I received a charge on my credit card statement to "Hanson Management,
LLC."  I don't know if this is a proper charge.  What product or
service does Hanson Management provide?

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Request for Question Clarification by juggler-ga on 26 Feb 2003 17:31 PST

Is there any indication on your bill of the location of this business
(i.e., city and/or state)? If not, could you give us an idea of your
location (i.e., home state)?

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Clarification of Question by hornblower-ga on 27 Feb 2003 05:50 PST

My credit card statement indicates Hanson Management, LLC, is located
in California.  I live in Massachusetts.

Hi !

Using online Yellow Pages I've been able to locate several California
based Hanson Managements though only one  seems to be an LLC.

Superpages, whose website can be found at:

http://www.superpages.com

list:

Hanson Management CO 
Po Box 4019, Palm Desert, CA 92261 
(760) 564-7454 

They are listed in the Category for Swimming Pools Service & Repair,
so maybe you bought a difficult to find pool filter element or repair
part?


Switchboard also lists that business, plus:

Hanson Investment Management Co. 
4000 Civic Center Dr San Rafael, CA 94903-4171
Phone:(415)499-1400 

This seems a little more probable for an interstate transaction.
Switchboard's website is:

http://www.switchboard.com/


A similar search omitting the State found six other Hanson Managements
nationwide, one of which may be the one you are looking for.  Clicking
on "research this business" took me to KnowX 's site. This is a pay
for information site at:

http://www.knowx.com

It lists a Hanson Asset Management LLC located in California., as well
as a Hanson Management Corporation which seems to have branches in
both Massachusetts and California. More details can be obtained from
KnowX from $3.95. But possibly you requested investment advice in your
home state, which was billed through a central office. Neither seem to
have a website.


A search through Geektools Whois proxy at:

http://www.geektools.com/cgi-bin/proxy.cgi

shows the domain name hansonmanagement.com is registered to a Curt
Grim of Pennsylvania, but the website is under construction.


Finally, typing hanson.com into the browser takes you to the website
of Hanson & Company, also located in California.

"Hanson & Company is an independent consulting firm providing
fundraising and management services to nonprofit organizations.
Established in 1970, the firm has counseled leading colleges and
universities, private schools, medical centers, health organizations,
community-service agencies, arts centers, museums, and churches
throughout the West."

So maybe you made a donation to some good cause and it was processed
through them.


Remember that many small businesses maintain one merchant account to
cover two business names. We once received a charge to a hotel in
Modena which we had never visited, which related to a genuine purchase
in a souvenir shop in Siena. It took us quite a while to sort it out,
and then only because the sum of money was naggingly familiar and we
had kept our receipts.

I hope this is useful. As probonopublico-ga points out, if the charge
has been made in error or fraudulently you should be able to get it
reversed.

Search strategy as outlined above.
Searches under "Hanson Management" in Google and other search engines
found mainly a UK investment house, Jeff Hanson the Florida band
manager and references to the band called Hanson.

You should ask the CC Co for a copy of the voucher, to establish
whether or not it was signed by you (if you were present at the time
of the transaction).

In any event, the voucher may jog your memory. Or point you to the
supplier.

If this is not supplied within 45 days, you should get a refund.

How much was the charge for?

If you are sure that the charge was not authorised by you, then you
make a fraud complaint. (But be sure of your facts first).

If you suspect that your card may have been compromised then you
should ask the CC Co to block it and issue a new one.