Kitchen Advance Gourmet Recipes KAVI Kitchen Advance Got Presto! Pesto! email & ordered cookbooks. Got credit card charges of over $300 from 3 names: KAVI, JBEI, & MD. After confronting them, was charged 5 charges of 9.99 that day. Fraud!!! Vista, California

I received an email from Kitchen Advance Gourmet Recipes.  The email was titled Presto! Pesto!  I enjoy cooking, especially with herbs I grow myself.  I subscribe to several recipe lists.  I was interested in learning other ways to make pesto besides the traditional basic recipe I've made for years.

I decided to order the small paperback cookbook. After entering my personal order information, I was taken to a second screen when I attempted to check out.  It urged me to pick three other small cookbooks for 9.99 more from a selection of  about 6 or 8.  I decided to add on three more books.

My total was 16.79 for the 4 small cookbooks and shipping.  I was then taken to about 6 more screens before finally being able to check out.  Each of the other screens offered to sell me some piece of cooking equipment.  I declined on all other orders.  No offers were for any type of cooking magazine mailed or online or cooking club.

I received my set of 4 small cookbooks soon.  I was charged 16.79 to the card I had chosen.  This charge was from KAVI (Kitchen Advance Gourmet Recipes).  I didn't realize that this fraudulent company starting sending charges of 29.85 and 9.99 under 3 different acronyms:  KAVI, MD, and JBEI.  MD is MD Gourmet Cooking and JBEI is JBEI Gourmet Rewards.  Each acronym has its own phone number, but is answered by the same computer.  After waiting, one talks to the same person.

I foolishly did not check my credit card statements very well.  When I received the Presto! Pesto! email again, I decided to order another set of 4 small cookbooks for 16.79 so I could give the 2nd pesto cookbook to a friend.  I used a different credit card.  That time, 1 or the 4 cookbooks was  sent a little later than the other 3, creating a second FedEx delivery receipt.

It took me a few months before I realized that this extremely fraudulent company was sending charges under the 3 different acronyms to both of my credit cards.  I called and confronted them and was rewarded by 5 charges of 9.99 under 2 of the acronyms being sent to the card I had discovered the charges on that day.

The charges were on my Discover card and also my Chase Visa card.  I had used the Visa first and therefore had more charges on it.  I reported the fraud to both cards.  It was the Visa that immediately had 5 more charges sent in 1 day.  Chase Visa has been cooperative, although I've had to call multiple times to alert them to charges they had not yet reversed.  

Discover sent me a new card with a new number.  Chase did not want to do that at first, until I received the 5 more charges.  Then Chase also sent me a new card with a new number.  Both companies are supposed to have placed blocks on these 3 acronyms for the fraudulent business for more charges, although I worry that they will use additional acronyms/ names.

I found it disturbing that Discover was not very cooperative about reversing the charges, although I discovered the fraud within less than three months.  The total amount of fraudulent charges on their card was almost $80.  (It was over $200 on the Visa.)  I'd been Discover's customer for over ten years and given them lots of business.  

After I threatened to never use my Discover card again, I was told they'd eat the charges themselves.  This was after telling me that they had contacted KAVI.  KAVI, the fraudulent business, had told them they'd shipped additional cookbooks for the additional charges (a lie) and Discover believed KAVI instead of me.  They faxed Discover the 2nd FedEx receipt they got by sending 1 or the 4 cookbooks separately.  

I will only use this card now if my cash back amount is for 5% and another card is only 1% for the same category.  It has become a non-preferred card for me.