OAN Services
OAN Ripoff billed me, through my telephone company, for collect calls I did not receive nor authorize

OAN billed my telephone company (SBC) for a $ 7.49 collect call from someone in Hindman, KY—wherever that is. I did not authorize such a call and certainly didn't spend 9 minutes on the line talking to someone I don't even know, as indicated in my bill. What concerned me most was a footnote on my SBC bill indicating that OAN Services were "new services provided and billed". This ominous after thought suggested that I had just been subscribed involuntarily to a monthly service. Not good!

SBC, as it turns out, was willing to put the charges in dispute but advised me to contact OAN by telephone to get the bill taken off my account and to prevent additional charges in the future. Big laugh. OAN can't be reached by telephone. Sometimes when I called I was advised that all circuits were busy. At other other times, after slowly and laboriously reaching the point where I thought I was actually being connected to a real, live person, the telephone call was dropped in transfer. On three occasions, a recorded voice informed me that the telephone number had been disconnected.

I decided to pursue this matter to an appropriate conclusion. My call to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) was most productive and the representative very helpful. On his advice, I called SBC administrative offices and requested that SBC "recourse the charge". This means that SBC will get its money back and OAN will have to bill me directly. I can hardly wait.

I also was advised by the PUCO representative to contact the Attorney General's Office. While PUCO has no authority over private corporations, the Attorney General, if beset by numerous complaints, can investigate and bring appropriate action. I haven't done this YET, as I plan to give OAN a chance to correct their error.

Finally, I discovered that it is possible to block all collect calls through my telephone company. This advice was given to me by the same helpful person at SBC who recoursed the charges. Since I authorized my last collect call over 19 years ago, this seemed a viable option for me.

That's my story. I may have made a big fuss over a $7.49 charge, but after reading numerous other complaints on this web site, I would guess that the phony charges have added up to a pretty nice profit for OAN. Not good!

Company: OAN Services
Country: USA
State: Texas
City: San Antonio
Address: 7411 John Smith Drive, Suite 200

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