IN October I was contacted by phone by some man representing USBI. He did not tell me that he was recording the call, but I found out several months later that he had recorded it. He said I could have their long distance phone services for something like. 04 per minute for the first 20 minutes and that they would go up to something like $1.50 per minute after that. I thought that was find because I never talked more than 20 minutes a month long distance. He did not explain about the monthly charges that would be assessed so he made it sound really good and I said that I would try it. I dont know why because I was leaving Spokane the end of October for Arizona where I spend the winter months but I think I thought that since Qwest was my carrier in Arizona as well as in Spokane that I could use the service in Az.
I had a Sprint long distance calling card at the time (had it for 5 years) and continued to use it both in WA and in Arizonanever once using the USBI long distance service. I was never given directions on how to use USBI service.
While I was in AZ I noticed that my WA bill in Nov. Dec. And Jan. ($2.36, $4.99, $6.04 with USBI charges, but I didnt even know what it was, nor did it register that it was something that I had requested) was going up a little more each month until I was paying more per month for my Qwest in WA (no one was living here and the phone was not even being used locally) than for my full service (no long distance there either because of my Sprint card) in AZ. On Jan. 13th, after calling Qwest and not getting anywhere on the phone, I wrote a letter to Qwest (I still have a copy of that letter on my computer) telling them that I could not understand how my WA phone bill could be more than my AZ phone bill and could someone please call me and explain it to me. I never received a call, nor did I receive a letter of explanation from Qwest NOTHING.
I was still using my Sprint calling card at this time and never once used USBI service.
In March I called Qwest again to change my mailing address (like I have to do every time I move) and was telling the young man on the phone my problem with my WA phone bill. He looked it up while I was talking with him and he mentioned the USBI charges to me. I asked him what those charges were and he tried to explain it to me. He then suggested I call them directly and talk to them and he gave me the phone number to call (1-800-872-3811). I called them and talked to the person who answered my call and didnt get any satisfaction and got a little upset so I hung up.
In April when I got back in WA I again called USBI and this time after not getting a satisfactory explanation I asked to speak with a supervisor. Tanya got on the phone and asked me to listen to a 3 minute taped conversation between me and the man who called me in October. She asked if it was me on the phone and I said yes it was. Then I explained that I could not understand how he could have convinced me to sign up for USBI when I was leaving WA for the next six months, especially if the services were not going to be good on my Qwest phone service in AZ. She said I had given consent for the service so it was legitimate and the charges on my bill (that kept going up) were legitimate. I was so angry that I hung up on her and she called me right back and said that I still hadnt cancelled the service and did I wish to do that. I dont know what she thought I was trying to do. Anyway, she explained that the billing for the service was two months behind the actual month of usage so I would be charged two more times but she said she would try to cancel the April bill, but she didnt feel like it would happen.
The bill for these last two months were $6.62 in March and $9.50 in April— and I still had my calling card and had not ever used USBI services.
I have been charged this USBI long distance charge for seven months now and I have never made a single long distance call using USBI services because I have a Sprint card.
Today is June 11th and I got the April Qwest bill (with $9.50 USBI charges) the charges that Tanya said she would try to cancel clear back the end of April or early in May.
I again called USBI directly and talked to some man (I didnt write down his name) and I got nowhere with him and while I was talking to him I asked him a question that he said he needed to check on. While I was waiting for him I was talking with my grandson in the room with me and we talked about recording this conversation so I would have proof of what was said. The man came back on the phone and said I did not have his authorization to record our conversation he was obviously listening to my conversation with my grandson. I said to him, You recorded me in October without telling me that you were recording the call, so why cant I record this call with you, especially now that you know that I want to
Anne
Spokane, Washington
U.S.A.
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