1st American Leisure Card ripoff scam fraudulent mis-representaion Sunrise Florida

This is has been an ongoing situation since the end of May and I have reached the end of my tolerance. I am a very easy going and easy to deal with person but this has gone too far and I have been lied to one to many times.
I was originally contacted by phone right at the end of May or beginning of June.

The gentleman on the phone introduced himself as someone from EQUIFAX and that he was doing a promotion for MasterCard. After giving me about a five minute sales pitch, I specifically asked him again if he was with EQUIFAX, he replied YES. (1st Lie) I then told him that I did not realize that EQUIFAX was in the business of issuing Credit Cards.

He then replied, they are not, but it is there program and we are promoting it for them. Then after listening to a little more of his sales pitch, it sounded good so I told him that I would do it. He then told me that he needed to verify and record my Checking Account Information and that with the initial investment of $199.90 and minimum payment $10.00 a month (which I thought would be going toward paying off the balance in which I had spent) that this card would provide me with a $2,000.00 line of credit. (2nd Lie) He then went off the line and came back on and verified and recorded my billing information.

Upon completion, he came back on the line and told me to get a pen, there were a few things that I needed to write down. He told me to write down the name of the company as 1st American MasterCard NOT 1st American Leisure Card (3rd Lie). He also told me to write down the phone # 1-800-587-4152 and my ID# 0870166 and that I would receive my packet between June 24-27. (4th Lie) He then said to write down that it is for $2,000.00 worth of credit with 0% interest and a minimum payment of $10.00 a month. After I wrote all of this down, he asked me to repeat it to him. He then told me that he needed to set up a draft date for the $199.90. I told him that I was not sure and he said I'll tell you what I'll do. I will set it up for June 9, 2002 because it is a Sunday and they can't draft on that date, but I have to put in a draft date. He told me that I could call the 1-800 # and change the draft date at any time when I knew the money would be in the account.

At this point, I was not very comfortable setting up a draft date and then having to change it, but I had already been on the phone for about 20 minutes so I just went along with it.

Now the adventure begins, I am very meticulous in planning my work days and I keep a very tight work schedule as I have a business to run. I put the 1-800 # and my ID# in my Palm Pilot so that I would call and change my draft date to June 14, 2002 (Pay Day). I tried to call EVER SINGLE DAY for a week and a half and I got nothing except a busy signal.

During this time, the draft of $199.90 & $10.00 was debited on June 11 and I am very frustrated. I continue to keep trying to call the # at least 5 times a day for about a week straight still with no luck. I finally set aside a little bit of time to investigate the matter as well as a different contact method. Upon numerous Internet searches for 1st American MasterCard 1st American Bank 1st American Credit Card and the MasterCard Web Site I decided to check out the phone # through information. The only thing they could tell me is that it was a valid working phone # and that it may just be busy. I then decided to contact the Better Business Bureau in Florida and I explained to them the entire situation and they began to dig around a little bit for me and told me that if I did not receive the package by June 24-27 to contact them again.

I also called my bank to see if they could tell me anything about the company who was taking the draft from my account. They only had some initials and the same phone # that I already had. They advised me to come on and close my checking account and to launch an investigation. I explained to them that if I did not receive my package soon that I would. I then called EQUIFAX to find out about the guy who called or the program I was offered and guess what, they had never heard of it. They then took down all of the info I had and told me to call them if I could not get to the bottom of it and they would investigate some more as well.

Sometime in mid June I finally got the phone to ring at your office and when someone came on the line, I explained my situation. Upon, apologizing and explaining that the computers were down and that they could not look up my account info as well as the fact that they were extremely busy they could not tell me the status of my shipment. I told them that I was scared to let them off the phone because I might not get them back again. I was told to call back in an hour. When I called back the computers were still down so I called the next day and was told again that they were extremely backed up and that I should receive my packet in approximately 2 weeks. I explained to them that I was not happy and that I do not see how it could take so long to send a packet to my house. I got the same story again. Two weeks passed and still I have nothing except another $10.00 draft from my account.

I then called back again and I talked to Isaac #4175, and we talked for about 20 minutes about everything and he tried to give me a little bit of information on the person who called and sold me the program originally. I talked to him again about 2 weeks later and I told him that I still had not received anything and that I was through dealing with this and I wanted my money back and I did not want to continue to do business in this manner. He told me that he did not have the authority to issue refunds and the only thing he could do is issue a complaint in the notes.

So I asked him to do that and he also said that he would check to see when my package was going to arrive. He told me that it was going out and that it should arrive NO LATER than Friday, August 2, 2002. So I waited it out for those 2 weeks and when the 2nd came around, I still did not receive anything. (5th Lie) Giving the benefit of the doubt, I did not call on Mon., Tue., & Wed. of next week thinking that it may be a mail issue and I did not want to complain any more and I was tired of telling this story.

Well today is Thursday August 8, 2002 and I still have not received anything, so I called the Better Business Bureau again and they have everything documented as well as the Florida State Attorney Generals Office. I then call your office again and this time I was at my boiling point in which I never get to. I explained my entire situation again to Ron # 4013 and he could not tell me anything about anything, he sounded as if he was reading off of a script as he was telling me that he was sorry for the shipping delay and that a lot of people in your shipping department quit and they were down to only 4 people. He also told me that they were shipping over 5,000 packets a day. I was astounded, I have been in business for 10 years and that just sounds crazy that would be nearly $1,000,000.00 a DAY if everyone is paying $199.90. That is an amazing business, and I can't believe I am not in a business like that.

I proceeded to tell him that the BBB told me that I should be able to call and talk to someone in an Authority position who can issue a refund or get an address to write a letter to and that I have to be able to get a refund. If not I would be able to get my attorney, the Attorney Generals Office and the BBB involved. After listening to Ron repeat himself over and over again that he could not issue me a refund, I asked him to let me talk to someone who could.

He told me that the only person n the company that can issue a refund is the President. I asked to speak to you and he told me that e does not except calls from customers. I LAUGHED and asked what kind of Company is this? I am the President of my own Company as well and I have never refused to speak to one of my customers, much less instruct my employees to tell them that. I have called and talked the Presidents of Multi-Billion Dollar Corporations on down to Mom and Pop shops before with no problem.

I then asked him to give me an address to write a letter asking for my refund, and he just kept telling me the same thing and that he was not authorized to do that. I told him that I did not want to hear that anymore and he either needed to put me on the phone with somebody who could tell me or I would have my attorney call and let him get it for me. He finally decided that it was in his best interest to give me the address and I asked him what I needed to write in the letter. He told me that I needed to write a letter to you asking for my refund and explaining why I deserve one. Again, I laughed at why I had to explain why I DESERVED what is mine.

Clint
Houston, Texas

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