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

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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!

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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!!

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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

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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

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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!

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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