In January of I noticed our Verizon phone bill had increased quite dramatically. Flipping to the fifth page of our statement, I noticed a charge of $32.95 for 'online services'. Being a graphic/web designer, I am fully aware of which online services I signed up for and I had not signed up for anything with a company called Liberty Online Services. I went through our previous statements and noticed we were being charged for this service since November.
Before calling the 1-800 # on the statement to complain, I did some research into this company. I typed 'ILD Teleservices' into a search engine and got many returns. Almost every return was a complaint about the company and the bogus charges on people's phone bills. Many of the complaints were from frustrated people who weren't able to get any response from the company.
Armed with this knowledge, I dialed the toll-free number (1-800-433-4518) and surprisingly, got in touch with a human. She was pleasant, but not very cooperative when I told her that I never signed up for any service. She countered that we agreed to sign up for a 30-day free trial of an online advertisement for our company and that she even had a recording of my husband agreeing to try the service. When I asked her to play that recording for me, she obliged. Come to find out, my husband never said 'yes' to this service, but did confirm our name, address and phone to them. Simply by confirming, they take it to mean consent. NEVER let telemarketers confirm your information if you are not interested.
After listening to the recording and making it plain to them that our confirmation was NOT consent, we finally got them to agree to credit us for the past three months' charges. If you are adamant with them and insist on speaking to higher-ups if you're not getting anywhere with the operator, you can get your money refunded. Make sure to get the names of everyone you speak to. Also, get a cancellation number, which is a number you can refer back to if your credit doesn't show up in next month's bill. Also, tell them to fax you a confirmation that your service with them will be cancelled and you will be credited.
After all this, call Verizon and tell them what you just went through. Our Verizon reps were very understanding. They said they would follow up for us if we weren't credited on our next month's bill. They also put a block on third-party vendors for us, which will prevent companies like ILD from deceiving us again.
I just got February's bill in the mail today. ILD has indeed credited us and there are no charges from them this month.
If you've noticed that your phone bill has increased recently for no apparent reason, flip to one of the inside pages. Chances are, you'll see a charge from ILD Teleservices. When you call them, follow my advice above. And be insistent. Get angry if you have to. Just know that you don't have to be a victim.
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