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Incorrect/fraudulent charge

Incorrect/fraudulent charge

I have been a member of Spotify for several years. We pay $14.99 monthly for two subscriptions. The payments are withdrawn automatically from a debit card / checking account. Most recently, $14.99 was automatically deducted on 3/16 from this account.

 

Yesterday, 3/29, a completely different debit card / checking account --one that is in no way associated with Spotify-- was charged $119.88. Nothing on my account with Spotify mentions this charge. 

 

It's impossible to contact Spotify to get clarity on how this card was charged $119.88, and how to get it resolved.

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10 Replies

Hey @sperkinsvt,

 

I'd recommend reaching out to Support about this:

Contact form: https://support.spotify.com/contact-spotify-support/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpotifyCares/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/spotifycares

If you get an automated reply email telling you to check the Knowledgebase or the Spotify Community, you need to reply back to it, even if it's from a no-reply address. Spotify Support usually replies within 24-48 hours.

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Note: I'm not a Spotify employee.

I had the exact same thing happen to me. I have a monthly subsrciption for $9.99 a month and was charged $119.88 on 3/26. But there is no record of that on my Spotify Reciepts in my account. I have contacted my bank. 

Please reply with an update if you recieve a response from Spotify or if it was resloved. Thank you!

I contacted my bank (Wells Fargo) who removed the charge and reimbursed the fee. Working with Spotify was much more difficult. I actually corresponded with Spotify through Facebook/Facebook Messenger through their "SpotifyCares" account: https://www.facebook.com/SpotifyCares/ .

 

It was frustrating. I would send a message, and get a message reply between fifteen minutes and an hour later. After several hours of back and forth, where I provided pieces of my credit card number and information related to the charge, they were able to determine that somebody else opened an account by paying for a yearly membership using my card information. They said they would close the account and refund my purchase. The refund is/was not necessary since my bank already handled it.

 

My bank is sending me a new card with new numbers, so hopefully that will be the end of the fiasco. Even if your bank voids the charge, I recommend going through the trouble of dealing with Spotify also to make sure some odd account isn't using your information.

 

Good luck!

I had the same issue I pay $9.99 per month for premium. Yesterday I discovered a random charge on my bank statment for $119.88 and it was debited on a different day then my normal $9.99. I did live chat with a spotify employee and they found a random email address attached to my account that wasnt any that I had seen before. They blocked the email and "reversed the charge" which I havent seen credited back to my statement yet. When I asked if this is an issue with security and if someone hacked my spotify account. They told me NO that it is a security issue through my bank and I need to call them to have better security measures that Spotify can't see my credit card information. The charge wasnt for some random company it was from my spotify account. Very wierd and not just some coincidence since it was a company that debits my card once a month. I had to cancel my debit card with my bank and report a fraud case. And my bank specifed that it was a hacking issue. I went back to spotify today telling them that I was unhappy about how this was handled and that I was going to cancel my spotify account because I didnt feel safe with their security measures &that it saddens me as I listen to premium everyday! This is the reply I received: Emmanuel S: I’ve now canceled that subscription for you. This means your account will revert to the Free service when your current paid month expires. My apologies again, most importantly we respect your decision and should you have a change of heart you can resubscribe at any point at

I had the same resolution. I was able to chat with Spotify throught contact customer support...

https://support.spotify.com/us/contact-spotify-support/

 

They blocked the weird accounts that hacked into my account and charged my card. I don't understand how this is not a Spotify security issue...

 

I wonder how many people this happened to and what Spotify is doing to prevent it from happening again! I would really hate to delete my premium subscription. 

Hey DCO7:

This was part of the conversation I received from Spotify yesterday regarding the issue with security:

Paolo F:
Thanks for confirming. Allow a few moments so I can sort this out.

Paolo F:
Thanks for patiently waiting, Tiffany! I was able to find the account using your payment details and have blocked it.

Paolo F:
No need to worry about unauthorized charges anymore! The money will return to your account in a few days.

Paolo F:
I also recommend reaching out to your bank for assistance in keeping your card details secure from unauthorized use.

Tiffany:Okay so someone got into my Spotify account and used my payment I flrms
Tiffany: information?
Paolo F:
Your payment details cannot be taken from your Spotify account.

Paolo F: Your full payment details aren't visible to us, or any users.
Paolo F:
It's possible that your information was accessed somewhere else. Your card provider can help in keeping your card information safe.

Paolo F:
It's best to get in touch with them to prevent any unauthorized charges from being taken again.



It is all very confusing on how this isn't a Spotify issue. I pay $9.99 a month every month on the 7th of the month. And $9.99 x 12= $119.88 for an entire year of Spotify. Seems weird!!

This just happened to me over the weekend. On Monday I checked the balance of my chequeing account and discovered a charge from Spotify for $119.88. My bank or Spotify already refunded the charge and $119.88 was refunded over the weekend as well. So this seems to be a known problem... The fact I could easily google what happened to me and find this thread shows its an ongoing issue. 

I do not currently have a premium account and never have. The only thing I can think of is years ago when I tried a free 30 day trial I must've put in some financial information to receive that.

Ill be contacting Spotify regarding this (though it doesn't seem they will admit any issue or do anything about it) and my bank.

This is really unfortunate to know Spotify would be unhelpful with a known fraud issue. 

This must be a security issue with Spotify. It's not a coincidence that a couple months ago I received an email from Spotify telling me I have to change my password. Some kind of hack occurred that they didn't tell us about. 

Here is a link to a CBC article about the weird charges and how many people all across Canada are seeing them. Not the banks nor Spotify can explain or pin point what is going on but absolutely there has been some kind of hack. 

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/spotify-charges-debit-account-unauthorized-withdrawals-1....

These fraudulent charges are happening in the UK also. Take note Spotify, you have been reported to trading standards, the European commission and the banks (all very interested in the evidence I have sent them). Your "support" is an absolute joke, too. Telling people that they have subscribed to a service without proof and making silly excuses via an online chat service isn't going to wash I'm afraid. 

 

It's a massive shame that you seem to think that big business can bully the customer - very, very wrong.  

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