Consumer complaint received 2021-09-03
Company: One Technologies, LP
State: AZ
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit repair services
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2021, I took advantage of a " free trial '' offer for checking my credit reports from all three bureaus. The free trial was presumably offered by XXXX, which appeared to be a credit report provider. The free trial was for one week. 
The policy requires that one must cancel by the end of the free trial in order to avoid any charges, because the free trial automatically rolls into a paid monthly subscription of XXXX per month. 
On XX/XX/XXXX or XXXX, I checked my credit card through online banking, and observed that the company had already charged my card the XXXX monthly fee, even though the free trial was not over. Since the charge was pending, I assumed that this was merely a pre-authorization that would be removed when I cancelled. 
On the morning of XX/XX/2021, I went to the website and logged in so that I could cancel the membership. I scrolled through my billing, account, and membership info and did not find a way to cancel. I then found out on the website that I needed to call the company 's XXXX number and speak to a service rep in order to verbally request to cancel. I find it suspicious that they require cancellations to be verbal. This removes the possibility of consumers having written or printable proof of their cancellation. 
I called the company at that time. During the hour long phone call, I spoke to a service representative with a foreign accent and informed him that I wanted to cancel. He attempted to convince me to change my mind, and seemed reluctant to fulfill my request. I continued to repeat my request to cancel at the end of the trial. He continued to ask me questions to retain me as a customer, even though I already knew that I would not use the service and didn't want it. Initially, he would not agree to cancel my subscription after the trial and he argued with me. He was aggressive. 
Finally, after an extended conversation in which I repeated my request half a dozen times, he relented and agreed to cancel. He told me that my membership was cancelled and he was submitting a request for a refund. He said that " if '' it is approved, I would see the funds back in my account in a few days. He also told me that the charge was still pending, so it might take longer. He told me that refunds are not guaranteed. I was shocked that a refund was not guaranteed, when the charge was for a service that I hadn't used, didn't want, and I cancelled on time. I was surprised that the company might charge me for a service that I didn't receive. Some time after that call, I received an automated email from the company asking how they did. I did not respond. I also received an email that paradoxically stated " this message is to confirm that your XXXX account has been cancelled as of XX/XX/2021. Beginning XX/XX/2021, you will no longer have access to your latest credit reports and scores or XXXX monitoring. '' On XX/XX/2021, I had received no further correspondence from the company. I checked my online banking account again to see if the refund had been issued yet. I had not yet received my money back. Instead, the charge had posted to my account. 
Then I navigated to their website and logged in, so I could see the status of my cancellation and refund request. The website gave no indication that I had cancelled at the end of the free trial. Instead, it said that I was good until approx. XX/XX/XXXX, and this was my next billing date. I was upset. 
I called the company again. I used the phone number provided on the website again. After another lengthy call with two people ( a rep and a supervisor ) with a foreign accent, I felt that the issue might still not be resolved, even though they told me it had. They told me they had no indication that I had previously cancelled. They told me that the charges were still pending and I had not been charged. But, the charge WAS completed and I HAD cancelled previously. This was much the same as I had heard the first time I called. So after the call with them, I called a different number for the company. 
After hanging up, I called the number provided on my bank statement. It was the same menu, but this time I was transferred to a service rep with an American accent. Once again, I explained the entire situation and that I wanted to cancel after the free trial and I had done so, but my request was not honored. At that time, I also requested a refund for the {$1.00} that was charged to my card at the start of the free trial to " verify '' my card. The XXXX dollar was supposed to be a temporary pre-auth just to verify that the card was active ( this is common for companies that offer free trials ) so I was not surprised by it. However, I WAS surprised that the charge was posted to my card as an actual fee. I was told that it is refundable, but must be requested. Also, I was told that the charge is only able to be refunded if someone cancels after the free trial and no longer uses the service. 
In the afternoon of XX/XX/2021, I received an email from the company telling me that they were so happy I chose to reverse the cancellation and keep my membership. I was shocked, and replied with an angry email. ( After visiting the site again at XXXX XXXX  on XX/XX/XXXX, it paradoxically states that my account is " inactive ''. It offered me another " free trial ''. No thank you! ) I then looked up the company on XXXX, to see if anyone else had problems with the company. I navigated to the XXXX, where I found hundreds of other complaints with the same or similar experiences. Some people had been charged unexpectedly MONTHS after cancelling. I clicked to go to the company webpage, where I found out that the real name in fact is XXXX XXXX, XXXX based in Texas. It is listed as an internet marketing company, not a more heavily regulated " financial service '' /credit repair service. This is in spite of advertising that use of their service can help people improve their scores. 
Later in the evening, I received another email from the company stating that my refund request for the {$1.00} was approved. Okay, but where is my other refund? The one for XXXX? I have received no correspondence from the company regarding them giving my money back, except for the email that informed me they were so happy I chose to stay with their family- except I didn't choose that. I find the service useless. I get nothing that I can't get from XXXX for a lower cost. Due in large part to the fact that a bulk of their XXXX website services appears to be outside the scope of their normal business activities, and that it is an internet marketing company, XXXX appears to be merely a data collection company operating under a false pretense of a credit repair company with a simple XXXX web app that reposts credit reports and scores. I do not feel comfortable or safe with them having all of my personal information. I do not want them selling/distributing ANY of my information to any third party. I will submit a fraud alert to all 3 major credit bureaus after I file this report. 
At approx. XXXX XXXX  on XX/XX/XXXX, I decided to call my card issuing bank and submit a dispute on the charge. I made a report, and also informed them that I planned on reporting the company to the FTC, because this seems to be a scam, or fraudulent business practices. 
I am lucky that I have flexible business hours and I work primarily from home on a salary, so I am able to spend all of this time and effort to cancel, get my money back, dispute the charges, report this, and place a fraud alert on my credit reports. Most people can not. The amount of hoops they make people jump through, and the level of difficulty for customers to cancel at the end of the free trial ( or ever ), makes cancellation untenable for most people, much less the additional steps I have taken. If I worked at XXXX, I would not have been able to do everything that I did. The sad thing is, this is a company that promises the ability to check one 's credit scores and reports and improve them, so people who are wage workers with little time and few resources are the ones most likely to sign up and provide all of their personal data. The company reels us in with the promise of a free week trial, only to collect consumers CC and ALL private info ( SS #, home address, full name ), then charges people for services they don't receive and makes it extremely difficult to get the money back. The fact that many consumers report fraudulent charges months after cancelling is bothersome. This is enough to convince me of a scam. 
I am a business owner myself, and I run a small company that accepts CC payments. I am familiar with running CCs, so I know that companies can easily run a {$1.00} pre-auth to test the card instead of a charge. People should not have their cards CHARGED {$1.00}, {$.00}, or even {$.00} for what they state is FREE. 
I have taken the steps to become XXXX  compliant. The question is why are they storing people 's financial account information without express permission, months after the people are no longer doing business with them? I would NEVER think of retaining former customer 's card information after they have ceased to do business with me. There is something wrong about this. It is unlawful, and violates XXXX  industry standards. 
You have my full and express permission to reprint, copy, and/or distribute this written document and all related documentary evidence and information to any and all third parties in any jurisdiction under the condition that my personal identifying information is redacted, unless certain personal identifying information is necessary in order to achieve a just outcome.

Company public response: Company disputes the facts presented in the complaint
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief