March 9, 2005 12:24 PM PST
Ticket fixer takes on credit card disputes
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scale that it says "escalates minimally." For disputes of $1,000 or more, the company charges a customer 10 percent of the disputed amount with a guarantee, or 7 percent without any promises.
Bolofsky said the most frequently disputed charges are related to either recurring services such as gym memberships and cell phone subscription plans, in which charges are automatically added to consumers' bills, or for on-the-go payments to companies an individual might not visit frequently in person, such as airlines, car rental companies and hotels.
By going directly to merchants to dispute charges, Bolofsky claims that his company saves people a significant amount of time and frustration.
"People are using the service because they don't like talking to some customer service rep at a credit card company's back-end operation and spending 30 minutes on the phone with them," he said. "Our system takes them less than 5 minutes, and they don't have to listen to any music on hold."
The entrepreneur said most consumers don't know that when they dispute a charge with a credit card company, those companies are just as likely to side with the merchant responsible for the questionable fees. And because many large companies hire specialized personnel and legal departments to fend off paying out refunds, consumers are often left at a distinct disadvantage.
"It doesn't matter what industry you're talking about. Whether it's Verizon, Hertz or JetBlue, they win more than half the disputes consumers make," Bolofsky said. "The banks like us because their card members are happy, and even merchants like us because they don't want to pay the charge-back fees demanded by most card issuers."
3 comments
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I've heard this again and again. Time to fight back. Besides an email complaint to BBB. I intend to file a class action lawsuit on these scammers. If you have a similar story email me at espnfan@lycos.com ALso plan to host a website telling all the denial of refund stories. Interested? let me know.
Thanks
Chris
Hi,
This email is to inform you that in accordance with our Terms & Conditions, your request for a refund on ticket #341813113 was not approved for the following reasons:
A review of the paperwork you submitted shows that our Copyrighted document(s) have been edited or modified in the following way(s):
The parkingticket.com Copyright Mark does not appear on the Dismissal Letter. Refund Request not filed within 30 days of date of final Hearing Determination
If you have any questions or feel this is in error, please contact us promptly by responding to this email. Please note, we answer all emails on a first-come, first-served basis.
Thank you,
The Support Team
parkingticket.com
Remember - you will not get it back, period.
I faxed them over all evidence from the city, there was a lucid proof that I paid the city my ticket. They had a copy of my ticket, but not the original - and they denied my refund.
Just because it was not a copy of the very original ticket. AND THIS HAPPENED TWICE.
DO NOT USE THEN!!!!!! you have nobody to talk to neither, only emails, and their respond comes in few days ... You end up paying both - the CITY, and their 'FALSE SELLING POINT'..........