Banks seizing Y2K supplier funds in nationwide trend follows big increase in sales

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) 1999 WorldNetDaily.com

According to today's (April 14( WorldNetDaily.com lead story, many Y2K suppliers have had their accounts siezed, records and credit accounts frozen, etc as the nation's banks charge "fraud" based on "a sudden increase in sales."

Thought the "Know Your Customer" program was

(1) in the future,

(2) dead,

(3) we - as a nation - were free to spend money any we wanted

(4) not too remarkable that the market demand for consumeables has increased - are they going to "freeze" the accounts of the stock brokers who have increased their sales recently?

request everyone - today - call your Congressman to specifically and loudly protest this harrassment. Get the fed's off our backs.

-- Robert A Cook, PE (Kennesaw, GA) (Cook.R@csaatl.com), April 14, 1999

Answers

Reference address is:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_exnews/19990414_xex_banks_seizin.shtml

-- Robert A Cook, PE (Kennesaw, GA) (Cook.R@csaatl.com), April 14, 1999.

I think the banks have been doing this for a long time on large amounts of cash that is out of the ordinary. Know your customer was another story. (Smaller amounts, all accounts)

-- SCOTTY (BLehman202@aol.com), April 14, 1999.

It is a well known fact that Y2k is public enemy no. 1 for banks. That this puts y2k merchants in hot water should come as little surprise.

Very scary.

-- a (a@a.a), April 14, 1999.

You know one thing that comes to mind for me is that when I ordered my years worth of food, it was charged on my credit card about 2-3 months before receiving it. I let it go but I know this is a big no no. I wonder if many of the y2k prep type companies may not be following all the stipulations regarding merchant accounts since they are so back ordered. Just a thought??????

-- a mom (maybe@wrong.com), April 14, 1999.

Flip your apparent question the other way around -

Your supplier, in order to ship you the goods ordered, HAS to receive them himself (herself), pay their supplier, receive the ordered goods, .... and of course, bag them and ship them to you.

So - if the banks are arbitrarily (or deliberately) interfering with the credit card charge processing - and bank accounts, records, and financial stability, etc. - of your supplier, then he CANNOT order goods, receive them, and then ship the order to you.

So - the result of their harrassment is a self-fullfilling prophecy = these guys are out to make an obscene profit by scare-mongering and panicking the public!, They are defrauding the public and not shipping the ordred goods!, They are causing the hoarding and scarcities! They are abusing the internet and the credit cards of their poor duped victims they frightened!

WE MUST INVESTIGATE and STOP THIS FRAUD.....we must shut down these scheming villians!

Wait for the headlines - first from the newspapers, then from the Democrats "in response" to these headlines, then from the administration.

-- Robert A Cook, PE (Kennesaw, GA) (Cook.R@csaatl.com), April 14, 1999.

Banks are PURE EVIL FROM THE NINTH DIMENSION!

There. I said it.

You think I'm joking...

Dano

-- Dano (bookem@blacksand.srf), April 14, 1999.

See WorldNet Daily Exposed

-- Hoffmeister (hoff_meister@my-dejanews.com), April 14, 1999.

And my comments in that thread.....

-- Robert A Cook, PE (Kennesaw, GA) (Cook.R@csaatl.com), April 14, 1999.

a mom (maybe@wrong.com):

An interesting thought, indeed...just a guess but scamming folks in an agitated state of mind will, I'd bet, become more common as time available compresses.

However I don't doubt banks/credit card cos. might be indirectly encouraged by the ABA or FDIC in their own self interest

-- Mike T. (anita_martini@the.ranch), April 14, 1999.

I had ordered a Petromax lantern from Britelyt.com about 5 weeks ago. They told me that it would take 4-6 weeks to come in and asked me if it would be ok to charge my visa card for the order in advance.

Since the woman there (I think her name was Diana) was so nice and had spent an hour on the phone with me explaining how to light the lantern, store fuel, etc.. I had no problem with that and authorized them to charge my card for the purchase.

I just received a call from my credit card company inquiring about fraudulent activity on my card!! They said that because Britelyt/Petromax was a "Y2K supply company", their merchant bank was skeptical about the increase in transactions... !! They told me that the supplier's bank was holding back all of the funds that were due them while they "investigated" the sudden increase in sales.

SUDDEN INCREASE IN SALES???? DON'T THEY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT Y2K?

I just received my lanterns and stove today and would you believe, the people at Britelyt never got paid for the merchandise. I was charged for it and their bank won't release the funds to them. They shipped the merchandise out to me just to be honorable. They asked me if I could simply dispute the charge and if I ever got paid back from my bank to simply send them a check. I've never seen such customer service or customer loyalty in my life.

These people are fantastic!! (plus the lanterns are gorgeous)

I'm gonna guess that the banks/government simply does not want us to prepare and is attempting to shut down businesses that are trying to serve our needs.

Hats off the Britelyt/Petromax!!

If you haven't ordered one yet, check out their web site (they have some pretty neat items for sale)

I don't know how to place a clickable link here -- but here's their site address:

www.britelyt.com

-- Robert Cinotti (robertcinotti@ponj.org), April 14, 1999.

Governmental ignorance I expect. Governmental incompetence is nothing new.

But malicious (and illegal) interference in legitimate trade -- if it's occurring as alleged -- is really pushing the envelope.

Banks would not be doing this without encouragement. That's why it's likely that government has taken a hand in this.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), April 14, 1999.

RObert Cinnotti (-3sp)

GET AN AFIDAVIT from Diana at brytelite and notify the credit card company that you are going to 60 Minutes, Dateline and your attorney, because they are destroying your good name.

talk to a couple radio stations too while you are at it.

Chuck

-- chuck, a Night Driver (rienzoo@en.com), April 14, 1999.

Robert Cinotti,

Diana has been on this forum to answer questions, though I haven't seen her in a while. Just about everybody has the same opinion, that they are a great company. I agree with Chuck, make some noise! <:)=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), April 14, 1999.

Hi Everyone.

I agree with Robert. Last year, I ordered several Britelyt lanterns from Diana and they came in no problem at all. I just placed another order for my husband's parents and I just sent them a money order. They took about a month, but I got my order and they are such nice people.

They charged me less because I prepaid for the order. I guess this whole y2k thing is getting me more and more paranoid... I'm kinda happy that there's no credit card records of my survival purchases anyway.

On a side note:

I had ordered the same lantern (petromax) from Geniol USA down there in Florida and they had the same situation and wouldn't even accept my credit card. They made me prepay and when they sent out the lantern and it had a broken globe and was dented. They were the NASTIEST people!! Some guy named Matthew called me bitch and told me I was lucky enough to get anything at all since Y2k had almost wiped out their inventory.

I called Britelyt and their technician Eddie sent me replacement parts for the lamp and walked me through the installation when they came. Now THESE people are great!! That's why I ordered the next lanterns from them instead of Geniol.

Unlike the prior posts, I DO know how to leave a link: :)

WWW.BRITELYT.COM

-- Alice Becton (Becton@comoestas.com), April 14, 1999.

Good evening, folks, and thank you all for your e-mails and telephone conversations, concerning the various instances of hold-ups of credit cards processings, etc., and for your kind words of support and encouragement, during a really hard time. I want all of you to know how VERY BLESSED I am, and how, each, and every, comment that has been made, concerning my company (both good and bad), has been appreciated and welcomed.

I have been asked to comment, concerning the credit card hold-ups, and I, for one, am not happy about these mishaps. All businesses, assisting with Y2K preparations, should be APPLAUDED, and not held up by any force, except GOD, HIMSELF, and if our government is putting themselves in HIS position, then woe be, unto them. A whole lot larger governments have been put down by His hand, so I think our American government had better stop and take a hard, long look at what they are doing to the people of this country. WE are the government.......not the Congressmen, Senators, Governors, etc. They work for US. WE are the boss......they are the employees. The American people hired these people to represent THEM. So, when we, the people, are being pushed around by our so-called "government", then we have to ask ourselves, "Why are we letting them do this?" To be perfectly honest.......WE'RE NOT!!! (Smiling) Not one company, large or small, has the right to oppress anyone, and, I, for one, will not stand by and let us be damned for trying to do something that is SO RIGHT. We are NOT going to be defeated, in our efforts, and forced to break our promises. And, if there is any idea that if one falls, so will the others......think again. God gives us the strength the endure, and with His help, WE WILL STAND TALL.

Just remember.....there are ways to work around all obstacles, so, if you're one of the companies feeling the pinch........don't worry. Just keep the faith, and give me a call. I'll do everything, in my power, to help you through this, and together, I think we can all do a great job in preparing for whatever lies ahead.

"To everything, there is a season, and a time for every purpose, under Heaven". We have the purpose, and now is the time. We will not be denied that effort.

Keep the faith, and God bless!! Oh, yeah.....keep smiling. It certainly doesn't hurt. (Smiling)

Diana......BriteLyt diana@britelyt.com

-- Diana Clifton (diana@britelyt.com), April 15, 1999.

Dunno if this is related to what you experienced Robert C., but I ordered a Petromax and stove about 7 weeks ago, haven't received it yet but trust it's finally on its way, since my credit card was just charged last week.

It struck me as strange however... the credit card company phoned me, on one of those "fraudulent activity" checkup calls, with respect to the transaction with Britelyt. Now, I really do appreciate banks looking out for fraudulent activity, but it puzzled me how this could possibly qualify. It was my only transaction that month on the card, and it seems completely within my typical pattern for that card. I told the bank no problem.

This better be the end of it and three better be no repercussions. I hope Diana, that the evil monkey business isn't behind this one too, whatever happens I will work with you.

-- Debbie (dbspence@usa.net), April 16, 1999.

Diana,

Please e-mail me of you need a loan. I can't think of a better place to invest my money. We can discuss rates later. Customer service is tops on my list, and from what I see, your company is #1. I've timed my CD's, and money-market, to be in tune with Y2K. What else am I going to do with my cash? <:)=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), April 16, 1999.

I'm not going to defend this practice but let's face it:

a) Y2K prep is frequently viewed as questionable activity (remember the warm receptions by family and friends?) b) Y2K prep represents a relatively small sector of the economy so a few incidences of fraud can translate to a higher fraud percentage for the sector. c) Y2K does have, lets face it folks, a lot of snake oil salesmen out there. One of my pet peeves are food storage systems. Yes there is a time and place for food storage systems, but unless you are stocking a bomb/fallout shelter they are generally a ripoff. The vast majority simply don't need them. For something as near term as Y2K, properly stored and rotated off the shelf products are perfectly adequate and a whole lot more affordable. It pissed me off to see an elderly couple at the Y2K preparedness expo shelling out thousands of dollars on these systems. Maybe they could afford it, maybe they understood they had options but from what I overheard it sounded like they were simply scared - they had other options. d) One of the first Y2K failures is common sense. If we're honest, I think we'd all have to admit we know at least one GI who went out and started 'preparing' without a plan, without evaluating their priorities, simply preparing for the sake of preparing. (Remember the what are you hoarding thread, or something like that, where we confessed to supplies that kind of got of proportion??)

So eventhough the credit card practice is infuriating - I for one will nicely tell my credit card company that I indeed authorized that charge so pay the merchant, thank you.

jh

-- john hebert (jt_hebert@hotmail.com), April 16, 1999.

I think that this is an early symptom of an unavoidable Y2K market phenomena: A Credit market crunch.

Look at it from the credit card company's (or bank, or any other finance company's) perspective. If you are "Y2K Supplier" then you are selling goods to people who are taking advantage of a real edge in their favor (the customers who are purchasing the Y2K supplies). What's the risk to the customer? For most people, very little. If everything works out, they can go about their top o' the business cycle merry way, and pay off their credit card(125% home equity loan, etc, etc.) with no problem next year.

However, if things get rough and some people can't pay, that obviously wouldn't be too good for the creditors. It makes sense what they are doing.

I believe this statement statement I read somewhere sums it up: The greed factor - "I won't have to pay back my debts!" - will combine with the fear factor - "No one will pay back the loans I've made to them!" -

Rather than worry about the credit industry's tactics, maybe it would be better to just go about your business with your key suppliers and just pay them with a check or money order. At this point, a couple of extra days for the mail to get through still won't be too much of a factor if you don't wait too long to order whatever you want.

-- Clyde (clydeblalock@hotmail.com), May 27, 1999.

P.S.

If you need the credit card to pay for the supplies, just get a cash advance, then send a money order to your Y2K supplier.

-- Clyde (clydeblalock@hotmail.com), May 27, 1999.