Scam and corporate irresponsibility... what to do?

A year and a half ago I bought a power hitter/ power meter bundle from Medicus. Yesterday morning, a $69 charge showed up from them on my credit card. Capitol One is apparently aware of the fraudulent nature of these charges because they froze my card. I also found out I'm far from alone:

http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-800-761-2744

I'm furious. I called Medicus, and they claimed to know nothing about it and referred me to a company called "Golf Essentials". I called them and could not talk to a real person and got into an automated loop that made me uncomfortable with the information it was asking me for.

So I called Medicus back to talk to a real person again. Basically they admitted they knew this was happening but refused to do anything about it, again referring me to "Golf Essentials". Why should I deal with Golf Essentials, when my original transaction was through Medicus and the charge on my card yesterday was from "Medicus"????

I'm tempted to write up a letter with this story and links to all the similar victims stories and send it to Mark O'Meara, Aaron Baddeley, Hank Haney and all the other professionals who have attached their name to this unethical company. But I doubt it would do much good.

Anyone else? Sorry for the rant. I'm seething.

I'm confused. They just charged your card a year later (randomly) and won't give you your money back?

Yeah, basically. Click the link above to read the stories from others... they are all pretty similar.

I'm really bitterly disappointed by all this. I trusted that Medicus was an honest and respectable company based on the endorsements of people like Mike Weir, Hank Haney and Aaron Baddeley.

Is it a moral issue, or do you really care about the money? If you can miss the 70$ I'd drop it. Otherwise though, or if they charge AGAIN, you should get pissed. And writing a letter never hurts.

"Now we must all fear evil men, but there is another kind of fear which we must fear most. And that is the indifference of good men!" Make sure you get the $70 back! Electronic robbery is no better than a hold up!

I bought the set of Stack & Tilt DVD's over a year ago. As soon as they arrived and I realized that it was being distributed through Medicus golf I got on the phone and sent the DVD's back for a full refund. I then called my bank and got a new card issued so that they couldn't charge me anything down the road even if they wanted to.

Sounds like your beef is with "Golf Essentials", who probably handles sale orders for Medicus. It may have been an honest mistake but your credit card company should straighten it out for you after your unsuccessful attempt at contacting "Golf Essentials".

They must be the 'Bally Total Fitness' of golf. Never let those guys get an account number either.

read sad Bally stories here .

read sad Medicus stories here .

SubPar

Nope. This has happened too many times to too many people. I originally dealt with Medicus directly and made my order through Medicus all in good faith. The charge on my card was from Medicus. In my opinion, they are liars and thieves and not to be trusted.

My credit card company denied the charge and put my card on hold, which was a hassle to get cleared up but ultimately I'm thankful for.

Check with your credit card company, regarding fraud protection.

I called them since I was trying to get an item repaired, and they could not help me.

They are a worthless company. That is why I refer people to either Momentus or Refiner Golf.

Interesting, recently my bank sent me a message and said that they were sending me a new credit card because my other card had been potentially compromised in a security breach in a retailer I had shopped at, but didn't provide the name, I have ordered a product from Medicus before - perhaps they are the retailer.

The golf industry, online especially, seems wrought with frauds and crappy business practices. Just had a run in with TGW.com recently.

I ran into the same problem, but now the scam is a 10 a month charge for something called Tour Partners Rewards.  I didn't want it or order it.  The refused to refund because it was a "non-refundable charge."  You had a great idea about writing OMeara, Haney, et. al.  I'll do the same

Not a good reply. Why should anyone disregard a $70.00 charge because they won"t miss it. Must be nice to be as wealthy as you.

Or stupid.

Confrontation sucks, but you're clearly right. You should try to record the phone call and then send the recording (provided it has solid evidence) to the Golf Channel and local news agencies (and really anyone that will listen).

I don't know if you guys caught the recording of a Verizon customer complaint a few years back regarding Verizon's misunderstanding of mathematics. http://verizonmath.blogspot.com/2007/08/original-recording-of-verizon-customer.html . Great example of catching a company admitting its ignorance on tape.

If you don't get their representative admitting the issue or some other sort of evidence then it is a he-said they-said, even though there is a record of fraud. And more importantly, sound bytes play well on the news.

Good luck and thanks for the heads up!

If you paid on a Visa or MasterCard just call your bank and get the transaction charged back...

The ownus is on the merchant to prove you made the transaction, not the other way around...

From my understanding of credit cards (once again Visa or MC)  there is no such thing as a "non-refundable" charge.. If you get no joy from your bank complain directly to Visa or MC....

You might also contact your state's attorney general office, as many of these have departments dealing with consumer fraud and have become more aggressive of late due to the increase in electronic fraud.

yes - returned an unopened item ordered in error - instead of refunding my money they attempted to CHARGE my credit card again.  When called on this action, they would not refund my money and tried to give me a "store credit".  Reported them to the BBB and they ignored the BBB.  This company engages in FRAUD - Beware and DO NOT give them your credit card number!!

I tend to avoid companies that flaunt their Better Business Bureau status because that usually means scam.