Global Air/ Wave Communications Fraud

I was contacted in March 2007 by a salesman who offered me a free phone. He said he was calling from Verizon, my home phone carrier, and the free phone was for me being such a good customer. Against my better judgement, I said yes, he could send me the free phone. I asked if there was any charge, or if there would be any charge unless I canceled something. He said no, there was no charge, and there would be no charge. It was a free gift. He then recorded my voice authorization and my address and phone number as well.

I never received any phone, which is fine, because as soon as I hung up I was already wishing I had not said yes. I was suspicious and had gone against my intiution.

Still to my surprise, on my Verizon bill in June was an extra charge for $75.22 by Global Air/ Wave Communications. I called them and they said they had a recorded voice authorization by me. I asked them to play it for me, which they did. During this recorded conversation a recorded woman's voice states she is from Global Air/ Wave (I assumed that was the company that made the phones Verizon was distributing) and she asked for my information, which I gave her. The original salesman's voice then said, "Please hold while I give you a verification number." The recording then cuts him off and plays the recorded woman's voice for over a minute listing the various services and prices of Global Air/ Wave. Then the woman asks, "Have you been offered or promised anything other than what was listed here?" And I said, "No." The salesman then told me that the phone would be sent to my address.

Here is the problem: The part of the conversation where the recorded woman's voice listed services and prices never happened!! The original salesman gave me a verification number and then the recorded woman asked if I had been offered or promised anything other than what was listed here. My answer was no, because all that had been offered was a free phone. They have pasted in the recording of the woman to "legalize" their actions, but this is fraud!!

The original salesman never mentioned the name Global Air/ Wave Communications. The only time that name was mentioned was when the recorded woman first came on. Voice mail, services, and prices were never even mentioned in the actual conversation.

I told the Global Air/ Wave representative about the discrepancy. He said that based on my recorded voice authorization, he could cancel my membership but not refund any money I had already been charged. I then reported this problem to the Better Business Bureau.

I think the major red flag to look out for when you recieve phone calls is when they ask for a voice authorization. Now that I look back, why did they need my voice authorization for a free gift? Don't ever give your voice authorization, even if you have verified what the service and price is. I hope you read this before they steal your money as well.

---------------------------------

Never miss an email again!

Yahoo! Toolbar alerts you the instant new Mail arrives. Check it out.