Intelius, ValMax, Class Action, VISA Charge Backs
Alissa,
I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY, THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, IT’S JUST WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!
So.
The name of the company behind this is “Intelius”. Val-Max is just a name they hide behind.
There is a big class-action lawsuit in Washington State (in federal court, so you don’t have to be a resident of Washington).
I recommend that you email the story you sent me to: kswope@KellerRohrback.com Karen is the Attorney in charge of the lawsuit, and all you have to do is send her your info, and eventually, when WE win, we’ll get our money back (plus 3X damages). Best of all, it doesn’t cost anything. You are a member of this class. (Maybe you could put that in the subject line…something like “Intelius, Member of Class”) When I sent my original email, she called me back the same day, I don’t know how it will be on Friday afternoon.
Sorry to break it to you, but calling Val-Max doesn’t do any good. They’re used to it, it’s part of the scam, and I bet you’ll never hear from them again, except that they probably won’t even stop stealing from you until you close the account.
I was lucky to see the first charge to my account the first day, so I reported my Visa Check-card as stolen, and got another card the next day. But I thought the money was gone.
The thing is, the first manager I talked to at the credit-union didn’t tell me about “charge backs”. (The attorneys didn’t either.) The first charge was for $24.95, but then another one for $19.95 showed up the next day, even after I closed the account (They told me it had “been in the system already”).
The second manager told me about charge backs, which is where you complain to VISA, report fraudulent use of your account, and VISA credits your account “provisionally” right away. Then VISA tries to get the money back from the crooks. I think there’s a 60-day window where VISA can deny your claim, but they didn’t deny mine, so I got my money back, on the spot. The bank manager fills out the form, you sign it, and they credit your account right then. (I think I’m still entitled to damages.) Just guessing, but there may be a time limit as far filing a claim like that, but….
Anyway, I hope this helps. Please let me know what happens.
The post on my blog with the gobbledy-guk latin title (it’s just a joke) has more ideas about getting more info. I especially recommend going to the “Seattle Weekly” website, and searching for “Intelius”. There’s a great article that explains everything, with tons of links, even a PDF of the court documents.
Jim Torzynski
