USBI Telephone Billing cramming

USBI Telephone Billing cramming

December 7, 2005

Dear Complaints, USBI Telephone Billing cramming. I am a victim of fraud by USBI, a third-party telephone billing service for $600.81 charges for long distance calls through MCI. The calls were made between 8/6/05 and 10/21/05. First - MCI is not my long distance carrier. I exclusively used Vartec 10-10-811 and 1010-297 during this period for long distance calls. For the first part of my November bill, USBI incorrectly billed my calls for using Vartec. For the seond part of my bill for calls made on 10/21/05 through 11/13/05, another billing company, ILD Teleservices Inc correctly billed me for calls I made using 10-10-228. Secondly - I do not have a long distance phone company on my account. My local phone company is SBC. They verified that I do not have a long distance company on my account. I can also verified this by dialing 700-555-4141 from my home number. In order to make long distance calls call from my home, I must use a 10-10 access code for long distance access. It is not possible for me to dial 1-area code to get out. Thirdly - I have used Var-Tec 10-10-811 or 10-10-297 since the late 1990s. They currently charge .03 cents per minute. USBI charged me $1.71/minute on behalf of MCI. They said that " SBC defaulted my account to MCI in accordance with SEC regulations because I didn't have a long distance company". They also said that this happened because I "incorrectly dialed from my house an used a 1+area code to dial out". This is impossible for me to do since I do not have a long distance company. Communication with SBC: At 9:20 am 12/7/2005 I called SBC, my local phone company, to see if they showd MCI on my account. They do not show any long distance company on my account. I spoke to Yvonne at SBC who said that "this billing is incorrect and impossible since MCI is not listed on my account". I asked them for advice before contacting USBI. They said to call the number on my bill and let USBI know about the error. Communication with USBI: On 12/7/2005 at 9:39 am, the first USBI representative I spoke to was Keyanne. I explained that I did not have a long distance carrier and that I only used 10-10-811 or 10-10-297 to make long distance calls from my home. She offered to credit me 30 days for calls made between 8/6/2005 and 9/6/2005 and then re-rate the charges to 15 cents/minute for calls made between 9/7/2005 and 10/21/2005 through MCI. This was not acceptable since the calls I made were done through Var-Tec using 10-10-811 for 3 cents/minute. Keyanne further said that they showed a "break in service because local phone service is regulated by the SEC and if I don't have a long distance company, then they transfer my calls to the first available carrier which was MCI". I asked to speak to a supervisor. I was referred to Raul, operator #7294", who said that "as a result of the local phone company that assigns a PIC number, if my account doesn't show one, then they automatically set up on for me". He further stated that "my account showed that MCI was my carrier". Again, this is not true and can be easily verified. Further he stated that "USBI correctly billed my account, and that Keyanne was incorrect, and that he couldn't offer me the 30 day credit nor re-rate the charges". He said that "this was a result of my local phone company defaulting my account to the MCI PIC number to my account". Again this was not true. He further stated that "if I change long distance carriers then it is my responsibility to notify the local phone companies". Since I only use 10-10 numbers and don't have a long distance company, SBC informed me that there was nothing I needed to do. Raul further suggested (strongly) that I incorrectly dialed the long distance numbers by using 1+area code (this is not possible from my phone since I don't have a long distance carrier), or I used a different 10-10 number. Again this isn't possible since the numbers on the bill are dialed using a pre-programmed button for the past year. These charges are fradulant. It may be the result of a database or other error, however, the first two USBI representatives were unwilling to offer any investigation or check with SBC to verify my information. I asked to speak to the the next level of management. I was referred to Tammy, a manager, operator #6246. I explained that I do not have MCI, I do not hear any MCI voice on the phone when I call indicating that I used their service. I explained the situation to her. She asked me "what did I hear when I dialed a long distance call?" I replied "All I hear is the phone ringing on the other end". She offered to "look into it". I asked her "what department do they send this investigation to?". She replied "there is no particular department, but that they would look into it". I asked her "how long will it take for them to look into it". She replied "15 to 30 days". I asked if she showed any calls in their system after these dates that they might bill me. She replied "no". She asked me for my home address to notify me of their results, and that I should hear from them by January 12th. At 10:39 am 12/7/2005 I called back SBC. Unlike USBI, they handled my situation professionally. This time I spoke to Debbie who put the total amount of $777.86 (which included the Federal Universal Service Fund fee and taxes) in dispute. I am concerned that USBI cramming will have a negative effect on my excellent credit rating if they do not come clean and correct this obvious and most grevious error. Lucia

Click this link to e-mail the message author: Email User

Comment On This

Please file a complaint either on-line or by telephone with the FCC. The same thing happened to my disabled brother. They are running an illegal operation called cramming. In order to be effective, you have to file a report with the FCC. The more reports they have then they can take action.

We can also file a class action against this scam company.

Comment On This

I, too, am a victim of USBI with total charges of $98.50 on behalf of New Century Telecom which we NEVER authorized to provide long distance for us. Unfortunately, because we have automatic pay with AT&T, USBI and New Century will NOT refund our money. There has been a "block" with AT&T for third-party billing and long-distance providers, but NOTHING seems to help!!!

Comment On This

I HAVE A BILL FOR $15.69 FROM USBI ON MY AT&T BILL FOR A CHARGE ON 09-28 THAT I HAVE NO IDEAL WHERE IT CAME FROM.

Comment On This

HELLO I HAVE ONE ON MY BILLS USBI I NEVER HEARD OF THEM AND I HAVE SERVICE WITH ATT I CALL ATT AND TOLD THEM HOW THIS GET ON MY BILLS.ATT SAID IT ORDER ONLINE I HAVE A DAUGHTER SHE 2 SO I CALL USBI TO CANCEL IT I WAS SO MAD I HAD TO PAY CHARGES OF 15.66 SO I WILL SEE IF IT ON NEXT MONTH. I DO NOT WANT USBI SHOWING ON MY ATT BILL

Comment On This

I was just hit by over $130 in charges by USBI. When I called and told them I never heard of them, never ordered their service, and never used their service, they told me someone named Colleen ordered it. I have a daughter named Colleen - and she's 7 years old! They told me she clicked a box swearing that she was over 18! I don't know how they got her name but that is very scary! They took off a couple of months worth of charges, but said they couldn't remove all of it. What scam artists they are!

Comment On This

Folks, I am using AT&T. Suddenly I saw charges worth 16.34 for the month of May and June 2009. Calling AT&T is futile, as they say it is a USBI's business, and they can not DO ANYTHING. Calling USBI was useless, as they transferred the call to cheap2dial, and I spent 10 hours (literally over a period of 5 days) trying to reach thier supervisor but in vain. I am still trying, will update you folks what happens. Any help about how we can prevent this and other victims to be victimised is greatly appreciated (if we can go to any consumer court or something like that)

Comment On This

I am also a victim of this unscrupulous company that somehow "attached" their billing to my AT&T account. I have the most very basic, no frills telephone service with absolutely no long distance service requested for provided. It's a very insignicant amount, but all of a sudden I see a $5.95 charge appear on my most recent bill. After looking closer I find that I am being charged that amount by USBI who I never contacted or heard of before. I called AT&T and they inform me that what USBI is doing, is for all practical purposes, legal - - - SINCE WHEN HAS FRAUD BECOME LEGAL? Anyway, AT&T has put a hold on the charge, and after contacting USBI, they have removed the charges.

If you attempt to call USBI, the phone will ring for long periods of time. Just keep letting it ring, they will eventually answer. What ever they say they are going to do to correct the problem be sure to get confirmation numbers. That goes for AT&T as well.

I also called FTC and FCC to report the scam.

I strongly suspect there is some type of collusion between AT&T and USBI.

There are hundreds of complaints against USBI listed on www.ripoffreport.com......

Comment On This

I have a similar problem with USBI. A charge for 19.95 came up on my AT&T bill. The itemized charges state they are filed for Flat Rate Long Distance, Inc. and give a phone number for that company. When I called they said my spouse had authorized the service through the internet on December 12. But she was having gall bladder surgery and never authorized the call AND she is not on the account for the phone! Flat rate said they would cancel the service, but only when I insisted saying that any authorization they had received had been illegally obtained did they say that my account would be credited for the two months previously billed (and paid). But, the credit would take 2-3 billing periods to show up.

I called AT&T and they did not authorize the charges billed by

USBI for Flat Rate, and AT&T was currently my long distance carrier. Their advice was to watch the account closely, and no, they did not have any contract saying it would take 2-3 billing periods for a credit to show up. Any credit issue by the company would show immediately!

I reported Flat Rate L C, Inc. to the Better Business Bureau. After seeing all these complaints about USBI, I will be reporting them as well and including both in a report to the FCC.

Comment On This

We have also become a victim of USBI. We have never heard of them and have no agreement with them. We use AT&T and have unlimited long distance with AT&T.

We intend to report them, and are not planning on paying for something we know nothing about.

We never agreed to use USBI. I spoke with an AT&T Rep. this morning, and was told that this thing is happening a lot to a lot of people.

I agree there should be a class action law suit filed.

I feel this is a ripoff and crooked dealings. I intend to fight this.

E.Vela

Big Spring Texas

Comment On This

I am also a victim of this Telephone Bill cramming. I have a business, and we had a representative from AT&T to come out to our store, and basically switch our service to this USBI without our knowledge. This let me know that AT&T is working hand in hand with this company. Now AT&T is threatening to terminate my service if the bill is not paid. I think that we all need to get together to file a class action lawsuit against AT&T and USBI.

Comment On This

I have AT&T local and long distance service. I have unlimited AT&T long distance so there is no reason for me to go to a third party long distance provider. This month I noticed that my AT&T bill had $20.43 billed by USBI for long distance service. Since I do not check my bill everytime, I had not noticed that they have been charging me for past 4 months. I called AT&T and asked them for an explanation and they said they do not know but I must have signed up with USBI and asked me to contact USBI. I called USBI - the first person who picked up the phone said that I signed up for their service on the Internet. I asked her to give me a proof on which she hung up on me. I called again and got someone named 'Keith' on the line. Keith said that he will give me credit for 3 months but not for the 4th month and that he will forward my request to the company. According to him, he works for a Call Center in Central Florida and USBI is their client. But he does not have USBI's contact information and that I'll need to contact USBI in order to get the 4th month credit. But nobody in his call center knows how to get hold of USBI!! He would not tell me the name of the Company he works for - because it was not relevant! I talked to AT&T again and they told me to lodge a complaint with CPUC (California Public Utilities Commission) because CPUC mandates that AT&T include any third party telephone charges in their bills. That is the next step I am going to take.

Please tell your friends to check their phone bills and make sure they are not being scammed by USBI.

Comment On This

I have a discounted long distance carrier, Powernet. We have been working together for the last 3 months to get Windstream to correct my account to eliminate these other long distance carriers. I have found a USBI charge on my account this month (Feb. 2009) for long distance charges.I put a call into Windtream but as of yet, not received an answer. I am very angry and frustrated that I have no choice in the phone company I have to pay for service. What happened to a monopoly? In America we should have the right to chose what business we want to deal with. What right does USBI have to invade our phones and computers? What rights do we, the consumers, have to abolish the fraudulent charges that the big companies think they can get away with?

Comment On This

My company is now going through this. We received our phone bill and it nearly tripled. USBI attached itself to our account. I talked to verizon my service provider and they are investigating. In fact for no charge you can contact verizon and have them put a freeze on all your phone lines and no one can change your company's plan unless someone who is authorized from your company to change the phone plan either writes or calls verizon to take the freeze off the phone lines.

Comment On This

I have WorldNet aka Z Telephony as my long distance provider. Somehow I got a bill from AT&T that Qwest or USBI says I owe a total of $ 949.69 for long distance charges!!! I never contracted/picked Quest or USBI for my long distance service provider. AT&T has disconnected my home phone service, I guess for non payment, of these ridiculous long distance charges that I �owe� to Qwest (USBI). I never got a disconnection notice in the mail and I have been paying my local service charges to AT&T as Worldnet instructed me to. Qwest has been billing me through AT&T. I am contacting the FCC at FCC.gov to report "slamming" of my phone line

Comment On This

I was just hit with this. I have %100 AT&T services, local and long distance. However, on my AT&T bill for December 2008, there was a new and unknown charge from USBI for $21.30. I called the USBI contact number but they don't answer. I called AT&T and had the charge credited and I'm filing a slamming complaint. I sent the following notice to USBI via their website www.billview.com/usbi/inquiryform.php on 12/31/08:

"You placed an unknown and unauthorized charge of $21.30 on my AT&T bill. I have never contacted USBI, I don't know who you are or what you do, and I never authorized any service from USBI of any kind. I have contacted AT&T and they are crediting the charge. Moreover, I am filing a complaint of slamming against USBI. I demand that you immediately retract this unauthorized and illegal charge from my bill and cease any further billing of any kind." I hope this ends it but we'll see.

Comment On This

I have, just last August found out about the cramming by USBI.Since August 2007 They have collected over $200. I first noticed in August 0f 2008. SO I

called my phone server which is ATT.They told me it was another Long Distance Server. I have Att long distance and ask how this happened?

Att. said they(usbi) had just attached itself to my bill.

To some people this may not mean much , but to a widow and hairdresser It's a lot.

I have made copies of all of the bills showing the charges. I am also turning them over to the Public Utilities Commission of Texas and the Better Busniess Bureau. And if they continuing to avoid me I will hire an Attorney.

Sinserely,

Carolyn

Comment On This

This also happened to us. USBI says that we accepted their services through a web pop-up - which is apparently another tricky scheme they use to drum up business. I have filed a dispute through my primary provider (EMBARQ) and, after some heated discussion, USBI gave me a confirmation number saying the service agreement will be cancelled and their charges will be withdrawn. We will wait and see what happens with that. This outfit is definitely a big scam that is trying to take advantage of people using unscrupulous methods. They need to be shut down. Additional complaints will be filed with the FCC and my state's utility commission, to make sure USBI's underhanded business conduct is documented.

Comment On This

I am facing this as well with my business. We are being billed for $800 dollars for services we did not authorize or want. In fact we still can not find out what they are. The run around at USBI is maddening. Does anyone have numbers where they made progress on this? The local phone company has shut off our phone saying until we pay for it we can not get reconnected.

Comment On This

I have had the same problem. They say they are working for advantage telecom and Advantage confirmed this. They tried to tell me I signed up for their service, I didn't, said they would cancel but not refund my money. What a scam. Both USBI and Advantage Telecom. Why can't they be stopped?????

Comment On This

They called us and represented themselves as taking over long distance billing for Verizon. When I checked with Verizon, they said that was not the case. That was in July. I called USBI the same day to "cancel" this service. However, it is now December and their charges are still on my bill. I have spent many, many hours on the phone trying to get this corrected.

Comment On This

I too am a victim. Except in my case USBI didn't call me, it just appeared on my bill. I called the info # on my bill and got the run around. What can be done?

Comment On This

I too am a vicitm. I was out of the office sick and USBI called and scammed my 75 year old father in-law who has no authorization to add or change my services. USBI will not credit the charges off my bill and Windstream says they have no authorization to remove them. Now what?

Comment On This

I am an attorney and was apparently "crammed" by ATT/MCI/USBI. I am suing them. I would appreciate more information about others' experiences similar to this.

Comment On This

USBI called me and told me they are now handling Qwest long distance. I later found out that was not true. Called Qwest and they credit the amount USBI charged me for the last 3 months.

Comment On This

I cannot believe what I'm reading right now about usbi. I just recieved a bill from usbi for $1,920. I am furious and don't know what or where to go from here...who else can i write to about this...pls. help, i just might have to write the FCC, this is ridiculous, i never heard of usbi and let alone i did not order mci as a long distance carrier...usbi, they r the real VULTURES, AND THEY NEEDED TO BE STOPPED. HOW CAN I HELP STAMP THEM OUT!

Comment On This

They called me claming that they are from AT&T and falsely misled me to aggree with their terms for cheaper phone calls which was not true. I called them multiple times but they do not respond and now I am paying for the calls I make to two different companies.

Comment On This

Crammed by USBI on my corporate account. ATT, my carrier, said it is happening more often. I called USBI's phone number, got a "confirmation number" and was told that the charges would be credited back "1-2 billing cycles".

ADD "CARRIER BLOCK" TO YOUR PHONE SERVICES TO PREVENT FURTHER CRAMMING EFFORTS. This is different from the "slamming block" you probably already have. A slam block will not protect you from being crammed.

To file a complaint with the FTC: 877-382-4357.

If ever anyone contacts you about telecommunication services, do not ever say the word "YES" in your conversation because that word will be recorded as authorization for them to proceed, no matter in what context it was made.

I am grateful for this website; USBI didn't even try to BS me about the bogus charges because I learned all I needed to say right up front off this website.

Comment On This

Comment On This

We just got our phone bill and had a USBI charge on it. Had no idea who they were but a quick Google search revealed they are no good.

They said we signed up for the service, and our IP serves as our signature. They gave me the IP and a reverse DNS lookup says it's a Comcast IP in Michigan. We live in Georgia and have never even visited Michigan.

USBI said they canceled the service and issued a full credit, and even provided a confirmation number, but we'll see!

I reported them to the Georgia Attorney General, Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs, Georgia Public Service Commission, and the FCC.

No company should be allowed to add charges to your bill without permission. This seems like common sense to me! AT&T said they have put a block on my account so neither USBI nor others will be able to do so going forward. Fingers crossed!

Comment On This

I too have been scammed by this USBI, and in am currently reporting them to the FCC.

Comment On This

FOR EVERYONE OUT THERE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH USBI OR ANY OTHER LONG DISTANCE COMPANY, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL PHONE SERVICE PROVIDER IF THEY PROVIDE YOUR LONG DISTANCE TOO, THEN ASK THEM TO PLACE A "PIC FREEZE" ON YOUR LINE! THIS WILL STOP ANY OTHER PHONE COMPANY FROM STEELING YOUR SERVICE WITH-OUT YOUR PERMISSION! USBI HIT ME TO FOR $37.34! I WAS FURIOUS! YOU LIVE AND LEARN! NOW I KNOW HOW TO PUT A STOP TO THE VULTURES! I HAD NEVER HEARD OF USBI UNTIL THIS HAPPENED AND JUST KNOW THEY HAD MY NAME AND DATE OF BIRTH! GOOD LUCK ALL!!

Comment On This

i just recieved my phone bill for may and i have centrytell phone and they provide unlimeted long distance, i was charged 17.61 for calls made on feb 14, and im just now getting billed for these i shouldnt be getting billed at all. i have contacted the phone company i quess i will have to wait to see if i will be nade to pay this

Comment On This

I was just charged $ 3.40 on my regular phone bill which is verizon.my local phone bill.my long distance is not or never has been MCI.I am filing a formal complaint,because I called them and told them I did not use their service and I was'nt paying it,and then I told the what ever he wished to do with the bill he could,then I hung up.My long distance company said this was a SCAM to get money from people.

Thank you

Linda

Comment On This

I was glad to see this thread while I waited to speak with a USBI supervisor regarding a third-party bogus charge of 10.04 (for a 4-minute call!) on my local Embarq phone bill. The first person I spoke with claimed a call had been made from my number using an access number. The call was labeled "direct dial" and he later claimed it was "direct dialed." I always thought direct dialing meant you just dialed the number straight. Anyway, we have a separate LD company with separate billing and neither of us had made the call. Both parties wanted to know my current LD service (Qwest) and the supervisor claimed that MCI (USBI is supposedly affiliated with them) sometimes handled Qwest billing, and I should call both parties to straighten out my LD. I told her I would be calling the FCC and claimed it was a fraudulent charge. She eventually said they would take it off. In the meantime, I will be filing an informal complaint and I have notified Embarq that I am disputing the amount. A similar thing happened to my husband with an 11.00 charge on a credit card. He went on the Internet and found it was a fraudulent company. I guess they figure that people don't check on these smaller amounts. Thank goodness for the Internet and this Web site!

Comment On This

Comment On This

Dealing with USBI.. .I have received a few e-mails from others having similar problems with USBI. To resolve the problem I contacted the FCC at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html and filed a complaint. I also called them at 1-888-225-5322. The person I spoke to was familiar with USBI and said they were familiar with this type of problem. They can advise you on how to proceed based on your specific experience. My advice is use a good local phone company and stay away from unknown 10-10 numbers. Good luck