Nope..I'm talking about the first four digits of your credit card...each one has a distinctive numbering sequence indigenous to their brand. If you have both a Visa and a MC look at the starting numbers and you can see what I am talking about.

Most people never stop to think about the type of card that they have...and how it targets them for fraud. Let's say you have a American Express Plum card.....that one tells everyone your special.

I keep one generic card with a very small Credit Limit that I use at restaurants, shopping malls, and online. That way if the numbers get stolen, there is very little they can get from me.

mmaddog
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LMAO

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...The****Out.gif

Interesting.

All I use is my American Express "Plum" card (I always thought it was red. Maybe my wife IS right and I'm color blind).

This guy's been doing what I do for longer than I've been doing what I do. I know firsthand he knows his stuff.

Ask them the questions about the Right to Cure letter...also ask them to send you supporting documentation for the debt. Let them know that until they substantiate the balance to your satisfaction, then they need to report this as a disputed balance.

mmaddog
*******

Let me add one more step to this. After you tell them you've mailed the letter, and recorded the phone call and that you dispute the debt, hang up the phone. Call them in the middle of next week and confirm receipt of the letter you never mailed.

When they say they haven't gotten it, tell them you'd be willing to pay the balance to avoid the hassle but only if they're willing to remove the mark from your credit as you're confident the debt isn't valid. Make sure you tell them you want it in writing. They'll bite, I promise. They don't care about anything but the money.

They did say something about sending something in the mail about paying it off.

What kind of supporting documentation are you referring too?

I'm lost about this stuff obviously. Sustantiate the balance and what not has me clueless.

That's no joke.

My fiance started getting past due bills from her health insurer. They claimed that she had to pay office visits that were paid by insurance 2, 3, even 4 years in the past. Twenty dollars here, one hundred there, etc. They told her if she didn't comply within "X" number of days, they would put a bad mark against her credit, which scared her. So she paid these things until she used up all of her savings, and then couldn't pay them anymore. She called and asked them stop charging her for things that had been paid and to fix her credit. They said they would look into it and that flat out, they didn't have to make any requests to the credit reporting agencies, even though they said it was probably their error.

Well, this all was happening when we first started dating so when I found out about it, I called them up and bitched them out and we haven't gotten an old bill since. Her credit is in a shambles though. All of her APR's on her credit cards have gone through the roof and she can't even get small personal loans from our hometown credit union she has been a member of since high school (wanted to transfer a balance for her jet ski).

A banker friend of hers is trying to fight it, but so far no luck. Luckily I have nearly perfect credit, so I was able to buy our home on my own. But damn, don't mess around with this stuff. You have to be aggressive and persistent because big companies like insurers and credit card companies:
A) Don't care about you.
B) Have no motivation for helping you out.
C) Don't care about you.

By the way, through a few connections we were able to talk to the vice president of the health insurer about this (in passing as it was). The guy claims that this is absurd that it would go on and that we should see full reimbursement in the near future (I've had a friend of mine in the business tell me it's as simple as messing up a few digits on a claim). This was at least 6 months ago. I'm not holding my breath.

As a Plum card holder, you get special protection. But it still denotes that you might have a very large Credit Limit which makes you a target. You're a little more protective than most people...I bet not 70% of the people on here truly check their CC statement every month.

BTW....your waiter/waitress is probably more trustworthy than I intimated, especially if you are a frequent customer. The one that you need to be cognizant of is the "short termer"....all they need is a pencil and a piece of paper and your card number is theirs. (and it won't be because they wrote down your card number...)

mmaddog
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You are absolutely right and thank you for the info. I've never experienced a problem in California with fraud (or any company based in CA) but I'll definitely be aware if any place unfamiliar keeps my card for an inordinate amount of time.

Thanks again!

PS - What's with the Black Visa? I told I qualified and get all kinds of "special" treatment but in your professional opinion, is it worth my time (there is a fee) or is it just nonsense? Thanks again!.

They are required to send you information that tells you about the balance they are trying to collect. If it's for a gym membership, then there should be a statement they can send you for the balance owed. Make them prove to you that you owe the balance...it's something they are required to do.

Once they have proven that you legitimately owe it...then do as Mr. Flopnuts says, and use that knowledge as a bargaining chip to gain the erasure of the mark on your credit report. And if they agree..GET IT IN WRITING!

Mr. Flopnuts advice is spot-on....all they care about is getting the money. If they have to farm it out to an Attorney their cut goes from 18-25% to more like 10%.

mmaddog
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The problem is that it's automatically being taken out of my debit card tomorrow at some point.

I didn't know what to say to them since it was my first issue with credit problems.

That depends on whether or not you want to pay the $495 fee, and whether or not you truly need the "extra' perks. For my 2 cents it's just a revenue source for the Banks....by being a diligent card member you can get the same perks from American Express. And if you qualified for the Black Visa, you could probably take that info to American Express and get them to issue you a Centurion Card. (That way you can pretend to be James Bond)

mmaddog
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Since you have given them your debit card and the approval, there's not much you can do at this time...but now you are better prepared in case something like this happens again.

mmaddog
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LMAO

Again, thanks for the info.

Signed,

Dane "James Bond" McCloud

LMAO