In January I noticed a $13.22 charge on my telephone bill from a company called ILD. I called them at 800 433-4518 and told them that I did not know what the charge was for and I did not authorize any services from ILD.
ILD told me that they were just a billing company for Residential Voicemail and they told me to call 800 331-0641. I called Residential Voice mail and they told me that I must have clicked on a web page authorizing the change. When I asked to have the charges removed, they tried to sell me voicemail for $13.22 per month. I told them that I already have AT&T Callnotes and it only costs $8.95. The representative told me that they would take the charges off in 60 days.
I called AT&T and complained and they said that there was nothing that they could do because they were just acting as a billing agent for ILD. I paid the AT&T bill less the $13.22 that I do not owe.
The February bill arrived with a the original $13.22 charge and a new charge from ILD for $13.22 plus a $5.63 Adjustment from AT&T for failure to pay the $13.22 charge for February.
This fraud on the part of an anonymous company called Residential Voicemail is aided and abetted by both AT&T and ILD because they both stand to profit from their cut of the action.
I filed complaints with Texas Utilities Commission, BBB and Federal Trade Commission. The Texas legislature needs to take action against companies that cram telephone bills with unauthorized changes. I suspect the they get by with these scams because many people either pay with out noticing the charges or they dont want to go through the maze of 800 numbers to resolve the problem.
Maybe a hungry attorney will file a class action lawsuit. I the mean time, I am considering taking all three companies to Small Claims Court.
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