Define: Real E-mail

Higher One wrote me a real e-mail. Surprise! It still had an automated feel to it, but the first sentence sounded very not automated. When I read it in my head, it could have even been a little annoyed. But probably not. But if they are, it's totally okay with me. Because I am very annoyed with them.

After my last response, I got an e-mail that began with:

"Thank you for submitting the requested information regarding your dispute. We apologize that we were unable to further investigate your case upon receiving the police report that you faxed. MasterCard required that we submit a new cardholder letter addressing the re-presentment documents in order for us to have any charge back rights on your behalf."

The rest of it was one I'd already gotten, saying I would get provisional credit, they'd look into it, blah blah. I wrote back, to bother them into looking at the stuff see whether this was actually going to happen, or if it was just another automated e-mail. I told them I didn't care about the provisional credit, I cared about them investigating. I received this lovely e-mail back.

"Dear Jodi,

In response to your email sent 09/14/2009, yes your case is going to be investigated further. When we received re-presentment documents relating to this case back from the merchant, MasterCard requires the cardholder, in this case you, to review these documents and supply us with a letter or email addressing the documents in order for us to continue to pursue the case further with the merchant. On 09/14/09 you supplied us with an email addressing these documents, a copy of that email was forwarded to MasterCard in order to continue the chargeback process. You were provided with provisional credit for the disputed transactions.

To clarify where you stand with the disputed transactions as of right now. You were given provisional credit, and the re-presentment documents along with your email addressing the documents are now in the process of being presented to the merchant.

Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

Thank you,
Higher One
Customer Service"


So what I'm getting from this is, if I hadn't bothered them about the police report, they wouldn't have told me that they needed another e-mail from me in order to keep going (and actually they didn't until after they already had it and I kept bothering them. Would have been nice to know I was writing something official instead of just whining). How very nice of them to not want to burden me with writing an e-mail saying "Um, this is wrong."
So thoughtful Higher One, so thoughtful.


And note the sentence fragment at the beginning of the second paragraph. Maybe they should keep my money and hire someone to read the e-mails they send out before they send them.

Define: So beyond angry

Response (William)

Dear Jodi,

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. Please review these documents to verify your personal information contained with the merchant's re-presentment.

We have sent you copies of the documents. To access them, please log on to your OneAccount and click on the EasyHelp icon at the bottom right of the page. From there, click on the Support History tab at the top of the page and then on reference number 090821-000375. Your copies will be in the File Attachments section at the bottom of the incident.

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.

We regret that this was the outcome of you case. Should you have any questions, please contact Customer Service by using the phone number on the back of your card.

Thank you.

Higher One
Customer Service

Note: Higher One will honor any pre-authorized transfers from your account as well as checks, drafts (or similar instruments) for five business days beyond DATE PROV. CR REVOKED without charging overdraft fees. During this five day period, we will honor those items we would have paid if the provisional credit had not been revoked (debited).



Customer (Jodi Eads)

I would like to continue disputing this charge, I will be faxing in a police report on Monday.

Jodi Eads



Response (William)

Dear Jodi Eads,

Thank you for contacting Customer Service. We have received the police report you have supplied to us. 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.

We have sent you copies of the documents. To access them, please log on to your OneAccount and click on the EasyHelp icon at the bottom right of the page. From there, click on the Support History tab at the top of the page and then on reference number 090821-000375. Your copies will be in the File Attachments section at the bottom of the incident.

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.

We regret that this was the outcome of you case. Should you have any questions, please contact Customer Service by using the phone number on the back of your card.

Thank you.

Higher One
Customer Service

Note: Higher One will honor any pre-authorized transfers from your account as well as checks, drafts (or similar instruments) for five business days beyond DATE PROV. CR REVOKED without charging overdraft fees. During this five day period, we will honor those items we would have paid if the provisional credit had not been revoked (debited).



Customer (Jodi Eads)

I am extremely frustrated with the way that this case is being handled. The documents attached from the merchant do not in any way substantiate their assertion that the charge was valid. The documents have my name and card number, which they were obviously going to have. The phone numbers and e-mails are not mine, and I have never heard of the shipping company. I don't even know what they bought. Other than "We have received the police report you have supplied to us," I just received the word for word same e-mail as the first time, which is no longer relevant to my case. There are no new documents attached, so I can only assume there is no new information. There was no reason to deny my claim in the first place, so why it is still denied is beyond me and absolutely ridiculous. You have obviously NOT been working to win my dispute case, because I did not spend this money. Maybe $177.41 isn't a lot to you all, but it is to me. If I'm not going to be getting this money back, I want to know why, because so far there is no information that substantiates the merchant's claim.

You also have a typo in your "sorry" e-mail. "We regret that this was the outcome of youR case."

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. :/