Consumer complaint received 2025-09-23 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
Here are the details of my appeal regarding a dispute to USAA that I lost, regarding a charge for {$3100.00} to XXXX XXXX XXXX. This appeal is intended to outline why the decision on this dispute against my favor is incorrect and immoral, highlighting in timeline detail the fraudulent and thieving practices of XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

Most importantly, this dispute needs to be categorized as fraud due to the false advertising of the product sold and the continued fraudulent charges made to my card. 

XX/XX/year> I was quoted by XXXX XXXX, salesman at XXXX XXXX XXXX, who can be reached at XXXX, a wildlife exclusion project ( seen in page # 2 ), where the most important portion of the project was verbally sworn by him as a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX totaling XXXX XXXX intended to stop skunks ( who can dig XXXX feet deep ) & other wildlife from digging underneath fences and entering the property. The contract states the work to be done based on the product verbally sold, and the scope of work based on the examination and inspection of the property which took XXXX hours to propose. 
The product sold was not what was provided on first day of installation and the scope of work ( XXXX ft ) was drastically overquoted due to the inability to install the XXXX XXXX XXXX underground of more than 75 % of the footage proposed. Other services that were not executed or started in the contract were clean up, sanitization, ectoparasite fog or spray, initial service, monthly services nor insulation removal and install ( no charge for this but it was still not executed ). This totals a bid of {$6300.00}. To get the work started immediately, a 50 % down payment was paid of {$3100.00} ( first disputed amount ), although nowhere in their contract does it state that a 50 % down payment is required or any future payments beyond that until completion of the project. The contract states the contract can be cancelled up to 3 days after the signed contract. 

XX/XX/year> : Installation began the next day on XX/XX/year>, ironically, as they seemed eager and urgent to start the project immediately. Once XXXX, the installer, began the XXXX XXXX XXXX  the biggest portion of the project, within an hour of starting the work, it was clear that the product was only XXXX inches deep ( not XXXX feet by XXXX feet ) and that it was physically impossible to install them into the ground due to cement layers underneath voiding the XXXX ft. scope of work. This was a clear case of product false advertising and over scope of the project to bid a much higher price. This immediately made the contract null & void, and a verbal discussion was held with the installer, XXXX, me stating that all work needed to be put on hold due to the false advertising and over scope/bid of work and any future charges be halted immediately. I specifically did not sign off on the work done that day as instructed by XXXX, so that another charge would not go through. 10 % of the fraudulent dig defence product was installed before I caught the issues, a very minimal footage of the product, including cheap chicken wire that anyone can purchase at home depot for little to nothing, that was also never apart of the contract or project itself, due to the fact that the XXXX XXXX XXXX  product could not be installed into the ground, as they proposed, another example of intention to provide a much higher bid than possible. The project was halted as soon as I was aware of the fraud and the poor look and quality of what was installed and the finished, falsely advertised product. 

I immediately texted XXXX XXXX, the sales guy, requesting that all work be halted, which was within the XXXX cancellation window, due to false advertising and fraudulent marketing of the product and scope of work. I was very clear that no future payments were authorized since 50 % of entire project was already paid and not even 10 % of the work was completed or could be completed. Requesting an entirely new scope of work and assessment since the contract was voided and needed to be restarted from scratch. XXXX agreed in person, and XXXX agreed via text and verbal agreement on the phone after initial text message. 

XX/XX/year> XX/XX/year> After the installer left, another charge of {$1800.00} was charged by XXXX XXXX XXXX, attempting to charge my card but did not go through because I had already felt that I was getting scammed and closed the card. After confirming with both the installer and sales guy that the product sold was falsely advertised and the scope of the project was extremely over estimated, in addition to not signing acceptance for any further payments and them confirming no future payments will be made, combined with the project not even close to 50 % completed although 50 % was already paid, I knew in that moment that something was terribly wrong and that I was getting scammed by this company ( see text sent to salesman below ). I then began researching their company, finding an XXXX rating with XXXX XXXX XXXX and horrible reviews outlining the same nightmarish experiences. At this point, they lost my business and my comfortability with negotiating the work already done or future work, the scope of work nor having them back on my property. No other option other than voiding the contract seemed possible dealing with such a morally lacking and shady business. Due to the plethora of red flags including false advertisement, over scoped work, quality/lack of product contracted to and fraudulent charges, the only thing to do moving forward was to protect myself. They had voided the services outlined in the contract themselves before I ever needed to myself. It was also clear this company wasnt interested in fairness nor correcting the over scoped project and was only interested in stealing as much money from me as possible without providing the product or services promised. The Monday discussion never happened and there was no effort made to resolve the matter. The only attempts made by the company were charging my card as much as possible and creating a false narrative that they had completed a much larger percentage of the job. XXXX XXXX XXXX then claimed that once the project started, the 3-day cancellation option is voided, yet this is not stated anywhere in their contract and my request for cancellation was a day after acceptance. 

Following this, a dispute was filed against the original 50 % down payment of {$3100.00} with supporting documents, imagery, emails and proof of immoral practices by XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

USAA took almost 2 months, and very little documentation was provided by the merchant and sided in favor with XXXX XXXX XXXX. They did not seem to take the time to understand the details and that I had every right to cancel the contract within 3 days regardless if work had started. There was fraud and false advertising involved and this dispute should have resolved in my favor. USAA has been very unreachable and very unwilling to give me concrete details on why this did not resolve in my favor. I have appealed the dispute and provided a 20 page, in chronological order, review of everything that occurred including the contract and all the photos of what was NOT done, yet no one is transparent nor seems to take the time to understand why I had every right to cancel the contract and stop the work and refund the {$3100.00} based on proof of fraud. USAA has disappointed me 200 % and their credit card dispute dept. should be investigated on my behalf.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation