Trust, but verify!

I was very excited about the XPS13 laptop that I got for my wife as her main work machine last year. I placed the order directly with the manufacturer over the phone (due to short delivery window) and that was the place where my card got compromised. The offshore customer service member employed by the manufacturer of XPS13 clearly liked the machine so much that he could not resist to get one for himself too. The problem was that he assumed I was ok with paying for his… and I was not.

I caught it in time and went thought the hassle of blocking my card… we all been there - no fun. The story unfolded quite well - the manufacturer of XPS13 did refund the fraudulent charge after several months without any apology or explanation - and as you can imagine it took me HOURS to get the money back.

The lessons learned – as this may happen with any entity - Trust, but verify! Use alternative payment methods that will protect your card and do check your bill and statement every time! Some cool banks even allow you to receive a text message when your card was used…

Comments

• Anonymous
  September 12, 2013
  I have been through this as well. Went to Paris with my wife. Went out for a meal. Came back home to find out that the waiter had kindly used my card to pay for his friends' table with my card. I was charged for two meals on the same night!! At the same restaurant! MBNA visa resolved the issue but took time! Ended well. Regards PJ Mistry

• Anonymous
  September 16, 2013
  This is scary. Good catch Jan. Yes text alert helps and also mobile apps like Mint.com's help you monitor the charges.