WINTER PARK, Fla. — When Justin Hess went to bed Sunday, he knew his insurance payment to Florida Blue would be deducted in the morning.
Then he got a text message from his bank saying the payment had been charged to his account, 51 times.
“$15,000 has been taken out of your account,” the text message said according to Hess.
Hess wasn’t alone in the debacle – Several Florida Blue customers contacted Channel 9 to report they had been overcharged as well.
One person was charged $13,000; another nearly $22,000; and in one woman's case, $30,000 was taken out of her account and she had no idea there was a problem until her debit card was declined at lunch.
Florida Blue told Channel 9 that it was working to return the overcharged funds and had shut off its electronic payment system until the problem is sorted out.
Hess doesn’t plan to wait for a refund and disputed the charges with his bank, leaving Florida Blue to deal with the situation on its side.
The insurance company did not have any information on how the excess charges were made and who might be responsible.