On December 29th I received my 7 page phone bill from Embarq. On the first page, the total amount due was immediately spotted as way above the usual amount for their service.
After looking through all 7 pages, I saw (on page 5) a section titled: "Third Party Providers." - OAN Services Inc. OAN had billed my account for something called, "Kooltel America MO fee on Dec 18" for the amount of $22.95
OAN was called at 1-800-713-9078 and upon stating my complaint about this charge that I knew nothing about, I was told to contact Kooltel and I did so.
I was quite difficult understanding the Kooltel operator due to her accent and after denying I had any part in whatever an "MO fee" represented, I said that under no circumstances would I pay the bogus charge.
Then I got the usual "OK, we will make an exception in your case and credit your account. It will take one or two billing cycles." I exploded with something like; "NO! - It won't take any billing cycles. You get on your keyboard and type in whatever and execute immediate credit with a few key strokes." We all know how this works and it does it at the speed of light.
I continued - "This is not an option. If you fail to comply, I will arrange to have an agent from the U.S. Marshall's service come to your office and whip a subpena on you." "This conversation is over and call is terminated."
A complaint was filed with the FTC and a reference number assigned by the FTC.
Embarq will be paid the current billing minus the $22.95 scam by OAN-Kooltel. And if embarq hits me with a past due or outstanding balance statement, I will cancell their services - telephone and DSL. I'm not going to be played for a Chump by anyone, anytime. The regulatory agencies are lame and the consumer is the Chump.
A riot is an ugly thing. But, I think it's about time we had one!
Jim
Johnson City, Tennessee
U.S.A.
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