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Replying To:
A few good ideas... (none / 0) (#14)
by Anonymous User on Tue Jan 13, 2004 at 07:57:43 AM PDT

I've never heard of the one-time use CC # before but I'll be cancelling cards from companies that don't offer that feature. Another option to the one-time-use CC #, especially if you don't have a credit card (or have one from a crappy provider), is to buy a credit card gift card in the amount of the purchase or for use with several such purposes--then throw it away. AmEx advertises it, and I've received a Visa gift card from Charter One. I think the fees are like $1.50 to get one, so it's definitely acceptable for that peace-of-mind.

Second, on the chargeback issue, rumor has it that AOL was approaching 5% chargebacks in 1995 and almost lost their ability to accept Visa, especially since people were using Visa debit cards to pay for their AOL memberships. Thus, AOL started looking into direct withdrawals from bank account numbers. FYI--NEVER give any organization a checking or savings account number, unless you have one specific for that purpose (i.e. a PayPal-only account). There are way fewer legal protections and banks don't like to get as involved under these circumstances.

Third, be forwarned that Match.com also likes to auto-renew, even for people who haven't used the service in months. However, in their defense, simple threats on their support pages forms do reverse the charges (however they won't contact you).


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