Wli*reservationrewards Fraudulent bank card charges associated with Choice Hotels .com Norwalk, Connecticut
I made a reservation for a weekend getaway with my wife and children on choicehotels.com. The next month we received a charge on our bank statement. I asked the bank about this charge and they were unable to give any information except what was already on my statement. The only way they could provide more information is to dispute the charge and have their fraud department check it out.
I opted not to have them do that since I frequently shop online and thought I had perhaps forgotten something I had purchased. However, when it came up again on the next statement, I again called the bank. They disputed the charge, stopped payment on any future charges, and told me they had learned from this site about their scams. I called WLI and they agreed to cancel my membership & refund my last payment. When I asked about the previous payment I was told that my request would be passed on to a supervisor. When I asked to speak to a supervisor, I was told there was none available. In any case the dispute has been filed by the bank so we will see how that fares out.
Paul
Higley, Arizona
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Paul
Mesa,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Refund Issued
#3Author of original report
Tue, August 26, 2003
I asked for a refund for all three months that they had taken this amount from my account. They did not comply. However, they did issue a refund for one month.
Jacqueline
Hammond,Indiana,
U.S.A.
Now we can add choicehotels.com to the list
#3Consumer Suggestion
Wed, July 09, 2003
I realize you have everything under control, but just wanted to add info, for consumers researching. Choicehotels.com are one of many that have arrangements with 2nd and 3rd Party Merchants. These merchants are not necessarily visible, at the web site. There may not be a Banner at any given site, touting the 2nd and 3rd party merchants club querks.
The clue you can search for in trying to unveil them is all written in their privacy policy. When any site states, "We will customize your shopping experience" contact the Webmaster to discuss changing that policy or just avoid it. Privacy policies from one site to another are different. Maybe you could find a more secure one, in the future.
For the sites which you depend on and frequent regulary, you could write a letter to the Webmaster, and have them list all of their 2nd and 2rd party merchants, on their Home Page, daily or weekly, with updates.
Not sure if you reviewed the reports here, submitted by other people in your situation, so I will repeat in saying this occurs in your html mark-up. While you enter your credit card number, in tandem, the exact number is transfered to the unseen merchant.
For peace of mind, I would like to add, change all account numbers of any kind, and possibly Driver's License (optional). They might recharge and call it a "Computer Snafoo". ;)
Hope this helps, if you can let us know how that reimbursement turns out. Thank you.