Several times a week at my business a person would call wanting to update my Yellowpages account. We usually said we weren't interested, as the business would be moving and getting a new name in a few months and we would wait and do all that later. When he asked once for the last 4 digits of my SSN I hung up on him, thinking it was suspicious even though I knew yellow pages was a trusted name.
Finally one day another one called. I was so sick of them calling every damn day and when I questioned his legitimacy he got frustrated and practically YELLED at me. "All I need is a birthdate and we will leave you alone! It can even be a fake birthday! We won't sign you up. You may just get something in the mail but you can throw it away! The birthday can even be 01-01-01!" So I said, "Fine. 01-01-01."
So he told me he was about to read terms and conditions to me and not to interrupt. I interrupted once with a question and he said that he had to start over and not to interrupt again. He had a strong accent and was talking very fast. His spiel lasted a few minutes. I couldn't understand what he was saying, but he had promised me there would be no charge.
Then on my AT&T bill the next month I recieved a charge of $39.95 by something called OAN Services. I called the number (1800-926-6435) only to be forwarded to either an answering machine, or a phone that never stopped ringing. When I did talk to a person, they said they were just a third party biller; they had no control of what MORE Yellowpages did. MORE Yellowpages???"Oh, 'MORE Yellowpages' is not affiliated with Yellowpages, " she said. I went to the websites. OAN and http://www.moreyp.com / are both empty, contain no information and look very home-made. No one can even tell me what the charge is paying for!
Finally I called AT&T and told them everything that had happened. The girl was helpful and called OAN on three-way and talked to them for me. OAN Said they would [and suddenly had the power to] credit my account $79.90 to cover the next billing cycle. As of now, bills later, I am past due $39.95 with a current charges of $39.95.
I just called OAN again. I even told her that a google search of OAN Services produced scam inquiries and how the rude man demanded a fake birthday. She said that when operators are rude, they are fired, since the calls are recorded. Yeah, right! They're the ones who get the info they need. They get raises. They said the charge would be removed/get credited again. This time I got the girls name, an extension, and a confirmation number. Let's see if this works, but doubt it.
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