I got Completely Screwed in AZ but not by F&G

tailchaser · Mar 1, 2019

So a few of you on this site know already but I've had a horrid experience with my draw in AZ. With 11 points I was in a great position to draw a very good unit late hunt, most of the odds were in the 95-100% range.

I started getting texts today while I was skiing from buddies asking if I drew. I didn't think much of it and finally checked my CC at 5:02 pm. I remember the time exactly because my card not only had been used, it was now maxed out from some lovely person in Seattle that has expensive taste. Once the cussing resided I transferred over to fraud alert and they immediately turned off my card. Which put me into panic mode because if AZ charges it, gets declined I'm out.....So once again, at 5:02 it was too late on Friday afternoon to get anyone at F&G.

The cops here at in Oregon are saying they'll be diligent but I know I'm likely going to get the charges removed but I now am required to review 12 months of purchases (I'd do more but that's all they could promise) and it's on my plate to say what's good and what isn't. Not that easy when I use it for business purposes.

So I've sent emails and a FB message to F&G. I know I'm most likely SOL and it absolutely sucks. I'm more pissed about knowing my hunt this fall is most likely done. I hate thieves..

tc

KJW · Mar 1, 2019

That's crazy cause the same happened to me. My card was used late Thursday night and then twice early Friday morning and got shut down. I didn't get an alert until late yesterday afternoon. I wonder how many others this happened to and makes me question the security of AZ GnF website.

cmbbulldog · Mar 2, 2019

Credit cards got hit yesterday morning, well before 5:02. Are you saying it was maxed out prior to yesterday morning?

ElmerFudd · Mar 2, 2019

So if your application is rejected by a declined charge for any reason, do you lose the bonus point coming out and loyalty point too?

cmbbulldog · Mar 2, 2019

I don't thnink so... you should still get a preference point.

tailchaser · Mar 2, 2019

Yes, they maxed out the card the day before F&G started hitting cards. Only reason I mentioned the time was it was past the time I could call F&G to attempt to rectify the issue.

Seems interesting that another poster had a similar issue.

tc

ArizonaBuild · Mar 2, 2019

FWIW, a similar thing happened to me a few years ago. Back when the credit card update deadline was 7-10 days before the running of cards. I had my credit card compromised and shut down the day before they ran the cards. Ended up not getting the tag.

BUT, I emailed all the commissioners and explained what happened. It was determined that I was in the bonus pass for the antelope hunt number and was rejected because of credit card problem. I was asked to provide a letter from my credit card company stating the time and reason behind the card being shut down, which I did. After some discussion with the unit biologist who stated that 1 extra tag wouldn't have an impact on overall population, I ended up getting tag #6 in a 5 tag unit! Shot a nice buck too!

Don't give up hope yet. Start writing the emails now.

WapitiBob · Mar 2, 2019

LAST EDITED ON Mar-02-19 AT 01:16PM (MST)[p]TC, send me a msg. I'll get you a direct number to call.

Regulation was changed a cpl years ago such that the app fee covers the point fee keeping your app "valid".

tailchaser · Mar 2, 2019

Sent you a PM.

AZ8 · Mar 2, 2019

You had until 11:59pm on Thursday to update your card. If you knew it was maxed out on Thursday at 5:02pm, you had 6 hours still to log onto your account and change your card to a new one.

I think you dropped the ball on this one.

Cactusbuck · Mar 2, 2019

Sorry to hear about your horror story. This is every hunters nightmare! I belong to an Arizona hunting group with 18k members and this is the first I've heard of it.

tailchaser · Mar 2, 2019

I love internet experts.....the card was maxed out the day before, nor was I notified in any way. I don't exactly check my card daily. I put down the exact time of the following day because it was Friday at 5:02 when I found out. Thus, I wasn't able to follow up with F&G before it was too late.

tc

DoubleDropMuley · Mar 2, 2019

It's Getting pretty hard to order or pay for anything on the internet, damn thieves!!!!

AZ8 · Mar 3, 2019

My mistake. I read your original post as saying you found out on Thursday at 5:02. My bad.

On a side note for future transactions, log onto you credit card account and set up text alerts for any purchase exceeding a specific amount. I do that for all my cards and I set it at $10.00. I get an alert on every charge. The technology is out there so you don't have to check your card daily. You would have known instantly what was going on.

And I'm not an internet expert. Just misread your post.

elkanddeerhunter1 · Mar 4, 2019

>So if your application is rejected
>by a declined charge for
>any reason, do you lose
>the bonus point coming out
>and loyalty point too?

Yes, you will not receive a bonus point for the species you're CC was declined for and you will lose your Loyalty Point for 5-years.
This happened to my wife, her Cabelas CC charge was declined because the server they use was down for maintenance. We called AZGFD and explained our issue. They told us not to worry because the third party will try to charge the card three times before rejecting it. Well, that never happened and she lost out on an early rifle bull hunt!

BOHNTR · Mar 4, 2019

That's really unfortunate......I feel for you. I hate thieves!

A Fire nd of mine had that happen to him a few years back. Now he simply buys a pre-paid VISA for each respective draw. Since the number never hits the www execept for the respective draw, there's no chance of being rejected for the draw. If he is unsuccessful he uses the card like a normal credit card until it's spent out. You just have to be sure to buy the card with enough money to cover the charges for ALL species/licenses you apply for.

BOHNTR )))---------->

huntazido · Mar 4, 2019

I have been considering doing exactly what BOHNTR said above for a couple years. I thought about this because of the exact situation the OP is going through now. I'm pretty good about checking my account a couple times a day but why take chances? Man that sux

cmbbulldog · Mar 4, 2019

>>So if your application is rejected
>>by a declined charge for
>>any reason, do you lose
>>the bonus point coming out
>>and loyalty point too?
>
>Yes, you will not receive a
>bonus point for the species
>you're CC was declined for
>and you will lose your
>Loyalty Point for 5-years.
>This happened to my wife, her
>Cabelas CC charge was declined
>because the server they use
>was down for maintenance. We
>called AZGFD and explained our
>issue. They told us not
>to worry because the third
>party will try to charge
>the card three times before
>rejecting it. Well, that never
>happened and she lost out
>on an early rifle bull
>hunt!

You don't lose bonus or loyalty point. He may not get a tag this Year, but will get his point.

tailchaser · Mar 5, 2019

Update, I want to thank the folks on here that gave me the contacts to the F&G folks that had access to at least provide me with some answers. As it turns out, I did not draw the tag so the bounce from my CC was a non-issue. Point creep was the culprit it seems this year for that unit. Regardless, if I had drawn it would have been rejected so my issue was real but it didn't put salt into the wound so to speak. Now I get to find out how in the world my info was not only stolen, but also used "in the store" for purchases in Seattle. However, that's for the cops to figure out.

The idea of prepaid cards will definitely come into play in the coming years. I always wonder about the security of information when I apply for things.

tc

Blank · Mar 5, 2019

As mentioned previously, in this day and age, you need to keep a closer eye on your financials than ever before. With the new credit card, make sure you have text messaging set up for "Card Not Present" transactions, as well as a notification for charges over a certain monetary value. Talk to the representative about fraud alerts, and they will explain what they cover, what they hold or freeze, and any charge you are allowed to pre-authorize if you want.

Generally speaking, scammers tend to try to run a small charge (usually from someplace you aren't located) first, and if it clears then they max it out immediately following.