Strange OnStar Charge

[mbeardsley]

OnStar charged my credit card $2.05 this week, for some unknown reason.

My free one year will be over in about 2 weeks, and I still have about 100 phone minutes left unused.

Does anyone know what this charge could be for?

I'll call them tonight to see about it, but I was curious if this was common/expected.

Thanks.

[ParrotHeadNation]

Originally Posted by mbeardsley

OnStar charged my credit card $2.05 this week, for some unknown reason.

My free one year will be over in about 2 weeks, and I still have about 100 phone minutes left unused.

Does anyone know what this charge could be for?

I'll call them tonight to see about it, but I was curious if this was common/expected.

Thanks.

were you using the phone and dialing a phone sex hotline? cause that could be it

[Lil GTO]

Originally Posted by mbeardsley

OnStar charged my credit card $2.05 this week, for some unknown reason.

My free one year will be over in about 2 weeks, and I still have about 100 phone minutes left unused.

Does anyone know what this charge could be for?

I'll call them tonight to see about it, but I was curious if this was common/expected.

Thanks.

Lots of companies will do a temporary pre-authorization for some small amount, generally about $1, to verify that the card info they have on file is valid, then when the actual amount is determined the $1 will change to the correct amount or the pre-auth will be removed and the actual charge put through. I see this all the time with my credit cards, go out to eat, stop for gas, etc, and two or three $1 charges show up - and sometimes it is a couple days before the correct amount is posted. I can't imagine why $2.05 would be better than $1, but could be they picked an arbitrary number - or some percentage of the total or some other reason.

[mbeardsley]

Originally Posted by ParrotHeadNation

were you using the phone and dialing a phone sex hotline? cause that could be it

No, my phone sex charges are a lot larger than that...

[compdoc777]

I think the people or computer system at Onstar are on Krack because they bill me on my CC then send me an email telling me they canceling my account due to the fact that they can't charge my card and I need to update my account.

They do this about every other month yet, they always charge my account before they send the threatining emails out.

I just figure they are drunk or high or both.

[GaryH]

Same thing happened to me. If I understood their double talk, it was a charge for service from my experation date to the end of the month. Lil GTO probably has it figured out. They just want to know if you credit card info is still good. When I renewed, they deducted the amount from my annual fee.

[ParrotHeadNation]

Originally Posted by mbeardsley

No, my phone sex charges are a lot larger than that...

just a quicky on the way to the gas station

[Bogie]

Originally Posted by mbeardsley

No, my phone sex charges are a lot larger than that...

Perhaps your CAR got the hots for a Solstice and called on its own.

[TulsaSky]

So the trick with OnStar to stop all the strange charges is NOT to give them your Credit Card number. I use my cell phone for calls so the OnStar is for diagnostics and emergencies only. I got a official letter yesterday from OnStar seems the Credit Card number my American Express Card from the Impala in September 05 has expired, and WELL I need to update my information ASAP. HECK NO, OnStar you will get the usual check in the mail for the yearly safe and sound when my annual fee is due. At last no more worries about them charging my card, WAHOO
They DO NOT have to use a credit card to keep your account open, they will take a check for the annual fee. Think about it if they could charge every account a couple of extra bucks a year how much extra income can they earn, loads

TulsaSky

[southphillylakes]

Originally Posted by mbeardsley

OnStar charged my credit card $2.05 this week, for some unknown reason.

My free one year will be over in about 2 weeks, and I still have about 100 phone minutes left unused.

Does anyone know what this charge could be for?

I'll call them tonight to see about it, but I was curious if this was common/expected.

Thanks.

It might be a pro rated charge for next month. Then they will try and bill you 18.95. If you want to keep it tell them the most you will pay is 12.95.

[mbeardsley]

I called them (twice) and finally got an explanation (the first guy obviously didn't know what it was but kept trying to say it was a "coverage charge").

Their "renewal date" is on the 10th of August and my free year actually ends on the 8th of August, so the charge is to provide coverage for those 3 "extra" days.

When I asked about renewing my subscription, she said to call back to the subscription dept and ask for the "promo" rate ($148) instead of the normal rate ($198).

So I'll try that tonight.