Define: Unbelievable

Remember that $117 purchase at a Korean website on my debit card?

My dispute was denied.


I couldn't believe it.

"Thank you for contacting Customer Service. We have been working to win your dispute case and have received documentation (known as re-presentment documents) from the merchant involved in the transaction. Unfortunately the information that they supplied substantiates their assertion that the charge was valid...
...Based on the information supplied by the merchant as well as the other available facts, we must deny your dispute. We had initially supplied a provisional credit for the transaction pending the full investigation. At this time, we have debited your OneAccount for the amount that was originally credited and consider the claim a closed item."

I want to know what the other "available facts" were. Because the fact is, I didn't do it. I was at camp (family camp, actually) and I don't speak Korean.

Oh, it also said, "We regret that this was the outcome of you case." At least make sure that the crushing e-mail is typo free, geez.


My first reaction was to cry (as it usually is). I couldn't believe it had been denied. All that the documents have on them is my card number and my name. It's not my e-mail, it's not my phone number, and it's a company that try as I might, I have not been able to find to be in existence. What about that substantiates the assertion that the charge was valid? It was obviously going to have my name and card number on it, duh. But that's all there is. There is absolutely NOTHING there "proving" that it was me. And it wasn't me.

My aunt walked by while I was still crying looking through the information, and dialed the number for customer service and handed me the phone. She told me that they probably bank (pardon the pun) on college kids getting their claims denied, crying and giving up. Which, honestly, I probably would have done if she hadn't been here. She works at the Washtenaw County Police Department, and said we could file a police report for stolen identity or something and send it in.

The customer service lady I talked to was really nice (not super helpful, but nice). There wasn't much I could do right then, since the report hadn't actually been filed, and she said I needed to fax it in. I ended up tweeting about it, and thank goodness for Melanie and Kevin. My debit card was issued through Spring Arbor, and Kevin's dad does work with that. I called him, and he was able to connect me with someone a little higher up, who said he would look into it. He couldn't understand why the claim had been denied either. He's supposed to be giving me a call Monday or Tuesday. He did say that he wasn't promising to get the money back - it could be that once a dispute is denied, it's denied and there's nothing you can do, which is really really discouraging. If I can't get the money back, I at least want to know why it was denied. There's no evidence. And also, I didn't do it.

Jamin's mom also offered to help - she works at an attorney's office, and she said that if she wrote up a letter, her boss would probably be able to sign it for her. Maybe if they see that there's a possibility of legal action, they'll change their minds.


It's just been a really frustrating process. And it's sort of upsetting to lose that much money.
We'll see where it goes. :/