Consumer complaint received 2020-01-30
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: PA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
I needed a limo for my sisters bachelorette party in XXXX, PA. I found this company online searching under " XXXX XXXX   XXXX  '' http : //XXXX. This company is owned and ran by a XXXX XXXX. The website did not have any reviews. We had spoken on the phone, and he quoted me low 400 's in price for 4 hours in a limousine. I did not have any reason to believe this was a scam, although he did call and leave a message at XXXX XXXX  pressuring me to sign a contract. He seemed very polite and professional on the phone, and he did mention that when the card was run, it would be by XXXX XXXX. When I signed the grainy contract with small print ( I have never booked limo service before ), I had to send a scanned copy back via email with copy of my credit card and license. He did not fill in the price part, so I did not realize what my card was going to be charged until after the fact. 

When he sent over the confirmation, it was for over 200 dollars more then was discussed. I told him exactly 6 minutes later I  wanted to cancel, that wasnt what we had discussed, he said I couldn't, per the contract. He became very argumentative and rude. I cancelled the credit card, immediately reported it as fraudulent activity to Chase, and opened another card. Since I disputed the XXXX, he added whats called " chargeback '', and he was somehow able to get that through on the card, despite the fact I had also blocked the merchant. When I disputed that, another XXXX was added, much to my dismay. So now XXXX dollars on my card. When I started researching further into this, I see many horrid reviews saying he has done the exact same thing to many other unsuspecting individuals. Either before or after the fact of the limo service. He is a conman and a scammer. 

He does not provide the limo, he is just middleman who sub contracts the limo service. He does this in Florida, California, Texas, New York, and Minnesota too, and all over the country. So this is on a national scale, please see links to reviews below. This is credit card fraud on a national level. He on the website is posing as the limo company, he is just the subcontractor. That is misrepresentation and trickery, he owns a limousine scheduling service, not an actual limo fleet. {$1600.00} dollars is an absolutely egregious amount of money to be charged for not using a service. It was an unenforceable contract to boot, as I never received a signed copy and there was not an amount on the contract. I didn't get as far as to actually get in the limo, looking at all the bad reviews of all the horrid experiences other people have had on their special occasions, I didn't want to ruin my sister 's special day. I also never thought in a million years that despite all the measures I took with the credit card company, they would ever allow this to happen. I wish I would have just cancelled the card, apparently that was the only way to not be charged. Here are some links to other people he has scammed : https : XXXX XXXX  https : XXXX I want a full refund plus interest for my 16 % APR credit card. I didn't cost him any money and I didn't use a limo. I asked to cancel exactly 6 minutes after seeing the price. Almost three months in advance. Requested service date was XX/XX/18, the unenforceable contract was signed XX/XX/18. I can easily prove all this with credit card statements, correspondence between him and I, and other people I have reached out to on XXXX that he scammed. Chase was absolutely reprehensible throughout this nightmare of a scam. I took every possible measure ( once I realized I was being scammed ) to ensure that I wouldnt be further charged. They sided with him in both the disputes and allowed me to be charged XXXX dollars in chargeback fees. 

I reached to many local media outlets, along with many other furious victims and had these stories published about this scammer in XXXX and XXXX FL ( where he lives ), XXXX PA ( where he grew up, and started scamming people, and was  advertising his scam I fell for ), and XXXX PA ( where I live )  : https : XXXX https : XXXX https : XXXX https : XXXX This story features me :  https : XXXX The PA state attorney general is now suing him on my behalf and that of the PA consumers, if this doesnt cement it was an internet scam, I dont know what does. This story also features me : https : XXXX Chase still refuses to budge on this matter, even after threatening to escalate this matter to the CFPB. They state that this is a matter between me and him. They are supposed to protect me from scammers like this. I did my part by immediately alerting them of the fraudulent activity and cancelling the card. I lost both disputes and also paid a cool XXXX dollars to do so. The fact they still allowed this thief to charge me on my new card after I blocked the merchant is absolutely ridiculous. They were unable to provide me with an explanation as to how this happened. This has been so unpleasant and expensive to boot.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief