Scammed by a fake UA call center {Consoldiated}
Oct 30, 2018, 5:24 pm
#46
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Hawai'i Nei
Programs: Au: UA, Marriott, Hilton; GE
Posts: 7,145
OP: Dispute the charge with Chase. Tell them the bogus agent represented themself as a UA employee—after all, that may have happened and that was your understanding. Unless the bogus firm disputes the chargeback and provides an audio as proof, you should be pleased with the result. Now, I am not counseling you to commit fraud, just to not sell yourself short.
Oct 30, 2018, 5:50 pm
#47
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It was 6:00am hawaii time and I'd been up all night trying to figure out how to get home (for a number of reasons I couldn't risk getting stuck). So I eventually agreed and paid the ~$1400 for the new flight and got home.
However...as I'm sure you can guess. While our original flight home was canceled immediately...no credit ever appeared. I have not been able to get ahold of the original agent...and United Customer Service hasn't been terrible helpful yet (I would assume they record calls but maybe not). The credit card charges for the new ticket include a hefty 'agent fee' (nearly half the flight cost).
However...as I'm sure you can guess. While our original flight home was canceled immediately...no credit ever appeared. I have not been able to get ahold of the original agent...and United Customer Service hasn't been terrible helpful yet (I would assume they record calls but maybe not). The credit card charges for the new ticket include a hefty 'agent fee' (nearly half the flight cost).
Also, complaining to the BBB is a waste of time - scammers don’t care about their BBB rating. Instead, submit the information to your State AG’s fraud unit. Since you presumably can identify the scammer from the credit card charges and by googling the phone number you called, you should have the information you need. Finally, if the website of that company is designed to look like an official UA site, you might want to pass that on to United as well.
Oct 30, 2018, 7:36 pm
#48
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: DSM, BKK or anywhere with an airport
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Posts: 1,018
OP: It is complete {redacted per FT rules} that Chase won’t start a chargeback for you. You were charged a hefty agent fee by a company posing as United Airlines. If that isn’t fraud I don’t know what is. Call Chase back and keep calling them back until you get someone competent enough to understand what transpired and have them submit the chargeback for you.
This is why I always like Amex where you can submit a chargeback by yourself online and you don’t have to deal with the mindless drones on the other end of the phone.
This is why I always like Amex where you can submit a chargeback by yourself online and you don’t have to deal with the mindless drones on the other end of the phone.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Oct 30, 2018 at 9:08 pm Reason: Using symbols, spaces or other methods to mask vulgarities is not allowed.
Oct 30, 2018, 7:44 pm
#49
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Join Date: Nov 2004
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Hey everyone, thanks for the detailed responses, I wasn't able to log back in and reply yesterday for some reason.
As suspected by many of you, it was in fact a bogus travel agency fraudulently posing as United Airline agents. I feel like an utter and complete idiot over the whole thing as I'm generally pretty skeptical and vigilant. Though trying to tell myself it was just because I hadn't slept at all and was pretty frantic to get home to deal with a small family emergency (and not risk being stuck in Hawaii...ironic given all the times i've wished to be stuck in Hawaii). We were literally throwing our things into suitcases while on the phone with the fake UA agent at 6am HST.
I can't actually recall how I got the number, I thought I'd searched United Airlines on Google and dialed number in the Google one-box that shows at the top, which if I look now is a valid number. But maybe they'd placed an AdWords ad that said United Airlines with their number at the top and I mistook.
(
Unfortunately Chase says as much as they'd love to help, because I knowingly provided my payment info, and they did ultimately render the service of booking a flight home for me, they can't file a chargeback dispute, even if the agents lied to and mislead me. If I'd never received the ticket home then they'd be able to. They suggested my best recourse would be to complain to the BBB or other government agency to at least help make sure the company has a harder time doing this to others in the future. United Customer Care has been very helpful in investigating with me, so I'm extra grateful the moderators were able to change the post title for me.
At this point I mostly feel like an idiot. Lessons learned. Thanks again for all of your help suggesting how to check things, what to look for and the red flags to investigate. I greatly appreciate it.
As suspected by many of you, it was in fact a bogus travel agency fraudulently posing as United Airline agents. I feel like an utter and complete idiot over the whole thing as I'm generally pretty skeptical and vigilant. Though trying to tell myself it was just because I hadn't slept at all and was pretty frantic to get home to deal with a small family emergency (and not risk being stuck in Hawaii...ironic given all the times i've wished to be stuck in Hawaii). We were literally throwing our things into suitcases while on the phone with the fake UA agent at 6am HST.
I can't actually recall how I got the number, I thought I'd searched United Airlines on Google and dialed number in the Google one-box that shows at the top, which if I look now is a valid number. But maybe they'd placed an AdWords ad that said United Airlines with their number at the top and I mistook.
(Unfortunately Chase says as much as they'd love to help, because I knowingly provided my payment info, and they did ultimately render the service of booking a flight home for me, they can't file a chargeback dispute, even if the agents lied to and mislead me. If I'd never received the ticket home then they'd be able to. They suggested my best recourse would be to complain to the BBB or other government agency to at least help make sure the company has a harder time doing this to others in the future. United Customer Care has been very helpful in investigating with me, so I'm extra grateful the moderators were able to change the post title for me.
At this point I mostly feel like an idiot. Lessons learned. Thanks again for all of your help suggesting how to check things, what to look for and the red flags to investigate. I greatly appreciate it.
Oct 30, 2018, 9:49 pm
#50
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Pretty sure Chase doesn’t require you to submit a chargeback via phone call either. In fact, they usually want an affidavit.
Oct 30, 2018, 10:02 pm
#51
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Denver, CO
Programs: UA MP Club (no status)
Posts: 152
Chase is really useless when it comes to chargebacks over shady merchants. Like OP, I fell victim to a scam involving advertising on Instagram. I’ve been charged almost $1000 over the course of two years, and Chase keeps telling me that without a cancellation there’s nothing I can do because I signed up for the service. Services were not rendered, but try telling Chase that. I’m getting to the point where I might take Chase to the BBB.
Oct 31, 2018, 12:18 am
#52
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Hawai'i Nei
Programs: Au: UA, Marriott, Hilton; GE
Posts: 7,145
Chase is really useless when it comes to chargebacks over shady merchants. Like OP, I fell victim to a scam involving advertising on Instagram. I’ve been charged almost $1000 over the course of two years, and Chase keeps telling me that without a cancellation there’s nothing I can do because I signed up for the service. Services were not rendered, but try telling Chase that. I’m getting to the point where I might take Chase to the BBB.
If I was charged multiple times by a shady merchant, I'd cancel that charge card pronto. My question is why did you keep this card available for misuse by a shady merchant?
Oct 31, 2018, 9:27 am
#53
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I have the phone numbers of several airlines/hotel chains in my phone, even the ones I don't regularly use, for situations like this. My aunt got caught by something similar to this a few years ago involving a hotel chain (she googled their number from her phone as we were speeding up the interstate trying to get to a dying relative). It was only when we tried to cancel some days at the end of the reservation that we discovered she hadn't booked through the hotel - complete with extra fees, higher price, and no ability to cancel.
Oct 31, 2018, 9:32 am
#54
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Once I apparently mis-dialed AmEx by a digit and apparently the call was answered by some scammer. Fortunately I realized this before giving him my account number or any other details. I'm sure that number wasn't just an accident, just like a small misspelling can send one to a scam website.
I wonder if the OP could have made a typo when googling for the UA phone number. I tried to replicate the problem using both UA and DL, but the closest I came was a link to some website that seems to sell cheap tickets on all airlines and more, where there was a pop up box that looked like the UA website and invited me to search for flights.
I wonder if the OP could have made a typo when googling for the UA phone number. I tried to replicate the problem using both UA and DL, but the closest I came was a link to some website that seems to sell cheap tickets on all airlines and more, where there was a pop up box that looked like the UA website and invited me to search for flights.
Oct 31, 2018, 10:09 am
#55
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Denver, CO
Programs: UA MP Club (no status)
Posts: 152
The second time ($399), I was very annoyed, and Chase insisted that because I didn't have a cancellation for their service (even though I wasn't aware I had signed up for a subscription), they couldn't do anything. I made sure I got a cancellation in writing (even though it was dated AFTER the second charge), but Chase lost all their goodwill with me. I still didn't cancel the card, because I thought with a cancellation in writing we're all good now... right?
The third time ($299) was last week. The company changed their name but I recognized it from the authorization (even though it posted under a different merchant's name). I am currently in the middle of correspondence with Chase and actively seeking other credit cards. While UA is still my primary carrier, they don't have any other credit card providers, so my current choices are something from Citi or something from Amex. (Leaning towards Amex Plat.)
(This is not a MileagePlus or UA problem, this is a Chase problem, so I figure if we want to go further on this one, I should go start a new thread...)
Oct 31, 2018, 10:21 am
#56
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: ORD
Programs: UA 1K
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Once I apparently mis-dialed AmEx by a digit and apparently the call was answered by some scammer. Fortunately I realized this before giving him my account number or any other details. I'm sure that number wasn't just an accident, just like a small misspelling can send one to a scam website.
I wonder if the OP could have made a typo when googling for the UA phone number. I tried to replicate the problem using both UA and DL, but the closest I came was a link to some website that seems to sell cheap tickets on all airlines and more, where there was a pop up box that looked like the UA website and invited me to search for flights.
I wonder if the OP could have made a typo when googling for the UA phone number. I tried to replicate the problem using both UA and DL, but the closest I came was a link to some website that seems to sell cheap tickets on all airlines and more, where there was a pop up box that looked like the UA website and invited me to search for flights.
BTW - I also never call that UA number on the "your flights are messed up please call us" emails. That always sends me to a off-shore call center. After a couple horrible experiences I now just call the premier number.
Oct 31, 2018, 11:07 am
#57
Suspended
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First, do not initiate chargebacks with any issuer by phone. Use the webform. Banks can deny the dispute, but they can't refuse to investigate based on the off-hand opinion of a phone agent. While the statute only requires a letter mailed to the issuer, Chase and other large issuers all honor the online submission as though made in writing.
Second, this is far from a slam dunk win as a dispute. The fake UA outfit is scummy but provided a service, albeit over-priced. No requirement that the fee be disclosed on the phone. That said, if OP lays this out in a very short, clear & concise manner and sticks to only the essential facts (leave out all the stuff about the hurricane and why the change was necessary), there is a good chance that Chase will sustain this dispute. Especially if there are other complaints and there are likely to be.
The real caution here is that if you need to look up a number for UA, go to united.com. Make sure that you are on the vendor's website and make sure that you are not providing CC details to some random fraudster.
Second, this is far from a slam dunk win as a dispute. The fake UA outfit is scummy but provided a service, albeit over-priced. No requirement that the fee be disclosed on the phone. That said, if OP lays this out in a very short, clear & concise manner and sticks to only the essential facts (leave out all the stuff about the hurricane and why the change was necessary), there is a good chance that Chase will sustain this dispute. Especially if there are other complaints and there are likely to be.
The real caution here is that if you need to look up a number for UA, go to united.com. Make sure that you are on the vendor's website and make sure that you are not providing CC details to some random fraudster.
Oct 31, 2018, 11:30 am
#58
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: All of them, UA-Plat, 1MM*G
Posts: 881
First, do not initiate chargebacks with any issuer by phone. Use the webform. Banks can deny the dispute, but they can't refuse to investigate based on the off-hand opinion of a phone agent. While the statute only requires a letter mailed to the issuer, Chase and other large issuers all honor the online submission as though made in writing.
Second, this is far from a slam dunk win as a dispute. The fake UA outfit is scummy but provided a service, albeit over-priced. No requirement that the fee be disclosed on the phone. That said, if OP lays this out in a very short, clear & concise manner and sticks to only the essential facts (leave out all the stuff about the hurricane and why the change was necessary), there is a good chance that Chase will sustain this dispute. Especially if there are other complaints and there are likely to be.
Second, this is far from a slam dunk win as a dispute. The fake UA outfit is scummy but provided a service, albeit over-priced. No requirement that the fee be disclosed on the phone. That said, if OP lays this out in a very short, clear & concise manner and sticks to only the essential facts (leave out all the stuff about the hurricane and why the change was necessary), there is a good chance that Chase will sustain this dispute. Especially if there are other complaints and there are likely to be.
Oct 31, 2018, 11:59 am
#59
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Hawai'i Nei
Programs: Au: UA, Marriott, Hilton; GE
Posts: 7,145
The first time ($299), I thought it was a one-off and there was no reason to cancel the card because it wasn't a case of a stolen number, and Chase said that because I authorized the charge, they couldn't do anything. (No help at all for services not rendered.)
The second time ($399), I was very annoyed, and Chase insisted that because I didn't have a cancellation for their service (even though I wasn't aware I had signed up for a subscription), they couldn't do anything. I made sure I got a cancellation in writing (even though it was dated AFTER the second charge), but Chase lost all their goodwill with me. I still didn't cancel the card, because I thought with a cancellation in writing we're all good now... right?
The third time ($299) was last week. The company changed their name but I recognized it from the authorization (even though it posted under a different merchant's name). I am currently in the middle of correspondence with Chase and actively seeking other credit cards. While UA is still my primary carrier, they don't have any other credit card providers, so my current choices are something from Citi or something from Amex. (Leaning towards Amex Plat.)
(This is not a MileagePlus or UA problem, this is a Chase problem, so I figure if we want to go further on this one, I should go start a new thread...)
The second time ($399), I was very annoyed, and Chase insisted that because I didn't have a cancellation for their service (even though I wasn't aware I had signed up for a subscription), they couldn't do anything. I made sure I got a cancellation in writing (even though it was dated AFTER the second charge), but Chase lost all their goodwill with me. I still didn't cancel the card, because I thought with a cancellation in writing we're all good now... right?
The third time ($299) was last week. The company changed their name but I recognized it from the authorization (even though it posted under a different merchant's name). I am currently in the middle of correspondence with Chase and actively seeking other credit cards. While UA is still my primary carrier, they don't have any other credit card providers, so my current choices are something from Citi or something from Amex. (Leaning towards Amex Plat.)
(This is not a MileagePlus or UA problem, this is a Chase problem, so I figure if we want to go further on this one, I should go start a new thread...)
Oct 31, 2018, 5:33 pm
#60
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Denver, CO
Programs: UA MP Club (no status)
Posts: 152
No. Chase has an option to block the merchant, but honestly, right now I've told Chase either fix this or I'm taking my three credit cards and large credit line with me to Amex. The ball is in their court. A friend (my college dorm neighbor) has offered me an Amex Plat referral, and I am definitely going to look into that. On top of a few other things, Chase has been a jerk to my husband as well. We've been with Chase for over a decade, but I don't see a reason to continue paying them my $450 annually if they can't give me the sort of service I expect for $450. Let's put it this way. If I'm going to have to go through the rigamarole of changing ALL my subscriptions and autopays YET AGAIN (I've already had to change it twice when Chase proactively issued new cards) then I'm going to give some other issuer a chance to earn and retain my business.