I noticed a charge on my November phone bill for NetOpus Silv er MnthlyFee (sic) in the amount of $34.95. The charge was billed by billing service www.paymentone.com.netOpus is not reachable by phone; after two minutes on the phone the call is disconnected with a recorded voice saying, "We are currently experiencing high call volume. Please call again."
My phone company (Qwest) and www.paymentone.com have both agreed to block any further monthly charges for this service and to reverse current charges. The phone company representative said that he is currently getting about 10-15 calls per day about this same company. The representative at www.paymentone.com told me she would file a report with her supervisor so that they can begin to look into NetOpus' solicitation tactics.
After doing quite a bit of research on this company, I have found that many consumers complain about receiving a phone call from the company asking them to verify business information like business name, telephone number, contact information. They accept only a "yes" answer for their recording.
In my case, the person on the phone asked me to wait while he verified the recording, there was a period of silence, and he came back and asked me to verify my business information again instructing me to use the specific word, "yes." Other consumers have complained that this company then manipulates the recording to include information about a service that you are agreeing to that will be charged after an initial 15-day period. I haven't been able to verify that in my case, because I haven't been able to contact NetOpus directly.
Beware of phone calls asking you to verify business information. I would suggest you ask for their terms in writing before you agree to anything, even if it seems like you're just acknowledging information that they already have that is in the public domain. Unfortunately, if they have your phone number, they can charge you.
Another consumer complaints has been made under the company name Integretel, but I assume that Integretel was simply an innocent billing service provider like www.paymentone.com, perhaps NetOpus' previous billing service provider.
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