I signed up for a 7 day free trial with DTN IQFeed. They explicitly said it was a free trial in saved chat logs I had with my account manager at DTN. During the free trial they accidentally (by their own written admission in email) charged my credit card $444 USD, which they weren't supposed to do until after the free trial elapsed and I graduated to a paid subscription. I contacted them during the free trial and they assured me that the cost would be refunded if I decided to cancel the free trial. Well, I cancelled the free trial about 4 days into it. After a few weeks, I got refunded the $444 USD. Except, my bank is located overseas, and through a combination of FX movements and bank FX spreads, I ended up losing about $25 USD through the process. I contacted them about this loss but so far they've refused to compensate me. This seems at best unethical and at worst illegal. They promise a free trial in writing, request my CC, charge me accidentally (as they admit to in writing) - forcing me to pay the bank FX spread twice, then make me cover the loss. How can I go about recouping this loss? N.B. I think they made an unauthorized transaction under the Fair Credit Billing Act, yet they are trying to saddle me with the fees and costs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Credit_Billing_Act
They ain't gonna reimburse you. As far as they are concerned they gave back your 444.00 and they probably figure it isn’t their fault where your bank is at. And I imagine they figure you will take no legal action over such a small amount.
Change your mindset. Forget about those 25 USD and focus on important stuff. Dont waste your time and energy with these breadcrumbs. Focus on the bread, and the ham and the cheese. Thank me later.
What they're doing is likely illegal. It's an unauthorized transaction under the Fair Credit Billing Act. I couldn't care less about losing $25 USD. What I care about is their illegal behaviour and customer last mentality, so I am making this post more to warn prospective customers about doing any sort of business with them if their modus is to break the law and screw people for as much as the can get away with. Also how is it my fault that my bank is overseas? They charged my CC without my permission because of a clerical screw up on their end.
You are not living up to your user name (pragmatic-trader). The amount of time and mental energy you have expended on this far exceeds $25. Move on with your life man.
For future "free" trials that might want to charge your credit card early, some credit card companies let you create virtual card numbers. The virtual card number can be used by at most one merchant, and you set the limit on the card and cancel it when no longer needed. So you can set up a virtual card with a one dollar limit. Then you can start the free trial with the virtual card and have at most one dollar charged on it. If you want to continue the service, you can raise the limit on the virtual card.
Principle Doesnt put food on the table and u aint gonna change the whole of the people/firms in the world that are doing something illegal Assuming you are right
To update this thread, they're saying that it was a misunderstanding, and I signed up to a developer account (which isn't under a free trial) along with the regular account. I do believe I was partly misled by their chat support (part of it below) and website, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and move on from this. Also, I mostly agree with the wise advice that many of you have offered above to just move on. This was literally a waste of time, and I normally adhere to and offer that very same practical advice, but being promised a free trial and then losing $25 did piss me off a little bit