A little over a year ago my adult daughter, who was filling in for our receptionist, answered a telemarketing call. She was told the call was regarding renewal of our advertisement in a directory, as the two-year period was ending and a new directory was coming out.
She advised that she could not authorize advertising expenditures and attempted to transfer the call to me. She was asked instead if they could send information regarding their directory, to which she replied yes and verified address/phone information and agreed to be recorded doing so.
Ultimately, as stated by numerous others, we received a bill for $299.00. We have never seen a copy of the directory.
I called the company to advise them that we had never placed this order. We dont sell to the general public, and companies wishing to purchase our product do not seek manufacturers of that product in general directories but use very specific, entertainment industry directories to seek us out, so it would be a waste of money to advertise in general circulation directories.
I was advised that there was a recording of my daughter authorizing the purchase, and I asked to hear it. The operator advised that she would get a copy and call me back to play it for me.
A few days later, she called me with the recording. I know my daughter extremely well, her phrasing, tone of voice and manner of speaking. The recording that was played for me included many awkward pauses and stilted, one-word or two-word answers. Some of the answers to the questions were clearly answered by her no pauses or awkward moments. Others were clearly edited with answers taken out of context and moved to imply affirmation and had long pauses and stilted replies.
The final question was You have authority to make purchases, do you not? To which the reply was affirmative. (The quote is paraphrased.) I advised the caller that I would check with my daughter and get back to them.
When I asked my daughter about it, she stated that the final question regarding her authority to make purchases had never been asked! She went on to state that had it been asked, she would have answered with a solid no, as she was very well aware that she had no authority to make or verify any purchases. That authority rests with me or my partner only.
I called back and advised that, as I initially stated, we did not order the directory and would not be paying for it.
We didnt hear from them for some time. I recently received another collection call.By this time I had learned of the Vermont lawsuit settlement and attempted to advise the caller that the order had been obtained fraudulently, that the company was under indictment in Vermont (and I believed other states as well, but have not seen documentation) and that we had no intention of paying for an ad we did not order. I was unable to actually state all that, because the caller kept interrupting me; the conversation ended in a screaming match and I slammed down the receiver.
A few days later, I received a much calmer collection call from a lady named Eva. I advised her of the above and described the edited tape recording Id heard which put words in my daughters mouth. She denied that there was any legal action against the company and stated that a company as big as Ameri-Source with as many telemarketers as it employed didnt have the time to waste doctoring tapes of phone conversations.
I offered to send her copies of the Vermont lawsuit information, which she agreed to receive at fax # (902) 482-1041. I have yet to get through on that number as its often busy, but I will keep trying.
I am also sending her a printout of the Better Business Bureau report (it can be found at http://search. Buffalo. BBB.org/nis/newsearch2.Asp? ID=1&ComID=0041000016000143) which states that Ameri Source Publications has an unsatisfactory business performance rating with the Better Business Bureau due to the high number of complaints and for failure to eliminate the cause of complaints.
My next step will be to file a complaint with my local police department and to turn all my records over to our attorney to continue the fight.
I will keep you updated on the results.
A piece of advice do not EVER, under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES use the word yes or any other affirmative when talking to a telemarketer. If an affirmative is necessary, there are ways to phrase them so they cant be used out of context. Better yet, the moment you determine a telemarketer is selling something you have no interest in, HANG UP. Dont worry about being rude unless you want to pay through the nose. Sadly, the cost of politeness could be hundreds of dollars.
Lynda
North Hollywood, California
U.S.A.
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