Answerstop Voicemail Monthly Fee - voicemail you didnt sign up for!
=======Answerstop Voicemail Monthly Fee - voicemail you didnt sign up for!
>>>>>>> .r7754
My colleague in my office started getting this on her phone bill and I have to sit across from her. I’ve heard her yelling her head off at these people trying to get this service removed.
The number for these people is +1-866-928-1093 and apparently, the people in charge are Mike and Christina.
Services they illegally put on your phone bill include:
- Answerstop Voicemail
- Privacy Plus Voice Mail
- Voice Express
- VoiceXpress
- Antivirus Email
It’s hard to pinpoint who is perpetrating the crime here, but the companies involved and allowing it to happen are below. If you know any other names, please post them in the comments, and I will add them here when I can:
- Enhanced Services Billing, Inc.
- ESBI
- Billing Concepts
- BSG Clearing Solutions Gmbh (why is a company in germany getting away with screwing americans?)
- Zero Plus Dialing, Inc.a
- ZPDI
- USBI
- OAN
- HBS
- ESBI Spec Serv & Prod
Various addresses for these people include:
PO BOX 15624
CLEARWATER FL 33766
PHONE 1-888-523-3724
Enhanced Services Billing, Inc.
7411 John Smith Drive, Suite 200
San Antonio, TX 78229-4898
HBS Billing Services
4242 Medical Drive, Suite 2100
San Antonio, TX 78229
Other Resources
- FTC Website mentions ESBI
- ESBI Website - to submit a complaint!
- ZPDI - Behind the screen
- A little self-promotion from Billing concepts
I hope this little blog helps someone. I hate scams & if anyone has any information on how to deal with these scumbags, please share it with the rest of us to help get rid of this scourge on society.
May 26th, 2006 at 8:51 pm
I have this crap on my bill. i have called them for four months to remove it. no luck. my phone company (mfrs) say that can’t help. what a load. please someone tell me how to get this off my bill.
May 30th, 2006 at 4:52 pm
Same here. Four months. I’ve called each month–now they’re billing me extra because AT&T “generously” removed it temporarily. It’s bizarre that AT&T act like they cant do crap from their monopolistic tower about something that is on their own freaking bill.
June 2nd, 2006 at 11:04 am
I think a class action lawsuit is in order. If it is possible to fight this legally, I think we should all go full-throttle. Ive had this on my bill since February 06 and nothing has been done about it. If anyone knows of a current action being taken against this company, please let us know!
June 2nd, 2006 at 10:38 pm
Same here. What the hec is this. I would love to know if there is anything we can do also. Privacy Plus is billing me and I have no idea what it is. I certainly DID NOT sign up for it. How can they get away with this? I agree…class action lawsuit. I have a Brother who is a Judge, and a Godson who is an Attorney here in Las Vegas. I certainly am going to call them about this.
June 4th, 2006 at 4:14 pm
This has happened to me also. I am calling the Public Utilities Commission of Texas and will be trying to get them to take action.
This is an awful thing that some company can bill you for
something you never ordered nor agreed to, and so therefore I believe the people need to be sued as they are causing us time and money to try to resolve it.
The telephone company needs to be held liable as well for allowing the fraud to be included on their bill in the first place. They need to be held accountable for who they permit to bill as a third party.
June 7th, 2006 at 1:30 pm
I also have been charged for this “service”. I called them about the charge last month and was told they would cancel it. They didn’t. I called the phone company today and they said there was nothing I could do through them, but gave me a phone number. 1-888-300-3724. I called and again asked them not so nicely to stop. They said they would refund the last 2 months charges. I spoke to a man named Chris, he must have been used to getting these calls as he was a little hostile himself. He told me I had authorized them to take it by completing a survey for a free $50.00 gift card from Walmart. I did no such thing. And where is my gift card if I did??
June 7th, 2006 at 10:23 pm
I have also had this problem on my mother’s phone. I called A T & T thelast two months and they credited the charge but tell me there is nothing they can do. I have to call Answerstop. I have never been able to reach them. I have told A T & T that I don’t intend to do this every month and as far as I’m concerned, it’s their problem since they are the ones allowing this unauthorized charge. They were not very nice. I have sent that in writing and just intend to pay my mother’s legitimate charge and forget the rest. We’ll see what happens. What a crock.
June 9th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
Ditto. I have been on the phone with them 3 times in the last 2 weeks trying to get a refund. I actually did get $15.40 back (that was $1.23 shy of what they actually billed me for the first month). I agree that legal investigation should take place. The latest name i got was “Rick Bushman”.
June 13th, 2006 at 7:11 pm
Me too, with AT&T and ESBI. I AM FURIOUS and not relieved to know that it may take many more calls and complaints to get this charge off my phone bill and name off ESBI’s list. Thank you for your website and blog.
June 16th, 2006 at 4:13 pm
I have got “Answerstop Voicemail” charges twice in the last 2 months which I never used. It is using ESBI to put those fraudulent charges in my Verizon Telephone bill. I have called them 3 times and everytime they say that they are giving the credit. But nothing happened. I have asked Verizon to put something called ‘Bill Block’ which stops this company to put any more charges on my Verizon bill. Hope it helps. Now about the credit … the opearors that I talked to in Answerstop Voicemail :
(1) Mary Pineva on 8th June : said that she is giving the credit for the 2 bills.
(2) Daisy on 13th June : said that she is giving the credit for the 2 bills (what happened to the last credit ?)
(3) On 16th a operator told me that the credit was already given on 20th May. I asked her what was happening with the operators on 8th and 13th if the credit was laready given on 20th May ? And why Verizon can not see the credit on their system ? She just hung up !!
These companies “Answerstop Voicemail” and ESBI are ripping-off. And no one from law enforcement are doing anything. Has anyone really compained to any authorities about them yet ?
June 19th, 2006 at 9:54 am
I have also been charged in the past 3 months for 16.33 each by Answerstop Voicemail without notice.
I called 1-888-301-3724 and talked to Daisy of ESBI (?). She said she will refund my past charges on my next bill and stop the illegal charges. I hope this promise will come true.
I called SBC and talked to Menchaca, who said if Answerstop does not stop the charges, SBc will give me a form to fill to block the charges.
This is crime!
From Houston, TX
June 24th, 2006 at 10:37 am
Yes, I am seeing this ESBI thing in my bill. I don’t know if it was there before which I might have missed. I just can’t understand Verizon allowing these scam to happen! How much time we will have to waste fighting against this? I will complain to Texas Public Utilities Commission and see if they will stop this. How in the world scam companies are promoted !!!! I tried to call the # listed there in verizon bill for ESBI and there is no way to reach them. The call just breaks. How can any one expect a phone contact for scammers? I don’t know if there is any other suggestion?
July 1st, 2006 at 12:52 pm
Well count me in,6/25 Bellsouth,Ala.Billed 12.95 VOICEXPRESS and 14.95 EMAIL DISCOUNTS. sat 7/1 noticed it for the first time and being the weekend will have to stew until Mon,.If need be I’ll cancel bellsouth dsl.If that’ll put a stop to the charges. Help! Cheers
July 3rd, 2006 at 7:37 pm
I found this blog entry when I googled: 1-888-301-3724
The charge appeared on my phone bill as “CBC SERVICES GUARDMYMAIL MTH SVC FEE”, just so everyone knows that there’s another name it seems to go by. Again, nothing we signed up for in this house, so I’ve no idea where it came from. As someone who used to work for AT&T I know that with 3rd party billing companies, you do have to call them to get the service removed. I also had another suspicious charge that showed up as: AGORA VOICE MESSAGING ONE TIME SETUP; another charge I did not authorize. This is certainly not the first time something like this happens, and again, as someone who used to work in telecom industry, I’ve seen how people can be cheated. Soon, we’re switching over to digital phone service through cable, so hopefully it won’t be as a big a hassle. AGORA VOICE MESSAGING number is for a company called IntegrTel, and their customer service is: 1 800 736-7500, where they will tell you that they can block the number, and then give you: 1 800 215 1961 to find out how it got on your bill.
For CDC, the number is: 1 888 301 3724, and their hours are 8 - 6 pm Central Time. I’ll check back here soon to see how everyone else is doing. Thanks.
-Chadd
July 4th, 2006 at 8:40 pm
I just noticed the 14.13 charge on my Sprint/Embarq phone bill. The charge was by ESBI on behalf of “My Info Guard”. What a bunch of BS. I have never heard of this service. I was able to go to past bills and noticed they got my for April, May and June 2006. So now I have to start the process of getting all the charges removed.
I am thinking I am going to make Sprint remove it and let them worry about it. That seems, at the very least, fair. They should give me additional credit for my time.
ALL OF US HERE - we have to waste our time with this crap. And how many other people have paid this and not noticed yet?
ESBI should be put out of business… all the major phone companies should drop them. You know why they won’t???? Cuz they get a cut of the action. How sweet is that?
July 5th, 2006 at 11:20 pm
I too just noticed an unusual charge on my phonebill for the last two months. i have it set on autodraft so i didn’t notice it at first. Sure enough on the bottom of my SBC/ATT phone Bill I have
“Billed on Behalf of ANSWERSTOP VOICEMAIL #” a charge for $16.63. I have not had the chance to call this company to make them stop charging me… This is CRAP! had I not just happened to glance at my phonebill for a change, I never would have noticed!
July 9th, 2006 at 10:49 pm
I just got my phone bill July 2006. West Virginia. First time this “Other Charges and Credits” was on there. Is for $15.40 for “GUARDMYMAIL MTHLYCHG”. Haven’t had a chance to call Verizon yet, but will in the morning. I have no idea what premium service this is providing. Was billed by ESBI on behalf of CBC Services LLC date: 6/22. I plan to contest this charge and refuse to pay. Will notify State Attourney General if necessary. Will keep you posted.
Thanks for this Blog.
July 17th, 2006 at 7:45 pm
I was charged on my June and July AT&T Bill for $16.52 each month from ESBI (Enhanced Services Billing,Inc.) When I contacted them they said it was for “Guard My Mail” Email service for my website. I had never heard of them and never ordered it (the monthly fee). AT&T was GREAT and credited my bill both last month and this month. AT&T credited the $16.52 as ESBI said they’d credit me the $14.95. This company is obviously a rip off and only making money off those people that don’t look over their bills. I thinks it’s disgusting!! and they should be sued!! I will also look into contacting the State’s Attorney.
Glad to hear others with the same problem. Just try to notify all people you can.
July 18th, 2006 at 11:41 am
Update:
GuardMyMail.com’s response to be included a toll free phone # 866-452-6941 or email at support@guardmymail.com.
Their address ws Guard My Mail Customer Service
96 Lindwood Plaza # 254
July 18th, 2006 at 11:46 am
Update:
GuardMyMail.com’s response to me included a toll free phone # 866-452-6941 or email at support@guardmymail.com.
Their address was Guard My Mail Customer Service
96 Lindwood Plaza # 254
Fort Lee, NJ 07024-37011
I certainly wouldn’t write to them, thus giving my home address. It’s bad enough they have my email and home phone number.
They also said it will take 30 to 60 days or 1 to 2 billing cycles for the phone company to process the refund request. That’s a lie as the AT&T credits the amount on the next bill, and it’s credited from my balance due immediately. So I never have to actually pay it.
Good Luck to all!!!!
July 18th, 2006 at 5:38 pm
I just got a letter in the mail from Privacy Plus with the following address
96 Linwood Plaza # 254
Fort Lee, NJ 07024
They sent me a check for $30 and signing it let me have no further claims against them.
I am stil looking into it further to see what has een charged on my bill.
I am not sure $30 will be enough.
anyone wanting more info, let me know or IM me
July 18th, 2006 at 6:11 pm
I’M FURIOUS TOO!! Same as the rest of you, I was charged about $15.00 taxes on my July phone bill (Verizon).
Guardmymail Mthlych Enhanced Services Billing Inc.
I can’t make endless personal calls during work hours. I hope I can dispose of this UNORDERED service right away. UGH!!!
Yes - this type of stealing should be illegal in some way!!!
July 18th, 2006 at 9:06 pm
I just got one on my bill. “Agora Voice Mess Monthly”, billed by “The Billing Resource”.
Qwest can do nothing, but referred me to the company at 1-888-296-8079. I have to try calling tomorrow as they are closed. Hours are M-F 8am-10pm EST.
Wonder if the FCC knows about this yet?
July 19th, 2006 at 12:40 pm
We received an addition to our phone bill that came from a company call OAN. It was $13.86 including tax. We got in touch with them through # 1 800 367 8006. After an unsuccessful call yesterday, today I was given a confirmation to add to the phone bill and the voice mail would be cancelled.
For all of you that are having problems, I am publishing this number with the hope that it might help to get rid you of this pesty outfit. I was told it would go forever or until it was canclled.
July 19 2006
July 19th, 2006 at 7:50 pm
I do not have a cell phone. I did not want the guardmymail service fee. I did not order guardmymail. I know some one is useing my computer I get these messages from my internet manager as a warning.
July 20th, 2006 at 10:01 pm
Yep, watchout they have a new twist to the same old trick now it is a clearing house agent for CBC Services, LLC. The product is called GuardMyEmail Service which was the charge of 14.95 on our phone bill. Fortunatley our phone company must be aware of these scams so they agread to remove it from the bill. TNX for the blog site. We need to be here to fight back and stay aware. I often wonder what our government is doing to stop these folks. Power to the people.
July 22nd, 2006 at 2:03 pm
Just got my AT&T phone bill and this bogus billing for GuardMyMail was on my monthly statement. Called AT&T and the customer service agent told me there is nothing she can do, I have to call the number shown on my bill. Called that number which is Enhanced Services Billing Inc.; they must be in business with this outfit, cause they couldn’t help me either. They transferred the call, but then they aren’t open on weekends. I’ll tell you I am just simply shaking, I’m so mad. You really don’t want to get me mad… cause I’ll get even… I have my phone bill automatically deducted from my checking account; well I’ll be at the bank on Monday morning and I’ll have a stop payment put on that bill. My next step will be a payment to AT&T for my phone bill. The next stop will be another telephone service provider and I’ll change my service, and I’ll let them know that they better not allow this SCAM happen to me again. I’ll also send a copy of this website information, my phone bill showing this GuardMyMail charge to our State Attorney General, Federal Communications Commission, local newspapers, all my email contacts… it’s gonna get hot around here for a few days.
July 22nd, 2006 at 4:09 pm
Just got a check for $29.90 in mail stating it was a refund from Privacy Plus Voicemail. Address of 96 Linwood Plaze # 254, Fort Lee, NJ 07024. Be careful if you sign the agreement for cashing this check which is called a refund.
Verfication statement that they want signed: states
that I , verify that I SIGNED UP up for voicemail services, have paid the fees totaling $29.90… This is totally bogus because I did not sign up. What are they up to now????? Do they want me to cash the check and then that will verify that I signed up for this bogus voice mail crap?
I am confused is this happening on cell phones or land lines or both?
July 24th, 2006 at 10:49 am
I, too, rec’d check this morning for 29.90 stating it was refund from Privacy Plus. The letter states that I’m entitled to a refund, but says I signed up for privacy plus services, which I did not. I would check with an attorney before I sign the release. I think a class-action may be in the works.
July 25th, 2006 at 7:21 am
Here is the real kicker about how we all got signed up. Anyone who has completed an “online offer” for ANYTHING, is at risk for this scam. Even if the offer has NOTHING to do with your phone, by filling out these forms, your information is being used to sign you up for these “services”. It is a bunch of crap that you have to fight with them to get the services, which you really didn’t sign up for in the FIRST PLACE, removed.
July 28th, 2006 at 5:13 pm
I have ahd the charge on my phone bill for two months.
I recevied a check from Privacy Plus Voicemail for $29.90.
I was advised if I cash this check I cannot seek any further claims against them. I really think A class Action is the best way to go. Which State has the toughest
rules to punish these guys?
July 28th, 2006 at 8:03 pm
I took a quick look at our Attorney General’s website, here in Missouri. The number one complaint filed by consumers is for “Telephone slamming, cramming and billing”.
Link: http://www.ago.mo.gov/publications/slamcram.htm
As I had said before, I’d worked for the Big Telecom a number of years ago, and this was problem them, and seems to be becoming a bigger problem now.
It gives the same gerneral info that you have heard many times before, but also offers a few extra links to the FCC for complaint filing.
July 29th, 2006 at 12:26 pm
I GOT BILL THROUG QUEST, AN ADDED 8.43 FOR AGORA VOICEMESS, IT WENT THROUG THE BILLING RESOURCE AND THEN TO QUEST. I CALLED QUESTAND TOLD THEM IT WOULDN’T BE PAID.
ICALLED THE AGORA NUMBER GIVEN BY THE BILLING RESOURCE 1-800-21501961, NO ANSWER, BUT LEFT A MESSAGE THAT THEY WERN’T GETTING THIS PAYMENT NO OR EVENR AND TO GET ME OFF THE LIST.
WHY IS THE FCC NOT HUNTING THEM DOWN?
I IMAGINE THERE AR SO MANY PEOPLE NOT EVEN AWARE THEY ARE GETTING THIS CHARGE. WHY ISN’T OUR GOVERNMENT PROTECTING US?
I SAW ON LINE AN AGORA WEB SOLUTIONS THAT HAS MANY BRANCHES AND SUBOUTLETS,LEFT A MESSAGE THERE TOO.
AGAIN, WHY ISN’T THE FCC OR GOVERNMENT TRACKING THESE PEOPLE?
July 30th, 2006 at 8:48 am
I didnot sign up for guard my mail. Please take me of the list for a billing cycle. thank you. gloria midgette
July 31st, 2006 at 12:25 pm
Rec’d our Verizon phone bill Sat. (7/29/06) Showing up was a charge from GUARDMYMAIL for 15.71 and another from something that said “VOICEMESSAGING SETUP FEE” for 16.21 We hadn’t ordered either and didn’t have a clue what it was. I called Verizon 1st thing Mon AM and they recommended we report it to the Federal Trade Comm at 1-877-382-4357 (toll free #). I did, and then called Guardmymail (at 866-452-6941) to let them know I had! Verizon did remove the charges for me. You can also contact the Fed Trade Comm at http://WWW.FTC.GOV to report it and see what’s happening. Good luck! Kathy
August 2nd, 2006 at 8:54 am
How do they get this information. ESBI used my daughter’s name and e-mail address. ESBI said she filled out a form on the web which she didn’t because she is normally at school with a different address.
August 2nd, 2006 at 5:12 pm
I’ve been trying to get this charge of $16 off my verizon phone bill for 4 months also with no luck. Can anyone help me? Please let me know.
August 2nd, 2006 at 5:20 pm
Verizon did remove the charges, but they are still being added to my telephone bill. We need a law suit against these people. Audrey
August 4th, 2006 at 1:59 pm
I also have this charge from CBC SERVICES GUARDMYMAIL MTH SVC FEE on my phone bill for 4 month and couldn’t find there web site on line does this company really exist?
August 4th, 2006 at 7:24 pm
Our July AT&T bill included a 16.23 charge (14.95 taxes) from Enhanced Services Billing, which is a service used by CBC Services, LLC. The charge was for “CBC Services Guardmymail Mth Svc Fee”, which no one here ever knowingly signed up for. I called AT&T customer service, who said I could dispute that part of the bill, pay the balance, and attempt to contact that company to stop the charges.
August 7th, 2006 at 10:28 am
I received a billing through my sbc / att phone bill for IntegreTel (1 800 736-7500) who was billing for AGORA VOICE MESSAGING ONE TIME SETUP. When I call the 1 -800 number above they transferred me to another 1-800 number. They say if you leave a message, they’ll call you back in an hour. They never called back. So I called them back repeatedly until someone finally answered. The man informed me that I signed up at 1:30 in the morning by doing some survey. However he couldn’t tell me which survey… Seems mighty strange as I NEVER give my telephone number in a survey. I don’t recall being on the computer at 1:30am recently either. Apparently this is for a “free” 1-800 number and voice mail system. I’ve been through this with various companies, and I wish they would stop these people. If any does begin a class action suit, please post here!
August 7th, 2006 at 5:31 pm
I’ve filed a complaint with the California Utilities Commission and the F.C.C regarding two services added without permission to my phone bill. They’re called:
Privacy Plus Voicemail ($17.13) and Privasafe Email SVC ($16.37).
I received one check for a refund fromPrivacy Plus Voicemail, but the check didn’t cover the ENTIRE charge. They expect me to pay the taxes for something I never knowingly requested. Also, in order for me to cash the check, I must sign away all of my rights. This isn’t going to happen.
I’m going to look into filing a class action law suit. Wish me luck.
August 7th, 2006 at 10:49 pm
My wife and I just received our AT&T phone bill and noticed a charge from….yep you guessed it… CBC Services, LLC for a total of $14.95. Both me and my wife work hard for our paychecks and to see this company take money thant can go towards rent or groceries absolutely infuriates me!!!!
Before AT&T came along we never had this problem. The one thing that I did notice, is that there are no taxes taken out for the svc. charge. Is this something that could be brought to the IRS about??
August 8th, 2006 at 5:25 am
we have charges on are phone bill and had thought it was are teenage son who put this service on his mail,until i seen this site. the phone co. is full of crap. i don’t see why they allow this scam to go on. the charges are from ESBI enhanced services on the phone bill.
August 9th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
We had charges on our AT&T bill for CBC Services Guardmymail, for $16.37.I never heard of it before so I called AT&T and they told me they would take it off my bill until I checked it out with the CBC company. The phone # they gave me wouldn’t even go through, so I called them back to complain.She told me they were obligated by law to put the charges on my bill. She said I should contact the FCC to complain because they are the ones enforcing this law. I think this is a BUNCH OF CRAP!!!! AT&T is as much at fault for even letting this crap onto the bill as this illegal company is. If they would stop putting this crap on their bills it would put these people out of business.I found one way to stop this from happening, you can put a block on your bill. The lady at AT&T told me to do it. We’ll see if it works.
August 11th, 2006 at 5:08 pm
I got a charge on my Telcom Hawaii telephone bill of July 28, 2006 from CBC Services, LLC for $14.95.
Unlike the other people who commented, mine ghad no details about what this charge was for.
I called my local phone company to protest the charge and they removed the charge.
They said this would cause CBC Services to send me a bill directly from them & it should have their contact information on it.
Thx for posting this info.
August 16th, 2006 at 11:13 am
Second month with an “Agora Voice” fee…This time last months (which I did not pay) was posted on my phone bill by “The Billing Resource”. A phone call to Agora said they would credit my account….Yea Right ! My NY Verizon bill does say that they won’t disconnect my phone for not paying the Agora charge. How nice of them, eh ?
August 18th, 2006 at 7:04 pm
This is totally out of control crazy. I wonder how much money they have stolen. I just noticed my bill where they have been stealing my money for 3 months also. They have changed their names again from the above postings. The 1-888-301-3724 phone number took me to these postings. On my bill they went by NATIONWIDE ASSIST EMERGENCY VMAIL FEE. The charge was $13.34 for 3 months. AT&T removed it and said to expect something in the mail from them. How sorry can these people be? I plan to report them. My wife works for an attorney; she will know what to do. I asked AT&T about 3rd party block and right now they have no way to do it. I hope they can somehow figure it out or at least set up an alert system. If you have auto pay and stopped paper bill it may be a good idea to start up the paper again.
August 21st, 2006 at 7:55 am
Yes, they got me too. I am on a rural telephone cooperative. They said they are changing their policy in by January to not accept any more charges like this.
Once I reached through the entire chain, (Integra Tel, I had to know the bill date, then forwarded to Agora) Agora told me the address they had on record, and it didn’t match mine. They immediately said they would refund my money (3 months of $12.95). We will see. I ‘m sure this had nothing to do with a bad address on record.
My phone company said if they I don’t have anything on my Sep bill, let them know, and they will bill them back.
August 21st, 2006 at 8:20 am
WOW, these blog entries are not very encouraging. I have also been slammed via guardmymail for 14.95 for July and Aug. Spoke with Chris @ 888-300-3724 and requested a refund and cancelation. We will see what happens. I also plan to file a report with FTC.
August 21st, 2006 at 8:43 am
Spoke with Verizon, they can block all future outside company charges to help prevent slamming. Hope this helps.
August 22nd, 2006 at 4:19 pm
AT&T put on my account, AT&T Cramming Protection, which is supposed stop this problem. They said to still keep monitoring my bill just to be on the safe side. I’m sure most companies have this, so it’s worth a try and it’s FREE!!! Maybe it will put these people out of business !!
August 28th, 2006 at 3:21 pm
My bill shows up on Qwest as The Billing Resource…..for Enhanced Vociemail. I called and wrote Qwest which feigns any responsibility for misbilled services. These guys are crooks. Even the credit card companies would allow you to reverse these charges. The Post Office even fights fraud. My anger is with Qwest and thank god I can switch phone companies because that is what one needs to do. Oh yeah, the Enhanced Voicemail was stolen off my computer. I don’t know how. Maybe a kid accidently hit a pop up. They don’t even have a web site. This went on for 6 months as I had auto pay. Needless to say, that is discontinued. Come on Qwest, get your act together.
August 29th, 2006 at 3:17 pm
My Wife responded to a Survey about Food, likes and dislikes. Seemed innocent enough. Then on the AT&T Bill got two charges Agora Voice Messaging, $8.43, and Voicexpress Voicemail $12.95. Called both and they said they would cancel. They claimed the Food Survey gave them permission for the Billing. will see… Called AT&T, they said they would Back Bill the Senders, but I could get Bill in the US Mail. Good Deal, hope they mail me a Bill, then can go before a Superior Court Judge with all this crap.
Never had this kind of problem with SBC. AT&T has a monopolistic attitude, need to be taken down a notch.
My SBC Internet Connection Super Fast, since AT&T became the head honcho, wow, slower than AOL ten years ago. Will not sign on with AT&T again in the Future.
August 30th, 2006 at 10:39 am
Same thing has happened to me, here in Oklahoma. At&t employee was rude and outright hostile. Refused to let me talk to manager. Either employees or the whole phone company is behind the scam. After all, they are spying on average American citizens. Whats to trust?
Their refusal to help me is nothing less than a conspiracy to aid and abet fraud. I think the charges are all under twenty dollars because when u get to twenty dollars, its a felony.
August 30th, 2006 at 10:44 am
P.S. How do we know if this scam is making money for terrorists to assault America with or not? It’s plainly a terroristic act to defraud people and steal their money with lies.
August 30th, 2006 at 7:15 pm
I received 2 bills on my phone bill for this so call Enhanced Services - right! I called 888-301-3724, they said they will remove the 2 charges for $15.40. I think
ATT should not just put these things on your bill, Cingular also did this to us, it took us months to remove the charges. Lets all go to our Public Service committees and demand they stop the phone companies from doing this to us.
September 1st, 2006 at 9:11 pm
I have been inconvenienced by the same problem.
Someone has been signing up for “offers” on one of those GET A “FREE” GIFTCARD internet popup scams, and giving my phone number for “enhanced voice mail” “email discounts” and “personal 800 numbers.”
Every month, I have to carefully go through my ATT phone bill and call each individual provider to get the charges reversed. So far, the companies are:
EMAIL DISCOUNTS LLC and
ENHANCED VOICEMAIL
What a hassle!!!!!!!
I don’t understand why someone can just arbitrarily give out my phone number to order something…I even managed to get the actual name and address of the person doing this, and it seems there is nothing I can do to get them to stop!!!
(Ha. I’m tempted to post their name and address here! But I guess I won’t.)
The FCC should do something about this - lots of people probably don’t check their monthly bill, and consumers are likely losing millions of dollars in fraudulent charges!!
The phone companies should at least have to confirm the name and address of the person registered to the phone number being billed!!!
September 2nd, 2006 at 9:45 pm
Second month now that I have received unauthorized charges. Fiiled out again AT&T on-line disputed charges form with following text:
I have spoken with two of your reps and explained to them that last months charge and now this months charge are not going to be paid. The company “CBC Services” was never requested to perform any services by me and when contacted does not answer any phone messages. Please reply by notifying to me that these charges wille dropped and with your plan on how this matter will never be repeated again. Thank you. - Matt
September 9th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
I’m also a victom. My Qwest bill I noticed this month had a charge for 12.95 from email discount network and 12.95 from Agora solutions what a scam; I never ordered either.I put a block on my bill, thats what you all must do and Qwest toke off the charges. class action suit anyone?
September 12th, 2006 at 3:59 am
I have also been a victim of fraudulent phone charges and I also do not understand how are local phone companies can allow this to happen! How can there be subbilling attatched onto the very same statement sent out by my phone co.however my phone co. claims no connection with this illegal source (IntegreTel,AgoraVoicemess.Services,etc..)and at the same time my phone co. continues to charge me fees and even inform me that I have a new service provider this month and add taxes to boot!!!I have many questions as well but basically they are no different than any of all of yours. We should all get together and seew to it that we are all compensated for our damages and then some!!!CLASS ACTION,here we come!!!
September 13th, 2006 at 9:30 am
We have AT&T phone service and noticed this charge from ESBI (Enhanced Services Billing Inc) for $14.95 per month. We called AT&T and they were no help whatsoever! My husband called ESBI @ 1-888-288-3724 and spoke to a lady named Janet and they removed the charges and say they are going to credit our account for the past four months that this has been on our bill.
In all honesty, we paid the bill by automatic withdrawal and didn’t look at the charges until I realized the amount taken out of our checking account was higher than normal.
I’ll wait and see if they actually do credit our account for the months we had the services. The lady at ESBI said that it appears we signed up for their services through another website but my husband said he didn’t sign up. All of the information they had could be gotten from any website we shop at: Address, name, phone number, etc., so we don’t know how they ended up being piggy-backed on another account but that’s what happened.
Hope this number works out for other people! Good luck.
September 18th, 2006 at 3:04 pm
Well my wife just noticed IntegreTel on our current bill for $8.68 and found another charge for $8.23 on last months bill which was not noticed. I called IntegreTel and was switched over to Agora (1-800-215-1961). I spoke with “Marco” who advised my “service” had been canceled after explaining I, nor my wife had signed up for IntegreTel. I asked Marco just what the hell was IntegreTel which he couldn’t or wouldn’t advise. I phoned AT&T and filed a claim, I was told not to pay the fee on this month’s bill but the lady said she could not say if other charges would show up on my bill or not. I also asked if there was a way to flag my account and not have any third party charges placed on my bill, they can’t or will not do it.
I checked the internet and found several rip-off related items regarding IntegreTel/Agora Voice Messaging as being scams, big surprise!.
I plan on writing a complaint to the Texas PUC regarding the matter but I’m not expecting much if anything from them.
I re-called Agora Solutions and spoke with another person; I told him I felt IntegreTel was perpetrating fraud. This person told me Agora was not associated with IntegreTel other than handling customer services. I said you must be staying busy. I could not get an address or anything reference IntegreTel. I explained to this person I had checked the internet and this site regarding all the complaints of fraud and IF I had one more charge from IntegreTel or Agora, I would contact the FBI to file a complaint of Mail and Wire Fraud.
September 19th, 2006 at 12:42 pm
I also have at&t and have had charges for 6 months. ESBI said they would credit my account (we’ll see). I called At&t and asked them to block others from billing me. they did do that for me. They also said the can put blocks on accounts for that purpose if someone asks for it to be done but can not offer it without first being asked, don’t know why. He also said that in the past they were not able to put the blocks on, but now are able to. So if you tried before with At&t and they said they could’n do anything, TRY AGAIN! and if that person says they can’t hang up and call again until you get someone that knows what they’re talking about or just ask to speak to a manager because they can do it for you if you ask! Hope this helps!
September 20th, 2006 at 9:35 am
Add me to the list. My company phone bill w/ ATT was added a charge of 12.95 for “My Info Guard Vmail ID Theft Mo Fee”. We never signed up for it. I called ESBI 1888-288-3724 and they said the name of one of the company employees signed up (which he didn’t) w/ an email address of marabintu@aol.com (if that helps anyone) on a website called coolsavings.com. They also claimed I would be reimbursed for two charges (which only one has been billed - how odd) in one to two business cycles of ATT. Now I am suspicious that the credit will never happen.
September 30th, 2006 at 2:53 am
Hey its me Tehuberone and I am furious. Its like 3 in the morn. I just checked my ATT bill online and see MY INFO GAURD under enhanced billing. WTF is enhanced billing and
why am I being charged 12.95? I did not want ID THEFT VOICEMAIL sumthing. I was going to call att but they are not open right now. Good thing I found out this stuff was a scam before I actually paid it. I’ve been hearing alot of people got Answerstop voicemail, what is that? Anywayz nice to know people have been posting about this because it helps me know that I really didnt get this service.
September 30th, 2006 at 12:06 pm
I got a crammed charge on my bill by Enhanced Billing Services, Inc. for 9/06 bill. Note that there is a judgement against them by an action by FTC in 2001.
See:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/cramming/index.html
I have filed a complaint against them and against ATT with FTC. Please file a complaint against the perpetrators with FTC. For online complaint with FTC, go to:
https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01
Please take action, not just whine! If there are enough complaints, may be FTC will act like they did in 2001.
October 1st, 2006 at 12:11 pm
Looks like I’m the next victim on the list. I am currently looking at my local bellsouth phone bill and under miscellaneous charges and credits there is a charge here from Voiceexpress for 12.95. No telling how long this crap has been going on but will check it out and put a stop to it
October 10th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
Enhanced Telecommunications Services and Products
the following transaction is billed on behalf of: Agora Solutions
Description Agora Voice Mess Monthly $8.23
October 10th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
Add my mother to the list of victims. I deal with QWest in Arizona. They actually have a disclaimer on the billing that tells you they are not affiliated with ESBI Services but the charge keeps coming. When you ask Qwest, they have no contact information for ESBI. They claim they won’t disconnect your phone service for non-payment of the charge but, of course, it just keeps rolling over to the next month. I am going to write to my state politicians. It’s an election year. If a Republican is being backed by the utilities moguls (QWest), I’m sure the Democrats will bring this issue to light or vice versa. Anyone have a news team that goes after people like this? I’d bring it to their attention too.
October 12th, 2006 at 3:44 pm
Here’s an update from my RIP-OFF REPORT on CBC SERVICES LLC. You can read the whole thing at http://www.ripoffreport.com/view.asp?id=215332 . Hope this helps:
After speaking to 3 different representatives at my phone company (and given 3 different stories about how they handle the cramming), I was finally informed about the ability to BLOCK this company through Hawaiian Telcom’s 3rd party billing representative. My husband was able to speak with this person (I was left on hold for too long) and she said she was going to block all charges to our phone line from CBC Services LLC. HALLELUJAH! Finally something can be done to protect the consumer from these insolent crammers. However, I am going to continue to fight these people with official complaints. I filed a 3rd complaint with the FCC yesterday (they regulate all of the telecommunication companies). That makes 3 complaints with the FTC, Consumer Protection (local level - in Hawaii they are a separate division, but in many other states they are part of the Attorney General’s Office), and FCC. Whether anything will be done is beyond me, but I am not going to let this drop without a fight. The last step will be calling Action Line, a local number at a local news station to publicize this statewide so at least people are forewarned. Forewarned is forearmed, right?
October 13th, 2006 at 9:04 am
I just called - they told me my wife authorzied the charge - She is not on my phone bill, so I told them she is not authorized to make decisions on my phone bill, and they said they would remove all charges. Not sure what will happen, but ATT said they cant remove it from my bill, but they are also disputing with the company. I can’t believe that the FCC is not more proactive against these predatory practices??
October 20th, 2006 at 6:15 pm
The wife and I just went to this website https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01
To fill out a complaint against ESBI. Please do the same if you too are getting unauthorized billing on your phone bill. Take the time to complain to as many government agencies as you can.
October 22nd, 2006 at 12:10 pm
ESBI is on my EMBARQ billing trying to charge me for RESIDENTIAL EMAIL 1XFEE Sep 28. I didn’t order a thing from them and am mystified by the billing. It’s cute that the EMBARQ bill has a disclaimer that says “Embarq provides billing on behalf of ESBI. There is no connection between Embarq and ESBI”. I wonder if Embarq will provide billing on my behalf to ESBI for the monies that they have taken off unsuspecting people for non-existent products and services? I do intend to call them first thing Monday (when they are open) and complain about this charge. I’ve already filed a complaint with the FTC as Tim and his wife did.
October 25th, 2006 at 4:21 pm
My Mom just had what I think is a version of the scam you are talking about above…..It is listed as
“Emergency MTHFEE Vmail” billed at $12.95 (with tax it is $14.12)!! Their phone number is 1-866-527-4969.
Mom did not sign up for anything!!…..She called Verizon immediately and I must say the Verizon rep that she spoke with removed it immediately from her bill.
November 6th, 2006 at 11:09 pm
If this has happened to you in Indiana, please send an email to news@6news.com. Rafael Sanchez with Call 6 for Help (WRTV-TV ABC/Indianapolis) needs to know as many details as you have, plus your contact information. He’ll get’em with your help.
November 10th, 2006 at 10:51 pm
I noticed in October and this November a charge from Integretel Messaging Service, LLC. A charge of $14.95 a month for a service I didn’t order or authorize. My phone service is through AT&T. AT&T said I would have to call Integretel to cancel the service and was given the number 1-800-736-7500. This number led me to 1-800-681-6010. I was told by Integretel that the service would be canceled, but no credit. I have filed a complaint with the FTC and will file a complaint here in the state of Oklahoma with the appropriate agency.
November 11th, 2006 at 10:36 am
Nov 11, 2006
I noticed this bill for 14.95 Plus Tax on my phone bill for 2 months so I called my phone company and they put it under a dispute and removed my charges. But, when I called the Number listed on my bill just to see why I was being billed. It was an answering machine and they didn’t even mention there bussiness name. Just for me to leave my phone # and that they will call back during business hours. No business name-is a red flag for me.
November 19th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
I just got my bill yesterday and saw a charge for $12.95 added on 10/30 by MY INFO GUARD,LLC. I went to ESBI.com filled out the customer service form to dispute the charge, but when I hit send I got “this page cannot be found”. That was a waste of time. This was being billed to my fax only line. Tomorrow we make the phone calls.
December 14th, 2006 at 2:51 pm
I have been getting billed for NATIONWIDE ASSIST EMERGENCY FEE in the amount of 13.99 for many months now. Every month I call ATT and get the charge reversed. I hve offered ATT a signed affidavit stating I never ordered this service and never will order this service so they can just take it off my bill each month without my calling. They said they can’t do that.
I have called ESBI many times. The first few times they said I had to speak with NATIONWIDE ASSIST to stop the billing. After several calls to NATIONWIDE ASSIST and getting a recording every time, ESBI said they would credit my account and prevent any future bills being sent to ATT.
Of course, nothing changed. ATT says they have no control over what goes on their bills. ESBI says they’ll take care of it but doesn’t. NATIONWIDE ASSIST doesn’t answer their phone.
OK, let’s get this class action rolling. What do you need? If anyone else is tired of waiting for someone else to start a class action lawsuit, contact me at patcoyne@sbcglobal.net and I’ll find a firm willing to sue.
December 21st, 2006 at 3:33 pm
Thanks for the info. I just called Qwest in Arizona and I was being charged $8.50/mo for some directory assistance monthly service. This is something we would NEVER sign up for and they name they used for our company is not even the proper name. This is a red flag that this is a scam (in my opinion). The company charging us was called Enhanced Telecommunications Services and Products. Qwest did agree to block future charges and this Enhanced SAID they will refund all previous months. The operator was very nice and said they were based out of Ohio. He said I would either see a credit thought the Qwest bill or a check from them. We will see. I filed a report with the FTC. I know there are poor little Grandma’s that are getting taken advantage of by these scams so the computer community needs to stop it. Thanks for the links and the info!!
December 22nd, 2006 at 4:10 pm
I too have recieved charges on my Verizon phone bill from ESBI. I contacted Verizon and the removed the charges from my bill. They also put a Miscellaneous Charges Block on my phone service for no extra charge. I hope this helps someone.
December 23rd, 2006 at 12:08 pm
My mom just showed me her phone bill from Sprint with a charge from ESBI for MP3 Service Monthly Fees. My mom has never downloaded an MP3 in her life, nor does she know how. After doing a little research, I found out that technically these companies can do this. It’s called “cramming” or “slamming,” and it’s made legal under the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. It’s geared towards keeping companies from holding monopolies on certain services, i.e. the Rockefellers at the time. In this instance, it allows other service providers to offer their services, meaning Sprint, Verizon, etc., can’t prevent other companies from soliciting your business.
That being said, however, they are NOT allowed to send you bogus charges. Look at it this way: some of the complainants here use Sprint, some Verizon, and some AT&T. Each bill is for about $15.00. Let’s be conservative and say that they send out bills to 50 million people. Out of that, imagine 10 million pay the bill. That comes out to $150 million. Considering this is probably a business run out of someone’s basement or a 10×10 rented office, that’s not a bad takehome salary.
So, though technically what carriers like Sprint and the like are doing is legal because they are mandated by law, it probably exceeds the spirit of the antitrust laws. That being said, companies like ESBI have hurt themselves because a) they are based in San Antonio, Texas, and are sending bills out all over the country, and b) if they are making large amounts of money, they are probably surpassing the FBI’s minimum threshold for interstate commerce fraud.
Now, what I am going to do is contac the Federal Trade Commission, the Public Utility Commission of Texas, and the San Antonio FBI division. I’m not going to hold my breath, but at least one of these three agencies should be able to do something. If enough people contact them, it should have some effect. As an interesting side note, the whole chain of command for ESBI’s parent company, New Century Equity Holdings (also out of SA, TX) was sued civilly in 1998 for reporting false profits to their stockholders. There’s something wrong with this whole organization, and I highly recommend everyone contact the aforementioned agencies to do something about it.
December 28th, 2006 at 12:37 pm
I was paying this ESBI bill since January 2005. My bills gets deducted electronically and I knew my bill has rised, but because of my extra busy routine, I was not able to contact Verizon Wireless till yesterday. They gave me phone no. of ESBI and i called the company. Talked with someone called Jenni and she said she has cancelled my account and I will be refunded $194. Also, I was given the name of person who added the voicemail service to my residential phone line. Isn’t if verizon’s duty to contact customer and ask before adding any new service to the phone line? How someone can just add such charges without any consent? I am going to make a complain in the police department. I will print out all the information I can get from internet, FTC’s Cosumer Alert and am going to dig out the issue. This is so crazy…I am not going to end this issue till i get a real conclusion on it.
Purvi Houston, TX
January 1st, 2007 at 8:33 am
Good luck to all of you who are trying to fight the system. I have been fighting since September to no avail. I’ve seen no credit from ESBI, they continue to charge my account and Verizon has done NOTHING about it. I have asked for a block, I filed a complaint with the FTC, called ESBI and filled out their complaint form—–NOTHING. I will continue to pay my phone bill without paying the ESBI charges. When I called ESBI they informed me that someone clicked on an “AD” while on my computer which authorized them to charge my account. How’s that authorization???? Be careful also, I noticed alot of 800 calls coming in to my home day and night but no one is on the line. I believe they are trying to scam me. When you answer one of these calls, they can connect through your line and you get charged. My “fees” for ESBI have ranged from 8.47 to 13.33 a month. Please fill out your compliant with the FTC and we’ll hope they pursue another class action.
January 2nd, 2007 at 1:39 pm
I work for a shoe company in the A/P dept and noticed a charge of $49.95 for something called WebXites. We have many, many stores and this bill tends to be on the lower side so it was never noticed that this charge originally started in Sept of 2004. The total of unauthorized charges is $1,415.69. I have called everyone and anyone and with the same luck as most of you. We have decided even though the legal charges will be about the same we are indeed pursuing this becasue it is just plain WRONG. I am fortunate in that this does not come out of my own pocket but I feel for all of you and I hope this can be resolved.
January 16th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
I just spoke with “Marco” regarding some ESBI charges on my Verizon bill. I was told that I had signed up for a personal 1-800 number. I have also been told that the $25.30 I have been charged for the last three months are to be refunded and that the service is cancelled. This was after I spent 20 minutes on the phone speaking to a VERY helpful person at Verizon who has blocked my account and set up an investigation. I would urge anyone else to contact their local provider and give them this information.
January 18th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Well its seem to be the best and the worst of this outfit they will return your money but make you pay for it.
I just found mine on my Qwest bill and when i called to have them discontinue they got mad an hung up on me.
Today I called qwest to check on my charges on my phone and found that they were still charging me. The nice lady at Qwest called them with me on the line also and they started to talk turkey siad they would return all funds to Qwest so I will be getting my refund though them on my Bill.
With all that I have read here i will be watching thwm very close and will let you know what happens.
I also sent this web-page to the Lady at Qwest so she can show it to her bosses. Just maybe this will help in getting these people out of our hair.
Walt
January 18th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
Nice work walt! One of the problems with a company like ESBI is it is hard for phone companies or the phone industry to quantify the extent of their bad behavior. I hoped / and am still hoping that this post and everyones responses to it will get the right person’s attention who can put a stop to ESBI and companies like them
January 25th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Well, I just spoke to a Sarah @ Email Discounts, LLC. She says that I filled out a survey online which authorized the charge to my AT&T bill. Without admitting to filling out any survey, I told Sarah that I would like the charge stopped as well as any services that Email Discounts, LLC, its partners, parent company or subsidiaries may have provided or currently are providing to me. She told me to expect a refund and I informed her that I would not be needing a refund. When I told her that I was aware that the refund would waive any rights to civil or criminal litigation, she got awfully quiet. I added that I would be retaining said rights in the event that the charge appears on any future bills. I was very polite and used a friendly conversational tone throughout the entire call and had no problem getting Sarah to do exactly as I asked. Anyone calling these places needs to keep a clear head and realize that for the most part, YOU signed up for something, or didn’t read EVERYTHING before you filled something out. It happens. Be aware of what you’re doing when filling things out on the internet. Lots of people looking to trick you with your own consent.
February 1st, 2007 at 12:24 pm
My start to correct this problem.
1. State Utility Commission, Coporation Commission
1-800-522-8154 for Oklahoma. This got At&t’s attention. At&t called me and assured me they will never let Enhanced
billing bill on me ever again.
2. Better Business Bureau of Florida 1 727-535-5522
3. Attorney Generals office Oklahoma 1-405-521-2029
Lets do our part to elimnate this company.
February 16th, 2007 at 8:53 am
i was shocked this morning to find my bill was more pricey than last month, this being the third bill i recived, it was easy for me to catch, and it was the company AGORA VOICE MESSAGING ONE TIME SETUP. so i called and mark or mike, said they would credit my account for the next few bills and that i should call my phone company and ask for third party billing block. (att wonderful) i called and the woman i spoke to was almost as raged about it as i was, she was more than happy to apply the third party billing block, and even more thrilled to send them their bill back. sh also said that if any happen to get through, which they might, to simply call att and they will gladly send the bill back because i have the block added. i hope that this will help you.
February 21st, 2007 at 9:49 pm
I, too ,have received an unsolicited bill from Nationwide Assist Emergency Vmail through ESBI on my AT&T bill. Supposedly, my teenage son was perusing coolsavings.com and signed me up for this. What teenage boy do you know prints grocery coupons? I called 1-888-301-3724 and was told I would receive a credit after two billing cycles. I called AT&T and asked for a third party billing block and a credit of 12.95. They complied. Hopefully, I won’t have any more bills. I filed a complaint with the FTC and am going to file more complaints this weekend.
February 27th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
Hello I am a very ill elderly man in my late 60’s. AT&T has really taken advantage of my many handicaps. When I found out that Enhance Services Billing out of San
Antionio Texas had AT&T bill me hundreds of dollars over many months for a service I never ordered on my AT&T bill–bills I faithfully have paid over the years I called AT&T. A supervisor told me I should have noticed it earlier — well it is my fault for being hard of hearing and seeing. We have no recourse. Enhance Billing said they would credit me for two months in January as their records did not back further than Jan 2007. Well it is a shame there is nothing we can do. Ralph Foster 2189 Bancroft Way Berkleley CA 94704 510-845-3015
March 13th, 2007 at 7:33 am
Since everyone in my family uses their cell phones, and I just got cable hook-up for my internet services, I was going to have my landline disconnected since that phone never gets used. I waited a month or two to make sure the cable internet was going to work out before disconnecting (plus, not having a actual landline was a little scarry since I’m of an age when you just naturally had a landline phone in your home — heck, I remember when “party-lines” meant you shared your phone with another family or families, and not what that term means today). When I received my February bill from AT&T there was an added charge of $13.73 on it for a voicemail monthly fee. Since I was going to get rid of the landline anyway, and since this charge was on an my AT&T phone bill, I automatically thought AT&T was going to start charging this extra fee which prompted me to cancel my landline right away. I had my landline disconnected in the middle of February 2007, but when I got my refund check from AT&T for the portion of the month I didn’t have my landline, it was only for $3.13. I called AT&T who told me it would have been more but there was a $13.73 charge that had to go for this extra voice mail service (ESBI). I called the 800 number for ESBI and they gave me the name of the person who supposedly signed-up for this service. It turned out it was my boyfriend and the info he signed up for, under Cool Savings, was for a credit card, and since we live together he gave them the home phone number and his mother’s maiden name, which was all that ESBI needed to “sign” us up for this bogus service. I told ESBI they were charging for a phone number that had been disconnected. They did say they would reimburse me the $13.73 and gave me a confirmation number but after reading all these complaints I’m not sure I’ll ever see that money.
May 4th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
I was starting a bill paying service and had to enter my ATT account number…so since I am an e-bill customer I had no clue what it was so I went over to my phone bill and just happened to notice on the end of the bill IntegreTel and Agora Solutions and a charge for $8.42 for Agora voice messaging monthly. I soon did a searh and found this site. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. I called At&t and had the cramming protection added and was advised that these people get information through 411-information. She told me to call the number on the bill. I called IntegreTel and the automated system forwarded my call to Agora Solutions 1-800-215-1961. It didn’t take very long to get an agent. She was very soft spoken as well as talked very quickly. I told her that I did not request any service. She told me it was for Unlimited long distance service. She cancelled the service and told me I will recieve credit for the past 3 months I have been billed. I asked questions and she told me it is cancelled immediately, the credit will show up on my phone bill and it will take 1 or 2 billing cycles. I guess we will see. She didn’t try to explain anything to me about how I got the service and did not try to get me to keep the service. I figure they are making their money off people who don’t notice the service. When you do notice (if you do) they will issue you a refund with no questions and cancel the service.
This has got to be illegal. It is stealing. I never had unlimited long distance! I bet the people being charged for voicemail, email protection and what not don’t even have that service. Isn’t there some law against fraudulant billing? I am definately reporting them to the Texas Utilities Commission as well as the BBB, and anything else I can find. I agree that a class action suit would be a good idea. It seems depending on where you are, you are charged differently. Mine came to a total of $24.89. Other people have been charged about that much for one month!!
May 10th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
I have also fallen victim to these charges and found some information about this company, ESBI. It appears that there are several locations for this business but here is what I have found from the Federal Trade Commission, Oklahoma Attorney General, and Better Business Bureau websites. I don’t know if it will be helpful but atleast there is a place to forward complaints. I will also include various alias names that ESBI is known to use for this scam. Enhanced Services (ESBI), subsidary of New Century Equity Holding, Inc; owned by Platnium Equity, LLC. Once used the name of Billing Concepts Corp. The business was ordered through litigation to set up a hotline/mailing address for consumers looking for refunds but deadline was 03-09-02. That information 800-555-ESBI, email: http://www.billview.com, mailing: (1) PO BOX 29206, San Antonio,TX 78229-0206. Other locations that I have uncovered are as follows: PO BOx 15624, Clearwater,FL 33766 and phone 888-523-3724. (2) HBS Billing Services, 4242 Medical Drive, Suite 2100, San Antonio,TX 78229. I have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission via the website and in the process of mailing my complaint at a local level to my state attorney general. Hope this is helpful info.
May 21st, 2007 at 9:46 pm
I found ESBI first time in my May-2007 phone bill (provider Verizon) with a charge of $14.95 plus tax and fees which total $17.01. Don’t know how I will get rid off this element from my phone bill. And surprisingly how is the law in Florida that telephone company can allow any fraud company to add up their charge without subscriber’s concent? If there is any legal way to take action against this pls let me know.
May 29th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
It appeared on my May ATT bill as well for $14.95 plus tax for a total of $16.08–I’m glad I’m not the only one. It appears the source is this site: ” 247MP3S.com” and when you go to this page: ” http://www.247mp3s.com/signup/ ” you will see the fee that is on your phone bill. This page is the terms: ” http://www.unitedtel.com/terms-247.html ”
I just recognized this home page as possibly one of my clients as I work in online marketing. They will be hearing from me and I will make sure this contract is cancelled. My company doesn’t do business with deceit.
June 27th, 2007 at 1:45 am
Ripped off by ATT and “The Billing Source” in Michigan. What can i do to get $600 back?
I’m rerady to “strike with random e-mails to ATT employees.
July 16th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Hello my name is Steve,has anyone heard of a company named UnitedTel or 24/7 Downlaods?This company charged my phone bill $15.00 dollars for a download of some sort,the funny thing is my internet connection isnt affiliated with the number they billed,in essence they apparently provided services and charged my account with my phone number as the only credibility towards the charge.I use a wireless provider and that number is no way connected with this internet connection.This means in essence if I have knowledge of any of your phone numbers and provide it to this company under false pretenses,they will bill you with just that number as proof of your participation for a service they do not even provide.This message is just a heads up of sorts,I wouldnt do that but this company I speak of certainly would.
July 21st, 2007 at 1:44 pm
PLEASE STOP GIVING ME PHONY BILLS TO PAY BECAUSE YOU’LL NOT GET PAID FOR THESE SCAMS I DON’T HAVE ANY MONEY FOR THEM I’M PRACTALLY ON MY ASS IN THE STREETS SO QUIT. AND I WILL CALL THE PHONE COMPANY AND LET THEM KNOW I DIDN’T ORDER ANY SUCH THING AND YOU WILL BE INVESTIGATED.
July 21st, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Hi,
I have a simular problem with at&t. They have been charging us 8.23 each month for at least 1 year. It is stated on the phone bill as a service provider called Agora Solutions. I wonder if the BBB would be interested in this ripoff. I haven’t tried to call the phone number yet it is 18002151961 if anyone else cares to try.
July 21st, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Hi Marilyn,
Just to be clear, I didn’t put the charge on your bill. Please do call your phone company, but tell them about the real perpetrator.
Colin
July 26th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
This company has also been charging me for one year now and I just found out about it! This is something that I did not agree too, nor did I enroll. When I called in I was given an address to write to, to get credited back for the money they have charged me. They will refund three months at 12.95 each, but anything else should be called in. A class action Law suit sounds good. I do not know if we have a case, but I am going to check because I work for a Civil Law Firm.
July 30th, 2007 at 8:16 am
this is the second time in six months i have recd a bill for unasked voice mail what is that? embarg, my phone co., is notified i have signed up for it takes their word for it but won’t take mine when i say i did not ask for it. i do believe the state attorney should look into these matters and a class action suit to follow. we are involved in a game of russian roulette with these companies.
August 4th, 2007 at 10:32 am
I stumbled on a guaranteed way to stop these charges. It is a bit of a pain but less than fighting it every month for the rest of your life.
I moved the service (it is my home office line) to my ‘real’ office. You could move the service to a friend’s address and keep it in your name (say you’re renting a room there, if they ask). As this was now a ‘new’ service, the charges stopped. One month later, I changed it back to my ‘home’ office.
Good luck all.
August 13th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Same as all the others. Appeared on my bill out of nowhere. I tried to call all numbers listed only to get either porno phone service or “this number has been changed”. I also contacted my phone service to no avail. I agree that a class action law suit is in order, and if started I would like to be part of it. We were signed up for this service because my 12 year old received an email about receiving “free” coupons in the mail for completing the form - when I found the site, at the very bottom of the page in very small print it states - “must be 18 or over and have permission to add charges to phone bill.” I am not finished with this scam. I am contacting the FCC, local and state representatives and a lawyer. Maybe someone can help. If all else fails - guess my phone company has lost a customer.
August 18th, 2007 at 9:15 am
why can the FBI & AT&T do something about it? I call the number 1-800-757-6500 no answer or there a different nuber to call. Please replay.
August 20th, 2007 at 10:34 am
I had a bill for 14.95 for “Real Voice Mail” and it was billed by ILD Teleservices.
More about ILD: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/cell_phones/ild.html
ILD is just the billing service; so I have no idea who the culprit is here.
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:03 am
I was charged $12.95 by VOICEXPRESS VMAIL via ESBI. I called the 800 number but they weren’t open yet. Then I searched the internet about them and found this site. I clicked the link for FTC but it didn’t work. Here’s the correct FTC link: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2001/08/billing3.shtm
I called my local phone company and let them know the FTC had published information about this company fraudulently billing customers. They cleared it from my bill, and blocked ESBI from billing anything to my account.
August 31st, 2007 at 2:49 pm
hope that ALL of you put as much effort into bitching about this as you would writing or sending your complaints to the proper authorizes ” NOTHING” will be done until you sent it to, FCC FTC Attorney General office ECT. cut and paste if you have to, just send it!
UNITED TEL LLC
24 7 mp3s $16.00 per. for 9 mths.
September 9th, 2007 at 7:12 am
I had 12.65 added to my AT &T bill this month for voicemail from Enhanced Services for voice mail on my phone and I am pissed, I cant get these people on the phone to find out who told them they could put this charge on my bill. I am also emailed them with a possible law suit if it isnt removed and my money returned so if anyone wants to start a lawsuit against these people I AM IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 16th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
We had $12.95 plus tax added to our last phone bill. It was ESBI for Nationwide Emergency Voicemail. I have asked Veriizon to remove it.
I have also filed complaints with FCC, Consumer Affairs, and California Public Utilities Commission.
September 17th, 2007 at 7:19 am
I too found out that I had been billed for Voice Mail and some On Line coupon service as a result of stupidly filling out a CoolSavings.com survey for a free Home Depot Gift Certificate. Since than my office computer is loaded with junk e-mails that I have attempted unsuccessfully to unsubscribe but they keep coming which makes my boss less than thrilled. Than I noticed on my last bill two charges just like you folks for USA Voice Mail and OAN and some online coupon. I got a confirm. that VoiceMail discon’t. the billing which I now don’t believe and OAN promised an one line cancellation which I have yet to see. I did want to pass on a phone number about phone bills being crammed by unauthorized charges - 888-225-5322. The phone company suggested calling the number on the first page of the bill if you contact these folks to discontinue charging but you keep getting billed. Hope this helps some folks, I’m so ticked off I will never, ever fill out anything on my pc again, it’s the hard way to learn this lesson.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Hi
Very interesting information! Thanks!
Bye