Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/05/29) */
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller typesWe enable customers to submit payments funded by a debit or
credit card to companies that normally do not accept this form of paymentWe charge a service fee that varies depending on the biller and the amount because we are charged an interchange fee by the Card Networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover)ChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting paymentsThe customer always has the option of paying directly with the biller
ChargeSmart's website has a distinct green and gray color scheme with the ChargeSmart Bill Payments logo on every page in the upper left hand cornerChargeSmart states on each page that it may or may not have any direct affiliation with the listed biller(s)We do not use the logos, trademarks or characteristic markings of any of the billers to whom we remit paymentsThese measures are taken to avoid any confusion that customers may experience in assuming that we are their biller, rather than a third party bill payment service
Our customer, Ms***, visited our site on 5/and submitted an auto payment to Santander using her debit cardAs is the standard practice when making a payment with a debit card, we immediately authorized the charge with the customer's issuing bank and scheduled the payment to her auto loan servicing company, which was stated to post within 2-business daysAt the point of payment, the customer also opted into an automatic payment schedule that was set to remit her auto loan payment on a regular basis each month on the date of her choosingParticipation in this automatic payment schedule is optional, and can be canceled at any time by the customer with no penalty or further obligation
The three emails we sent Ms*** on 5/were to serve as a receipt for her payment to Santander, a confirmation of her automatic payment schedule, and a welcome message that we provide to each new customerThis welcome email contains a link that can be used to access her newly created ChargeSmart accountWhen the link is followed, we ask that our customers authenticate access to the account by providing us with the phone number that was entered when the payment was made
Upon receipt of this complaint, we canceled the customer's automatic payment schedule, as it is clear that she did not intend to honor the terms of payment schedule, and intended to dispute the charge with her bank, despite it having been authorized at the point of paymentBy the time we received this complaint, the customer's payment had already been remitted to and accepted by her auto loan servicing company, as was requested at the point of purchase
We regret that the customer did not fully understand the nature of our business and the terms and conditions of using our bill payment serviceAt no point was her personal or payment information transmitted in an unencrypted fashion, and at no point has her information been shared with an unauthorized agency, nor will it beWe have also closed the customer's ChargeSmart account, so as to further secure her customer information
Please see that ChargeSmart acted in accordance with its terms and conditions, and provided its services precisely as requested by the customer
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 10, 2015/06/09) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
They are lyingI have told you I never went to their site and NEVER have I requested a 3rd party to pay my bills and I rarely authorize auto-payWhy would I go to a website I never heard of and ask them to pay my car payment when I have always paid on my car payment's websiteAs I have told you, the site appeared to be the one I do business with every monthI suspected something was wrong because the site that financed my car always notes my car payment made on the date I make it, even though it takes a couple of days to clear my checking accountWhen I called my finance company, they told me they had not received payment and had no record I was on their siteThere is no way I would have gone to ChargeSmart's site, much less authorize a business I never heard of to automatically deduct money from my accountMy payment was late for the first time because it is due on the firstI can't prove it, but I believe someone spoofed my finance company's website and I called my finance company and discussed this with themI called my bank and requested a stop payment, but it was too late and so I cancelled my cardI am extremely careful and I when I later read reviews about ChargeSmart, there are many negative reviewsThe reason they didn't have my phone number was because I never gave it to themThey sent me an e-mail requesting it and I already knew something was wrongI want ChargeSmart to honestly explain how they received my information and notify my finance company why my payment was lateWouldn't you think they would have asked for my address and other identifying information if I contacted them? I certainly wouldn't have provided it because my finance company has all of that information and I don't have to complete it when I make my car PaymentI believe ChargeSmart should have to show proof that I visited their web siteWell, they probably know how to also create thatOne more thing, I never talked to them and didn't ask them to terminate auto-pay because I cancelled that card and was satisfied they couldn't wipe out my checkingThey did send me an e-mail advising me they had cancelled auto-pay, but I believe Revdex.com's inquiry prompted them to do soThank you for being so prompt in handling this from my 1st contact with you
Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 15, 2015/07/02) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
They are lyingI have told you I never went to their site and NEVER have I requested a 3rd party to pay my bills and I rarely authorize auto-payWhy would I go to a website I never heard of and ask them to pay my car payment when I have always paid on my car payment's websiteAs I have told you, the site appeared to be the one I do business with every monthI suspected something was wrong because the site that financed my car always notes my car payment made on the date I make it, even though it takes a couple of days to clear my checking accountWhen I called my finance company, they told me they had not received payment and had no record I was on their siteThere is no way I would have gone to ChargeSmart's site, much less authorize a business I never heard of to automatically deduct money from my accountMy payment was late for the first time because it is due on the firstI can't prove it, but I believe someone spoofed my finance company's website and I called my finance company and discussed this with themI called my bank and requested a stop payment, but it was too late and so I cancelled my cardI am extremely careful and I when I later read reviews about ChargeSmart, there are many negative reviewsThe reason they didn't have my phone number was because I never gave it to themThey sent me an e-mail requesting it and I already knew something was wrongI want ChargeSmart to honestly explain how they received my information and notify my finance company why my payment was lateWouldn't you think they would have asked for my address and other identifying information if I contacted them? I certainly wouldn't have provided it because my finance company has all of that information and I don't have to complete it when I make my car PaymentI believe ChargeSmart should have to show proof that I visited their web siteWell, they probably know how to also create thatOne more thing, I never talked to them and didn't ask them to terminate auto-pay because I cancelled that card and was satisfied they couldn't wipe out my checkingThey did send me an e-mail advising me they had cancelled auto-pay, but I believe Revdex.com's inquiry prompted them to do soThank you for being so prompt in handling this from my 1st contact with you
Final Business Response /* (4000, 14, 2015/07/02) */
The information provided in our original response was succinct and truthfulWe regret that our customer is having such a difficult time understanding the nature of our businessWe also stand by the belief that our original response directly explains and refutes any and all claims made by the customerWe consider the matter to be resolved
I used Charge Smart today even though my lending company workers *** and Finance did not have a clue as to who could process their payments onlineEverything was user friendly and seemed to have gone smoothly but I won't have confirmation of that for a day or twoI will come back and write a review when my transaction is completedI really like the Revdex.com business review process for helping me decide who I should do business with and who not to!
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/30) */
Hello,
We have used the provided customer information to check our records and unfortunately have no record of a ChargeSmart customer with the name, phone number, address, or email address providedAdditionally, we are unable to
locate a Toyota Finance customer with the same last name or zip codeWe take these matters very seriously and would be happy to investigate this customer's claim, should their grievance truly be with ChargeSmart and not another bill payment serviceIf the customer believes their account to be with ChargeSmart, we will require the name and/or phone number or email address on the ChargeSmart account
Thank you
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/07/09) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The account is under my wife's name, *** ***Email address for the account is ***@gmail.com
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/07/26) */
Thank you for providing the information that matches our recordsThe customer has used the ChargeSmart system to successfully make automated monthly auto loan payments since October of ChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting paymentsThe customer always has the option of paying directly with the billerIn June of we see that a new card was added to the ChargeSmart account and was associated with the payment schedule with the assistance of one of our agentsAt this time it was made clear that the payments were being handled by ChargeSmart, and not by the customer's loan servicer directly, had it not been known previouslyAll communications made to the customer via email and phone were done so as ChargeSmart in an effort to prevent confusion that we are directly affiliated with the billers to whom we submit payment
While we do provide the tools necessary for our customers to independently add new payment cards and adjust payment schedules, it is common for customers to reach out to our support team for the peace of mind and confirmation that they can let their bills to be paid automatically without further effortIt appears that when the payment card associated with the automatic payment schedule expired in March of 2015, it was not replaced before the April payment attemptWhen our system recognized that the chosen payment card had expired when attempting to make April's payment, we froze the automatic payment schedule and sent an email notice to prompt the addition of a new payment card
After reviewing the customer's logs on our website, which are not made readily available to all support staff, as was the case on 6/29, we have uncovered the following information: When the new payment card was added to the ChargeSmart account, it was selected to be the default card, as the customer stated accuratelyThe status of default card simply designates that payment card to be the one that is presented by default when making new payments on a one-at-a-time basisOur records indicate that our customer had also deleted the previously used card before setting the payment schedule to run using the new payment methodWhen the expired payment card was attempted to be deleted, we presented an on-screen pmessage that reads:
"This payment method has a recurring payment associated with itPlease update the recurring payment before deleting this payment method."
This warning was not heeded and the card was deletedThe customer then visited the automatic payment schedule and saw that the automatic payment schedule was presenting the one and only payment card as the available funding source, as it was the only funding methodThe next payment date was presenting the next day's date, as that was the next available payment dateThis information would have needed to be saved in order for the payment schedule to be updated and unfrozenThis requirement for deliberate action on behalf of the customer is to prevent to the processing of payments unwantedlyNo such action was taken, and the automatic payment schedule was left in its frozen state and no payments were scheduled to be made
We understand that it may be confusing to follow a specific order of operations when manipulating an automatic payment scheduleOur support team is made available to assist a customer when needed, and to correct these mistakes before they result in payments not being madeWe also understand that the customer feels it is our responsibility to reimburse three months of late fees, though it would have been evident after just one day that the payment schedule was not updated correctlySimply reaching out to support or revisiting ChargeSmart would have shown that no payment had been scheduled or otherwise madeNo payment confirmation emails would have been sent while the payment schedule was still in a frozen state, and no funds were withdrawn from the customer's payment accountThe lack of evidence that payments are being made along with a surplus of funds in a bank account is often evidence enough for one of our customers to recognize that their payments have not been madePrior to the bill not having been paid for three months, no communication was made to ChargeSmart to investigate the matter
We truly regret that our customer, after having successfully used the system for such a long period of time, unsuccessfully updated their automatic payment schedule and failed to recognize or correct the matter for several months, accruing the previously mentioned late feesUnfortunately we are unable to refund these late fees to the customer, as they were not charged by ChargeSmart, but by the customer's auto loan servicerWhile ChargeSmart's tools make it easy and convenient for its customers to pay their bills automatically using a debit or credit card, it is the customer's responsibility to ensure that the service is used correctly and that payments are made to their biller(s) as required by any financing agreementWe regret that this matter was not recognized by the customer sooner, and that we were not given an opportunity to correct the matter sooner and prevent the accrual of three months of late feesPlease see that ChargeSmart acted in accordance with its terms and conditions, and provided its services without fail when used correctly by the customer
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2015/07/28) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
As you can see in ChargeSmart's response, they recognized that I received the email about my credit card being set to expire, and that I added a new credit card and set it as my default card, as well as deleting the expired cardThey then admit:
"We understand that it may be confusing to follow a specific order of operations when manipulating an automatic payment schedule."
This is my overall complaintI did my very best to put in my new credit card and set it up as the card that makes the automatic paymentsI did receive the warning that "This payment method has a recurring payment associated with itPlease update the recurring payment before deleting this payment method." When I put in my new credit card, I selected the bullet that made the new card the one that is used for the recurring payment, but it clearly did not workThat's a website malfunctionWhen I called ChargeSmart, as the person in the prior message suggested that I never did (and he also mentioned how friendly and helpful their customer assistance team is), the "supervisor" told me that it was my fault and it must have been some issue with MY web browserHis tone was basically the same as the previous message above: everything is my fault (and really, the tone in the message above tries to pain me as incompetent, which I surely am not when it comes to computers and using online service; I currently use many online service with automatic payments, and this is the only one I've ever had trouble with)
Thus, I do not accept ChargeSmart's response, and I am even more put off with them now after this responseThe fact that they continued to "regret" that I was unable to act probably (or, "navigate" their system) shows an unnecessary stubbornnessAnd blaming me for not noticing right away that the payment didn't go through does not answer the problem of their malfunctioning, confusing website, which they themselves even admit is confusing
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/02/27) */
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller typesWe enable customers to submit payments funded by a debit or
credit card to companies that normally do not accept this form of paymentWe charge a service fee that varies depending on the biller and the amount because we are charged an interchange fee by the Card Networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover)ChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting paymentsThe customer always has the option of paying directly with the biller
The complainant visited our site on 1/16/and submitted an auto loan payment to Santander Consumer USAAll information used to fulfill the payment request was provided by the customer submitting the payment, as are all payments made using ChargeSmartWe submitted this payment the same evening it was submitted, and received confirmation that it was accepted the morning of 1/and applied to the provided account numberAlong with our confirmation email notices, we advise that all payments made using our system are expected to post within 2-business daysTypically we receive direct communication from our customers to notify us of any alleged problems with a paymentThese communications can be received by ChargeSmart agents by email or phoneBoth means of contacting us are provided to our customers on our website, in each confirmation email, and also on our Revdex.com information pageWe have not received any direct contact from the complainant via phone or email, nor have our outbound calls to the provided phone number been returned
If the complainant has not seen the payment post to their auto loan account, it is the result of either an incorrect biller or incorrect account numberIn the case of either of these scenarios, we are skilled at resolving the matter in an expedient fashion, and would be happy to do so on the complainant's behalfWithout confirmation that both the biller and destination account number provided were correctly entered, we are unable to research the matter any further, as we are not permitted to access our customer's accounts without their cooperation
We look forward to hearing directly from the complainant, as well as working with their auto loan servicer to achieve a resolution to this matterFeel free to reach out if further clarification is needed to show that ChargeSmart acted in accordance with its terms of service
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 10, 2015/03/03) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Yes, I am sorryI did use a closed account number that we still owe onAll has been resolved with SantanderI apologize for the confusion
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/03/17) */
ChargeSmart, a web-based *** payment service that enables its customers to submit card-funded payments to a network of auto, mortgage, education loan, and utility companies, is acutely aware of the threat of payment card fraud to
businesses and cardholders alike, and does everything possible to discourage fraudulent activity and to protect its customers
Along with other measures, ChargeSmart identifies patterns consistent with fraudulent activity, including but not limited to, atypical payment velocity, identity verification, and feedback from the cardholder's issuing bank
Much like the prevention of fraudulent activity, the resolution of fraudulent activity requires vigilance from all parties to card transactions, including issuing banks, businesses accepting payments, and the holders of payment cardsAdditionally, timeliness is also a key factor in reversing any fraudulent charges and a merchant's ability to return fundsTypically, fraudulent charges can only be contested with the issuing bank for a specific period of time, which varies from bank to bankThese industry-wide statutes of limitations are explicitly disclosed to cardholders so that they may know the timeframes in which they must monitor their payment card activity and report any suspicious activity
We have learned that this consumer's American Express card was used for fraudulent purposes over a 14-month period beginning nearly two years agoWhen the fraud was brought to our attention, we worked with the issuer to return the most recent transactionUnfortunately, due to the long period of time that had passed *** this activity occurred, the remaining transactions could not be returned from ChargeSmart or the issuer
In the interest of achieving the most amicable resolution possible for the consumer, ChargeSmart continues to attempt reversal of these reportedly fraudulent charges from the recipient payeesAny payment amounts successfully retrieved by ChargeSmart *** be immediately returned to the cardholder
We truly regret that Mr*** has been victimized and are sympathetic to his condition, as ChargeSmart has also been victimized in this scenario, given that we are not the ultimate recipient of these funds
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 11, 2015/04/01) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Now you understand my issues with ChargeSmartThey won't even respond to the Revdex.com
Final Business Response /* (4000, 13, 2015/04/06) */
We certainly understand the frustration and regret associated with being victimized by card fraud, as ChargeSmart sustains losses of this nature just as a cardholder does when fraudulent transactions go unrecognizedAs previously mentioned, we are neither the perpetrators of the fraudulent activity, nor are we the recipient of the payments in question in this case
As mentioned in our original response to the Revdex.com, ChargeSmart has complied with the regulations set forth for all merchants that accept American Express payments, and has incorporated the information from this case to further bolster our existing anti-fraud measures to prevent such events from occurring in the future
Please note that ChargeSmart's inability to comply with the customer's requested remedy is a result of the elapsed time between the fraudulent transactions occurring and their being reported as suchIn no way is our inability to provide the customer's requested resolution by wilful disregard of, or a refusal to perform a duty that is available to usAny and all remedies within our reach have already been issued, and we are continuing to work to connect the customer directly to the billing companies that retained the funds in question
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 15, 2015/04/07) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I believe restitution is in orderCharge Smart allowed duplicate charges on same day to American ExpressNo effort was made to notify American Express or to me of red flag chargesI am more than frustrated
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 11, 2015/12/24) */
ChargeSmart has successfully reversed these payments from Duke Power and has issued a refund to the customer for bothEmail refund confirmations have been provided to the customer for both paymentsPlease advise if further information
is needed to show that ChargeSmart has fully reimbursed the customer for these unpostable payments
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 13, 2016/01/12) */
Ms***
Am just now finding and reading the e-mail you sent on January 5,
I would like to advise you that ChargeSmart has returned all the money sent to Duke Energy in October, HAS BEEN RETURNED to meI received the funds on December 24, I received the $140.00, $and both charge fees
I want to thank you for handeling this and getting my funds returned to me
You do not know how much I appreciate you and your assistance
Again, the money has been returned to me and I am very grateful for all you have done to make sure this was taken care of
As far as I know, this case can be closeClosed as successful
Thank you and sincerely,
*** A ***
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/30) */
Hello,
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller typesWe enable customers to submit payments funded by a
debit or credit card to companies that normally do not accept this form of paymentWe charge a service fee that varies depending on the biller and the amount because we are charged an interchange fee by the Card Networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover)Our fee is clearly displayed before a payment is submittedChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting paymentsThe customer always has the option of paying directly with the biller
Our customer, Mr*** submitted his payment to Sheffield Financial on 12/11, and was advised that his payment would post in 2-business daysHis payment was confirmed to have been received by the biller on 12/14, the following business dayThe date this case was opened was the second business day after submission, and likely the date the payment posted
We spoke to Mr*** on 12/and confirmed the account number provided to have been correctWe believe this matter to have been prematurely reported, and also resolvedPlease advise if further information is needed to show that ChargeSmart acted in accordance with its terms and conditions
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/10/20) */
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller typesWe enable customers to submit payments funded by a debit or
credit card to companies that normally do not accept this form of paymentWe charge a service fee that varies depending on the biller and the amount because we are charged an interchange fee by the Card Networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover)ChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting paymentsThe customer always has the option of paying directly with the biller
The complainant visited our website the evening of Saturday 10/4/Our bill payment website was navigated to by way of a web search for "tampaelectric.com"When a web search is performed for an existing URL, the search engine will present results it deems relevant, rather than just the website associated with that URLAs many of Tampa Electric's customers do use our service to pay their bill, a link to our page was presented among other search results, including a direct link to the biller's own web pageChargeSmart's website has a distinct green and gray color scheme with the ChargeSmart Bill Payments logo on every page in the upper left hand cornerChargeSmart states on each page that it may or may not have any direct affiliation with the listed biller(s)These measures are taken to avoid any confusion that customers may experience in assuming that we are their biller, rather than a third party bill payment service
Before the complainant submitted their payment to Tampa Electric Co., we presented our service fee of $on its own line below the user provided bill payment amount, as well as the additive amount of their bill payment amount plus our feeAll three of these numbers were displayed in prominent and bold text above the payment submission button, before the payment could be submittedWe present our fee and the total amount charged to the provided payment card to avoid any confusion as to the difference between the amount being paid to the biller and the amount charged to the payment cardAlso presented to the complainant before the payment was submitted was the request to allow 2-business days for their payment to postThis message is also displayed in prominent lettering directly below the line displaying the total amount to be chargedWe take every effort to place this information in a manner that is clear and difficult to overlook, however we cannot force our customers to read the information presented to them
The complainant's statement that no receipt was provided is incorrectOnce the payment was submitted, we displayed an on-screen message confirming receipt of their payment, providing them with their payment's Reference ID number, and reiterating the message that their payment would post to their biller in 2-business daysThis information was also sent to the provided email address along with some information on how to access their ChargeSmart accountWe have confirmed receipt of this email, as the complainant replied to it stating no receipt was given for the payment; however that is the form of receipt provided by our company to all customersIt is possible that they were expecting a form of receipt exclusive to payments made through another online bill payment method
As a reputable third-party bill payment service, we pride ourselves in keeping our customers' information secure and protectedWe utilize industry-standard SSL encryption to protect customer information being transmitted to our service, and we uphold industry-leading fraud recognition measures to prevent the acceptance of fraudulent chargesAs is stated in our terms of service, no customer information is sold to or shared with third parties for marketing purposesThe only situation where ChargeSmart uses the information provided by its customers is to submit a bill payment at the customer's specific direction
The complainant's claim that they were placed on hold for minutes and then cut off is incorrectWhen a customer calls our Support line outside of our stated business hours of 7am and 6pm PST Monday through Friday, we play a message that invites them to contact us via email for assistance with their inquiryAfter this message is played, the call is disconnectedThis entire process would have taken under two minutes, and would not have resulted in the complainant being placed on a hold of any sort
Had the complainant requested that the payment be cancelled before it was submitted to Tampa Electric on Monday, 10/we could have cancelled the payment for a full refundThis request could have been made via phone during out business hours or by emailNo such request was made before the payment was submitted and accepted by the billerAs this payment had been accepted by the biller on Tuesday 10/7, we are unable to offer a refund for services renderedThe complainant's request to have their personal information made unavailable has been fulfilledThe account has been locked and no further use of the account is possible
Please find that all services provided to the complainant by ChargeSmart were done so in accordance to our terms of service and exactly as advertisedIf further information is required to clearly show that ChargeSmart has acted upon its commitment to its customers, please let us know
On February 24, my husband used this company to pay our Direct TV bill The money was withdrawn from our account on February It is now March and Direct TV has yet to receive our money I have tried to phone chargesmart and only get a recording to leave a message I have also emailed them Still waiting for a response as to where my money is If problem isn't resolved with in a matter of days a complaint will be filed
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/08/19) */
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller typesWe enable customers to submit payments funded by a debit or
credit card to companies that normally do not accept this form of paymentWe charge a service fee that varies depending on the biller and the amount because we are charged an interchange fee by the Card Networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover)ChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting paymentsThe customer always has the option of paying directly with the biller
ChargeSmart's website has a distinct green and gray color scheme with the ChargeSmart Bill Payments logo on every page in the upper left hand cornerChargeSmart states on each page that it may or may not have any direct affiliation with the listed biller(s)These measures are taken to avoid any confusion that customers may experience in assuming that we are their biller, rather than a third party bill payment serviceWhile it is true that we are not directly affiliated with Sheffield Financial, they do have the ability to contact us, should they choose to do so
The customer visited our website on Saturday, August 8th and submitted a payment to Sheffield Financial in the amount of $with a service fee of $Also presented was the information that it takes 2-business days for a payment to post, which was noted on-screen and in our email receipt
On Monday 8/10, our Risk team was motivated to cancel the customer's transaction, as its characteristics and the risks associated with accepting and remitting the transaction were deemed unacceptably highWe voided the transaction before it settled out of the customer's bankWe sent an email notice of the payment's cancellation, just as we had sent the payment's original receiptWhen a payment is voided, the pending authorization will simply drop off anywhere between 1-business days, depending on the bankThe funds that were on hold with the bank would have been released to the balance of funds, or available credit within this time frameWe see that this void was accepted by the customer's issuing bank, that no funds were taken by ChargeSmart, and that no service was renderedAs such, there is no credit to be issued to the customer
Feel free to reach out if further clarification is needed to show that ChargeSmart acted in accordance with its terms of serviceWe apologize if there was any lack of clarity that the payment has long since been canceled, despite our best efforts to inform the customer of this information
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/08/24) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
On 8/18, after I submitted this compliant a company representative called me to let me know the funds were never withhold from my account as an email canceling the transaction was sent following the receiptOn the same day, I alerted my bank and requested that a hold be placed on the transaction; since, I never received the alleged cancellation emailI allowed ample time (days) for the transaction to clear my account before I called the biller to inquire the paymentThis is the first and last time, I'll pay any biller indirectly
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2015/04/24) */
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller types. ChargeSmart does not own or independently operate this...
payment network, but acts as an originator of payments being delivered through the network to established banking institutions and payees. We rely on these payees to keep their own payment remittance information up-to-date as their banking and business relationships change over time. ChargeSmart updates its system daily to reflect the most current information within this network to prevent any posting errors or delays for our customers.
The customer visited ChargeSmart on 2/23 and submitted a payment to Freedom Mortgage Corp. At the point of sale, we informed the customer through various means that the payment was expected to post within 2-3 business days, as is to be expected with any of the payments made through the ChargeSmart system. It is common for customers to promptly reach out to ChargeSmart Support if they have not seen their payment post within the expected timeframe. While posting difficulties represent an exceptionally low percentage of all payments, ChargeSmart Support is well-versed in these matters and has developed the necessary relationships to resolve these issues when presented to us. In our experience, these posting difficulties are the result of an incorrectly entered account number, incorrectly chosen biller, or an issue specific to the biller that has caused a payment to remain unapplied without further assistance from a Support representative.
We were first contacted by our customer on 3/30, nearly five weeks after the expected date of posting. At this time he stated that the payment was required to post no later than 3/31 to achieve a refinance of the mortgage. One of ChargeSmart's support representatives immediately reached out to the customer's mortgage lender to begin the process of locating the payment. While researching the matter, it was revealed that the remittance address on file for the lender, as it appears in the aforementioned payment network was not the one the lender presents to its account holders. Since ChargeSmart's payment submissions are done electronically, we did not send a payment to any physical address at all, but rather electronically, to the banking institution that represents the mortgage lender. Our Support representative assembled all of the pertinent information for our customer's as-of-yet applied payment and submitted it to the lender's research team for further review and research. At the end of the conversation, our representative indicated that we would need some time to further research the matter with both the customer and the lender's assistance.
The claim that we refused to reimburse the customer for any incurred late fee misrepresents what was actually said by our agent. Our focus was to locate the payment and show that it had been in the lender's system all along, thus invalidating any previously applied late fee from the lender themselves. The claim that we refused to refund our own service fee is also incorrect. In addition to locating the payment, we sought to determine who is at-fault for any posting delays and determine what remedy can and should be provided by ChargeSmart. We understand that the customer wanted his desired remedy to be provided immediately based on his assumption that ChargeSmart had acted negligently, though this assumption was not taking into consideration the true nature of the error.
Our support representative and the customer agreed to another conference call the following day to continue researching the matter, but it appears that the customer chose not to continue working with ChargeSmart to achieve an amicable resolution, as he did not call back as he had originally agreed.
A member of ChargeSmart's management team personally reached out to the customer on 4/13 after our Support Team had obtained all the necessary documentation of the payment reaching the biller's payment account. This delay was due to the time required for each respective participant involved with moving these funds to complete their own internal investigation and remit their findings to ChargeSmart. The customer agreed to a conference call at a time that best suited the customer on 4/14 so that they could speak to the lender together and go over the matter as a group. The customer did not field this scheduled call, nor did he return the request for a call back to further discuss resolution.
As originally promised, ChargeSmart continued to work with the biller to locate the payment and determine what had caused the posting error in the first place. While going over the matter with the lender directly, we were able to confirm as of 4/22 that the payment was applied to the customer's account with an effective date of 3/30. Also noted was the payment the customer made directly on 3/31. We were also told by the lender that no late fee had been applied to the account as a result of the delay in posting, as no payment was absent in excess of 30 days from the due date. We are unable to respond to the claim that that a refinance was made ineligible as a result of this delay, as we were not permitted any specific information from the account without the customer's cooperation and permission.
When addressing the significant delay between when the lender's bank received the payment and it's posting, it was determined that the payment network's information for the lender is out-of-date, allegedly not having been kept current by one of the various banking institutions involved. The payment was electronically delivered to an account that is not regularly maintained by the biller, but swept on a monthly basis. This is of no fault to ChargeSmart or the mortgage lender, as we both rely on the banking institutions to accurately represent its billers. Upon learning this information, we immediately removed Freedom Mortgage as a valid payee on ChargeSmart to prevent further issues while we continue to work with both parties to correct the lender's erroneous network listing. We were also informed by the lender that the name of our customer is not the name on the mortgage account. It was speculated by one of our contacts at the lender that this discrepancy could have further exacerbated the posting delay.
Having confirmed that the delay in posting is not a result of any service failure on ChargeSmart's behalf, and that no late fee is reported to have been applied by the lender, we respectfully decline the request to provide a remedy for any such late fee. We are unable to credit our customer for the fee assessed by the lender for payment processing, as this fee was not assessed by ChargeSmart. We have refunded the service fee assessed by ChargeSmart as a convenience to our customer. This electronic refund was issued on 4/22 and is expected to have posted to their provided payment card no later than 4/25. It is also our sincere belief that resolution of this matter would have been achieved within two or three business days from its reporting, had we been granted the full cooperation of the customer, not to mention more prompt notification of the posting delay.
The customer's payment has been applied to the provided mortgage account and the service fee assessed by ChargeSmart has been refunded to the customer, as was requested. We consider this matter to be resolved and truly regret the trouble that our customer has experienced.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 12, 2015/04/28) */
4-27-15
Sent via email:
Yes - please close the complaint.
Best,
[redacted]
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/02/19) */
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller types. We enable customers to submit payments funded by a debit or...
credit card to companies that normally do not accept this form of payment. We charge a service fee that varies depending on the biller and the amount because we are charged an interchange fee by the Card Networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover). ChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting payments. The customer always has the option of paying directly with the biller.
The complainant visited our website late in the evening of 1/25/2015. ChargeSmart's website has a distinct green and gray color scheme with the ChargeSmart Bill Payments logo on every page in the upper left hand corner. ChargeSmart states on each page that it may or may not have any direct affiliation with the listed biller(s). These measures are taken to avoid any confusion that customers may experience in assuming that we are their biller, rather than a third party bill payment service.
The complainant submitted a payment to Georgia Power in the amount of $45.00, with a service fee of $4.99. This service fee was fully disclosed in bold lettering in a central location on-screen. Also presented was the information that it takes 2-3 business days for a payment to post.
Shortly after submitting the payment, we received 2 emails that indicated that the complainant failed to notice our terms, wherein a payment requires 2-3 business days to post. We were reached by the complainant by phone the following morning, despite claims that we do not answer the phone, at which point we voided the transaction, as requested. No funds were taken by ChargeSmart, and no service was rendered, as specifically requested by the customer.
Feel free to reach out if further clarification is needed to show that ChargeSmart acted in accordance with its terms of service. We apologize if there was any confusion regarding our capabilities and relationship with Georgia Power, despite our best efforts to inform the complainant.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/11/17) */
Hello,
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller types. We enable customers to submit payments funded by a...
debit or credit card to companies that normally do not accept this form of payment. We charge a service fee that varies depending on the biller and the amount because we are charged an interchange fee by the Card Networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover). Our fee is clearly displayed before a payment is submitted. ChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting payments. The customer always has the option of paying directly with the biller.
Our customer submitted a payment on Monday November 2nd and shortly thereafter tried to contact our customer support team by phone. We were experiencing a heavier-than-usual call volume on this Monday morning, within our first hour of the business day, and were unable to field this customer's call within a reasonable amount of holding time. When we have a heavy call volume, we ask that our customers provide us a number for a callback, or to leave a voicemail, both of which would be received and handled within the business day. We show that our customer did not choose one of these two options and was disconnected as a result, after approximately 10 minutes of holding. We also see that the customer called back and hung up almost immediately twice. We regret the inconvenience caused by this heavy call volume, but feel that our alternative contact methods provide a fair avenue to resolve customer issues in these cases.
We did not call the customer back, as no voicemail or callback request was made, and we did not receive any email request to cancel payment. As such, the payment was submitted to the biller as had been originally requested. Upon receipt of this complaint, we contact the customer's biller and reversed the payment. The payment was refunded in full, as was requested. We consider the matter to be resolved, as all customer requests have been fulfilled. Please let us know if any further clarification is needed to show that all requests were met as received.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/05/20) */
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller types. All payments are submitted online by our customers, or by a...
recurring monthly payment schedule that is also created online.
This complaint led us to perform an investigation into the complainant's concerns about her personal information and identity, as well as into the alleged conduct of one of our agents.
The complainant is not a ChargeSmart customer; however it is clear that her email became associated with a ChargeSmart customer's payments in our system. Our investigation has indicated that one of our longtime customers who had used our service to pay down her balance at a department store had mistakenly input her email address when submitting numerous payments. It appears that this customer had a tendency to mistype both her name and email address, as we found many examples of mistyped versions of her own name and true email address as being associated with her payment account. All of the mistyped email addresses contain additional, missing, or transposed digits and letters. Most of these mistypes resulted in failed or rejected email messages, however it seems that with this particular typo, she typed in a valid email address that was not her own, and in fact belongs to the complainant. As is the case with a phone number, the adjustment of a single character can point a communication to an unintended recipient.
To prevent mistyped email addresses from granting the unintended recipient access to the true ChargeSmart User's account, we do require a predetermined password to be input to view any sensitive information within the account. Additionally, we require additional verification of personal information to reset a password using an email address. These measures were put in place specifically to address the respective situations being experienced by the complainant and our customer.
We determined that this mistyped email address was submitted with a number of individually submitted payments, most likely as a result of a web browser's auto-complete tool drawing on the most recently used email address, as well as having been associated with an automatic payment schedule. While we do have the ability to adjust the email address used for automatic payment information, we cannot prevent our customers from mistyping their own email addresses in such a way that they match another individual's email address.
When the complainant called into ChargeSmart Support to address her concerns, the agent with whom she spoke was alarmed by the allegation of identity theft or fraud, as we take those matters quite seriously. The agent in question asked a number of probing questions to glean as to whether or not this was an account created with the complainant's identity, or if it was a simple matter of a mistyped email address. It does appear that this line of questioning allowed the complainant to obtain some information belonging to our customer who had mistyped her email address. We regret that this information was divulged and have taken necessary actions to educate and discipline the agent in question, so as to prevent this misstep from occurring in the future. We did indeed follow-up with our customer, and are confident that this is simply a matter of an elderly customer having trouble typing accurately, and not one of identity theft.
The complainant's personal information, banking credentials, payment cards, and other identity factors are not known to ChargeSmart, and therefore have not been compromised as a result of our customer's inability to correctly type her own email address. At no point has the complainant's computer been tampered with by ChargeSmart, nor has ChargeSmart shared her email address with outside parties. Any communications sent to the complainant's email address are not associated with any of her own personal information. We have also taken the necessary measures to remove her email address from the ChargeSmart system, so that she will no longer receive these emails that were troubling her. We trust that the results of our investigation, as well as the measures we have taken may serve as a resolution for this complaint.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2014/05/21) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Thank you very much for the thorough investigation on all accounts and for verifying the security of my own personal information. I would hope that all would agree how ODD it was to have a name so similar to mine (what does [redacted] even mean? It is exactly my last name, except for the errant space between the E and C. SO unusual, so of course, identify fraud was my first worry. One credit application stolen from my mail and they're off.) I appreciate very much that you have disguarded my contact information, and hopefully the real customer/client has been educated in how to properly use her Charge Smart account. Thank you for your time.
[redacted]
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/11/04) */
Hello,
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller types. We enable customers to submit payments funded by a...
debit or credit card to companies that normally do not accept this form of payment. We charge a service fee that varies depending on the biller and the amount because we are charged an interchange fee by the Card Networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover). Our fee is clearly displayed before a payment is submitted. ChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting payments. The customer always has the option of paying directly with the biller.
ChargeSmart's website has a distinct green and gray color scheme with the ChargeSmart Bill Payments logo on every page in the upper left hand corner. ChargeSmart states on each page that it may or may not have any direct affiliation with the listed biller(s). These measures are taken to avoid any confusion that customers may experience in assuming that we are their biller, rather than a third party bill payment service. While it is true that are not directly affiliated with WE Energies, they do have the ability to contact us, should they choose to do so. It seems as though the WE Energies support agent with whom our customer spoke had not heard of our bill payment service before.
To address our customer's specific claims, we do not advertise a 24 hour service number. Our support hours are M-F between the hours of 8am and 6pm Pacific Standard Time. It is also clear that our customer incorrectly dialed our phone number, as it is a verifiable fact that we do not offer Caribbean cruises, nor do we solicit the age of our customers, nor do we offer free medical alert bracelets.
We show no record of our customer reaching our actual support number of XXX-XXX-XXXX, though we did receive an email request to cancel the payment on 10/13 after our business hours. Upon receipt of this email on 10/14, we promptly voided the customer's charge, as requested. No payment was received and no service was rendered. The ChargeSmart account has been closed, so that no further charges can be made.
We're truly puzzled by the customer's claim that our toll free number led to an offer for a Caribbean cruise or a medic alert bracelet. Anyone can, at any time, call our toll free number and verify that it leads to ChargeSmart and ChargeSmart only. Additionally, having fulfilled our customer's request to cancel the payment, we consider this matter to be resolved.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 11, 2016/01/05) */
This payment was refunded at the customer's specific request on 12/18. Refunds typically take 2-3 business days to post, which would translate to 12/21-23. The date in which this case was opened was business day number one, which is too...
soon for the refund to have processed successfully. We're glad to see that the customer has received the expected refund and closed the case as resolved.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/05/29) */
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller typesWe enable customers to submit payments funded by a debit or
credit card to companies that normally do not accept this form of paymentWe charge a service fee that varies depending on the biller and the amount because we are charged an interchange fee by the Card Networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover)ChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting paymentsThe customer always has the option of paying directly with the biller
ChargeSmart's website has a distinct green and gray color scheme with the ChargeSmart Bill Payments logo on every page in the upper left hand cornerChargeSmart states on each page that it may or may not have any direct affiliation with the listed biller(s)We do not use the logos, trademarks or characteristic markings of any of the billers to whom we remit paymentsThese measures are taken to avoid any confusion that customers may experience in assuming that we are their biller, rather than a third party bill payment service
Our customer, Ms***, visited our site on 5/and submitted an auto payment to Santander using her debit cardAs is the standard practice when making a payment with a debit card, we immediately authorized the charge with the customer's issuing bank and scheduled the payment to her auto loan servicing company, which was stated to post within 2-business daysAt the point of payment, the customer also opted into an automatic payment schedule that was set to remit her auto loan payment on a regular basis each month on the date of her choosingParticipation in this automatic payment schedule is optional, and can be canceled at any time by the customer with no penalty or further obligation
The three emails we sent Ms*** on 5/were to serve as a receipt for her payment to Santander, a confirmation of her automatic payment schedule, and a welcome message that we provide to each new customerThis welcome email contains a link that can be used to access her newly created ChargeSmart accountWhen the link is followed, we ask that our customers authenticate access to the account by providing us with the phone number that was entered when the payment was made
Upon receipt of this complaint, we canceled the customer's automatic payment schedule, as it is clear that she did not intend to honor the terms of payment schedule, and intended to dispute the charge with her bank, despite it having been authorized at the point of paymentBy the time we received this complaint, the customer's payment had already been remitted to and accepted by her auto loan servicing company, as was requested at the point of purchase
We regret that the customer did not fully understand the nature of our business and the terms and conditions of using our bill payment serviceAt no point was her personal or payment information transmitted in an unencrypted fashion, and at no point has her information been shared with an unauthorized agency, nor will it beWe have also closed the customer's ChargeSmart account, so as to further secure her customer information
Please see that ChargeSmart acted in accordance with its terms and conditions, and provided its services precisely as requested by the customer
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 10, 2015/06/09) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
They are lyingI have told you I never went to their site and NEVER have I requested a 3rd party to pay my bills and I rarely authorize auto-payWhy would I go to a website I never heard of and ask them to pay my car payment when I have always paid on my car payment's websiteAs I have told you, the site appeared to be the one I do business with every monthI suspected something was wrong because the site that financed my car always notes my car payment made on the date I make it, even though it takes a couple of days to clear my checking accountWhen I called my finance company, they told me they had not received payment and had no record I was on their siteThere is no way I would have gone to ChargeSmart's site, much less authorize a business I never heard of to automatically deduct money from my accountMy payment was late for the first time because it is due on the firstI can't prove it, but I believe someone spoofed my finance company's website and I called my finance company and discussed this with themI called my bank and requested a stop payment, but it was too late and so I cancelled my cardI am extremely careful and I when I later read reviews about ChargeSmart, there are many negative reviewsThe reason they didn't have my phone number was because I never gave it to themThey sent me an e-mail requesting it and I already knew something was wrongI want ChargeSmart to honestly explain how they received my information and notify my finance company why my payment was lateWouldn't you think they would have asked for my address and other identifying information if I contacted them? I certainly wouldn't have provided it because my finance company has all of that information and I don't have to complete it when I make my car PaymentI believe ChargeSmart should have to show proof that I visited their web siteWell, they probably know how to also create thatOne more thing, I never talked to them and didn't ask them to terminate auto-pay because I cancelled that card and was satisfied they couldn't wipe out my checkingThey did send me an e-mail advising me they had cancelled auto-pay, but I believe Revdex.com's inquiry prompted them to do soThank you for being so prompt in handling this from my 1st contact with you
Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 15, 2015/07/02) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
They are lyingI have told you I never went to their site and NEVER have I requested a 3rd party to pay my bills and I rarely authorize auto-payWhy would I go to a website I never heard of and ask them to pay my car payment when I have always paid on my car payment's websiteAs I have told you, the site appeared to be the one I do business with every monthI suspected something was wrong because the site that financed my car always notes my car payment made on the date I make it, even though it takes a couple of days to clear my checking accountWhen I called my finance company, they told me they had not received payment and had no record I was on their siteThere is no way I would have gone to ChargeSmart's site, much less authorize a business I never heard of to automatically deduct money from my accountMy payment was late for the first time because it is due on the firstI can't prove it, but I believe someone spoofed my finance company's website and I called my finance company and discussed this with themI called my bank and requested a stop payment, but it was too late and so I cancelled my cardI am extremely careful and I when I later read reviews about ChargeSmart, there are many negative reviewsThe reason they didn't have my phone number was because I never gave it to themThey sent me an e-mail requesting it and I already knew something was wrongI want ChargeSmart to honestly explain how they received my information and notify my finance company why my payment was lateWouldn't you think they would have asked for my address and other identifying information if I contacted them? I certainly wouldn't have provided it because my finance company has all of that information and I don't have to complete it when I make my car PaymentI believe ChargeSmart should have to show proof that I visited their web siteWell, they probably know how to also create thatOne more thing, I never talked to them and didn't ask them to terminate auto-pay because I cancelled that card and was satisfied they couldn't wipe out my checkingThey did send me an e-mail advising me they had cancelled auto-pay, but I believe Revdex.com's inquiry prompted them to do soThank you for being so prompt in handling this from my 1st contact with you
Final Business Response /* (4000, 14, 2015/07/02) */
The information provided in our original response was succinct and truthfulWe regret that our customer is having such a difficult time understanding the nature of our businessWe also stand by the belief that our original response directly explains and refutes any and all claims made by the customerWe consider the matter to be resolved
I used Charge Smart today even though my lending company workers *** and Finance did not have a clue as to who could process their payments onlineEverything was user friendly and seemed to have gone smoothly but I won't have confirmation of that for a day or twoI will come back and write a review when my transaction is completedI really like the Revdex.com business review process for helping me decide who I should do business with and who not to!
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/30) */
Hello,
We have used the provided customer information to check our records and unfortunately have no record of a ChargeSmart customer with the name, phone number, address, or email address providedAdditionally, we are unable to
locate a Toyota Finance customer with the same last name or zip codeWe take these matters very seriously and would be happy to investigate this customer's claim, should their grievance truly be with ChargeSmart and not another bill payment serviceIf the customer believes their account to be with ChargeSmart, we will require the name and/or phone number or email address on the ChargeSmart account
Thank you
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/07/09) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The account is under my wife's name, *** ***Email address for the account is ***@gmail.com
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/07/26) */
Thank you for providing the information that matches our recordsThe customer has used the ChargeSmart system to successfully make automated monthly auto loan payments since October of ChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting paymentsThe customer always has the option of paying directly with the billerIn June of we see that a new card was added to the ChargeSmart account and was associated with the payment schedule with the assistance of one of our agentsAt this time it was made clear that the payments were being handled by ChargeSmart, and not by the customer's loan servicer directly, had it not been known previouslyAll communications made to the customer via email and phone were done so as ChargeSmart in an effort to prevent confusion that we are directly affiliated with the billers to whom we submit payment
While we do provide the tools necessary for our customers to independently add new payment cards and adjust payment schedules, it is common for customers to reach out to our support team for the peace of mind and confirmation that they can let their bills to be paid automatically without further effortIt appears that when the payment card associated with the automatic payment schedule expired in March of 2015, it was not replaced before the April payment attemptWhen our system recognized that the chosen payment card had expired when attempting to make April's payment, we froze the automatic payment schedule and sent an email notice to prompt the addition of a new payment card
After reviewing the customer's logs on our website, which are not made readily available to all support staff, as was the case on 6/29, we have uncovered the following information: When the new payment card was added to the ChargeSmart account, it was selected to be the default card, as the customer stated accuratelyThe status of default card simply designates that payment card to be the one that is presented by default when making new payments on a one-at-a-time basisOur records indicate that our customer had also deleted the previously used card before setting the payment schedule to run using the new payment methodWhen the expired payment card was attempted to be deleted, we presented an on-screen pmessage that reads:
"This payment method has a recurring payment associated with itPlease update the recurring payment before deleting this payment method."
This warning was not heeded and the card was deletedThe customer then visited the automatic payment schedule and saw that the automatic payment schedule was presenting the one and only payment card as the available funding source, as it was the only funding methodThe next payment date was presenting the next day's date, as that was the next available payment dateThis information would have needed to be saved in order for the payment schedule to be updated and unfrozenThis requirement for deliberate action on behalf of the customer is to prevent to the processing of payments unwantedlyNo such action was taken, and the automatic payment schedule was left in its frozen state and no payments were scheduled to be made
We understand that it may be confusing to follow a specific order of operations when manipulating an automatic payment scheduleOur support team is made available to assist a customer when needed, and to correct these mistakes before they result in payments not being madeWe also understand that the customer feels it is our responsibility to reimburse three months of late fees, though it would have been evident after just one day that the payment schedule was not updated correctlySimply reaching out to support or revisiting ChargeSmart would have shown that no payment had been scheduled or otherwise madeNo payment confirmation emails would have been sent while the payment schedule was still in a frozen state, and no funds were withdrawn from the customer's payment accountThe lack of evidence that payments are being made along with a surplus of funds in a bank account is often evidence enough for one of our customers to recognize that their payments have not been madePrior to the bill not having been paid for three months, no communication was made to ChargeSmart to investigate the matter
We truly regret that our customer, after having successfully used the system for such a long period of time, unsuccessfully updated their automatic payment schedule and failed to recognize or correct the matter for several months, accruing the previously mentioned late feesUnfortunately we are unable to refund these late fees to the customer, as they were not charged by ChargeSmart, but by the customer's auto loan servicerWhile ChargeSmart's tools make it easy and convenient for its customers to pay their bills automatically using a debit or credit card, it is the customer's responsibility to ensure that the service is used correctly and that payments are made to their biller(s) as required by any financing agreementWe regret that this matter was not recognized by the customer sooner, and that we were not given an opportunity to correct the matter sooner and prevent the accrual of three months of late feesPlease see that ChargeSmart acted in accordance with its terms and conditions, and provided its services without fail when used correctly by the customer
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2015/07/28) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
As you can see in ChargeSmart's response, they recognized that I received the email about my credit card being set to expire, and that I added a new credit card and set it as my default card, as well as deleting the expired cardThey then admit:
"We understand that it may be confusing to follow a specific order of operations when manipulating an automatic payment schedule."
This is my overall complaintI did my very best to put in my new credit card and set it up as the card that makes the automatic paymentsI did receive the warning that "This payment method has a recurring payment associated with itPlease update the recurring payment before deleting this payment method." When I put in my new credit card, I selected the bullet that made the new card the one that is used for the recurring payment, but it clearly did not workThat's a website malfunctionWhen I called ChargeSmart, as the person in the prior message suggested that I never did (and he also mentioned how friendly and helpful their customer assistance team is), the "supervisor" told me that it was my fault and it must have been some issue with MY web browserHis tone was basically the same as the previous message above: everything is my fault (and really, the tone in the message above tries to pain me as incompetent, which I surely am not when it comes to computers and using online service; I currently use many online service with automatic payments, and this is the only one I've ever had trouble with)
Thus, I do not accept ChargeSmart's response, and I am even more put off with them now after this responseThe fact that they continued to "regret" that I was unable to act probably (or, "navigate" their system) shows an unnecessary stubbornnessAnd blaming me for not noticing right away that the payment didn't go through does not answer the problem of their malfunctioning, confusing website, which they themselves even admit is confusing
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/02/27) */
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller typesWe enable customers to submit payments funded by a debit or
credit card to companies that normally do not accept this form of paymentWe charge a service fee that varies depending on the biller and the amount because we are charged an interchange fee by the Card Networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover)ChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting paymentsThe customer always has the option of paying directly with the biller
The complainant visited our site on 1/16/and submitted an auto loan payment to Santander Consumer USAAll information used to fulfill the payment request was provided by the customer submitting the payment, as are all payments made using ChargeSmartWe submitted this payment the same evening it was submitted, and received confirmation that it was accepted the morning of 1/and applied to the provided account numberAlong with our confirmation email notices, we advise that all payments made using our system are expected to post within 2-business daysTypically we receive direct communication from our customers to notify us of any alleged problems with a paymentThese communications can be received by ChargeSmart agents by email or phoneBoth means of contacting us are provided to our customers on our website, in each confirmation email, and also on our Revdex.com information pageWe have not received any direct contact from the complainant via phone or email, nor have our outbound calls to the provided phone number been returned
If the complainant has not seen the payment post to their auto loan account, it is the result of either an incorrect biller or incorrect account numberIn the case of either of these scenarios, we are skilled at resolving the matter in an expedient fashion, and would be happy to do so on the complainant's behalfWithout confirmation that both the biller and destination account number provided were correctly entered, we are unable to research the matter any further, as we are not permitted to access our customer's accounts without their cooperation
We look forward to hearing directly from the complainant, as well as working with their auto loan servicer to achieve a resolution to this matterFeel free to reach out if further clarification is needed to show that ChargeSmart acted in accordance with its terms of service
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 10, 2015/03/03) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Yes, I am sorryI did use a closed account number that we still owe onAll has been resolved with SantanderI apologize for the confusion
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/03/17) */
ChargeSmart, a web-based *** payment service that enables its customers to submit card-funded payments to a network of auto, mortgage, education loan, and utility companies, is acutely aware of the threat of payment card fraud to
businesses and cardholders alike, and does everything possible to discourage fraudulent activity and to protect its customers
Along with other measures, ChargeSmart identifies patterns consistent with fraudulent activity, including but not limited to, atypical payment velocity, identity verification, and feedback from the cardholder's issuing bank
Much like the prevention of fraudulent activity, the resolution of fraudulent activity requires vigilance from all parties to card transactions, including issuing banks, businesses accepting payments, and the holders of payment cardsAdditionally, timeliness is also a key factor in reversing any fraudulent charges and a merchant's ability to return fundsTypically, fraudulent charges can only be contested with the issuing bank for a specific period of time, which varies from bank to bankThese industry-wide statutes of limitations are explicitly disclosed to cardholders so that they may know the timeframes in which they must monitor their payment card activity and report any suspicious activity
We have learned that this consumer's American Express card was used for fraudulent purposes over a 14-month period beginning nearly two years agoWhen the fraud was brought to our attention, we worked with the issuer to return the most recent transactionUnfortunately, due to the long period of time that had passed *** this activity occurred, the remaining transactions could not be returned from ChargeSmart or the issuer
In the interest of achieving the most amicable resolution possible for the consumer, ChargeSmart continues to attempt reversal of these reportedly fraudulent charges from the recipient payeesAny payment amounts successfully retrieved by ChargeSmart *** be immediately returned to the cardholder
We truly regret that Mr*** has been victimized and are sympathetic to his condition, as ChargeSmart has also been victimized in this scenario, given that we are not the ultimate recipient of these funds
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 11, 2015/04/01) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Now you understand my issues with ChargeSmartThey won't even respond to the Revdex.com
Final Business Response /* (4000, 13, 2015/04/06) */
We certainly understand the frustration and regret associated with being victimized by card fraud, as ChargeSmart sustains losses of this nature just as a cardholder does when fraudulent transactions go unrecognizedAs previously mentioned, we are neither the perpetrators of the fraudulent activity, nor are we the recipient of the payments in question in this case
As mentioned in our original response to the Revdex.com, ChargeSmart has complied with the regulations set forth for all merchants that accept American Express payments, and has incorporated the information from this case to further bolster our existing anti-fraud measures to prevent such events from occurring in the future
Please note that ChargeSmart's inability to comply with the customer's requested remedy is a result of the elapsed time between the fraudulent transactions occurring and their being reported as suchIn no way is our inability to provide the customer's requested resolution by wilful disregard of, or a refusal to perform a duty that is available to usAny and all remedies within our reach have already been issued, and we are continuing to work to connect the customer directly to the billing companies that retained the funds in question
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 15, 2015/04/07) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I believe restitution is in orderCharge Smart allowed duplicate charges on same day to American ExpressNo effort was made to notify American Express or to me of red flag chargesI am more than frustrated
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 11, 2015/12/24) */
ChargeSmart has successfully reversed these payments from Duke Power and has issued a refund to the customer for bothEmail refund confirmations have been provided to the customer for both paymentsPlease advise if further information
is needed to show that ChargeSmart has fully reimbursed the customer for these unpostable payments
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 13, 2016/01/12) */
Ms***
Am just now finding and reading the e-mail you sent on January 5,
I would like to advise you that ChargeSmart has returned all the money sent to Duke Energy in October, HAS BEEN RETURNED to meI received the funds on December 24, I received the $140.00, $and both charge fees
I want to thank you for handeling this and getting my funds returned to me
You do not know how much I appreciate you and your assistance
Again, the money has been returned to me and I am very grateful for all you have done to make sure this was taken care of
As far as I know, this case can be closeClosed as successful
Thank you and sincerely,
*** A ***
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/30) */
Hello,
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller typesWe enable customers to submit payments funded by a
debit or credit card to companies that normally do not accept this form of paymentWe charge a service fee that varies depending on the biller and the amount because we are charged an interchange fee by the Card Networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover)Our fee is clearly displayed before a payment is submittedChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting paymentsThe customer always has the option of paying directly with the biller
Our customer, Mr*** submitted his payment to Sheffield Financial on 12/11, and was advised that his payment would post in 2-business daysHis payment was confirmed to have been received by the biller on 12/14, the following business dayThe date this case was opened was the second business day after submission, and likely the date the payment posted
We spoke to Mr*** on 12/and confirmed the account number provided to have been correctWe believe this matter to have been prematurely reported, and also resolvedPlease advise if further information is needed to show that ChargeSmart acted in accordance with its terms and conditions
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/10/20) */
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller typesWe enable customers to submit payments funded by a debit or
credit card to companies that normally do not accept this form of paymentWe charge a service fee that varies depending on the biller and the amount because we are charged an interchange fee by the Card Networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover)ChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting paymentsThe customer always has the option of paying directly with the biller
The complainant visited our website the evening of Saturday 10/4/Our bill payment website was navigated to by way of a web search for "tampaelectric.com"When a web search is performed for an existing URL, the search engine will present results it deems relevant, rather than just the website associated with that URLAs many of Tampa Electric's customers do use our service to pay their bill, a link to our page was presented among other search results, including a direct link to the biller's own web pageChargeSmart's website has a distinct green and gray color scheme with the ChargeSmart Bill Payments logo on every page in the upper left hand cornerChargeSmart states on each page that it may or may not have any direct affiliation with the listed biller(s)These measures are taken to avoid any confusion that customers may experience in assuming that we are their biller, rather than a third party bill payment service
Before the complainant submitted their payment to Tampa Electric Co., we presented our service fee of $on its own line below the user provided bill payment amount, as well as the additive amount of their bill payment amount plus our feeAll three of these numbers were displayed in prominent and bold text above the payment submission button, before the payment could be submittedWe present our fee and the total amount charged to the provided payment card to avoid any confusion as to the difference between the amount being paid to the biller and the amount charged to the payment cardAlso presented to the complainant before the payment was submitted was the request to allow 2-business days for their payment to postThis message is also displayed in prominent lettering directly below the line displaying the total amount to be chargedWe take every effort to place this information in a manner that is clear and difficult to overlook, however we cannot force our customers to read the information presented to them
The complainant's statement that no receipt was provided is incorrectOnce the payment was submitted, we displayed an on-screen message confirming receipt of their payment, providing them with their payment's Reference ID number, and reiterating the message that their payment would post to their biller in 2-business daysThis information was also sent to the provided email address along with some information on how to access their ChargeSmart accountWe have confirmed receipt of this email, as the complainant replied to it stating no receipt was given for the payment; however that is the form of receipt provided by our company to all customersIt is possible that they were expecting a form of receipt exclusive to payments made through another online bill payment method
As a reputable third-party bill payment service, we pride ourselves in keeping our customers' information secure and protectedWe utilize industry-standard SSL encryption to protect customer information being transmitted to our service, and we uphold industry-leading fraud recognition measures to prevent the acceptance of fraudulent chargesAs is stated in our terms of service, no customer information is sold to or shared with third parties for marketing purposesThe only situation where ChargeSmart uses the information provided by its customers is to submit a bill payment at the customer's specific direction
The complainant's claim that they were placed on hold for minutes and then cut off is incorrectWhen a customer calls our Support line outside of our stated business hours of 7am and 6pm PST Monday through Friday, we play a message that invites them to contact us via email for assistance with their inquiryAfter this message is played, the call is disconnectedThis entire process would have taken under two minutes, and would not have resulted in the complainant being placed on a hold of any sort
Had the complainant requested that the payment be cancelled before it was submitted to Tampa Electric on Monday, 10/we could have cancelled the payment for a full refundThis request could have been made via phone during out business hours or by emailNo such request was made before the payment was submitted and accepted by the billerAs this payment had been accepted by the biller on Tuesday 10/7, we are unable to offer a refund for services renderedThe complainant's request to have their personal information made unavailable has been fulfilledThe account has been locked and no further use of the account is possible
Please find that all services provided to the complainant by ChargeSmart were done so in accordance to our terms of service and exactly as advertisedIf further information is required to clearly show that ChargeSmart has acted upon its commitment to its customers, please let us know
On February 24, my husband used this company to pay our Direct TV bill The money was withdrawn from our account on February It is now March and Direct TV has yet to receive our money I have tried to phone chargesmart and only get a recording to leave a message I have also emailed them Still waiting for a response as to where my money is If problem isn't resolved with in a matter of days a complaint will be filed
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/08/19) */
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller typesWe enable customers to submit payments funded by a debit or
credit card to companies that normally do not accept this form of paymentWe charge a service fee that varies depending on the biller and the amount because we are charged an interchange fee by the Card Networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover)ChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting paymentsThe customer always has the option of paying directly with the biller
ChargeSmart's website has a distinct green and gray color scheme with the ChargeSmart Bill Payments logo on every page in the upper left hand cornerChargeSmart states on each page that it may or may not have any direct affiliation with the listed biller(s)These measures are taken to avoid any confusion that customers may experience in assuming that we are their biller, rather than a third party bill payment serviceWhile it is true that we are not directly affiliated with Sheffield Financial, they do have the ability to contact us, should they choose to do so
The customer visited our website on Saturday, August 8th and submitted a payment to Sheffield Financial in the amount of $with a service fee of $Also presented was the information that it takes 2-business days for a payment to post, which was noted on-screen and in our email receipt
On Monday 8/10, our Risk team was motivated to cancel the customer's transaction, as its characteristics and the risks associated with accepting and remitting the transaction were deemed unacceptably highWe voided the transaction before it settled out of the customer's bankWe sent an email notice of the payment's cancellation, just as we had sent the payment's original receiptWhen a payment is voided, the pending authorization will simply drop off anywhere between 1-business days, depending on the bankThe funds that were on hold with the bank would have been released to the balance of funds, or available credit within this time frameWe see that this void was accepted by the customer's issuing bank, that no funds were taken by ChargeSmart, and that no service was renderedAs such, there is no credit to be issued to the customer
Feel free to reach out if further clarification is needed to show that ChargeSmart acted in accordance with its terms of serviceWe apologize if there was any lack of clarity that the payment has long since been canceled, despite our best efforts to inform the customer of this information
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/08/24) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
On 8/18, after I submitted this compliant a company representative called me to let me know the funds were never withhold from my account as an email canceling the transaction was sent following the receiptOn the same day, I alerted my bank and requested that a hold be placed on the transaction; since, I never received the alleged cancellation emailI allowed ample time (days) for the transaction to clear my account before I called the biller to inquire the paymentThis is the first and last time, I'll pay any biller indirectly
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2015/04/24) */
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller types. ChargeSmart does not own or independently operate this...
payment network, but acts as an originator of payments being delivered through the network to established banking institutions and payees. We rely on these payees to keep their own payment remittance information up-to-date as their banking and business relationships change over time. ChargeSmart updates its system daily to reflect the most current information within this network to prevent any posting errors or delays for our customers.
The customer visited ChargeSmart on 2/23 and submitted a payment to Freedom Mortgage Corp. At the point of sale, we informed the customer through various means that the payment was expected to post within 2-3 business days, as is to be expected with any of the payments made through the ChargeSmart system. It is common for customers to promptly reach out to ChargeSmart Support if they have not seen their payment post within the expected timeframe. While posting difficulties represent an exceptionally low percentage of all payments, ChargeSmart Support is well-versed in these matters and has developed the necessary relationships to resolve these issues when presented to us. In our experience, these posting difficulties are the result of an incorrectly entered account number, incorrectly chosen biller, or an issue specific to the biller that has caused a payment to remain unapplied without further assistance from a Support representative.
We were first contacted by our customer on 3/30, nearly five weeks after the expected date of posting. At this time he stated that the payment was required to post no later than 3/31 to achieve a refinance of the mortgage. One of ChargeSmart's support representatives immediately reached out to the customer's mortgage lender to begin the process of locating the payment. While researching the matter, it was revealed that the remittance address on file for the lender, as it appears in the aforementioned payment network was not the one the lender presents to its account holders. Since ChargeSmart's payment submissions are done electronically, we did not send a payment to any physical address at all, but rather electronically, to the banking institution that represents the mortgage lender. Our Support representative assembled all of the pertinent information for our customer's as-of-yet applied payment and submitted it to the lender's research team for further review and research. At the end of the conversation, our representative indicated that we would need some time to further research the matter with both the customer and the lender's assistance.
The claim that we refused to reimburse the customer for any incurred late fee misrepresents what was actually said by our agent. Our focus was to locate the payment and show that it had been in the lender's system all along, thus invalidating any previously applied late fee from the lender themselves. The claim that we refused to refund our own service fee is also incorrect. In addition to locating the payment, we sought to determine who is at-fault for any posting delays and determine what remedy can and should be provided by ChargeSmart. We understand that the customer wanted his desired remedy to be provided immediately based on his assumption that ChargeSmart had acted negligently, though this assumption was not taking into consideration the true nature of the error.
Our support representative and the customer agreed to another conference call the following day to continue researching the matter, but it appears that the customer chose not to continue working with ChargeSmart to achieve an amicable resolution, as he did not call back as he had originally agreed.
A member of ChargeSmart's management team personally reached out to the customer on 4/13 after our Support Team had obtained all the necessary documentation of the payment reaching the biller's payment account. This delay was due to the time required for each respective participant involved with moving these funds to complete their own internal investigation and remit their findings to ChargeSmart. The customer agreed to a conference call at a time that best suited the customer on 4/14 so that they could speak to the lender together and go over the matter as a group. The customer did not field this scheduled call, nor did he return the request for a call back to further discuss resolution.
As originally promised, ChargeSmart continued to work with the biller to locate the payment and determine what had caused the posting error in the first place. While going over the matter with the lender directly, we were able to confirm as of 4/22 that the payment was applied to the customer's account with an effective date of 3/30. Also noted was the payment the customer made directly on 3/31. We were also told by the lender that no late fee had been applied to the account as a result of the delay in posting, as no payment was absent in excess of 30 days from the due date. We are unable to respond to the claim that that a refinance was made ineligible as a result of this delay, as we were not permitted any specific information from the account without the customer's cooperation and permission.
When addressing the significant delay between when the lender's bank received the payment and it's posting, it was determined that the payment network's information for the lender is out-of-date, allegedly not having been kept current by one of the various banking institutions involved. The payment was electronically delivered to an account that is not regularly maintained by the biller, but swept on a monthly basis. This is of no fault to ChargeSmart or the mortgage lender, as we both rely on the banking institutions to accurately represent its billers. Upon learning this information, we immediately removed Freedom Mortgage as a valid payee on ChargeSmart to prevent further issues while we continue to work with both parties to correct the lender's erroneous network listing. We were also informed by the lender that the name of our customer is not the name on the mortgage account. It was speculated by one of our contacts at the lender that this discrepancy could have further exacerbated the posting delay.
Having confirmed that the delay in posting is not a result of any service failure on ChargeSmart's behalf, and that no late fee is reported to have been applied by the lender, we respectfully decline the request to provide a remedy for any such late fee. We are unable to credit our customer for the fee assessed by the lender for payment processing, as this fee was not assessed by ChargeSmart. We have refunded the service fee assessed by ChargeSmart as a convenience to our customer. This electronic refund was issued on 4/22 and is expected to have posted to their provided payment card no later than 4/25. It is also our sincere belief that resolution of this matter would have been achieved within two or three business days from its reporting, had we been granted the full cooperation of the customer, not to mention more prompt notification of the posting delay.
The customer's payment has been applied to the provided mortgage account and the service fee assessed by ChargeSmart has been refunded to the customer, as was requested. We consider this matter to be resolved and truly regret the trouble that our customer has experienced.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 12, 2015/04/28) */
4-27-15
Sent via email:
Yes - please close the complaint.
Best,
[redacted]
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/02/19) */
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller types. We enable customers to submit payments funded by a debit or...
credit card to companies that normally do not accept this form of payment. We charge a service fee that varies depending on the biller and the amount because we are charged an interchange fee by the Card Networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover). ChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting payments. The customer always has the option of paying directly with the biller.
The complainant visited our website late in the evening of 1/25/2015. ChargeSmart's website has a distinct green and gray color scheme with the ChargeSmart Bill Payments logo on every page in the upper left hand corner. ChargeSmart states on each page that it may or may not have any direct affiliation with the listed biller(s). These measures are taken to avoid any confusion that customers may experience in assuming that we are their biller, rather than a third party bill payment service.
The complainant submitted a payment to Georgia Power in the amount of $45.00, with a service fee of $4.99. This service fee was fully disclosed in bold lettering in a central location on-screen. Also presented was the information that it takes 2-3 business days for a payment to post.
Shortly after submitting the payment, we received 2 emails that indicated that the complainant failed to notice our terms, wherein a payment requires 2-3 business days to post. We were reached by the complainant by phone the following morning, despite claims that we do not answer the phone, at which point we voided the transaction, as requested. No funds were taken by ChargeSmart, and no service was rendered, as specifically requested by the customer.
Feel free to reach out if further clarification is needed to show that ChargeSmart acted in accordance with its terms of service. We apologize if there was any confusion regarding our capabilities and relationship with Georgia Power, despite our best efforts to inform the complainant.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/11/17) */
Hello,
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller types. We enable customers to submit payments funded by a...
debit or credit card to companies that normally do not accept this form of payment. We charge a service fee that varies depending on the biller and the amount because we are charged an interchange fee by the Card Networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover). Our fee is clearly displayed before a payment is submitted. ChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting payments. The customer always has the option of paying directly with the biller.
Our customer submitted a payment on Monday November 2nd and shortly thereafter tried to contact our customer support team by phone. We were experiencing a heavier-than-usual call volume on this Monday morning, within our first hour of the business day, and were unable to field this customer's call within a reasonable amount of holding time. When we have a heavy call volume, we ask that our customers provide us a number for a callback, or to leave a voicemail, both of which would be received and handled within the business day. We show that our customer did not choose one of these two options and was disconnected as a result, after approximately 10 minutes of holding. We also see that the customer called back and hung up almost immediately twice. We regret the inconvenience caused by this heavy call volume, but feel that our alternative contact methods provide a fair avenue to resolve customer issues in these cases.
We did not call the customer back, as no voicemail or callback request was made, and we did not receive any email request to cancel payment. As such, the payment was submitted to the biller as had been originally requested. Upon receipt of this complaint, we contact the customer's biller and reversed the payment. The payment was refunded in full, as was requested. We consider the matter to be resolved, as all customer requests have been fulfilled. Please let us know if any further clarification is needed to show that all requests were met as received.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/05/20) */
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller types. All payments are submitted online by our customers, or by a...
recurring monthly payment schedule that is also created online.
This complaint led us to perform an investigation into the complainant's concerns about her personal information and identity, as well as into the alleged conduct of one of our agents.
The complainant is not a ChargeSmart customer; however it is clear that her email became associated with a ChargeSmart customer's payments in our system. Our investigation has indicated that one of our longtime customers who had used our service to pay down her balance at a department store had mistakenly input her email address when submitting numerous payments. It appears that this customer had a tendency to mistype both her name and email address, as we found many examples of mistyped versions of her own name and true email address as being associated with her payment account. All of the mistyped email addresses contain additional, missing, or transposed digits and letters. Most of these mistypes resulted in failed or rejected email messages, however it seems that with this particular typo, she typed in a valid email address that was not her own, and in fact belongs to the complainant. As is the case with a phone number, the adjustment of a single character can point a communication to an unintended recipient.
To prevent mistyped email addresses from granting the unintended recipient access to the true ChargeSmart User's account, we do require a predetermined password to be input to view any sensitive information within the account. Additionally, we require additional verification of personal information to reset a password using an email address. These measures were put in place specifically to address the respective situations being experienced by the complainant and our customer.
We determined that this mistyped email address was submitted with a number of individually submitted payments, most likely as a result of a web browser's auto-complete tool drawing on the most recently used email address, as well as having been associated with an automatic payment schedule. While we do have the ability to adjust the email address used for automatic payment information, we cannot prevent our customers from mistyping their own email addresses in such a way that they match another individual's email address.
When the complainant called into ChargeSmart Support to address her concerns, the agent with whom she spoke was alarmed by the allegation of identity theft or fraud, as we take those matters quite seriously. The agent in question asked a number of probing questions to glean as to whether or not this was an account created with the complainant's identity, or if it was a simple matter of a mistyped email address. It does appear that this line of questioning allowed the complainant to obtain some information belonging to our customer who had mistyped her email address. We regret that this information was divulged and have taken necessary actions to educate and discipline the agent in question, so as to prevent this misstep from occurring in the future. We did indeed follow-up with our customer, and are confident that this is simply a matter of an elderly customer having trouble typing accurately, and not one of identity theft.
The complainant's personal information, banking credentials, payment cards, and other identity factors are not known to ChargeSmart, and therefore have not been compromised as a result of our customer's inability to correctly type her own email address. At no point has the complainant's computer been tampered with by ChargeSmart, nor has ChargeSmart shared her email address with outside parties. Any communications sent to the complainant's email address are not associated with any of her own personal information. We have also taken the necessary measures to remove her email address from the ChargeSmart system, so that she will no longer receive these emails that were troubling her. We trust that the results of our investigation, as well as the measures we have taken may serve as a resolution for this complaint.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2014/05/21) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Thank you very much for the thorough investigation on all accounts and for verifying the security of my own personal information. I would hope that all would agree how ODD it was to have a name so similar to mine (what does [redacted] even mean? It is exactly my last name, except for the errant space between the E and C. SO unusual, so of course, identify fraud was my first worry. One credit application stolen from my mail and they're off.) I appreciate very much that you have disguarded my contact information, and hopefully the real customer/client has been educated in how to properly use her Charge Smart account. Thank you for your time.
[redacted]
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/11/04) */
Hello,
ChargeSmart is an online bill payment service that submits payments to a network of auto loan, mortgage, education loan, utility companies, and other miscellaneous biller types. We enable customers to submit payments funded by a...
debit or credit card to companies that normally do not accept this form of payment. We charge a service fee that varies depending on the biller and the amount because we are charged an interchange fee by the Card Networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover). Our fee is clearly displayed before a payment is submitted. ChargeSmart is an optional means of submitting payments. The customer always has the option of paying directly with the biller.
ChargeSmart's website has a distinct green and gray color scheme with the ChargeSmart Bill Payments logo on every page in the upper left hand corner. ChargeSmart states on each page that it may or may not have any direct affiliation with the listed biller(s). These measures are taken to avoid any confusion that customers may experience in assuming that we are their biller, rather than a third party bill payment service. While it is true that are not directly affiliated with WE Energies, they do have the ability to contact us, should they choose to do so. It seems as though the WE Energies support agent with whom our customer spoke had not heard of our bill payment service before.
To address our customer's specific claims, we do not advertise a 24 hour service number. Our support hours are M-F between the hours of 8am and 6pm Pacific Standard Time. It is also clear that our customer incorrectly dialed our phone number, as it is a verifiable fact that we do not offer Caribbean cruises, nor do we solicit the age of our customers, nor do we offer free medical alert bracelets.
We show no record of our customer reaching our actual support number of XXX-XXX-XXXX, though we did receive an email request to cancel the payment on 10/13 after our business hours. Upon receipt of this email on 10/14, we promptly voided the customer's charge, as requested. No payment was received and no service was rendered. The ChargeSmart account has been closed, so that no further charges can be made.
We're truly puzzled by the customer's claim that our toll free number led to an offer for a Caribbean cruise or a medic alert bracelet. Anyone can, at any time, call our toll free number and verify that it leads to ChargeSmart and ChargeSmart only. Additionally, having fulfilled our customer's request to cancel the payment, we consider this matter to be resolved.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 11, 2016/01/05) */
This payment was refunded at the customer's specific request on 12/18. Refunds typically take 2-3 business days to post, which would translate to 12/21-23. The date in which this case was opened was business day number one, which is too...
soon for the refund to have processed successfully. We're glad to see that the customer has received the expected refund and closed the case as resolved.