Monday, November 25, 2013

Concerns Regarding Visa Inc., Banco General, and Illegal Transactions Conducted by Live Well Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Age Management Panama

In this post I would like to focus on the part of my experience that relates to Visa Inc. I recently posted a video on YouTube, where I expressed my frustration with Visa Inc., and my concerns regarding their involvement in the facilitation of the illegal drug industry worldwide. Below is that video:


In summary, I purchased various drugs, using my Visa credit card, from a compounding pharmacy in Panama. The drugs were prescribed to me by the executive director of this pharmaceutical company, Mr. Michael Orlin Sigler, who I later learned does not have a license to practice medicine in Panama. In addition, the prescription he provided to me was stamped and signed by a doctor, who was not present during my entire visit to the pharmacy. Also, at least one of the drugs sold to me (GW501516) is a black market, toxic substance, and is banned for human consumption.

At the time of purchasing the drugs, seeing that I could pay by Visa gave me peace of mind that I would receive certain protections against fraud and illegal transactions. As I understand, businesses are thoroughly vetted, and must meet the requirements of Visa’s Operating Regulations, before being grated the ability to use Visa as a method of charging clients, and maintain compliance with these regulations as it relates to Visa transactions.

After receiving confirmation that Mr. Sigler was not licensed to practice medicine, that he provided me a prescription though fraudulent means, and that at least one of the drugs he sold me is a black market substance, I notified my bank, CrediCorp Bank, who filed a claim on my behalf. The claim was denied by the merchant's bank, Banco General, based on the sole fact that I signed the credit card voucher. Banco General completely ignored all of the facts regarding the illegal transaction. When I questioned my bank about the resolution, I was told that the decision came directly from Visa’s corporate office.

I then brought the claim to Visa’s board of directors, who initially agreed to look at the claim. Very shortly after bringing the claim to their attention, I was told that the decision to deny my claim came directly from my bank, CrediCorp Bank, that the decision was final, and that they, Visa’s board of directors, would no longer participate in a dialogue with me about the matter.

Visa’s international operating regulations clearly state that “A member must comply with applicable laws or regulations", that "a transaction must be legal in both the Cardholder's jurisdiction and the Merchant Outlet's jurisdiction”; and that "in the event of any conflict between the Visa International Operating Regulations and any applicable laws or regulations, the requirements of the laws or regulations govern". The regulations also state that "an Acquirer must not knowingly accept from a Merchant for submission into the Visa payment system, any transaction that is illegal or that the Merchant should have known was illegal”; and that “the Merchant is responsible for its employees' actions”. Below are several images of taken directly from the Visa International Operating Regulations Manual. To see the manual in it's entirety, click the following link: http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/visa-international-operating-regulations-main.pdf







Despite having presented all of the information regarding my case to my bank, the merchants bank, and Visa Inc., which clearly showed that the transaction that took place between me and Live Well Pharmaceuticals, was facilitated illegally and fraudulently, on various levels, my concerns have fallen upon deaf ears.

The main purpose of this post it to make people aware that the Visa charge/payment system is granted to almost any business who applies for it. Also, that having the ability to charge using Visa, does not necessarily mean that the business is always conducting their transactions lawfully, and certainly does mean that Visa Inc.'s regulations will be enforced in the event that an illegal transaction done by the business is reported by a third party.

It is also important to note, that the bank who issued the Visa point of sale account to Live Well Pharmaceuticals, Banco General, has yet to responded to any of my several attempts to report the illegal transaction to their fraud department, fraud@bcgeneral.com. To date, Banco General has continued to allow Live Well Pharmaceuticals Inc. to charge their clients by credit card.