(43-326) BEWARE!

When I wrote "Thank You B.O.A", I explained that my gym had closed down without warning; and that my bank had placed a recurring stop payment block against them.  So imagine my surprise when I logged onto my bank account and found a gym deduction under the name of ANOTHER GYM.  That's right, they managed to deduct my gym fee from my account because it was a different gym name.

I immediately called B.O.A and ultimately reached a customer service associate who provided me with some very frightening information - and in the interest of (say it with me) "The Greater good, I'm going to share it with you.  John (the rep) told me that a lot of companies try charging you under the name of another business, so that they can continue to collect money from you.  He also told me that they have been known to change the amount of the deduction by a penny, so that the charge can still go through.  For example, if my gym deduction was $23.51 and that's the amount that I blocked, but the company charges $23.50 or $23.52 the charge could still go through.  Scary huh?  I disputed the charge, and then John recommended issuing me a new debit card number so that the gym would not be able to get another charge through at all; and I agreed.

When I got off the phone with BOA, I attempted to call the "New" gym, but the number that was associated with the charge, was not one that could get me to a human being.  I then tried calling the closest gym location to my house and left a message for the manager.  As I had to go out and I hadn't heard from her, I called back to leave my cell phone number.  A few hours went by and I still hadn't received a call; so since I just so happened to be in the vicinity, I stopped in.  The manager was in a meeting, but the receptionist was quite helpful.  I told her what had happened and after providing her with my phone number, she was able to locate my membership in her computer.  Apparently the "new" gym bought the old gym, and Luis and I now have full membership privileges at the "new" gym; which truthfully is much better than the old gym.  I was assured that our membership fee would not be going up; so in the long run, although the situation wasn't handled appropriately; alls well that ends well.

Believe it or not, I'm actually excited that I have a gym to go to.  The "new" gym offers classes in addition to the equipment and the old gym didn't; so I'm already getting a lot more for my money. I called B.O.A and released my dispute as Luis and I are gonna give the "new" gym a try.  I would venture to say that most unauthorized charges don't end this well; and now more than ever, we all need to really beware!
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING