I handle all of the banking and bill payments for my 95 year old mother, who is in a nursing home. While routinely checking her bank balance online this morning, I noticed that her most recent phone bill, which is set up to automatically debit her checking account on the due date, was about $15.00 higher than normal. Upon reviewing the bill, I discovered that the "mystery charge" in the amount of $14.95 was listed under "Enhanced Services" as a billing on behalf of Intelicom Messaging.
I called the toll free number that was provided and reached someone at a call center in The Philippines. When I inquired as to the nature of the business, I was told that it was a voice mail service which can be ordered online. Obviously, my elderly mother would have no need for this type of service, nor does she even have Internet access to place such an order. I was told that the order was placed by someone named, whom I have never heard of in my life. The excuse I was given was that perhaps this individual had "accidentally mistyped one or two digits" of the phone number while placing the order. (When I called again later and spoke with a supervisor by the name of Sarah Lopez, she used the EXACT SAME VERBIAGE - clearly something they have been SCRIPTED to say.) I was told that a credit would be issued, but that it could take "one to two billing cycles" for it to appear.
Upon doing a little further research on this so-called "company, " I learned that they have a rating of "F" (the worst possible) with the Better Business Bureau. I also found countless similar complaints on sites such as this one from other victims who have fallen prey to the same scam.
I have already disputed the charge with, and I am also registering a formal complaint with the Attorney General of Nevada, the state in which they are supposedly located. I strongly encourage anyone else who has had a similar experience to do the same thing. Let's put these crooks out of business and behind bars where they belong!
Raganokc
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
U.S.A.
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