Like I said, Aeromexico said they could not do that, and that it would have to be handled through my bank.. My bank just asked me that I call them first, before they took action.. so I did... I will not be responsible for the charges, nor for any charges that are incurred while this is all being straightened out..
You aren't getting what I'm telling you. I've been on both sides of the issue both as a cardholder and as a business that processes credit cards for payment.
Aeromexico has a valid transaction from their perspective, ie someone bought a ticket online and the CC was valid and charged. If you didn't make the charges what you need to do is file a chargeback with your cardholder (bank). They will flag the charges as possible fraudulent transactions. This will be sent to the business (Aeromexico's) merchant account holder that they use to process charges. Their merchant will immediately withdraw that amount of funds (ie your money) from Aeormexico's account and hold them in theirs (merchant account) until the dispute is settled. The merchant account will put the burden on proof on Aeromexico to prove that you the cardholder did indeed and without doubt make said transaction. They have 10 calendar days to do this. If and since they cannot, the merchant account will favor in your benefit and the charge amount will be refunded to your account.
You and Aeromexico have no business directly and they do not answer to you no matter how much you think so. You deal with your card issuer which is your bank. They flag it, it goes through arbitration, then the card account is credited.
But still, this is a major PITA and disruption of my life...
I agree. It sucks. Been there before myself.
They seemed to have no problem approving the sale to the 'supposed me' in the first place, but now they have a problem with letting me know who the listed 'supposed me' is? It should work both ways...
They are bound by many policies and agreements, one of them a privacy policy to their customers. To them, you are just some guy claiming the charges weren't legit. They will take your phone call with a grain of salt. If it wasn't legit, deal with your bank not the airline.
I have no right to privacy from the person who committed the fraud, but the criminal has a right to privacy from his victim?
It's assumed it's a crime, but it could be a mistake in the system of processes (actually very complicated process and prone to f-ups). So you get the guy's name/address, reverse lookup his phone number and give him hell on the phone with all sorts of accusations. Turns out the numbers got mixed up in transfer at the automated clearing house and it's not his fault nor your fault. How would you feel if you were the other guy in that situation?
Just let the arbitration process go and you'll see your money back within 10-15 days on average. I understand you are upset. I've had this happen to me a few times so now I know what to do.