It Could Happen To You .... (online banking )

[RedEarth]

CBS) I just made a series of slightly expensive mistakes with online banking and credit that I thought I'd share with you. Had I not caught it on time, it could have been a lot more expensive. And it had nothing to do with fraud.

It started when I made an online purchase. I needed to type in a credit card number and expiration date to complete my purchase so I took my Visa out of my wallet and typed in the information. Then, somehow, the card must have slipped behind the desk because when I went to use the card a few days later, I discovered it was missing.

When I couldn’t find it, I called the credit card company, cancelled the card and ordered a new one. A week later I found the old card when cleaning my office but it had already been cancelled and replaced.

Several weeks later, I got a letter in the mail from the card issuer informing me that my payment was past due and that I had a high balance and owed both a late charge and a hefty amount of interest. While the balance on the bill was high, the charges were all legitimate: business travel, car repair, my son’s college tuition and other purchases.

Normally, however, I have no interest or late charges because I use an online billing service to automatically pay the full balance each month. The service doesn't just pay bills - it also receives them from your vendors and, based on rules you set, it can automatically pay the full balance, the minimum due or any other amount.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/25/scitech/pcanswer/printable1546860.shtml

[jojo54]

1. Well, that sucks Red.

I may be an old sot, but I'll never do purchasing or banking online. Even my donation to DU last week went by mail. I'm just too worried about all the crap that can happen and hub and I don't have enough money to have problems like that.

[havocmom]

2. Havocdad applied for a card from BofA and had all sorts of trouble

Charges for stuff he never bought kept showing up, purchased on the other side of the country. That started before he ever used the card. Phone calls to BofA were a laugh. They said it was all fixed, but it wasn't.

He used the card and his payment didn't get credited. Calls to BofA resulted in usual 'we have it all straightened out now' BS.

Got a phone call from a guy at a stereo shop in NYC to confirm a $6000 purchase the salesman didn't feel right about. How he got our MT phone number for the card number remains a mystery. BofA won't admit giving our number out. Told him, no we haven't been shopping for stereo equipment and the honest salesman called BofA himself to confirm that we were right, there was a problem with the account.

Hmmm...

Seems BofA issued same # to two different people. Took months to get is sorted out.

[northzax]

3. for the record, this person is an idiot

I just checked my statement to be certain, and it says, in plain language, on the statement "we will apply your paymenrs to the balance with the lowest interest rate first."

did he/she really think he was getting something for nothing? that's just dumb.