National Merchants Association Identity Fraud National Merchants Association Stole $994.00 from me! Temecula California

I got a charge on my Wells Fargo account for $994.00 on 9-27-13. It listed National Merchants Association as the company who charged me. I contacted them that day and left messages. No Calls Returned. Then I got in touch with them Monday they said I was charged for an Application fee, Underwriting Fee, and Termination fee. Since I never applied with them I asked them for the information they had and they sent me some information but no application with my signature and they said it was applied for online. There was an email from First Data saying they were canceling the account for Confirmed ID Theft. I asked them for the IP address where the application came from. They would not give me any of that information but I have the name of the Rep that most likely attempted to steal my identity. 

Here are the first few email exchanges: The first from me:

Hello Alexis,

I found this email from you. If you can send me all the info on the account as far as how much was processed and what bank account the funds were put into. Also not only how much was processed in total but how much was charged back. Also if there is an outstanding balance for charge backs. If you have the IP address that the online application was sent in from that would be great as well.

Thanks,

Tony

She replied with:

Tony,

Before I can send you all of this information, please send your Drivers License for verification purposes.

Thanks,

Alexis King
Support Manager
National Merchants Association
P: (866) 509-7199 Ext. 107
F: (951) 963-1297
www.nationalmerchants.org
aking@nationalmerchants.org

I complied and sent my Drivers License. She then sent back all the information they had to run the application including my Drivers License. Pretty Slick Mover there. Not as Slick as it was Shady. Realizing ID Fraud had been committed they added my DL to their application folder with my other stolen information. Unfortunately for them I have the email asking for the DL and it shows that it was added to the file on Oct. 1st long after the account was terminated by first data for suspected ID theft.

For about 2 days they never answered or returned repeated messages. Then I get this email:

Tony,

We cannot give out IP addresses of the people who use our system. Also, after speaking with First Data, they terminated the account not only for excessive CB's on a related account, but also because of suspected ID theft. Without being able to verify your identity and the business, we do not feel comfortable giving you any more information about the account.

Thanks,

Alexis King
Support Manager
National Merchants Association
P: (866) 509-7199 Ext. 107
F: (951) 963-1297
www.nationalmerchants.org
aking@nationalmerchants.org

I replied with: 

Alexis,

I sent you my ID upon request. It should be pretty obvious to you guys that it was my ID that was Stolen which is why I'm filing charges with the police. 

I'm out $994 because of this issue. What is your company's plan to reimburse me for this?

Thanks,

Tony


The CEO then replied with:

Mr. Swiantek,

As you've been made aware, First Data has terminated the merchant account opened in your name due to confirmed ID theft. For more information, you must contact First Data directly as this was their decision and discovery, not NMA's. 

Under the circumstances, our bank has advised us not to issue any refunds. For your protection, if you have been charged, I suggest you issue a chargeback with your bank.

If you have any further questions, please present those only in the form of a letter mailed to our office. At this time, the staff at NMA will no longer be discussing these matters with you. I am sorry this has happened to you and I wish you the best of luck in getting this resolved. 

Best Regards,

Heather Petersen
CEO
National Merchants Association
P: (866) 509-7199 Ext. 100
F: (951) 963-1297
www.nationalmerchants.org
hpetersen@nationalmerchants.org


So basically this email was a "Sorry your ID was stolen but we got your cash and we ain't going to give it back!" Now fortunately for me my bank will more than likely succeed at getting the money back in my account and even if they don't I have Life Lock with a lot of resources actually they will use up to $1,000,000 to get my funds back in my account.

The one thing that really worries me about National Merchants Association is with this response I wonder if they were part of the ID Theft Fraud and working with the guy who attempted to steal my ID?

I wouldn't want NMA having my information if I was looking for a merchant account. God only knows what they would do with it and how much they would hit your account for.