A “Project Franks” charge on your credit or debit card statement is the billing descriptor used by Frank’s Car Wash Express, a South Carolina express car wash chain. The charge almost always reflects either a single wash or a recurring monthly membership at one of the chain’s locations, and it usually appears with a store number and city attached, such as “PROJECT FRANKS #679 LEXINGTON SC.”1WhatsThatCharge.com. Project Franks #679 Lexington SC The word “Project” is an internal label in the payment system, not a brand you would have seen at the wash itself. A standard transaction runs about $20.2South Carolina Comptroller General. Monthly Charge Card Usage Report, September 2022
Why the Name on Your Statement Doesn’t Match the Sign
Frank’s Car Wash has changed hands twice. In July 2021, Driven Brands Holdings acquired all 18 Frank’s Car Wash Express locations in South Carolina and began rebranding them as Take 5 Car Wash.3Driven Brands. Driven Brands Acquires 18 Franks Car Wash Express Stores A location at 4741 Forest Drive in Forest Acres, South Carolina, for example, operated as a Frank’s before converting to Take 5.4The State. Take 5 Car Wash Location in Forest Acres Whistle Express Car Wash has since signed a definitive agreement to acquire Take 5 from Driven Brands, with Take 5 sites transitioning to the Whistle Express brand in phases.5Whistle Express Car Wash. Whistle Express Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Take 5 Car Wash Some former locations have closed outright during these transitions.
The billing descriptor hasn’t necessarily kept up with the signage. A membership you signed up for at a Frank’s can still bill as “Project Franks” even if the physical location now reads Take 5 or Whistle Express, or has shut down. That mismatch is often the reason the charge looks unfamiliar.
Why the Charge Keeps Coming Back
If you believed you canceled and the charge keeps appearing, you are not alone. A 2024 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation documented a nationwide pattern of Take 5 Car Wash customers unable to cancel memberships after locations were acquired and rebranded. Former employees traced the problem to a software migration: when Take 5 switched payment systems, the legacy system was never fully deactivated. Accounts that lived in the old system weren’t recognized by the Take 5 website or cancellation portal, so customers couldn’t manage or end their subscriptions online.6Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Take 5 Car Wash Customers Can’t Cancel Their Memberships
Some customers were billed by both the legacy system and the new Take 5 system at the same time. Others reported being unable to reach the company by phone, email, or in person, and canceled their cards entirely to force the charges to stop.6Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Take 5 Car Wash Customers Can’t Cancel Their Memberships A Driven Brands spokesperson acknowledged in a March 2024 email that some customers had experienced “difficulties making changes to their memberships.” BBB complaints describe the same issues: unauthorized subscriptions, broken cancellation links, and continued billing after a location was sold.7Better Business Bureau. Take 5 Car Wash BBB Complaints
How to Stop a Project Franks Charge
You have three practical options, and they work best in combination.
Contact the current operator. Because of the ownership transitions, the site where you signed up may now be run by Take 5 Car Wash or Whistle Express rather than Frank’s. Start with the customer service channel for whichever brand currently operates that location. Given the reported problems with online cancellation portals, a phone call or an in-person visit tends to be more reliable than a web form.
Dispute the charge with your card issuer. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you can formally dispute a billing error on a credit card. Unauthorized charges, charges for services not received, and incorrect amounts all qualify. Send written notice to your card issuer within 60 days of the statement date on which the disputed charge first appeared. The issuer must acknowledge the dispute within 30 days and resolve it within two billing cycles, and it cannot report the amount as delinquent or try to collect it while it investigates.8Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges Federal law caps your liability for truly unauthorized charges at $50. If you paid with a debit card, the FCBA’s dispute timeline doesn’t apply; your bank may still assist under its own policies or the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, but the protections are narrower.
File a complaint. The FTC takes reports on subscription and billing practices at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.9Federal Trade Commission. Getting Into and Out of Free Trials, Auto-Renewals, and Negative Option Subscriptions You can also file with the Better Business Bureau or your state’s attorney general. Complaints build a paper trail that supports your dispute and flags patterns regulators act on.
Laws That Back You Up
Two recent rules strengthen your position if you can’t cancel or keep getting billed.
In October 2024, the FTC finalized its “Click-to-Cancel” rule, updating the 1973 Negative Option Rule. Any business that enrolls customers in a recurring subscription must make canceling at least as easy as signing up. Before collecting your payment information, the seller must clearly disclose that charges are recurring, state the cost, identify the billing date, and explain how to cancel. Civil penalties can reach $51,744 per violation. The core provisions took effect 180 days after Federal Register publication.10Federal Trade Commission. FTC Announces Final Click-to-Cancel Rule
South Carolina, where the Frank’s locations are concentrated, enacted its own automatic renewal law in May 2024. Under Act No. 159, a company must notify customers of an upcoming automatic renewal between 30 and 60 days before the cancellation deadline. The notice has to conspicuously disclose the pending charge and give clear cancellation instructions, including a toll-free number, email address, or similarly easy mechanism. If the company doesn’t comply, the automatic renewal provision is unenforceable.11South Carolina Legislature. S.434, Act No. 15912SC Daily Gazette. Some States Want to Make It Easier to Cancel Subscriptions A company that makes cancellation harder than enrollment, or that skips the renewal notice South Carolina now requires, is on the wrong side of these rules, and you can cite them in a dispute letter or complaint.