Qwest Dex - ad in 2003 Yellow Pages - ad placed without authorization

Qwest Dex - ad in 2003 Yellow Pages - ad placed without authorization

Qwest Dex ad in 2003 Yellow Pages

RE: Qwest Dex ad placed without my authorization. I own a pest control company in Omaha, Nebraska. We had advertised in the Qwest Dex Yellow Pages for two years (2001, 2002) before the 2003 book. I met with my Qwest Dex sales representative on February 8, 2003 and was talked into going up a couple of sizes in our ad through a "promotion" that Qwest Dex was running. The ad that I signed for was to be a 3/4 full color ad.

After thinking about it for a couple of days, I called our sales representative back and stated that I did not think we could afford the ad, which would have been $17,000 more than what we had paid for the previous year. I stated instead that we would just stick with the same size ad that we had run the previous year (2002). Our Qwest Dex sales representative then kept stating how well the 3/4 page ad would do for us and we should stay with that. I continuously refused to run it.

He then asked for his art department to at least work up a 1/2 page ad with full color. I told him that was okay for him to send me a proof on that if he liked. We did receive the proof, but again I stated that the 1/2 page ad he was proposing was still $11,000 more than we spent the year before ,so we had better stick with the ad we were currently running for 2002. To my surprise, without me signing or calling for authorization on the 1/2 page ad, it appeared in the new 2003 book when we received it! Not only that, but our sales representative failed to mention that the new book would be distributed in June (late June at that) rather than May, as it always had been in the past. As you can imagine, this alone would have been a problem because we are a pest control company in the Midwest.

Because of the time of distribution, this would have severely cut into our ability to generate revenue through termite work using the ad to get new customers, even if I did authorize that ad, which I did not! Immediately after the ad came out, I called Qwest Dex customer service to complain about the situation and figured that they would resolve the matter. The customer service representative stated basically that we were stuck with it. My options were limited to turning off my phone number and risking the possibilty of getting no business, or taking a chance on the ad doing well enough to pay for it. I opted for the latter. Big mistake. We received six, yes only six calls, from this ad through the remainder of June and the month of July. I called Qwest Dex customer service to complain about the whole situation again.

The Qwest Dex customer service representative stated that maybe our ad wasn't doing well because it was poorly designed and too cluttered. She pointed out a couple of our competitor's ads and said that if she was looking for a pest control company, she would be much more inclined to call them. She stated that they were designed much better. I told her that might be true, but the QWEST DEX ART DEPARTMENT DESIGNED THE AD IN THE FIRST PLACE, AND ONCE AGAIN I DID NOT AUTHORIZE THAT AD TO GO TO PRINT. Faced with the prospect of paying $1600 dollars a month going into the fall and winter, I called and turned off the phone number appearing in the ad (effective 8/1/03). Qwest Dex however continued to bill me even after the phone number was disconnected. Finally, I talked to a Qwest Dex representative that adjusted my bill back to only the period of time the number was on ($2945.25).

I agreed that I would pay that amount because I did try the ad, even though I did not authorize it in the first place. I stated however, that we currently had some slow paying accounts and I would pay on the ad as soon as the money came in. So I paid $600 then later paid $500 dollars and agreed to keep paying until the ad was paid off. Because we were only running an ad in the other major phonebook in our area, the revenue that was coming in was not as great as if they had not used deceptive business practices and ran the ad that I said we wanted in the first place! When the next season came around, I called and stated that I wanted a different Qwest Dex sales representative to contact us about the upcoming year. No one called me back. I called back again a couple of weeks later. They placed me in touch with the same representative I had the year before anyway and I had to leave a message again.

Because I was going to run a new ad, I turned our phone number back on, which was to be effective May 1, 2003. The sales representive did call me back, on the very last day that we had to place an ad. He stated that he called us on the number that we had disconnected and it rang through to our main line voice mail. This may have been possible I told him, but we could not get access to this number until McCleod (our phone service carrier) came out to restore the phone service for that line into our office, which would be effective May 1, 2003. He stated that he would contact me later in the day about placing the new ad- never did. I then called the next week to make a payment on the previous ad that I had agreed to pay a portion of. The Qwest representative then stated that since I turned the number back on, Qwest Dex would be billing me for the entire year if I did not turn it back off. WHAT? I left the number off through what was represented to me as the entire year's ad and stated that in no way shape or form was I allowing them to force me to do this.

She then gave me the phone number of the manager of the sales department in Omaha to resolve the matter. I called him three times and left a message, but never got a return call. I never heard anything from Qwest Dex after that until D&B RMS contacted me by letter on May3, 2003 about a past due debt owed to Qwest Dex for $167.53. Assuming this was a settlement on this whole messed up situation, I paid it figuring lesson learned. Just resolve the whole matter and never do business with Qwest again. Then on September 12, 2003 I get a call from a collection agency CMCS out of Minneapolis. David Harris of CMCS informed me that I owe their client Qwest Dex $18,792.20! I was shocked and said truly did not know what they were talking about! I explained the above situation and asked him to talk to Qwest Dex about the matter. He said he would and would get back to me. He never did.

I called again on September 19, 2003 to see if he had contacted Qwest Dex about the matter. He stated to me that it takes thirty days to get information about accounts in collections from Qwest Dex. He said that he would call back. He never did. On November 4, 2003, I called David Harris again. He stated that he would get back to me. I already was getting a pretty good idea about what was going on here. They were not that worried about this being a valid debt or not. They just wanted to hold out to see if I would pay the $19,000 so they could get their cut. At this point, I knew David would not call back, so I called to talk with someone else. I talked with Paul (last name I do not recall). Upon answering the phone, the first thing Paul says is, "It looks like you owe my client over $18,000." I had to explain the whole situation all over again to him. He said he would get the records from Qwest Dex and get back with me. Somehow I knew that would not happen. He was less cooperative than David was. I was right.

He didn't. Finally, on December 18, 2003, I got a letter from Brumbaugh & Quadahl, a debt collection law office here in Omaha. I called as soon as I received the letter. Once again, I explained the whole situation to one of the attorney's assistants and asked for the contract showing where I signed for the 1/2 page ad. She actually did what she said she was going to do! She contacted Qwest and got the records. On March 2, 2004, I received the records that seemed to not exist. Guess what? There was not even a record of the 1/2 page ad in the paperwork I received from Qwest Dex. All they produced was my past history with the ads I had placed and paid for in 2001, 2002, and the contract for the 3/4 page ad for 2003 that I signed for, but later called and cancelled.

I called the law office representing Qwest Dex back and spoke with the same attorney's assistant that I had been working with and once again explained there was not even a record of the 1/2 page ad listed in Qwest Dex's records, which is what they were claiming I owed in the first place! She was sympathetic to our plight, but stated that she could do nothing other than to make arrangements for a settlement. If I did not agree to settle, the matter would go to court. Knowing that it would be cheaper and time consuming to just settle the matter I said, "Look I will settle for the original amount that I had settled with Qwest Dex for, minus what we have already paid. She stated her firm would discuss it with the client and get back to us. If this is not a lesson to NOT ADVERTISE WITH QWEST DEX, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS!

Dana T

Yield Pest & Termite

Omaha, Nebraska

AMY T

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