I've got a little problem I need some help with!

United States
May 4, 2008 12:43pm CST
I have a prepaid Visa which I use from time to time for paypal transfers and to pay online bills. Well sometime ago I signed up for stamps.com. I NEVER used this service and yet they keep sending me statements to the contrary. I sent them a return email debating them charging my card. I never even got the courtesy of a reply. Up until now, they have never been able to take the payment off of my card, because I don't leave enough money on it for them to do so. A few days ago, I had to pay for a certified copy of my son's birth certificate and I loaded my card with the exact amount of the certificate. Paid the required amount and printed out a copy of the receipt. The charge was pending because I also have to fax a copy of a notarized Sworn Statement before they will process my request. In the meantime stamps.com comes along and takes the money off of my card, making my payment for the birth certificate now null and void. How do I get stamps.com to stop charging my account for a service I have NEVER used and now will never consider? I am becoming increasingly weary of making online payments. Any help would be appreciated.
9 people like this
18 responses
• United States
9 May 08
contact Visa..and again with the stamps.com (although this probably is a waste of time_( but try..and visa should have something in the form of "disputed payments" as I had to dispute a charge recently and they sent me the paper work for the false charge and i never heard no more about it..and the charge never came back to me so far...knock on wood.. Visa should be able to give you a answer but if they don't just contact your local Better Business Bureau..and good luck..money does come hard for most people and sometimes we have to fight just to keep what is ours...good luck
2 people like this
• United States
9 May 08
I contacted Visa, they say its out of their hands. I need to call and cancel my account at stamps.com.
1 person likes this
• Indonesia
7 May 08
I think you should make a report to Visa to not approve any charge from stamps.com, you should make clear towards Visa support about what stamps.com has done to you and ask them the proper action to take. You should also cancel your account and contracts from stamps.com completely. Use a new Visa prepaid card and close the previous one from now on. If you can even get any proof of the stamps.com crap towards you, and considering to sue them, sue them.
2 people like this
@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
4 May 08
When you signed up for them, even if you never used them, you authorized them to take the money from your card for the monthly fee after the trial period. It's one reason to always check the terms of service. You have to call them and cancel it. That is the only way. It states right in their terms how to cancel it. Go to their site and get the number for customer support to cancel the account. Call them and tell them you don't want the service and to stop charging you. That should end it for you. In the mean time you could see about canceling that card and switching to another one. Might make things easier for you but just so you know they can still put it towards your credit rating unless you cancel them.
@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
5 May 08
I'm glad to hear you are going to call and cancel. That is the best way to deal with it. This way once it is done you shouldn't have any more problems with them. Good luck with it
• United States
5 May 08
You are absolutely right. There is no getting out of it and I am cancelling my account with them tomorrow and changing my card immediately. Thanks.
1 person likes this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
6 May 08
I really don't understand. How can they charge you for nothing??? Surely there was something. Perhaps when you signed up there was a fee. It makes no sense that they are hounding you for payment. I would have sorted the situation out with the first bill. And how do they have access to your visa account. They must have gotten your details somehow to do this.
2 people like this
• United States
4 May 08
I once held a merchant account for credit cards. It is true the responsibilty lies with the Merchant. Keep on them to get this reoccuring charge cancelled. It won't go away. Keep all correspondence with them including emails. If you are taken to a creditor you have the right to enter information on your own behalf. I would keep track of how long it takes for them to cancel also. All merchants have a certain time frame they must operate within. Im not sure what that is for their business as it varies according to the kind of merchandise. And they should have had displayed when you signed up how to settle disputes on their site. I had a similiar incidence happen to me from an online site except I never ordered anything ...never opened anything and I was better able to resolve things through email on their site than by phone. I told them I want to talk to a real person because your system is automated and it does not contain my question...They took care of it promptly and I sent back there merchandise and that was the end of story.
1 person likes this
• United States
4 May 08
Thats just it, I never took advantage of their product. Not even in the 30 day trial period. And yet they have continued to charge me. Fortunately for me, their was never any money on my card. LOL. The one time I put money on it, they came swooping down like vultures from h@ll.
• United States
4 May 08
I will have to look at this site to know for sure but Most of these sites that have the reocurrent billing are not necessarily charging for a product. It is usually the convenience of service they are charging for in that you can order their product day or night at your convenience and generally you have agreed to pay a set rate on your sign up agreement. The spell check in this place is driving me crazy lol
@Rosekitty (19368)
• San Marcos, Texas
4 May 08
You may have to go through the Visa and get them to stop payments to Stamps.com or a stop order on them. Keep pestering Stamps.com and call them if you have a number to cancel and deactivate your account with them. if not call BBB and ask them for help. Good Luck!
1 person likes this
• United States
4 May 08
I got ahold of Visa, they say its stamps.com's problem. Stamp.com is not available on Sundays, so first thing tomorrow I'm cancelling my account with both.
1 person likes this
@Rosekitty (19368)
• San Marcos, Texas
4 May 08
Good for you! Its a shame you have to do extra work just cause of these Aholes..I try to never buy anything online since i also learned the hard way of overpaying stupid companies! I know some are fine and well worth it but who would figure Stamps.com? Anyway..sorry i didn't remind you to do this tomorrow..my list is growing so much..LOL
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
4 May 08
You need to contact the company that issued your Visa card and take the matter up with them. It is quite easy to claim from a credit card as long as the claim is not contested, but the issuers of the card should be able to rectify the stuation.
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
4 May 08
They cannot dismiss all responsibilty if they are the administrators of the card. I suggest that you speak to the issuers again and insist that they do not allow any further payments to stamps.com.
• United States
4 May 08
I did that and they say the burden of responsibility lays with the merchant. I tried to contact the merchant via email and phone and being that it is Sunday they are not available.
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
4 May 08
Gee I don't know, can you go to the bank now and have it disputed? They can get the money back now?
1 person likes this
• United States
4 May 08
Unfortunately, its a virtual bank. LOL. Go figure. I have called the card services. They say its up to the merchant. I call the merchant and, of course, because its Sunday they aren't available. Grrrr.....
@Aussies2007 (5336)
• Australia
5 May 08
This is a neat little trick that the adult sites came up with some 5 years ago... and it has proved to be such a great scam that most businesses on the internet have adopted it. The way it works is that you go to a website to buy a one month membership for something... but they won't sell it to you unless you authorize them to debit your card automatically every month. Even better... to entice you... they give you the first month free... Once they got your authorization... they make it extremely difficult for you to cancel it... So difficult in fact that many people cannot be bother... that's the scam. I have always refused to authorize automatic debit. I don't allow PayPal to do it... or even my bank. Any business wanting to do that won't get my business. You need to go to the website and log into the account you created. They will make you jump through loops... but you have to do it in order to cancel your account. Or you can ring Visa and ask them to get your money back and refuse any further payment to them.
• United States
5 May 08
I called Visa. They said it lies in the hands of the merchant. There is nothing they can do. I tried cancelling my account online and naturally it won't let me do it. I have to call. So you can bet I'll be on the phone first thing in the morning. As for Visa, I'm cancelling that too. I've got other cards I'll use from now on.
@youdontsay (3497)
• United States
5 May 08
Contact Visa and freeze their payment to stamps.com. Contact stamps.com by phone. I used stamps.com for a while but found it was easier to deal directly with the USPS website.
1 person likes this
• United States
5 May 08
I did contact Visa, they said it was out of their hands and I should contact stamps.com. I'll call them tomorrow as there was no one available today.
@mummymo (23706)
4 May 08
You need to talk to the people who have your prepaid visa account I would think honey! Here in the UK I know of several routes you could take but I am not sure how these things work in the US! Tehre are too many companies who would take advantage like this and I do hope that you get this sorted out quick! Sorry I couldn't help! xxx
1 person likes this
@mummymo (23706)
4 May 08
aaaargh! Don't forget to let us know how it works out! Oh and the visa company does have some responsibility in future payments as if you have told them they must NOT make any payments to this company then they can't - I am pretty sure of that! xxxx
• United States
4 May 08
I tried that, but they told me that the responsibility lies with the merchant. And naturally the merchant is unavailable today. Figures.
1 person likes this
@ellie333 (21016)
4 May 08
I had a problem with a company that took money from my account in this way and I got my bank to open a dispute with them and I got all the oney back, prior to opening the dispute I also emailed the news editor of the company concerned telling them that I had tried emailing all other contacts and tried to phone but the problem hadn't bee resolved and if I didn't hear back within 48 hours I would contact Watchdog (which is a TV programme for consumers rights in UK) This worked. I wish you luck, these people have no right to do this, I would also ask for costs incurred by you because of this to be reimbursed. I got an extra £7.00 for this. Ellie :D
• United States
4 May 08
I've got a feeling that I'm going to have to eat this one because I didn't cancel my account within the first 30 days. Because I never used the product, I simply spaced it.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
4 May 08
I have a Visa debit card and I made the stupid mistake of giving mynumer to a lotto co on the internet in order to play lotto each month . the monthly paynent was supposed to be five dollars but twice they doubled the amount and twice they did not deposit winnings I had made. I emailed them and no reply and did it again and they took out more money so I called my bank and askedwhat should I do? she told me thatif they took out the same amount each month I could just place a stop payment' on them but because the amounts they took out varied,the bank said it could do nothing.so finally in desperation I asked them to close out my debit card and issue me a new one with a different number. so the lotto company could no longer debit me at all and in fact they did cough up nine dollars that I had won.Seemslike sort of a drastic way to stop a companyfrom taking money out of your account but it did work.
• United States
4 May 08
Its not the first time I've experienced problems like this with an internet site, but I do think I will take your suggestion and change to a different card. I have another that I got in the mail several weeks ago and have yet to use. Seems like a good time to start.
@Adelida2233 (1005)
• United States
5 May 08
First of all, I would check all of the terms when you signed up for stamps.com Some of the sites are very sneaking about adding in monthly extra charges without specifically saying it upfront. After you have made sure that you are in the right, I would contact whatever the holding company of your debit card is, IE Visa, MC, Star, whatever brand it is and ask to dispute the charge. They can do a chargeback, taking the money away from stamps.com and returning it to your account. As for your birth certificate, I would go to the Vital Statistics office and explain what happened. They will most likely ask you to repay the amount in certified funds. I wouldnt go in with the cashiers check or money order though, I would check to make sue there are no additional fees because of the overdraft. As for being increasingly weary of online transactions, I would consider this an isolated incident. I've heard of other users having issues with stamps.com as well. Not that it particularly makes you feel any better, but I would continue to buy online, just not at stamps.com Good luck! By the way, if my previous suggestion does not work, go to your local BBB (Better Business Bureau) and ask how to file a claim against stamps.com to retrieve your money.
1 person likes this
• United States
5 May 08
All very sound advice. I think I probably should have read the TOS more closely. I think I'm probably going to have to eat it on this one, but I'll give stamps.com a call tomorrow.
• United States
4 May 08
You first need to try to contact them again. Also, go back to their website and try to cancel your account. If that doesn't work, you may want to talk to a lawyer to see what can be done. I use to use stamps.com years ago and I liked them. But like I said I used the service and so I was rightfully charged. When I moved and no longer used them, I cancelled my account. I want to say I went to the website to do so, but it's been almost ten years so I can't be exact. I hope everything works out for you. Also, you can try to cancel out that card and get a new one. Then they won't be able to take any more of your money.
1 person likes this
• United States
4 May 08
I tried contacting them by email, but it states for me to cancel I actually have to phone them. Grrrr! No doubt they will just give me the same runaround that I have been given to this point.
@KKKBsmom (1092)
• United States
4 May 08
Wow... there has to be something on their site.... That is not right... i hate when companies do that... and it is all computerized to probably try and take the money out every day! I hope you get this taken care of and someone is able to help you!
• United States
4 May 08
No its not right and of course they are not available because it is Sunday. I won't be using these online sites again. I know that for sure.
@Deea48 (1166)
• United States
9 May 08
Wow Katherine,now that would bug me too. I am very leary of net money exchanges. I just don't trust that someone will not get to my important numbers. I hope you can get it all sorted out soon, what a pain. I am dealing with a Mag. subsription I never asked for, this is the second time I have had issues with being charged for something I did not ask for via the net. Very annoying. Good luck hun!
• United States
4 May 08
did you get into a contract like one low monthly price for 12 months, or even if you don't think you are and forget to read the small print they can sometimes do. I don't agree with it. I would personally just get another card if it is prepaid, and tell them that you did not grant them permission to take money from your account you are very unhappy and if the problem is not resolved you will make a report to the BBB. I bet you will see your money back or at least a reply.
1 person likes this
• United States
4 May 08
No, I didn't get into a monthly contract. But I think your idea of cancelling that card and getting another is a darn good idea. I was just sitting here thinking about the same thing.
1 person likes this