ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — A Rockdale County man says what was supposed to be a 30-euro pedicab ride in Paris turned into a $3,400 credit card charge and months of frustration after his fraud claims were repeatedly denied.
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Former Rockdale County Sheriff Jeff Wigington told Channel 2 Action News he immediately recognized something was wrong after taking a pedicab ride during a trip to France.
“I knew immediately when the guy drove off that something wasn’t right,” Wigington said. “So they had plenty of time to stop all of this. They just said they couldn’t because it was a credit card.”
Wigington said the ride was supposed to cost 30 euros, or roughly $34.
“He typed in his phone, held it out. I just tapped my card,” Wigington said.
Burt when Wigington looked at his credit card app, the charge was $3,400 instead of $34.
He said he contacted Navy Federal Credit Union’s fraud department within minutes of the transaction but was unable to stop the charge.
The former Rockdale County Sheriff compiled extensive records and a detailed timeline, similar to the way he would have approached a criminal investigation during his law enforcement career.
“I did this for a long time and I know you have to pay attention to detail and have good records,” Wigington said. “And that’s what I tried to do. It didn’t matter to them at all.”
Despite those efforts, Wigington said his fraud claims were denied multiple times.
“Denied every single time,” he said. “We thought we did everything right.”
In one denial, Wigington said Navy Federal cited a lack of a receipt. He argues that obtaining a receipt was impossible because the driver rushed off – that was the scam.
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Channel 2 Action News also reviewed consumer complaints about Navy Federal on the website PissedConsumer.com, where 88% of reviews were negative.
One recent complaint stated: “Navy Federal denied the claim after repeated correspondence, but I still do not know what evidence supported its decision.”
Michael Podolsky of PissedConsumer.com said he has a message for Navy Federal.
“Fix your customer service,” Podolsky said. “Make sure your customer service is responsive, specifically to the issues of fraud.”
When Channel 2 Action News contacted Navy Federal about Wigington’s case, the credit union declined to discuss the matter, citing member privacy.
In a statement, Navy Federal said:
“We take the privacy and security of our member’s financial information extremely seriously, and as the world’s largest credit union, we regularly work to educate members on how to avoid scams and fraudulent transactions.”
After Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Justin Gray followed up and noted that other financial institutions often investigate cases we bring to their attention, a Navy Federal spokesman provided an additional statement:
“In general, concerns brought to our attention are shared with the appropriate business area for review.”
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