Southern Telecom, National Voice Communications, Inc. - paid $ 60 - receiving nothing - telemarketing call for pager

Complaints.com received the following consumer message on August 26, 2002:

From:

RE: Southern Telecom, National Voice Communications, Inc. - paid $ 60 - receiving nothing - telemarketing call for pager

Hi., I am back with complaint number four. This company is an especially dangerous company I think. I appreciate you warning people about this one. We got a call from a "radio station" (they said) that we had won a pager and they told us how great it was and that it would only take one charge, an activation fee "after" we had received the pager. Well, we got a bill for postage from the company, which goes by more than one name.

Southern Telecom, National Voice Communications, Inc. and others. I called them and told them I was not supposed to have had any charges besides the activation and she offered to lower the shippping fees to $10.00. I said NO, I don't want it. It was supposed to be free, so please cancel it. I sent in the cancellation too. I got a charge of $54 on my phone bill for a voice mail that I didn't order and didn't want. My husband gets voice mail frree at his job, so we did not get a voice mail and would never use it anyway. I wrote letters and called people and threatened and they took it off my phone bill, but now they have sent it to the collection agency.

We never received anything from them but a "lying" phone call saying they were a radio station and we had received a free pager and also a bill for postage for something we never received or wanted. We have gotten NOTHING from these peopl e and they have turned us into the collection agency for charges that keep mounting--now over $60+. They are Southern Telecom, P.O. Box, 870671, Mesquite, Texas 75185 The telephone number is 1-877-864-2326 The Amneritech Telephone Company told us that if someone calls them and says we owe them money that our Government makes them put it on our bill and they don't need to prove it at all. I had to write all those letters and make all those phone calls to prove I didn't order it. It is costly, and unfair. What has our government come too? People beware. I don't remember ever voting on any of these things. Thanks for any help you can give us. As you can see they are out to ruin our credit, that we are battling to repair, and there is nothing we can do. Anyone can charge on your credit card if they have a number and us the telephone. Anyone can put a charge on your phone bill with out having to give you anything. They you can get y our phone shut off if you don't pay it.

I did pay it to Ameritech and they refunded it and then the Southern Telecom sent it to a credit agency. How unfair is this. We are senior citizens and I can't begin to tell you how careful you have to be these days when the customer is not always the one they support. I am thankful to have found a company that helps people who are being cheated. Thanks aga in. Lee and Carolyn Bernier