A customer paid for a massage with a credit card but then disputed the charge, saying she was never there. Cameras showed otherwise, but the customer won the dispute, which didn’t make sense until Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser stepped in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s your name. Spell it any way you want, say it any way you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anastasia Yecke Gude: “So I was born Anastasia, but I lived in Mexico. I married a Cuban, so I have always liked Anastasia better. I just think it’s softer.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saying Anastasia makes her smile and she created Healing Hands to bring a smile to everyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anastasia Yecke Gude: “And something we do that makes us different is that we have all-inclusive massage. So, our massages include deep tissue stretching, aromatherapy and hot stones.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People love it, with hundreds of five star reviews for her Miami and Miami Beach locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anastasia Yecke Gude: “Majority of our clients are genuinely good people.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But of course, it’s South Florida. You know where we are going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anastasia Yecke Gude: “It’s always that handful of people that can just leave a sour taste in your mouth.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It started when someone made an appointment online. As you can see, she came into the spa, got the hour long massage and came out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anastasia Yecke Gude: “We have footage of her getting her water, thanking the therapist, saying goodbye. She was happy with the treatment. I don’t understand.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anastasia is confused because as soon as the woman left, she disputed the charge for the massage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anastasia Yecke Gude: “The cardholder said that she had no knowledge of the charge.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anastasia thought she would easily win the dispute by showing the credit card company the videos and texts from the woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anastasia Yecke Gude: “And I put it all in there, and they still decided in her favor.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To book an appointment at Healing Hands, you pay ahead of time online with a credit card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company that processes the payment would not tell Anastasia which credit card company the woman used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anastasia Yecke Gude: “It wasn’t us that made that decision. We just have to respect the decision, but then there’s no way to appeal it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Anastasia wanted to talk to the credit card company to see how they can rule in favor of a customer who clearly came into the spa. No luck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anastasia Yecke Gude: “How could you look at everything I sent and say, ‘No, she wasn’t there,’ or if it’s the bank that is just not looking at the information or maybe using AI and they’re looking for the wrong things, but I truly have no idea.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baffling to Anastasia and us, so Howard, can you be denied the right to know who the credit card company is and denied the right to appeal their decision?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Howard: “Yes, the processing company does not have to tell you the name of the credit card company and, secondly, you have to play by the card company’s rules. If they deny you in a dispute, they can refuse to allow you to appeal it. Clearly, as a merchant or a cardholder, you have to play by their rules.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We wanted to find out why the credit card company agreed the cardholder didn’t get a massage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The processing company told me they were not allowed to reveal the credit card company’s name. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The woman, who called herself Raquel, filled out an intake form. I called the number she listed. It was disconnected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I went to the address she provided. No one by that name lived there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Howard: “I think what happened is that she must have stolen a credit card. That’s the only way that makes sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That probably explains why the real owner of the card said she wasn’t at Healing Hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anastasia paid the therapist who did the massage for the crook so she wouldn’t be punished as well, but good news for Anastasia and Healing Hands this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anastasia Yecke Gude: “Yes, we are honored to have received the gold medal for best massage in Miami for the Miami-Dade Favorites award.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Congratulations, and from now on, customers who pay online will only pay a deposit. They pay the rest when they get the massage so Anastasia can see the credit card. That should eliminate the crooks. And in case you were wondering, 85% of credit card fraud comes from online purchases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Someone tangled you in a scam? Time to start healing? Go online and contact us. If we play our cards right, we can muscle our way to a solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:<\/strong>
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com<\/a>
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com<\/a>
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"