I am formally disputing charges from Premier Premium Communications.
First I will provide a copy of the response and will then explain what I have found after...
Dear Courtney,
Somebody who had access to your computer had placed an international call to the United Kingdom through our billing software to access a premium rate Internet web site on a per minute basis. We provide billing for a variety of premium rate web sites including sports information, games, music, chat, and others. Our solution works in a similar fashion to 900 services, but has been specifically optimized for Internet services.
You had inquired specifically what web site was accessed. Our records show that a call had been placed to a premium rate adult website called "Live Web Cams". Premier Premium Communications does not own this site and simply is a billing company.
We use the same technology as 911 to trace the call and determine what address the traced phone number belongs to.in extremely rare cases billing errors do occur where a customer would get a bill for a phone number that does not belong to them. These rare cases occur when a phone number was reassigned to another subscriber and the local exchange carrier databases were not updated immediately.in such cases we do credit for the call placed as required by law.
In order to be billed on a per minute basis the user needs to take several actions. First action the user would have to take is accepting a certified download. The second action the user had to take was read through a legally binding disclaimer which started the cost of the call and also stated they either had to be the telephone line subscriber or have permission from the telephone line subscriber. Once that step was taken the billing solution would disconnect them from their standard Internet service provider and reconnect them to a premium rate Internet service provider in the United Kingdom. Once the connection has been established, the premium rate web site is shown.
Finally once our billing software establishes a connection to our remote billing server in the United Kingdom, the first 2 minutes aren't billed allowing the user plenty of time to disconnect from the service and not be billed if for some rare reason they made a mistake despite our previous precautions or are not interested in the premium rate website content.
Even if you as the telephone line subscriber didn't make the call, you are still responsible for any charges that a minor or guest may have billed to your telephone. According to the Michigan Public Service Commission website (source: http://cis. State. Mi.Us/mpsc/execsec/alerts/900number.htm)
"It doesn't matter who dialed the 900 number! A a minor, a guest or someone working in your home! A the call will be billed to the telephone number of a call's origination and the billed party will be responsible for paying the charges. These 900-number service providers are usually unable to verify authorization or the age of callers and are not required to do so. The rates they charge are not regulated by anyone!"
The Massachusetts Attorney General web site (source: http://www.ago. State. Ma.Us/sp. Cfm? Pageid=1187) also adds:
!? Q: If my minor children made calls to a 900 number, am I responsible for the charges? - Beverly from Mattapan, MA
A: Beverly, the general rule is yes, the consumer of record is responsible for any calls made on his or her telephone.in addition to 900 numbers, pay-per-call services may also include long distance or international numbers, or a local number from which the service calls you back collect.!?
Although our service does not terminate to a 900 number, we are given the same rights and also have to comply with the same regulations under the Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act. For a summary of your rights and our responsibilities please view the back of your invoice.
You are still liable for the charge and payment must be made. Failure to make a timely payment will result in your account with us to be in default and will be forwarded to a licensed collection agency. Your credit rating will be affected if you default on this bill. Furthermore, you will be liable for all collection agency and attorney fees that we have incurred which can double or even triple the amount you owe to us.
We accept checks and major credit cards. If you wish to use a credit card to pay your bill, let me know and I can offer you a 5% discount on the amount due.
If you wish to pay by credit card, please go to the following url:
Premierpremium.com/creditcard.php
Please reply back and let me know when you expect to be making a payment and what payment method you plan on using. If you still have more questions, please feel free to ask them. If you do not reply back and/or do not mail in any sort of payment within the due date given your account will be considered in default.
Regards,
Tom
Premier Premium Communications
After receiving this e-mail response from Tom, I went to my husband asking him what the exact problems we had been having with our computer and how long it had been happening explained the bill we had received and what Tom stated it was for. My husband stated the computer hadn't worked at all for least 2-3 weeks prior to November 9th, which is the date Premier Premium shows we accessed this website. Then I started investigating this company, I found an article dated November 24 "BBB Advises: Don't Ignore Bogus Billing During Holiday Rush" and found several other consumers had received the same billing. Then I found where several consumers had filed consumer complaintss. I have tried to contact them at the 800 number provided on the bill but either the line is busy or I am directed to push several different numbers which I figure would lead me to being charged no telling what for the phone call. This billing is incorrect, there is no possible way this website was access from our computer.
I will be filing a complaint with consumer complaints.com and will copy SBC and Premier Premium Commumications.
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