CHICAGO (CBS) – A Chicago teacher’s trip to Italy was ruined by a false $1,200 charge. It’s the latest saga about a recurring target: an online financial company called Chime.
After Kaitlyn Consentino failed to convince Chime to drop the fraudulent charge, he turned to CBS 2’s Lauren Victory for help.
“I’m really glad I went on the trip,” said Consentino. “It was a really great trip.”
Looking at photos of Consentino’s seaside vacation, the Vatican, and making pasta, it can be hard to blame her.
“It was so delicious, the pasta we made,” she said.
What wasn’t so appetizing was a charge of over $1,200 to her Chime account. It came from a supermarket in Indonesia, about 9,000 kilometers from Italy, where Consentino was on vacation.
“So I panicked,” she said.
Consentino also repeatedly mentioned Chime.
“I spoke to three different people, and no one answered me,” she said.
She has also filed multiple lawsuits. For every question she got the same answer: refused. On her return to the US, she even filed a report with the Chicago Police Department, and complaints with the Attorney General in Illinois and California, where Chime is based.
“And then I saw CBS had done an article,” she said.
Not just one, but CBS 2 has been reporting on three other Chime customers since 2021. Patricia Green saw more than $500 disappear from her bank account. Jordan Comeaux was paid $1,200 in back wages while being laid off from his job as a flight attendant. A hacker has stolen more than $ 8,000 by Tara Venturi bill.
Now add Consentino to the list of apparent Chime victims. Their claims were all rejected.
“I’m a teacher,” she said. ‘I don’t make much money. That’s one salary for me.’
With the other victims CBS 2 talked to, whenever Chime was pressed to ask for answers, a pattern emerged.
“I spoke to you at 1 a.m. The money was back in my account around 5 p.m.,” Venturi said when CBS 2 interviewed her.
Consentino had the same experience and got nowhere on her own. But then suddenly $1,200 came into her account.
“You guys actually knew before I did, which to me proves it had a lot to do with pushing you guys,” she said.
win: “What was the reason Chime gave you for returning your money?”
Permission: “You know, Chime never sent me a reason why they gave me my money back.”
Chime and its partner, Visa, advertise a zero-liability policy that says, “Cardholders are not responsible for unauthorized charges.”
So why didn’t the customers get help until CBS 2 got in touch?
An “Error Occurred” is the reason they received all but no other details.
Chime said it takes security and customer service seriously and won’t dismiss fraud claims out of hand, but the company didn’t share with Consentino why its claim was changed after CBS 2 got involved.
CBS 2 contacted Visa about the zero-liability policy, but never heard back.
Lauren’s victory
