I used my accumulated World Points to purchase airline tickets online today, 6/18/2008, and received an e-mail confirmation from an travel insurance company thanking me for buying their product.

That's fine, except I never did. I never authorized the purchase, was never asked for my credit card number, and yet there it was, a $51 charge pending on my account.

When I called I discovered that on the website there is a small button that you have to "uncheck" in order to avoid buying trip insurance.


The tickets would have cost about $370 without the World Points, so $50 for trip insurance is just a bit high, which is beside the point, except that I wouldn't have bought trip insurance for a trip this cheap, especially not for $51.

My gripe is this "gotcha" method of charging for a product you don't order, and they don't even have to get your authorization to charge your credit card.
The insurance company has assured me by phone that I can get a refund, and admitted that they had gotten a lot of complaints about it. What I can't get from B of A is acknowledgment that this is a problem.

I have reported them to my state's attorney general, but in case this practice is legal, I am sending a copy to my representative.

Jeanne


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