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Jacksonville salon owners say identity thief is fraudulently charging people across country

Dozens of people have reported getting bogus charges from Jacksonville salon Hair Affair over the past few years.

The one thing they have in common? They say they’ve never been to the Moncrief salon.

The fraudulent charges on people’s credit and debit cards say they’re coming from Hair Affair on Moncrief Road.

But the owners, Pamela and Ronald Pringle, said they don’t even have card readers at the salon; they only accept cash and checks.

The Pringles said they’re victims of identity theft.

“I’ve never been to Jacksonville. I’ve never been to Florida, period,” said Angelica Smith, who lives in Pennsylvania.

Imagine Smith's surprise to see two charges of $24 on her account from the Jacksonville salon.
Smith said her bank told her it can't get her money back.

“They said they weren’t able to process a claim because it was under $25. So whoever’s doing this must have known what they were doing because everyone’s account was charged multiple times under $25,” said Smith.

A Hair Affair Facebook page shows more than two dozen similar complaints from across the country.

“It’s total identity theft. And I’ve been explaining this for maybe the last three years to different people that call the salon. And it’s every day, all day,” said Pamela Pringle.

Pringle said someone is charging people using her company’s name.

She said her credit is ruined.

“It’s been a hassle. It’s been a headache. But we don’t know what else to do,” said Pringle.

She said she reported it to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and her bank, but it hasn't stopped.
Action News Jax called Compass Bank to try to get answers. A spokesperson said the bank is looking into it.

Action News Jax has also requested all incident reports involving Hair Affair for the past five years.