ORLANDO, Fla — An Orange County woman said a cell phone company kept her card on file and charged her for months without her permission.
“$884. That is ridiculous,” Norma Brown told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal.
Brown said she made a one-time payment on someone else’s Spectrum account then got hit with the extra charges. She claims she specifically told the company not to add her card to the account.
Realizing when it comes to money many people need a hand up from time to time, Norma Brown said she was just trying to help by offering to make a payment on the Spectrum cell phone plan that wasn’t hers.
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She said, “So, I put it on my debit card and paid it that day. They asked me, you know, ‘Is this a one-time use?’ and I said, ‘Yes.’”
Even though still married, she’s separated from her husband. They live apart, he has his own phone plan, and they have separate bank accounts. So, when she made the one-time payment, Brown said she made it clear, her card was not to be added to his account.
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“They also asked me do I want them to save my information, to which I said, ‘No.’ So, I thought everything was done with,” she said.
That was back in August. She showed Action 9 paperwork indicating it was even listed as a one-time payment on the account. It wasn’t until December she realized Spectrum kept hitting her card with monthly charges in September, October, November, and December totaling more than $800.
After contacting Spectrum in December her card was removed from the account. According to Norma Brown, she was promised a refund by January 18th , but that date passed, and the money still hadn’t been restored to her credit union account.
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Brown said, “For the past three months, it’s been very frustrating.”
Under federal law, companies are required to obtain clear consent before keeping a card on an account for recurring charges. If you must use auto payments for an account, it’s best to use a credit card if possible since there are more protections under the law.
If a company or organization charges you and you didn’t give consent for recurring payments, contact them right away and demand they remove your card. Then notify your bank or credit union to let them know about any unauthorized charges. Also, give them notice to revoke payments to that company. It’s best to do it in writing.
In this case, Action 9 reached out to Spectrum to ask about Norma Brown’s claims and her refund. A spokesman said someone from Spectrum’s customer care department would reach out to her last Thursday. Brown said that didn’t happen, leaving her frustrated with a problem she believes should have been resolved months ago.
“I just want my money back in my account. That’s all I’m asking for,” she said.
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Action 9 reached out to Spectrum again earlier this week. After that, the company contacted Brown and promised her a refund, but as of the time the story aired on television, she still had not received her money.
Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal also asked Spectrum if it is standard practice for the company to add a card to an account for recurring transactions after a one-time payment and what kind of consent it gets to retain the card information for these payments. So far, it has not responded to that inquiry.
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