Check Your Credit Card Statements for $49.95 Charges

[davel501]

I have a credit card that I use just for boating purchases ever since the iBoats hacking took out my debit card for a week. I am getting to the point where I am starting to believe that debit cards in general are a bad idea but the wife disagrees so I do like corporations do and just keep enough in a specific account to pay the expected bills and a little safety margin so nobody can clean me out completely. It is a pain to manage multiple accounts at multiple banks but it seems worth it. I have never had a bank account cleaned out but I do know people that were penniless for more than a week, one of them at Christmas.

So I promised a warning and I turned it into a PSA but figured if it helps anyone then it is worth it.

Today's warning is to look out for a charge for $49.95 from 888-409-7136.COM. My boating credit card got hit this morning.

 

[itsdgm]

Thanks for the tip I'll keep a look out for that one.

 

[Julian]

I don't use debit cards, only credit cards. I've not seen any advantage in using a debt card....is there one?

 

[davel501]

I don't use debit cards, only credit cards. I've not seen any advantage in using a debt card....is there one?

Mostly disadvantages. Debit card fraud protection is not as good and it can take a while to get money back into your account. If you have your savings tied in for overdraft protection they could clean that out too. Most cards are limited to $5k per day so that is probably not a problem for this crowd but some of the limits are still $5k per calendar day rather than 24 hour period meaning they can hit you for $10k in a 5 minute period.

The one thing that is nice is the money comes out of your account just like it would with a check. In my house this may be the sticking point as I would like to go to the Dave Ramsey FPU envelope system and my wife does not.

If you keep your accounts separate and do not put too much money in an account linked to a debit card then it is probably fine. I had one of my debit card numbers stolen and it only took 2 hours of my time, round trip to the bank to fill out paperwork, to get it removed completely and have new cards issued. It took about 10 banking days to get the missing money back though.

 

[Julian]

Which is why I like Credit cards....its their money if there is fraud. And on top of that, all credit cards offer some incentives to use their cards (cash back, miles etc). I spend everything on a credit card and pay them off every month! And I mean everything....tolls, fast food, if I can pay by CC I do (unless there is an extra fee to pay by card). If I could have bought our new car on a CC I would have, but they would only put 3K on it!

 

[maboat]

I don't use debit cards, only credit cards. I've not seen any advantage in using a debt card....is there one?

I agree completely.

The one thing that is nice is the money comes out of your account just like it would with a check.

That seems like a disadvantage to me.

I follow Dave Ramsey and the principles are good but that doesn't mean you can't use credit cards. I carry no balances on my credit cards. They are paid in full every month. 100% fraud protection. No interest, no fees, and in most cases cash back!

Its all about discipline. Debit cards are bad IMHO.

 

[davel501]

I agree completely.

That seems like a disadvantage to me.

I follow Dave Ramsey and the principles are good but that doesn't mean you can't use credit cards. I carry no balances on my credit cards. They are paid in full every month. No interest, no fees, and in most cases cash back!

Its all about discipline. Debit cards are bad IMHO.

My point was that the envelope system pretty much precludes the use of debit cards.

 

[Gym]

Which is why I like Credit cards....its their money if there is fraud. And on top of that, all credit cards offer some incentives to use their cards (cash back, miles etc). I spend everything on a credit card and pay them off every month! And I mean everything....tolls, fast food, if I can pay by CC I do (unless there is an extra fee to pay by card). If I could have bought our new car on a CC I would have, but they would only put 3K on it!

X2. We even paid my daughter's college tuition by credit card. Boy did we do a lot of free flying those years.

 

[BigN8]

Shopped at Aldi for the first time the other day. They only accept debit cards which surprised me

 

[Julian]

Shopped at Aldi for the first time the other day. They only accept debit cards which surprised me

Wow....who would have thunk.....if their prices are lower then perhaps that would drive me to pay cash, but not many are going to notice a 1.5% difference (which is what they'd pay at their volume).....

Interesting decision on their part....

 

[Speedling]

7 years ago we bought a brand new sante fe on a cc. Then paid it off with a car loan from a bank. Boom! Over 800 credit rating

 

[davel501]

7 years ago we bought a brand new sante fe on a cc. Then paid it off with a car loan from a bank. Boom! Over 800 credit rating

I want to do that with a cash rewards card and pay in full that month. I have not paid interest on a credit card in years so the cash back makes me feel like I am sticking it to the man.

 

[Ronnie]

The timing of this couldn't be better. I just reserved dock space in Sacramento for this weekend and tried to use a credit card to do so. I don't carry a balance on it and rarely use it. Anyway, I got a call back from the dock that the charge of $63 was declined twice. My credit card company said they blocked the card because they identified a fraudulent charge from July for $49.95. They then instructed me to destroy my current card and that they will be sending me a new one next week. I ended up using my debit card to cover the dock fees.

On the debit card front, Bank of America has been pretty good about refunding me on any fraudulent charges, usually within 24 hours of making the claim but you have to make the claim within 30 days of the fraudulent charge I think.

 

[Speedling]

Bank of America here as well and just recieved new cards this week. Perhaps this is the reason?

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Newer iPhones are more secure than debit/credit cards. Think about it....how can that be? Somebody (the bank) is making money on fraudulent charges. There are so many ways to protect our credit cards yet no bank will take the step. ATM and POS credit machines could and should have biometric readers to verify ownership. Credit cards could also use PIN numbers instead of zip codes. In today's high tech atmosphere, there is no excuse that we shouldn't be protected better from fraudulent charges.

 

[Ronnie]

I'm happy that my credit card company spotted the issue and froze the card but disappointed that they didn't notify me of the same when it happened instead of when i called.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

I commend my card companies for quickly spotting and alerting me. Discover texts me when purchases over a preselected amount are charged and I can stop them almost instantaneously by replying to the text. They also text me when suspicious charges hit. I've been affected 2 times this year. Both times I've had to get new cards with new account numbers which makes me update auto pay accounts. I'm tired of it!!

 

[jdonalds]

Which is why I like Credit cards....its their money if there is fraud. And on top of that, all credit cards offer some incentives to use their cards (cash back, miles etc). I spend everything on a credit card and pay them off every month! And I mean everything....tolls, fast food, if I can pay by CC I do (unless there is an extra fee to pay by card). If I could have bought our new car on a CC I would have, but they would only put 3K on it!

Pretty much the same here Julian. Our credit card has been tapped twice in the past five years. Each time the credit card company catches it within a day, calls us, closes the account, and sends new cards within 24 hours. It's a bit of a pain creating a new account in Quicken and sorting out where the charges belong for a couple of weeks, but it's not cost me a dime.

 

[BigN8]

I tried to buy 3 IPads the other day for door prizes at a seminar I was hosting. The charge was declined. I had to call and they sent me to fraud alert. They shut the card down, then after I called allowed the charge.