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So I’m driving to school yesterday and notice I had missed a call on my cell phone. It was an unfamiliar area code, from somewhere outside Texas, so I tried calling back. Fairly immediately, a lady answered. “Is this Linsey?” “Um……yea…who is this?” She said she’s from a company called “Travel Life” and that I had been put on a list of their valued customers, and that they want to send me $400 in airline vouchers, as well as this other luxory cruise/hotel/vacation package.
I’ve never heard of this company!
Recently I made a trip to El Paso, Tx, but the only website I used was http://www.expedia.com and even then, only bought a hotel room, and paid with my debit card, which, to the site, as far as they know (right?) should only come through as a ‘credit card’.But, this company I’ve never heard of, “Travel Life” has my bank routing number, my address, cell phone number, and the last 4 digits of my bank account number. 😯 The only company online that should have that info is paypal.
I asked the lady how they got my info and she said it was because I either applied for a loan (no) or I was interested in discount travel (the only sites I extensively looked at were travelocity.com, expededia.com and site59.com)
She said they are not affiliated with my bank, the bank that issued my credit card, or expedia, or travelocity. I try calling back and I get a recording. Although, later in the day, some 5 hours, they call back. I again miss their call by a few seconds, so I immediately call back. Someone answeres immediately. They are again trying to send me more stuff that I don’t want. I told the guy someone called that morning and he appologised and hung up.
I sat there thinking and worying for several minutes, so I called back and get the recording. I eventually reach a live person.
“Can I get a list of your affiliates?”
“Don’t have it.”
“Well SOMEONE does…I spoke with someone this morning who could at least tell me if you were affiliated with specific companies or not.”
“I can give you the number to customer service.”
*long pause*
“OKAY can you give the number to me?”The number has a lot of 7’s in it, which seems fishy to me.
Their phone number for Travel Life is: (727) 252-0516 and the customer service number is (877) 777-2709. Their website is http://www.travellifegodirect.com/ And if you look under their Terms and Conditions it’s strange to me because there’s NOT 5 pages of tiny text outlining every possible thing.I was able to get a hold of someone again when they called a 3rd time this morning, and woke me up. I told them I wasn’t interested and instead of “Oh okay, we thank you for considering blah blah have a nice day blah blah” the person promptly hung up.
Thinking they will keep calling me, I immedately called back. I told them to remove my account information from their computer system.
“We can remove your name and telephone number”
“No, please remove my bank account number and routing number”
“Well ma’am we only have the last 4 digits of your bank account #”
“Well I don’t care, please remove all my information”
“We can remove your name and telephone number :)”They sound rude and unprofessional. I’m still surprissed by the guy yesterday who point blank said, “Don’t have it.” Not “Oh I’m sorry I dont have access to it” or anything. “Dont have it” and I could imagine by his tone that he was sitting there with his arms crossed like an immature kid accused of stealing.
ugh! What do I do? Some company sold or otherwise gave my personal information to a third party company who refuses to remove me from their system. I’m going to be watching my bank for any un-authorized charges, but if there’s something pending, the bank can’t cancel the charge and close my account. I went $300 in debt once because someone in South America stole my account info, bought software for $89. I contacted the bank and they said they couldn’t do anything until the charge was paid by my bank. Were first off at the time there wasn’t money to cover that much, and second off, after that, other stuff I DID buy hit my account, bounced, and charged me a hundred or more in fees. They wouldn’t listen to my story after that and are still expecting the money, years later.
I don’t want it to happen again and I don’t know who to call and chew out, because I don’t khow how they got my information!
First notify your bank of this activity and have them watch for any untword transactions. Next, I would call or go down to the police station and tell them you are being harassed by this company who seems to have mysteriously gotten all your bank information, see what they reccomend. There are probably a couple other places you should contact, but I’ve not had any personal experience with this so don’t know which ones to talk to. Maybe someone else has better information?
Can you notify the bank in writing that your account is at risk and you wish to close it and open a new one as soon as possible? Or go down to the bank and explain what is going on so they know ahead of time? If you document your concerns it should make it easier to show theft or fraud is something happens. However I would definitely change bank and/or credit card accounts – it does sound as if info that shouldn’t have gotten out did. I know it’s a hassle but if charges are made that is MUCH more of a hasssle to straighten out as you have found out.
Good luck – I hope nothing happens.
These people sound like scammers, and I bet some company that you had bought from before sold them your information. This kind of thing is the reason I NEVER give my bank routing number to anyone except my company (so that they do direct deposit of my paychecks).
I’d suggest closing your bank account as soon as possible.
Also check with the Better Business Bureau.
They are a good source of information for things like this. And Nivrvana is correct about filing a police report. You always want to do that if there is possible identity theft or fraud. It will one of the pieces of evidence in your favor if something goes horribly wrong.
SilverArrow wrote:Also check with the Better Business Bureau.
They are a good source of information for things like this.
That’s the one, thanks Silver!
Nirvanacat13 wrote:SilverArrow wrote:Also check with the Better Business Bureau.
They are a good source of information for things like this.
That’s the one, thanks Silver!
No problem! A friend of mine was lured into a Paypal e-mail scam a few months ago. The trouble he had to go through with all the paperwork. The CC company told him to file a police report.
In this particular case, since we don’t know if its a ligit outfit or not, I thought all the bases should be covered! Good luck Wolfen!
You may also wish to get a recent copy of your credit report(s) from all the credit reporting agencies (Equifax, TransUnion and one other, I think), and check to see if anyone’s stolen your identity and possibly made applications for loans in your name. A credit check by banks or other lenders should show up on your report if the application went that far.
Which reminds me, I need to order copies of my credit reports as part of the suggested annual check to be sure they have all the right info (they’re TERRIBLE at maintaining it, and have my previous employment/addresses always in the wrong order). The reports are free if you order by mail (charged via credit card if you want them immediately online).
DigitalDragon wrote:The reports are free if you order by mail (charged via credit card if you want them immediately online).
The irony.
Thanks for posting that, I need to check my report too. I checked mine a couple of years ago only to find out a credit card through my current bank had been opened. I never knew about it because they sent the card an address that I lived at years before. No one used the account, but to not know that a credit line was open until I checked my report was a bit disturbing.
I’m not sure if you have such a law in the States, but here in Canada, when you give info, companies are no longer allowed to give out your info without notifying you first. If such a law is in effect and these “travel agency” got your info from another source without your consent, I guess you could charge them. However, I think you’re dealing with scammers too.
Go to the bank and close your account. Even if they charge you some fees, it’s worth the security and peace of mind.
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http://www.sarahjestin.com/feedbacklists.htmFiling the police report and switching account numbers both sound like good advice. I have nothing more to add, but to encourage you to take action against these people. Actually, I do have something to add. You may want to contact a news station to see if there have been stories done or in the works about companies like this (or this particular company). They may have some advice for you if they’ve done a report on something like this before, and if not, they may investigate it if it sounds newsworthy. At any rate, good luck!
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