Beneficial Client Care Ripped off for $247.00 Lake Park FL *UPDATED info

I received a call from a Beneficial Client Care representetive named Shara who claimed I could pay a fee of $247.00 to purchase a guaranteed Visa or Mastercard. She went on to say that they were not an issuing bank, but were part of the credit card company (?). Having no established credit, I decided to go ahead and give her my information.

Only afterwards did I do some research on the company and found that they were pretty shady and may not deliver what was promised. I decided to cancel my order, which was to be processed on June 26th, 2002. I called well in advance of this and was repeatedly disconnected due to a full voicemail box (more complaints, probably).

I finally got through after about the eighth try and talked to a woman who informed me they "didn't process cancellations." In disbelief, I tried asking her who *did* process cancellations, and she said no one in the company did. After each answer, she would quickly say, "do you have any other concerns?" I was being stonewalled, so I asked to speak to a supervisor, who was "in a meeting."

I called back after placing a stop payment on my account for the check they had told me to void when I ordered. This time I was put in touch with a supervisor named Margaret who again told me they did not process cancellations. Again, this was *well* in excess of 72 hours prior to the scheduled debit date from my account. She would not yield, nor give me any other information about their company, such as the number to their corporate office, nor any names.

I told her I had put a stop payment on the check number they had obtained, and she said "oh, that cancels it then, sir." Lo and behold, I look today to see that they didn't even use the check at all, and ACH debited my account for $247.00. I will dispute this charge with my bank, and if I have to, take it to small claims court. It is unbelievable a company like this can exist nowadays.

Gabriel
New Orleans, Louisiana