My recent Quest billing for telephone services contained an additonal charge located on the back of the last page for a "$12.95 installation charge" and "$14.95 for Orbit Voice Mail service."
I have sent several e-mail messages to Orbit Telecom informing them that I never authorized any services and/or charges.in fact, I had never heard of Orbit Telecom prior to seeing the charges on my phone bill. Orbit Telecom has not responded.
Also, I never authorized Quest to bill me for a voice mail service that I did not order or want.
I contacted Quest for an explaination and received the following:
"Qwest would not have been the ones to authorize the billing of these services to your account. The company in question referred to your telephone number which happens to be a Qwest local line. That is how it can appear on your billing with us. We are not contacted by them for final approval before charging your account."
Qwest appears to be contending that anyone who can read the "White Pages" can submit a charge for anything through Qwest and they will add it to my bill. Qwest appears to be cooperating with Orbit Telecom in a scam or fraudulent activity.
I have asked Quest to stop adding fraudelent charges to my phone bill and to refund all charges made regarding Orbit Telecom's "Voice Mail Service."
I have also sent a fraudulent practices complaint (regarding Qwest and Orbit Telecom) to the FCC, U.S. Department of Justice, and The Arizona Attorney General.
I do not consider the charges of $12.95 and $14.95 to be anything more than petty theft and fraud. However, if the practice is multiplied over thousands or even millions of Qwest customers then it becomes very significant.
A "Rip-Off" search produced 3 pages of similar complaints.
It is alo interesting to note that a search of the Internet produced an extensive track record of Qwest involvment in fraudulent practices.
The Qwest and Orbit Telecom con game appears to be "business as usual."
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