Is this legal? Who is in the wrong here.. me or my creditors?
About 2 years ago I opened up a merchant account with a credit card processing company called Card Service International so I could charge credit cards for my ebay sales instead of using Paypal. Well the first week of sales totaled about ,200 or so. A few days after charging the cards I still saw no sign of the money in my bank account. Then a few days later I saw a DEBIT for ,200 on my account from CSI (card service international). I called them about they explained that since my accoutn was new a red flag was triggered in their system and they were going to have their fraud dept review my account and until the review was complete they would have to chargeback all my recent orders. I explained to the man on the phone SEVERAL TIMES that they have never DEPOSITED the money from the orders into my account int he first place so they didn’t need to DEBIT my account because they never gave me the money to begin with that I had earned from the sales. Apparenly he didn’t care….
I researched the company and found several other complaints similar to mine that and that many class action lawsuits had been filed against CSI b/c they had a history of fraud. I quickly blocked all access to my bank account by this company and filed a chargeback to get my 00 back.
So this morning (2 years later) I wake up and find that I have some new info on my credit report. CSI is claiming that I have debts owed to them amounting ,500! I cannot imagine that the amount of money I owe them could possibly even be anywhere NEAR this amount. My merchant fees per month were only a minimum processing fee and a statement fee. How could I POSSIBLY owe them over 16 grand?
Now is it just me, or can they legally do that? There is just NO way I could owe them that much money. I don’t know what to do. Should I consult an attorney?
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3 comments
alsballoondepot on February 3, 2010 at 11:17 am
you have the right as a consumer to dispute this information reporting on your credit report and do it through all three reporting agencies. I work at one of the agencies and I don’t recall ever hearing of them - was it listed under trades or collections?
They will have to justify the debt and or remove it - also contact the federal trade commission and the BBB - just to see what is reporting about this company and finally
put a fraud alert on your credit file - it simply flags your credit grantors to phone you prior to extending any credit - so if this is fraud of any kind this would prevent them from using your identity and trust me it happens every day
Duane on February 3, 2010 at 11:17 am
YES! You should without a doubt consult an attorney! And sue the S**T out of them! Card service international has several complaints of fraud against them and they should not get away with it! I would think you have grouinds for a lawsuit and to collect compensatory damages!
Carlos Cruz on February 3, 2010 at 11:17 am
You had to have signed a contract with CSI for a specified period of time. Their contract would have stated projected earnings.
If you do not fulfill the contract as agreed to in writing they can enforce their contract against you.
If you leased equipment and did not return this eqipment, then again they can enforce the agreement.
Pull the contract and read the details. If you believe you are avictim of fraud then an attorney should be consulted to at least quash the debt if possible.