Grant Masters review: Unauthorized debit card charge 201

My most recent CapitalOne Credit Card statement included the following item:

20 Jun Grant Masters [protected] $38.34.

I did not recognize this charge and called the 800 number to cancel whatever it was and demand a refund. I was assured that I would receive a refund in "7 to 10 days". My confirmation number is 071309-[protected].

Shortly thereafter, I received an e-mail confirming my cancellation. This e-mail said, in part,

"Per your request, we have canceled your automatic payments as of Monday, July 13th 2009 and no further action is required on your behalf. Your cancellation number is: 071309-[protected]."

I received this e-mail at 1:04 P.M.

At 4:35 P.M. I received another e-mail which stated (in whole):

"Our records indicate you recently contacted GrantMastersOnline.com Customer Support regarding the status of your membership.

"If you requested to cancel your membership with GrantMastersOnline.com, you should receive an additional email confirming such.

"If you requested a refund, it will be reviewed by our escalation department and, if approved, the refund will be submitted. Please allow 2 to 4 weeks for approved refunds to post to your bank account. Please let us know if you need further assistance.

Sincerely,
GrantMastersOnline.com Customer Support
Phone: [protected]
Email: support@grantmastersonline.com"

I called the 888 number and informed them that "2 to 4 weeks" was absolutely unacceptable, and that if I did not receive a refund in 7 to 10 days, I would inform my credit card company that the charge was fraudulent.

At that point, the person to whom I was talking ("Toby") stated that apparently there was another person with exactly the same name, and that I had received the 2 to 4 week e-mail in error. Toby further assured me that I would receive a different e-mail consistent with the 7 to 10 day time frame. I reiterated my determination to charge them with fraud if I did not receive the refund within that time frame.

Mack Harrell
West Orange, NJ

taken money from my debit card w/o my permission and have not recieved any product claims that my card was not any good but still took my mony. and i request some form of action against the whole company .and request to be informed of what was done and request that all my mony be returned too me

GRANT MASTERS MADE TWO SEPARATE WITHDRAWLS FROM MY BANK ACCOUNT FOR SERVICES THAT I DID NOT ORDER, NOR DID I RECEIVE.
I ONLY DISCOVERED THE TRANSACTIONS BY STUDYING MY BANK STATEMENT. WHEN I CALLED TO COMPLAIN AND GET A REFUND, I WAS TOLD TO EMAIL THE COMPANY AND REQUEST A REFUND. I HAVE EMAILED THEM TWICE IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS, AND HAVE NOT RECEIVED A REPLY OR A REFUND.
WHO DO I GO TO TO ISSUE A FORMAL COMPLAINT AGAINST THESE SCAM ARTISTS?

RR609/Refun for Dorothy Lewis
I wont my money put back into my accountas it was taken out on [protected] $72.79. from my Texas bank accoun here in henderson Texas. I didn't give permission for this amount to be taken out. I can send you a copy of my bank statment if that will help get my money back. My bank is aware of this transaction that had been done by taking my mony from the bank. 7406440 this is the account number that Is on my bsnk statment. Call me [protected] or email me at Dorlew01@aol.com. Thank you Dorothy Lewis

A1 Membership offered info on using browsers to set up a business
on-line for 99 cents. After getting my credit card number they
took out .99 cents and several days later two charges of more than
seventy dollars. I have never received any info from them, and I
only authorized the .99 cent withdrawal.

Sincerely, W.J.A. L.

Today the 3 August 2009 I checked my account details that I have with Halifax PLC to find 2 withdrawls made from my account supposedly made online using my debit card. I have complained to my bank that I have never heard of or had any dealings with this company, which I have only just found out is a bank in Jacksonville. I have declared the transactions as fraudulent to my bank. It seems this bank seems to make a habit of taken peoples money. Let me just say for the record that I have no dealings with this bank neither do I have any connection through any other person or company with this bank to my knowledge, what concerns me is that they knew enough about my debit card to make a withdrawl against it.

My complaint is the same as the rest. Unauthorized bank acct charges of $38.34, in may and june statements. I want my money back from these internet thieves, now!. These people must be caught and prosecuted for their crimes. Please let me know how i can help...Alos i was given the same online address/with #rr609 to get my refund. I spoke with "rogue"/probable not the real name, and was given a cancellation #[protected], on july 11/0

There is an unauthorized debit applied to my account. I made no such purchase, neither did my wife. The Grant Masters [protected] entry dated today 06-20-09) is false for US $ 38.34 ( CAD 44.56) and must be cancelled, stopped, terminated, immediately! Apparently it was made by someone in another state. Obviously, someone has somehow obtained my account information and used it illegally, without my authorization. PLEASE cancel this transaction immediately!

I got charged for something I did not order and they are saying now they will not credit me back because the time has elapsed for me to cancel and get a refund. Well I did not even order anything so how would I know to cancel? This is just preposterious. If the customer is saying they did not order something and wants their money back, the company has to comply. What kind of business practice is this anyway? I plan to make a complaint with the BBB.
Desiree Ann Watson

did you know that the government has a Fraud info # that can be called? If i still had the info from the website who scammed me i would do it! but any one who is able to pin point these jerks stealing from bank accoutns heres the # [protected]

Also here is the website since there's so many scam artists out there, dont just take my word check it out yourself!
http://federalfraud.com/?gclid=CKuVo6n-n5sCFSAhDQod4ngzCg

June 2009 I signed up for a $4.50 charge to get information on government grants money. I was called per my caller ID twelve
times the next day about the grants. The caller ID said New Jersey.
I was asked to okay a charge of $2.99 for S & H. I said no and I was
no longer interested. I recieved more calls about the grants, I still
said no. Now my July credit card bill has a $77.82 card for membership with grant masters. I called 7/15/09 for reasons for charge and a refund. They cancelled the membership but I may ?get a refund from a online source only.

I RECENTLY SIGNED UP FOR THIS GRANT MASTERS SCAM. NOT ONLY DID I GET AN AMOUNT OF MONEY TAKEN OUT OF MY ACCOUNT, AND NOT RETURNED, BUT BLAZING WORDS TOOK OUT AN AMOUNT FROM MY ACCOUNT. I CALLED GRANT MASTERS AND SPOKE TO A BADLY SPOKEN PERSON.SHE APOLOGIZED FOR THE ERROR AND GAVE ME A REFERENCE NUMBER FOR CANCELLATION. SHE SAID TO CONTACT THEM ONLINE AT SUPPORT@GRANT MASTERS ONLINE. COM FOR REMITTANCE, AND I RECEIVED THIS WEBSITE. I THINK THIS COMPANY SHOULD BE BANNED FROM THE WORLD.THE REFERENCE # IS 072109-[protected].

Before discovering that my wife had already looked into Grant Masters, late one night I thought I would give their program a look. When granted "instant access" after giving them my credit card info I discovered how difficult it was to navigate through their site and after about an hour I was so worn out that I decided to call it quits and go to bed. The next morning I called and canceled which didn't seem too hard. I think I only had to wait around 10 minutes before speaking to an Asian woman who spoke fairly comprehendable English. However 30 days later I found a charge for $38.34 on the 24th of June 2009. I called the following day (another 10 min wait) to where I talked to another Asian from the Philippines who gave me a cancellation number and told me it would be 8-10 business days before posting back into my account...nothing, it didn't post so I called them back on the 13th of July and got but another cancellation number...nothing, so on the 24th of July I called again and this time I got pissy and told them I wanted to talk to their manager who of course was on the phone. So after hanging up I called my bank and filed a discrepancy which was what I should have done to begin with.
So my advise is don't even call them. Just call your bank and have them go after them. Hopefully everyone who requested refunds will get their money back before they go belly up. Signed Disgruntled.

My complaint is about the same as others, I never asked for, nor did I know anything about this DVD, a surprise. So was my bank statement. I called to ask them what this charge was for, they tried to tell me that I had requested the DVD, AND or whatever other 'services' they alledgely provided. While on the phone, I pulled up this page. The person on the phone TOLD me they also use another name! Glad this is online, I have to prove to Paypal that these charges are fraud. Paypal would not help me at all on this, I found out myself, yet Paypal continued to pay them! Still a problem, someone is getting the money still! Meeting with banker tomorrow with proof. Good luck everyone, use that adware, spyware, etc. but check the company first. Antivirus XP 2008, is a rouge hacker who gets your money by hijacking your PC, can't make a move, even after turning PC off! Hard, very difficult to get rid of once they are in.

KEG
Los Angeles, CA

Grant Masters has fraudulently charged my debit card the following amounts:

$1.97 on 05/03/2009
$38.84 on 05/19/2009
$38.84 on 05/19/2009 (second charge)
$38.84 on 06/20/2009

Once the charges were discovered by me (I don’t receive paper statements for this debit card, nor do I have online access to the account information; that being the reason that the charges went unnoticed for so long), I contacted my bank and they actually called Grant Masters to cancel any further charges and they have also opened a fraud complaint on my behalf with Grant Masters; obviously I have cancelled the debit card to prevent any further fraud.

I have never accessed their website (I don’t even know the URL); but was told by their third-party Call Center (in Costa Rica – [protected]), that there is nothing that can be done to reverse the unauthorized charges. In trying to get my call escalated to the actual company, as Grant Masters could easily verify that the User ID and auto-generated Password associated with my personal data has never authenticated to the Grant Masters website, the agent told me again that there was nothing that I could do to have my monies credited back to my debit card; and was then given the physical address of Grant Masters in Utah, where I could send a letter of complaint.

To be certain that I have been clear in my complaint; I have never accessed the Grant Masters website, therefore no services and/or content has been provided to me by them.

Read a lot of these complaints and am in the same boat. Went online to check my account and found two unauth charges on my account. These charges miraculously appeared after I tried to get information on an opportunity to create more income on Google. I did track down and talked to the Google company who charged $1.97 to my account. They still have not sent me information. This is the second time I have been burned for an online opportunity for income. Anyway, it definitely will not happen again. The contact number listed for this online opportunity is [protected]. WARNING: the representative I spoke to barely spoke English. I doubt this company is legit and I don't know if it will get you anywhere but this transaction is the only thing that could have lead to these unauth charges. I have closed this card down and if needed I will get another account started.

Upon checking my bank card statement I found a charge for $34 + Dollars, with only Grand Masters, and 800 phone number, which says the offices are closed and after the phone number a CY.
I have no idea who or what you are and wish a credit applied to my account immediately. If by chance I did order something, please notify me. I might have accidentally hit a wrong key or someone is using my bankcard without authorization.

Jeanne M. Kinn
BB&T Bank
Covington GA
[protected]

Two payments of $38.47 were taken from my checking account today without my authorization. I contacted their customer Support at [protected] and was told that they would refund me the money within the next 7-10 business days.

I don't know wether I'll get or not. They gave me a confirmation number if it means anything.

$38.34 taken from my account? I don't even know who this is or why it was taken out my acct. I want my money back. I filed a compliant with my bank. The bank says I should file a police report as well.

I remember looking at the Grant Masters site but when I read the fine print- I closed the site- Now some how the got some of my bank info and have debited my bank account twice for 38.34 on the same day no less!
These charges are totally bogus and not authorized in any way- I tried calling- [protected]-- no response- then called [protected]- to be told to call Mon-Fri between 8 & 6 mountain time- I'm going to my bank 1st thing Monday morning to fight these charges and change my account.
DAS

I also paid the $1.97 and got nothing for it. Then Google Ads took out $78.84 off my credit card(stupid me). I called my credit card company and they gave me the name of the company and the phone number. I called and was told that I had signed up for this, whatever it was no idea, I said I had not and told them to put my money back on my card. They did within a about a week. Then a month later Grant Masters took out $38.84. I again got hold of my credit card company and reported them to the fraud department and the recovery department, with the recovery department the company has 45 to refund the money. So I got on to the phone with them on June 26 and was again told I had applied for something with Grant Masters. Again I told them that I never did and to refund my money, which he said he would do. Hasn't happened and when I called tonight was told to send email to them for refund. For anyone interested the email is support@grantmastersonline.com. So will be trying this. Oh and I cancelled my credit card, not taking any more chances. What kind of advertisement does facebook allow, anything under the sun and all scammers.

Debbie

I checked my online bank statement yesterday night and found that my account has been charged 38.34 TWICE. I have NO idea who these people are or HOW they got my info. AND IM PISSED. I called the bank first thing this morning because on my online statement it said it was pending, so I thought I could stop the transaction...wrong. The only thing they could do was give my a number to call. I called the number and it said "our business is closed please call back during business hours" My husband just had a motorcycle wreck last week THIS IS THE LAST THING WE NEED. I'm so irrate and I want my money back!

VERY UPSET!

On June 19, I two charges to my checking account for the amount of 38.34, from this company whom I had never heard from before. I was told I opened an account with them the end of May which I didn't. They would return my money and close my account. I have recently found out they are related to Easy Google, who did give me my money back.
I have now closed this checking account and opened a new one. Will never do buisness with any company I am not familiar with.
Liz

Received an unexpected charge to my account of $38.84. I called the 800 number listed by my bank beside the charge. After waiting on hold for 35 minutes, they hung up when I asked for the company name. I called back and after waiting for 12 minutes, selected #1 to "leave a msg" due the "high volume of calls" and discovered that the mailbox was full. The automated system then transferred me to the "operator" who automagically told me that their mailbox was full. I've received nothing from these people under the name that is on my account "Grant Masters." Now, I've had to cancel my debit card, wait for the new one to arrive because of these unscrupulous people. Of course, if you can sleep at night while ripping people off then they have a pretty good business model. If 10, 000 people are ripped off at $40 per month then their gross is $400, 000 or $4.8MM.

The third call finally got through to a warm body after a 17 minute wait. Service rep acknowledged that they are a call center handling 5 companies - all of which I'd never heard of. He said that I'd receive a refund in 10-14 days. I asked about the call volume, mailboxes being full, etc and he just snickered.

In reviewing my bank statement I found an unauthorized charge from Grant Masters for $24.87; also in conjunction with this charge there was a $.75 International Fee. I have never ordered any product from this company. In fact I am not even sure what they sell. I called the company immediately and they were closed. I contacted my bank and the are investigating the charge. In the meantime my bank advised that I cancel my charge card and new one is being issued. The bank also credited the amounts back to my account pending their investigation. I would advise to inform your bank immediately to refund the fraudulent charge; don't waste your time and energy trying to get your money back from these crooks.

ok I fell for it too. I thoughth it was a great deal and the cost of 2.95 is all that I had to pay was way too good to pass up so i thought.. but I still haven't reciveed the cd nor a reason why I haven't gotten it. I called and inquired about it and later found a 39.95 charge to my account as I went to my online account later that night. I couldn't call them during the weekend so I had to wait till that monday to do anything so I called them and asked them why did I get charged for something I didn't agree to. they said it was for the trail period and I told them I still haven't recived the cd and can't be charged for something i haven't gotten. the person on the other end said to me " sorry there nothing I scan do for you then." and hung up on me thats when I gotten up setand called them back and requested a superviser and explained to her what the problem was and she too said the same thing I had them cancel the whole thing and went to my bank and explained to them as to what had happened .they informed me that in their records the same company charged me three time before I talked to them in less than three weeks. so now I'm asking for any help as to what to do to get my money back. If anyone knows a way please forward the info please...

Grant Master(s) - "Christian" work from home ect...
are all ripoffs! I paid 1.97 sh for software to work from home, decided to cancel my membership BEFORE the 7 day trial period: They did nothing but sell (fraud) my credit card information to a third party or a " shell or dummy" entity.

My bank & my husband had called many times to all of their "help numbers" and got no where, they banged my account under the name Grant masters:

Under pressure Our bank agreed to cancel our card and we will pursue EVERY avenue to stop these theives. I do not care about your bull about suck it up and learn from your loss and let it go: In these hard times, with people out of work and trying to make ends meet these parisites prey on all of us! Sucking up a 1.97 charge is one thing, but to bang someones account AGAIN after they cancel for 40.00 is fraud, plain & simple

Beware of the following: Christian work from home program aka as www.bethsmoney.com, Grant Masters, THEY DO AND WILL share/ sell INFORMATION TO 3rd PARTIES! Blazing keywords.com was actually the company picked up from the Christian work from home plan, and it just goes on and on, they close the websites down and re create! My loss I hope will help someone else...

I checked my Visa Debit Card statement and found out that is company took $38.34 from my account twice on 7/24/09. I did even order in thing online for them to get my information. I called my banking company, they didn't even know who this company was. So, they gave me the number [protected] for the Customer Services. The man gave me two codes to fax to [protected], so I did that four times.

I haven heard anything back yet.

Unbeknown to our company after canceling a subscription to Blazing Keywords, our checking account was debited $ 38.34 from Grant Masters. Upon calling the 800 number listed on our bank statement after their name [protected], their phone was answered by a female later found to be stationed in the Philippines. I was advised that in the terms and conditions of Blazing Keywords it was so stated that we authorized Grant Masters to withdraw a "membership Fee" on a monthly basis aside from Blazing Keywords. While I was on the telephone with this female I pulled up the terms and conditions from Blazing Keywords and there was no such language. I was given an email address to request a refund. I have sent three emails to date and there has been no response. I even called Blazing Keywords and this person was located in Haiti, she apparently already knew of my conversation with Grant Masters and was no help in resolving the unauthorized withdrawal from our account.

This company, along with Everyday Legal Forms, Web Savers, Cash Help and Millionaire Rebate hacked into a web site I was using and stole my credit card information. It was a small amount which I got back after threatening them. I have filed a complaint with www.ic3.gov which works in conjunction with the fbi and other agencies to stop internet fraud. Please write to them; the more people that write, the quicker we can put them out of business. Although they are different sites they are all owned by the same company or person.

Based in the Philippines, with an office in Nevada, Grant Masters Online appears to be running a huge scam: They hook buyers with bogus offers in order to obtain ATM or credit card numbers then debit unsuspecting consumers for a “membership” that purportedly allows access to their grant writing information. (No information is sent about the service, either by e-mail or USPS.) Unfortunately, the scam doesn’t stop there: They automatically enroll the customer in additional “promotional offers” with companies they either own or with which they are affiliated, including but not limited to Powersale and BlazingKeyWords. Not only are consumers unaware of these offers, they are never given an opportunity to “Opt Out” of the service or contract(s).

May 28, 2009, I made an on-line purchase for a CD offering information about internet job opportunities with Google. My ATM card was debited $1.97 for this item, which I never received. A month later, on June 24, 2009, I noticed my bank statement had two unauthorized debits, each in the amount of $38.34, and two, 31 cent ATM/Special CHK/ATM international transfer fees. Charges were billed by Grant Masters. The following day there was an additional 58 cent ATM international transfer fee and an unauthorized debit made by Powersale in the amount of $72.21. To date I have not been able to contact Powersale since their phone number is not in service. On Saturday, July 11, I discovered yet another unauthorized debit pending in the amount of $72.21. This transaction was initiated by BlazingKeyWords. A user comment that I discovered online during the weekend led me to contact Google customer service on the morning of July 13. The representative said he would cancel this transaction and the charge was dropped.

These transactions appear to tie in with various Google offers and their link with Grant Masters. According to an Executive Officer at my bank, ALL CHARGES POINT TO GRANT MASTERS, including those billed by POWERSALE and BLAZINGKEYWORDS (BLAZINGWORDS). I have contacted Grant Masters regarding these charges, however, a refund has not been issued.

Contact Numbers:

Grant Masters [protected] support@grantmastersonline.com

Google Support Service [protected]

Powersale [protected] - not a working number (may be able to contact through Grant Masters)

Blazing Key Words [protected]

Write a letter to your State Attorney Generals office and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission):

Federal Trade Commission
Consumer Response Center
600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20580

RE: Grant Masters Online
Unauthorized Use of Debit/Credit Cards

File a complaint with the FBI Internet Crimes Division (www.ic3.gov)

On June 17, 2009:I received a call from Grantmasters concerning a government grant. I agreed to a shipping and hanling fee of $2.87. For this fee, I was to receive a grant kit. I was told that I had seven days to cancel before an amount of $77.82 would be deducted from my card. On June 22, 2009: I discovered that Grantmasters had deducted $77.82 from my card. I called and cancelled my order. I never received my kit or my $77.82. They even had the audacity to take another $1.56 from my account on June 25, 2009. When I contacted them about the other charge, they lied and said that they didn't do it. My bank verified that they did. This is an obvious scam, and this company needs to be disbanded.

I ordered their supposedly free cd with a S/H charge of $1.97 which I am still waiting to arrive. After wasting three hours of my time trying to find a grant in the endless pages of mess I was looking through, I tired to go and cancel my subscription. Well I learned that the professional thieves do not leave any traceable evidence behind. If I had not went to this site I probably never would have gotten in any information and I am still only talking to recorded messages. Grant Masters should change its name to Scam Masters at least then they would be credible.

On May 31, 2009 I ordered a CD from "DBW Grant Express" for $1.98 that was charged to my credit card on June 25, 2009.. On 05/31, I was charged (on the same credit card) $77.82 by Grant Masters for something (?) but I had not ordered anything from Grant Masters! When I called the number listed on my credit card bill fot Grant Masters I found that the call went to the Philipines! They made no attempt to change the fraudulent charge to my credit card!

They have been taking 19.95 out my account for nothing i will have to close my account for the reason that what they are doing. Also they will not answer the phone.

I was charged for twice for this fraudulent program twice, I have not recieved my money back, I have called twice and the say it will be put through today, but I have called them twice and no money has been credited back! I want my money back!

After reporting this several months ago, I noticed on my credit card statement that these charges were coming up again and all in different phone numbers and companies. I called the number and disputed the charges with my credit card company. I had to get a new number to further avoid charges on my account. There was a cancellation number given to me by the representative as CX#[protected].

Was looking on my bank account and saw a charge for $38.34 to be taken out. Called and asked what it was for. They said Grant Masters. I told them that I had no idea who that was. They said ok what would you like us to do. I for a refund. They said it would be 7 - 10 days for it to be put back into my account. And gave me a confirmation number. How can they do stuff like this?

I have found 2 debits to my account in the amount of $38.84, and have no idea what this is for, never heard of these people, and never signed up for anything, although I did have something to do with Blazing Keywords and cancelled that immediately...NOW this...seems they might be connected somehow.
I've called the 800 number, always closed...

GRANT MASTERS TOOK MY MONEY 38.34$ AND WILL NOT REFUND IT I HAVE CALL AND CALL E-MAIL AFTER E-MAIL FAX AFTER FAX AND STILL NO REFUND ITS ###...AND THE GOV LET GRANT MASTERS KEEP RIPOFF PEOPLE ### LIKE THIS MUST BE STOP YOUR MONEY IS TO HARD TO COME BY.ON THE STREET ### LIKE THAT WILL GET YOU SHOT THE ### UP!BELIVE THAT