Monday, February 4, 2008

Why I Hate Credit Card Companies...

Today I called up my friendly CitiCard credit card company to dispute a charge on my account for the second time in as many months.  The FREAKING SCAM ARTISTS at emusic.com (I dislike them even more than I do credit card companies) got a hold of my credit card information and have been charging me for monthly music downloads which I have not been receiving, nor have any desire to receive.  Ok, so the truth is it's partly my fault.  You see, I received in the mail one of those ads promising 25 free music downloads with "no risk required."  Well, the "no risk required" was that I had to plug in my credit card information, and as my greed would have it, I foolishly complied, the result being these monthly fees for a service for which I never signed up.  I also never even received the 25 free downloads in the first place!  A lose-lose-lose situation, in the words of Michael Scott.  

Well, the first time I contacted CitiCard, they informed me that they were unable (or unwilling) to dispute my claim.  Strike #1 against them and their (un)customer (dis)service.  This time, however, they finally agreed to dispute the monthly fees from eMusic.  At which point their (un)customer (dis)service rep. tried offering me a "free" and "no risk" trial of some service for which I was not in the least interested.  Of course, after the "risk free" 30 days came a huge monthly fee...blah blah blah...you get the picture.

So I immediately turned down the offer, at which point the rep. continued badgering me.  She wanted to know why I would turn down "such a great offer!"

Here's the irony of the situation (and the reason why I hate credit card companies).  I was calling to dispute a charge from some bogus company that had offered me "free" services but then charged my butt off...and after helping me dispute this very claim, this lady with the credit card company was attempting to suck me into the same game.  Credit card companies thrive off of these games.  They offer "free" services, but then they know that they can get you caught up into paying outrageous monthly fees when you fail to unsubscribe to their services.  This lady actually told me in her spiel that "she was on my side" and she was "there to help me."  A comforting thought, but entirely untrue.  Credit card companies are there for one reason and one reason only--to screw us!

So there you have it--that's why I HATE CREDIT CARD COMPANIES!!!

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