wasn’t paying and reminded them I’d reported it stolen and then canceled it. Of course they complained and maybe could have tried to do something to my credit score, but I’d have fought that too.
My strong advise to all is to not use debit cards or give out such information. Keep your liabilities and assets with different institutions. And always pay off your credit-card balance every month.
My experience was over 15 years ago when identity theft was a much smaller problem. Having your bank accounts and credit cards with the same institution seems convenient, but it is not that big a deal. Most banks support free online-bill-payment. Once you set it up, you won’t notice a difference. Besides, how many debit-cards give you miles? (Miles that you can’t use unless you call them 3-weeks in advance and meet all sorts of other restrictions, but that’s another story…)
according to the laws, all credit cards have to investigate ALL fraud charges and have to refund the money.
any card which offers “credit protection” is a total scam…(cough mbna/boa). it is basically extortion, and if you sign up for it, well, cancel it or be a sucker.
actually, i had only one fraud thing ever in my life. chinese mafia got my credit card info while i was in las vegas, and started to charge my credit card from online gambling places. gm card company called me up on it, and said, we noticed weird spikes, shall we authorize these purchases. i said, no, and please cancel my card, but i thanked them for being good to their word.
so i guess if i had to use a non-discover card ever again, i would get the gm card.
anyone who uses boa is a sucker
The number of people who sign up for those free offers and then never realize they are being charged long after the fact are exactly why those “free offers” can exist. Ugh, they were all over the net a few years ago, and the “free iPod” thing was everywhere…
Sorry to hear about the fiasco.
I am in tune with Samerwriter and Flexo – there is always more to those “free offers” for plasma TVs and laptops. I don’t know how to put a price to PITA.
A few months ago, I wrote something on this topic with respect to some BS “Free XBox” offers – yeah you could get it for free but it’s not worth the PITA, you get a load of crap with the XBox – not to mention ruined relations if (god forbid) this happens to someone you recommended this *free* stuff to.
On a related note, also check your credit score in a month or so and see how this cancellation has affected your credit score – there are more indirect costs involved there.
I am glad you got out of it without major damage.
Golbguru, my credit score won’t be dinged since this was a debit card, and I never checked what happened to my score when I got my GM card reissued. I would assume it got dinged a bit, but it’s probably back up there.
Cool. That’s a bit better. I didn’t catch the debit card thing earlier.
Debit cards and Credit cards are regulated by two different parts of the government that is why the rules are completely different, but the disparity between them is not entirely evident.
All this starts with the cards looking almost identical to consumers. This leads many to the conclusion that because they look alike they are alike. The biggest difference to them is one gets billed and the other comes from their checking account. What else could there be?
Under the Fair Credit Reporting act you cannot be held responsible for unauthorized charges to your credit card. The burden you face is to prove you did not make the charges, file a police report etc. Your liability is generally limited to $50 per card.
The people who have their debit cards compromised fall into a whole different category of liability. Within the first 2 days you liability is capped at $50. Up to 60 days it is capped at $500, after the 60 day window you are wide open for unlimited liability or the balance of your account. Those clocks start ticking the day you notify your bank of the theft, or the date of your first paper or online statement where the unauthorized charges appear. You become “notified” even if you don’t open up the envelope or bother looking!
Remember , the “Zero Liability” card you have is not a mandate to the bank from the government, only a courtesy from your bank. Even then, it is at their discretion who is truly liable.
I’m sure many do not bother to review their charges or statements because they feel “protected” and have “zero liability”.
My Discover Card allows me to generate alias CC numbers for use in ordering online. I give the alias number to only one vendor. If bogus charges show up, I’ll just have to cancel the alias, not my entire card. I haven’t needed to cancel one yet, so I can’t say for sure how it will work in practice.
This is what happens when you fill out those free trails and submit for those email updates. They just won’t leave you alone.