Please help, this is my first time being scammed!

Oh god. Oh god.

I got the free trial for Dazzle White and South Beach Brite teeth whitening kits. I saw the advertisement for using both of the free trials on the news on TV, as well as online.

Well, I got the free trial. Now, they've charged me a total of over $150 in orders of teeth whitening kits that I did not order. I now realize, obviously, that this is a scam.

Here is what I have done so far: I have called both of the companies and asked them to firstly cancel my account with them to prevent them from charging me for things I did not ask for. I asked for a confirmation email saying that my accounts have been cancelled for proof. Both companies agreed to do this, confirmed my email address was correct, and hours later I have no email from either of them.

Please, I am new to having a debit card and I am not sure what to do. Can anyone please give me some advice? I feel like such a dumb*** for falling for some crap like this... :\

First, call your bank and dispute the charges.

I also suggest contacting the Better Business Bureau.

Not ever having been scammed, that's all I got.  I hope you get to the bottom of this and get your money back!

Yep.  Call the bank or credit card company right now!

Yes, above. Dispute the charges with your bank immediately. I would not hesitate to have them issue a different debit card either, and cancel the one the scammers have.

For future reference, a friend of mine who's in banking says you should never EVER use a debit card for this kind of thing.  ALWAYS a credit card.  A credit card can shut down and credit your account so you never actually have to pay for the crap.  With a debit card, they're taking the money right out of your bank account.  Not saying "we're going to take this out at a future date when you pay us" just ZOINK, it's gone.  He says it's much harder to get money back once actual money has changed hands.

Oh, and yes, cancel the card immediately so they can't charge you any more.

Original Post by lilsammi23:

For future reference, a friend of mine who's in banking says you should never EVER use a debit card for this kind of thing.  ALWAYS a credit card.  A credit card can shut it down and credit your account so you never actually have to pay for the crap.  With a debit card, they're taking the money right out of your bank account.  Not saying "we're going to take this out at a future date when you pay us" just ZOINK, it's gone.  He says it's much harder to get money back once actual money has changed hands.

 This.

I also make it a habit when my bank tries sending me the Visa/MC debit cards to call them up and request a plain debit card that cannot be used as a credit card.  They resist but they will do it.

agree. Prudent to have a separate credit card for online purchases, and mail order items.

Don't panic honey, just call your bank.

muttlover-The same thing happened to me. I got a free sample of this cream that was supposed to firm your butt and thighs. (I do believe that anti-aging products really work) I had to type my credit card number before they delivered. Well I received the "sample" product and then I saw they had taken X amount of money for the next six months!!!

I was luckier than you, though. I called the company and told them how outraged I was. They ended taking the charge off of my credit card and letting me keep the free sample.

Don't feel stupid because of this. Just learn from it!

cancel the card hon. next time you sign up for something like that, AS SOON AS THEY SHIP the product cancel it immediately. calm down also call your bank, if you counter claim it, they will give you ur money back.

Sometimes free trials come with a monthly subscription that is in the fine print. It happened to my mother but she got it sorted and they refunded her (some acai rubbish). It was over $100 as well.

Call the bank and call the company asap.

I ordered Dazzle White.  I called immediately and got the cancelation instructions.  I had to mail back the trial size with my order number on the outside of the package with tracking and signature confirmation.

They charged me nearly $80 but issued a credit to me when they got the package back.  So far, I haven't gotten any other charges.