National Consumer Marketing Multiple fraudulent credit card billings; no merchandise Ripoff Central Islip New York

National Consumer Marketing Inc. ran an ad in the coupons supplement of my newspaper, offering a "free" watch for $4.95 to cover processing and handling. The ad said, "This limited time offer is only available by phone." I called and ordered two watches, and put the $9.90 on my Mastercard.

A few days later, the Fraud Department from Mastercard called and said that NCM had tried to make 7 claims on my account, for amounts ranging from $2.99 to $54.59. Six of the claims were refused because NCM was using the wrong expiration dates -- but the claim for $54.59 had gone through.

When I phoned NCM to complain, they said they had no record of my order, my credit card number, or my name. Of course, I never received my watches.

I had to close my Mastercard account, and I spent many hours alerting legitimate businesses (my gym, newspaper subscriptions, etc.)to my new account number. I also lost lots of frequent-flyer miles I would have earned had I been able to use my old account for purchases. I am still disputing the $54.59 payment to NCM.

T
Ridgefield, Connecticut
U.S.A.