Like other reports that I have read on your site, I too have fallen victim to the Bay Area Business Counsel. I consider myself an intelligent person, and would have never imagined that this this type of scam would have worked on me. However, the telemarketers running this scam are evidently armed with just the right "buzz" words in their scripts and know what "hot buttons" to push in order to make their offer sound attractive and helpful.
Under the guise of helping my family to rebuild our credit, a telemarketer representing the Bay Area Business Counsel called my home on February 6. The telemarketer informed me that I was pre-approved for a Master Card with a $2,000 limit, with 0% interest for the life of the card, if I paid a one-time fee of $169.95. My immediate response to the telemarketer was, "How is your company able to offer a credit card at 0% interest?" I was told that the company uses the one-time fee of $169.95 to offset the cost. I then replied, "Oh, so this is a secured credit card?" I was told, "No, this is not a secured credit card. We also offset our costs through merchants who pay us to promote their services." The telemarketer went on to explain to me that I would also receive a week of free unlimited long distance. This service was of particular interest to me since I make quite a few long distance calls. I was told that in addition to the free long distance, my "large package" that she would ship to me would contain a variety of other bonus materials.
I remember telling the telemarketer that I simply did not have $169.95 at the moment, but that I could have the money by Friday, February 8. Naturally, on Friday she called and I gave her my Visa Check Card number, which debits money from my personal checking account. At this time, I listened to a short recording confirming the cost of $169.95. The recording also made mention of the offer of one week of free unlimited long distance. Combined with the shipping cost of $14.95, to ship my large package to me, the total was $184.90.
One week passed. Two weeks passed, and I became concerned. I called the toll free telephone number for Bay Area Business Counsel given to me by the telemarketer. A customer service representative reassured me that my large package would be arriving "any day now". I mentioned to the customer service representative the $184.90 that appeared on my bank statement, and also questioned him about a $10.00 charge that appeared on the statement. The representative told me that in addition to the one-time fee of $184.90, I agreed to a monthly fee of $10.00 when I listened to the recording. I told him that I did not recall hearing about a monthly fee, yet I agreed to pay it at that time, as long as I would receive my "large package". Again I was reassured that it would arrive "any day now". Today is February 28, 20 days after placing my "order", yet I have not received a large package.
I have however, received a letter from a company known as ePhoneTelecom, offering me unlimited long distance. Not realizing that ePhoneTelecom was the company connected with Bay Area Business Counsel, I simply threw the letter away. It was not until yesterday, February 27, in which my Visa Check Card was charged $54.90 for my first month of unlimited long distance, that I realized that the two companies must be connected. I attempted to call ePhoneTelecom to ask them to explain how they obtained my Visa Check Card account number, but I became caught inside of the tangled web of the dreaded automated telephone system. I pressed options 1,2, 3, and 4, but was never able to speak with a representative. The best that the system was able to offer me was to leave a 2-minute message, in which I did. I also discovered ePhoneTelecom's website, and found another telephone number for the company. Again, I became tangled in another web of automation. Again, I left a message, but no one has returned my call. I also emailed a letter to ePhoneTelecom asking for their help, but again, I have received no response.
On February 27 I spoke briefly with a customer service representative by the name of Aaron. I informed Aaron that I was recording our conversation. Aaron quickly responded with, "You do not have my permission to record this conversation. I'll have to terminate the call now." After Aaron hung up on me, I tried to call Bay Area Business Counsel at least on 10 different occasions that day, and the telephone number for customer service just rang and rang. Obviously, no one at Bay Area Business Counsel was willing to even answer my call, much less speak with me.
Today, February 28, my husband and I have both tried to call Bay Area Business Counsel numerous times. Finally, my husband was actually able to get a representative by the name of Lilly to answer. Lilly immediately told my husband that she heard an echo on the telephone line and asked my husband if he was recording the call. My husband told her that he was indeed
recording the call and she said that he would have to stop the recording because it was against company policy. Lilly then put my husband on hold for several minutes, then the line went dead. My husband turned off the recording and attempted to call back again, but the customer service number just rang and rang. Again, no one at Bay Area Business Counsel is willing to even answer my call. My question is: "Why is this company so unwilling to let their conversations be recorded?" Do they have something to hide? I'm sure the answer is "yes!"
What, if anything, can be done to credit my account for these charges? The breakdown of charges is: $169.95 for the credit card that I never received, $14.95 to ship a package that I never received, $10.00 monthly fee, plus an additional $10.00 monthly fee that I have been charged, plus $54.90 for ePhoneTelecom's service, that I was unaware of even having until yesterday. The grand total thus far is: $259.80!!!
Any advice as to how to proceed with both Bay Area Business Counsel and ePhoneTelecom would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Sally E
Lafayette, Louisiana
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