[MD]

I just ran into an interesting process through an online transaction experience I initiated today:

1-Enter order through web-portal, comes back as declined.
2-Locate and correct typo on form and resubmit...order declined again.
3-Call credit card company who states "the order has been approved FOUR TIMES. ($4k+ were talking)
4-Call merchant to be told "we can't control that, we've charged nothing. It's your credit card company."

Not being one to go lie down that easily, I press on:

5-Recall credit card company who then explains that the charges will "fall off" within a few days. I explain that I've made no charges...they can do nothing.

6-Call merchant demanding name and phone number of attorney and finally get handed to CFO, who looks up in her web portal with the clearing company (au******e.net "the biggest in the world" she says) and says "oh yes, I see them there...I don't know why but I can do anything about it...it will clear in a few days").

So I'm left hanging with $4k in pending changes (granted only for a couple of days), and the merchant has not received a dime?

I don't get it.

[threadbear]

Had the same, a wire transfer of $82,000. the Bank of America held for 2 weeks, before they decided they wouldn't wire it to Canada for some reason--probably some new govt. regulation--but the point was, they held the money for 2 weeks and would have held it for 2 months if we hadn't screamed bloody murder.

Seeing as all wire transfers out of the country have to go through this bank now, it's not as if we could have gotten our hands on it, either. We don't have an account with them. The money was just in limbo. The infuriating thing is, we transferred it out of the U.S because we live in Canada and we were worried about our dollar strengthening against the American. Guess what happened in the month this took to straighten out? We were out about 2 or 3,000. before it was over.....And that is one of the reasons we moved from the U.S. The country is being run like a quasi criminal conspiracy.

[threadbear]

Oh, I just remembered something. We bought a house near Seattle about 10 years ago, and wired funds 4 days before closing from an escrow company in Seattle, to a Washington Mutual branch a half hour away. I was on the phone the third day after the wire was sent. This is what they told me, verbatim, "Gosh, I just don't know where the money is, but it can take 3 full work days, etc.. etc.."

The fourth day, the closing day for new house, still not there. I told the dude on the other end that seeing as they were both telling me both parties didn't know where it was, I had to assume someone had absconded with my funds and I was going to call the police immediately. Funny...that seemed to get some action. Don't hesitate to call the cops, if need be, if this happens locally. If it's happening on a national level, FBI.

One of the purposes of foreign call centers dealing with these matters could be to do a run around police.