Can't ****** BELIEVE this...

[Urchin]

About 3 years ago, my family went on vacation.  We went to Pensacola Beach, like normal, with the extended family there in a beach-house.  One day I'm laying in bed and I hear the washing machine going "thunka thunka thunka".. I get up, check it... don't see any shoes or anything in there so I close it back up and ignore it.  

Little while later, my aunt comes back and hears the same thing.  Being older, and wiser, than me.. she goes through the clothes to see whats making the noise.  

My mother had stuck a pair of my jeans in the wash, with my brand new Mp3 player still in the pocket.  Needless to say, it was broken.  My parents decided to buy me a new one, and the new one came with a free trial to Napster, you could download a couple songs or something for free.  I honestly don't remember much about it, except the fact that the trial didn't even work.  

But I registered for it and everything, including giving the CC information and all (my bank card, in this case).  

Tonight I opened up the bank statement I get every month or so from the bank (something I don't ever do, since I really don't do anything except pay two bills by check every month)... napster has been billing my checking account for THREE ****ING YEARS!  

I never bothered to check, so I'm sure that makes the theft legal, but Golly-geeN that pisses me off.  Thats like $360... which is a fair chunk of change to me.  

I never even USED the damn service, the code that Radio Shack gave me was bad, and we left Florida a couple days after that.  

God that pisses me off.  

Bleh.

[xrtoronto]

you should be pissed off

[lasersailor184]

While it is unfortunate, the problem is yours.  I had the same exact thing happen to me except with a "Service Fee" from the bank.

When I was younger, I had about 150 dollars in my bank account.  Every month they would charge a 5-8 dollar service fee for services I would never use.  And since I was never using my bank account, it never occured to me to check my bank statements every month.

So by the time I had to use the money, I found out that I didn't have it.  I went to the bank and found out I had 60 dollars left.

I was 13, but I still chewed out the bank employees for lunacy.  (I learned the fine art from my father.)  After I was done, one of the bank employees laughed at me for being just a kid.  I wrote down that *****es name.  

I said, "So and So, you specifically are responsible for losing your bank $100,000's of thousands of dollars.  Have a good ****ing day."

See, my Father is the owner of his own construction company.  And often he would have a lot of cash lying around to spend on whatever.  

Later that same day, I walked in with my father and waved at the woman as he transferred every single cent out of that bank.  Never been back.

[tapakeg]

I had a sprint phone salesman try some add on deal for 15 bucks a month.  I did not sign up for it.  A month later, we are checking the bills and of course the 15 dollar charge was on my bill.  I talked for quite a while with a manager who would not remove the charge AT ALL.  I said, "let me get this straight, you had a high pressure salesman sign me up for a service I specifically did not want, i never used, and now that I want the charges removed you will not remove them?"  
They would not
I told them I had been a customer for years and fully planned on continuing their service unless they remove the 15 bucks.  If they did not remove the charge, I would drop them immediatelly.  THEY STILL DID NOT.

FU Sprint.  was the 15 bucks worth it?

[Sandman]

There's a lesson in there.

I know it stings, but you won't make the same mistake twice.

...and I know this doesn't ease the frustration.

[texace]

I learned the hard way that you do not give anyone your credit card information for "free trials." There is usually always, always fine print that says they will bill you unless you specifically cancel the service before they bill you. It's happened to me more than once and I've chewed out more than one C/S rep over it. You gotta read the fine print.

All you can do now is cancel the service. That money is gone, unfortunatly.

[Urchin]

Oh I know, its the US.. theft is perfectly legal as long as its not person to person.  

****ing pisses me off though, that this ****ing country is so rebidly procorporation that it is actually legal for companies to do this.

[Nilsen]

Originally posted by lasersailor184
While it is unfortunate, the problem is yours.  I had the same exact thing happen to me except with a "Service Fee" from the bank.

When I was younger, I had about 150 dollars in my bank account.  Every month they would charge a 5-8 dollar service fee for services I would never use.  And since I was never using my bank account, it never occured to me to check my bank statements every month.

So by the time I had to use the money, I found out that I didn't have it.  I went to the bank and found out I had 60 dollars left.

I was 13, but I still chewed out the bank employees for lunacy.  (I learned the fine art from my father.)  After I was done, one of the bank employees laughed at me for being just a kid.  I wrote down that *****es name.  

I said, "So and So, you specifically are responsible for losing your bank $100,000's of thousands of dollars.  Have a good ****ing day."

See, my Father is the owner of his own construction company.  And often he would have a lot of cash lying around to spend on whatever.  

Later that same day, I walked in with my father and waved at the woman as he transferred every single cent out of that bank.  Never been back.

If you leave money in a bank here and then forget about it, there will be more money in the ac**** when you check... its called interest.

What kind of services did that bank offer that cost you money?

[Urchin]

Actually... in America most corporations do that.  

You buy someone a gift card, for $50.  Every month, the value of that card declines by $X, where X is just some arbitrary amount.  Inactivity fee or whatever they call it.  

Ripping people off not only isn't illegal here, it is encouraged.

[lasersailor184]

Nilsen, here, unless you have an ungodly amount of money, you have two different (basic) kind of accounts.  You have Savings, and you have Checking.

I had a checking account.  No interest is added on, but it is very easy to put in and take out money.

Just the opposite is true of a savings account.  It is very hard to put in and take out, but you do make interest.

[Nilsen]

Originally posted by lasersailor184
Nilsen, here, unless you have an ungodly amount of money, you have two different (basic) kind of accounts.  You have Savings, and you have Checking.

I had a checking account.  No interest is added on, but it is very easy to put in and take out money.

Just the opposite is true of a savings account.  It is very hard to put in and take out, but you do make interest.

Basicly the same here, but they all give some interest... usually 1,5-2% on the worst. Most charge a fixed fee every year (just under 20$) if you have a VISA card tho.

[lasersailor184]

The bank account I have currently (which happens to be the same bank I've been with since the last one) gives me checking and Visa usage free.  However, I earn no interest.

[Delirium]

Originally posted by Urchin
[BYou buy someone a gift card, for $50.  Every month, the value of that card declines[/B]

You need a better Atty General in your State... Blumenthal here in Connecticut got a law passed where it is illegal to charge a gift card holder 'account fees' and they don't expire.

[Maverick]

Yep you should be upset.

First for not taking the contents out of your pockets before the clothes get washed. Your clothes, your responsibility, You should pay for the music machine you lost.

Secondly again for not realizing that exercising an adult tool such as banking (checkbook) and offers you accept without reading the contract, you alone are responsible for not seeing the charges FOR 3 FREAKING YEARS!!!!!

Don't blame Napster for a "theft" since they didn't steal. Go back and look at the agreement. I bet you'll find there is a clause in the contract that accepting the offer constitutes a contract and you will pay for that. It's not theft, they TOLD you they would take money for a service. It's up to you to look and read the contract terms. It's the ADULT thing to do.

The world does not owe you a living or lifetime care from itself. If you want to play in the adult world, party on dude, but accept the responsibility for your own actions.

[SFRT - Frenchy]

About time those American teenagers learn a thing or two about responsabilities, and stop being nutered by an 1968ish relaxed parenting.