A lesson learned about being more aware of bank statements

This is why I use cash rather than cards and avoid Direct Debits.
 

Jeni said:
I was told by my bank to stop a place that "oops" charges after cancelling .... I had to replace my card.
it was a pain but I wanted it to done one and done instead of a continuing issue.
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You might consider getting a credit card from a bank that allows you to create limited use virtual cards. When I sign up for one year of Knitting and Sharpshooting magazine, I use a virtual card for the payment. A few days later I lock the virtual card so it can’t be used again unless I unlock it. My physical card and other virtual cards remain completely usable. If somebody gets hold of a virtual card number, I can cancel just that number. Capital One issues virtual cards. Other banks may.
 
Please don't get me started about identity theft, fraudulent charges, and the rest of it. I would bend your ear for WEEKS. I am so grateful for the U.S. law that protects consumers from fraudulent use of CCs and the resulting action from CC providers to employ their skills in identifying same and communicating to folks like me.

Yes, I use credit cards and I have two debit cards, one of which I use regularly. I do NOT like to carry large amounts of cash.

For all those reasons, I am VERY hesitant to set up new online accounts, monitor those accounts I do have religiously, and don't hesitate to rebut or challenge what I believe to be fraudulent charges. I have never had an occasion where my challenges have been overturned.
 
againstthegrain said:
^^^Citi does as well; virtual numbers solve a whole host of problems.
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Until they become the problem. I had Citibank and used their virtual numbers all the time. Then they "upgraded" their system. After that the virtual numbers feature didn't work as well. Citi allowed a two charges to go through using virtual number that had expired. One of them was after I had already called to report the problem. The payments were to a vendor to whom I made monthly payments. No rep could tell me how and why that happened. I got so disgusted, I closed out my account.

Now banks are getting onboard with something called Paze which acts like a virtual number. But as of now, not all merchants take Paze payments. My Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America cards were automatically added by those institutions.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
Until they become the problem. I had Citibank and used their virtual numbers all the time. Then they "upgraded" their system. After that the virtual numbers feature didn't work as well. Citi allowed a two charges to go through using virtual number that had expired. One of them was after I had already called to report the problem. The payments were to a vendor to whom I made monthly payments. No rep could tell me how and why that happened. I got so disgusted, I closed out my account.

Now banks are getting onboard with something called Paze which acts like a virtual number. But as of now, not all merchants take Paze payments. My Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America cards were automatically added by those institutions.
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Given the lack of guarantees with Zell, I am skeptical of Paze. IMO, the bankers are not known for being advocates of consumer protections that would help their customers.

I use Venmo from time to time with friends and family. But, it is not linked to my main bank account. It is linked to a special account that I refill with just enough money to handle a month’s worth of small payments. IOW, nobody who get at it will hit the jackpot. Not even close.
 
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Marie5656 said:
Just got a call from the fraud dept of my bank. To verify some suspect charges. Most were correct, but they were showing charges for HULU, which I had cancelled back in the spring. They were still charging me!! So I talked with a live person from the bank (if you are patient enough you get a real person) and she is going to do her magic to charge them back.
Then I contacted HULU to say WTF. My online HULU account shows I cancelled it....so he pushed some magic buttons to allegedly deactivate the account.
I have to see if there is a way to block a site from charging my account
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Don't link any streaming service or service of that type to your bank account. Use a credit card. Anything that takes money out of your bank account is a huge security risk.
 
Brookswood said:
Given the lack of guarantees with Zell, I am skeptical of Paze. IMO, the bankers are not known for being advocates of consumer protections that would help their customers.

I use Venmo from time to time with friends and family. But, it is not linked to my main bank account. It is linked to a special account that I replies with just enough money to handle a month’s worth of small payments. IOW, nobody who get at it will hit the jackpot. Not even close.
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I feel the same way about Zelle, Paze and the rest.

Great idea to use small, unlinked account for Venmo. I don't use Venmo for the very reason you cited.
 
Brookswood said:
Given the lack of guarantees with Zell, I am skeptical of Paze. IMO, the bankers are not known for being advocates of consumer protections that would help their customers.

I use Venmo from time to time with friends and family. But, it is not linked to my main bank account. It is linked to a special account that I replies with just enough money to handle a month’s worth of small payments. IOW, nobody who get at it will hit the jackpot. Not even close.
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So far, I haven't used Paze and don't feel I'll need to. Most of my online ordering is from Amazon. Using their store card, I get 5% back on everything. I've never used Venmo, but heard of someone who got scammed when she used it. It was probably her fault though for not having safety measures in place.

My family, a close friend and I have been using Cash App for years with no issues. I have to input a 4 digit code every time I want to do a transaction, whether it be to transfer from my connected account or withdraw of funds that were sent to me. Like you, I did not connect my main account to Cash App and make sure not to have too much in that account. I've only used Zelle to send money to two people and only on rare occasions. I used same account I use for Cash App.
 
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s76l42 said:
Don't link any streaming service or service of that type to your bank account. Use a credit card. Anything that takes money out of your bank account is a huge security risk.
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That's my approach as well. I intentionally use a credit card from a bank I have no accounts with, and try to use that credit card for all bill pay including any monthly auto pay.

I never want to give a direct pipeline into my accounts.
 
Marie5656 said:
Yes, I will own that. I made a mistake. The bank lady did politely remind me to do that as well.
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This just happened to me last night. I was looking over my bank account activity and noticed that Amazon billed me for a monthly Paramount+ subscription that I had canceled several days ago. I immediately got online with an Amazon assistant, who issued a refund and verified the cancellation.

It's irritating to have to constantly keep on top of things like this, though. It would be nice to simply trust people to do their jobs (i.e., cancel an account when I say to cancel it).
 
KSav said:
This just happened to me last night. I was looking over my bank account activity and noticed that Amazon billed me for a monthly Paramount+ subscription that I had canceled several days ago. I immediately got online with an Amazon assistant, who issued a refund and verified the cancellation.

It's irritating to have to constantly keep on top of things like this, though. It would be nice to simply trust people to do their jobs (i.e., cancel an account when I say to cancel it).
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My BFF and I discuss what I bolded so often. It sure would be nice, but being able to trust seems to have gone the way of the dinosaur. But then again, there is that old expression..."if you want something done right, do it yourself". I learned a couple of years ago to never subscribe to a streaming service via another streaming service. Canceling is a PITA. Roku offers that option, but I won't do it. I will only subscribe through the actual streaming platform.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
I learned a couple of years ago to never subscribe to a streaming service via another streaming service.
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I completely agree. I tried to cancel a service I had subscribed to via another service and it was a pain. They hide things very well. The directions for cancelling on the service were not quite correct. I am very leery of any trial subscription these days.
 
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HoneyNut said:
I wish annual subscriptions would give a few heads-up warning emails before they renew. And I wish I could pre-cancel my Costco without it cancelling the months that should still be good.
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My computer calendar shows when my subscription renewals are coming up, reminding me every day for a couple of weeks in advance of the actual date. If the company wants to renew at a higher rate, I either go on line or call to cancel my subscription. They always offer to renew at my current, or sometimes cheaper, rate.

I do this for all subscriptions and easily forgotten events including newspapers, mammograms, annual physicals, etc. My calendar is set to repeat the information every year. I get early reminders for all subscriptions plus various birthdays, my kids' anniversaries, etc.

So I get reminders every day for a couple of weeks that say, make an appointment for a physical, or NYTimes renews on November 15th, or send JB a birthday card.
 
I logged into my account yesterday to see if my auto insurance check cleared and found a $199.99 charge I didn't remember paying. I looked at the photo copy of the check and it was my insurance payment all right. Yes, I wrote it out for $111.99 but on the second line I wrote one hundred ninety-nine and 99/100 instead of the one hundred eleven amount. Doh! What a dumb mistake. Guess I'll be paying it off early this time.
 

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