Wachovia Bank/telemarketing Scandal? Help? ?

Question

I got a letter and a check in the mail for $258.90 from the United States Court Settlement Administrator. It appears to be a real check..no "NOT A CHECK" written on it anywhere. It requires positive ID to cash it says on the back.
The letter explains that money was deducted from my account thru a telemarketing scandal. I vaguely remember speaking to the telemarketing company in question...
the details are too long to list here so here is the website given with the letter http://restitutionpayment.com/
The letter also gave a phone number. It says "please call if you have questions about the legitimacy of this check" I called it and listened to the automated message it explained that these people were being brought to court and when/where it was happening I could go if I wanted.
I do not have to call anyone..give any info to anyone....or do anything. it says "you should cash/deposit this check. the money is yours"
It also gives me a form to refund any bank fees incurred...which I'm not going to bother with.
On monday I'm going to bring it to my bank and verify it being a real check and all that....
I don't want to get excited ...as I'm having a really rough time with christmas and all....and this would be a real "christmas miracle" lol...so
What do you think? Do you think its real?
please go to the site....and read the details.
again the link is :
http://restitutionpayment.com/

Answer 1

I believe this is real. The settlement between Wachovia Bank and the federal government seems to be real.

I was scammed by "First National Health Care Benefits" back in July 2005. They called me to sell me a book on how to got grants for $29.95. I paid by "check by phone" then the 2 weeks later they took $299.95 out of my checking account.

I check my bank balance everyday. So as soon as I saw that I went to my bank to filed a report and place a block on this company. I called the number the bank gave me and they (First National Health Care Benefits) stated claimed that I had signed up for insurance of some kind.



I got this check today & looked through my filed and found a copy of the report I filed. The amount matches.

I believe this is real. But just to be on the safe side of thing I will deposit this check in a saving account.

That way ,if it is fake, I don't lose anything.

IF YOU FEEL A CHECK/MONEY ORDER/CASHIER'S CHECK IS FAKE NEVER CASH IT. JUST DEPOSIT IT.

Just the bank do all the work for you.



Felicity: The check I got DOES have watermarks & when photocopied it has VOID watermarked everywhere!



K-Os: I believe Wachovia was the bank the scammers used to pull off their cons.

Answer 2

I received the same thing today! I have one for $49.95. The company that apparently took the money was Advantage America, and it was on 12/12/2005. Phone# given was 866-503-7345; when I called it was a fax#. I have the same concerns that you do! I have been searching all afternoon! I could really use this money also, but like you I am worried about it being just another scam.



I am going to call Wachovia on monday morning and try to verify the specific check. It is nice to know now that I am not alone in this! Through the web searches it looks as though there are 900,000 people that were SCAMMED by these telemarketers! Hopefully we are all getting our money back at a time when we could use it! I hope that we get the answers we need. Good Luck!







12/15/2008: I WAS ABLE TO DO MORE RESEARCH INTO THIS BEFORE CASHING MY CHECK. WACHOVIA STATES THIS WAS A REAL CHECK. FOR Felicity YOU MAY WANT TO KNOW THE FACTS ABOUT SOMETHING BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO MAKE FUN OF US.

Answer 3

I received a check also and was concerned that it was some sort of fraud so I checked at the websites listed. But I wanted to tell you that if you go to the wachovia bank website they have this information on the home page saying that they had to pay restitution. It will be towards the bottom on their website and the heading for it is called consumer restitution and they have a settlement notice that you can read. I am going to also send in the form for refunded fees. I went to the Wachovia Bank website and saw the same information from the letter also if you check some of the news paper articles for that area they have the same information from the letter plus it's on occ.gov website which is a government agency that regulates banks or type in comptroller of the currency and they all have the same information about restitution payments being mailed out on December 11th. Plus there are various articles on the website about this if you just type in restitution payments from wachovia bank all of the information comes up from various government sites along with news sites. The check I received had the name on the back from a company that I complained about also and it's for the exact amount that came out of my account plus it's got the year that the incident happened I also had a booklet that this particular scam company sent and it's the exact name that 's on the back of the paperwork.

12-16-08 : We did not have an account with Wachovia Bank but they had a relationship with the companies that scammed us and they let these companies use these fake checks to draw the money out of our accounts through the fraudulent accounts they opened at Wachovia then withdrew the money out of the accounts and sent it somewhere else.Wachovia is having to pay the money back because they did not follow proper protocal that's why the OCC is involved they regulate banks.

12-17-08: I deposited my check on monday with no problem from my bank.

Answer 4

I got the same letter and a check for $159. It is for transactions in 2005 and I DO remember them. I received an account overdraft charge and went to the bank. They checked for me and around $150 (I don't remember the exact amount right now) had been withdrawn from my account with UNSIGNED checks. They put a stop on any further payments. I kept checking for the next several months, but no other unsigned checks were cashed by my bank.



I, too, am taking this check to my bank for verification. I also am doing a search online to see if I can find out if the "US District Court of Eastern Pennsylvania" is legit or not and if they are, indeed, issuing checks.

Answer 5

I have also got 2 checks in the mail for a total of $1,046.00 I think it is real but not sure so I am going to take it to Wachovia bank and cash it so they dont know what bank i deal with if it is a scam and then take the money and deposit it into my own bank. I feel that this is the safest way because if the check does bounce then they got your bank account info.

Answer 6

I also received a check today for $299. Payee is future com inc, date was in 2005, transaction - unsigned check. I took the check to my bank and they put a hold on it until they verify with Wachovia Bank in PA if it is legit. If it is legit, the money will be available to me in about 7 - 14 days. At that time I used to bank with Franklin Bank. I closed my account with them, so I can't verify the transaction. Plus Franklin Bank was bought out by another Bank. I do remember being billed by a "payment processing center". But.. I can't beleive I don't remember $299 taken out of my account.



12-16-08...I located this amount taken out of my account. I would have never known this was fraud. We relocated to a different state and I was told it was for an unpaid cable bill. My husband had told me he paid it, but I thought HE was confused about paying the bill during the move....

********** Also.....If you try to copy the check....it will have a watermark 'VOID' all over the check. I think Wachovia is trying to pull another one on victims of the telemarketers. I almost threw my check away, because it did not look real. I am sure this was intentionally done. I am sure a lot of people will be throwing away their checks....... Wachovia's goal accomplished. ************ Deposit your checks and let your bank verify the check, before it is too late. Like the letter said....it is your money!!!

Answer 7

I doubted the validity of this check. BUT, on the back side of the form that had the check attached to it, there is a PAYEE. I do remember being cheated by this company. but this was back in 2005. I do remember filing a complaint. I am 95% certain that this is a real check. I will confirm this with my bank to make sure of this. I am not going to deposit it un til then. Good luck to you all and YES! it would be a christmas blessing.

Answer 8

I got one of those yesterday for 150! Hope it's legit. It'd be a great Christmas gift seeing as how I could really use it. Mine says between 2003 and 2007 tho. And I also remember speaking with one of the telemarketers listed in 2004. So...I don't know. Hope u have a good holiday though.

Answer 9

Have any of you notices that those checks are printed on a plain office paper with no watermarks or any signs of protection whatsoever? And moreover why would you trust some "restitution payment" website? Come on, ppl, u have to be real dumb to believe these kind of miracles nowadays with the resent internet frauds, etc.

Just go to Wachovia branch with a check that was most likely printed at some smart guy's basement and let the bank employees explain you why that is not real and definitely not your money)

Answer 10

Yes, i got a check in the mail for $269 also. I do recall this incident, because I remember calling the number back for my product, but the number was disconnected or no longer in service. I asked my brother about it, and he said just to go to the bank and verify it. He said he's sure it's legit.

Answer 11

My grandmother recieved the xact same letter in the mail today with a check for over $1300 dollars....I've been looking up info for like the past hour about it....and it seems pretty legit...we're off to the bank 2moro!

Answer 12

We just came from our Wells Fargo branch where we took our check to see if it was real. The assistant manager and teller looked it over and then looked up Wachovia's number and called them about it. They were told it was legit. They took down the name of the person they talked to, just in case. We deposited the check but aren't going to spend it right away until we're totally sure...

Answer 13

I recieved a check in the mail today and it is a christmas miracle for me. I remember this scandal very well. I remember the hardship I faced with it. I remember my bank not helping me. So when I got my check in the mail I just had to thank God. I pray that he sends more to me and you.

Answer 14

I just got one today for $145.75. I don't remember having a bank account with Wachovia, so this is a little puzzling. But I'm doing the same thing and checking with my bank tomorrow.

Answer 15

I got one of these letters also and I found this link explaining the lawsuit filed and why checks were mailed directly to us. It seems legit and it doesn't hurt to take the time to ask the bank if it's real or not. Here is the link. http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202425213471

Answer 16

This is awesome! I was scammed out of $59.95 a couple of years ago. I was doing one of those "free trials" that bill you after the trial period unless you cancel. I had cancelled well outside of the period, but I still got charged. When I called them up, they asked for my cancellation number (which I'd forgotten to write down). They said since I had no number, they couldn't refund me, but they would cancel it FOR REAL this time.



Today, I open up my mailbox and find a check for $59.95...the exact amount I'd lost during the scam. I'm gonna check with my bank to make sure it's legit, then I'm cashing it. =D

Answer 17

I just spoke to the U.S. Attorneys Office regarding this settlement. I called them direct at 215-861-8200. They said these are legitimate checks. Mind was much less than yours, but still yet a nice surprise.

Enjoy.

Answer 18

Well, the first obvious thing to establish is if the money was taken out of your account in the first place. If it was, then this is probably legit. Just talk to the bank.

Answer 19

It sounds legitimate

GOD BLESS