01/23/09
MYIPRODUCTS IMAIL CRAMMED their service on to my ATT bill. IMAIL rep. Tina said "Fred" in another city had used my tel. # to sign up for their service and ATT starting third party billing my account. It took me several months to catch this bogus billing and request a cancellation and refund as of 10 pm 01/21/09. I was lucky to have caught it. Tina at MYIPRODUCTS IMAIL said I should receive my refund in 1-3 billing cycles (30-90 days). This refund will appear on my tel account. She also said that I should not apply third party blocking to my tel account because with 3rd party blocking applied the refund would not go through.
If you do not need third party billing please block it so you will not go through this same aggravation.
I will update this file if I ever see my refund as promised.
Tina also mentioned the only thing that MYIPRODUCTS IMAIL does is confirm that the tel # provided is billable and starts third party billing. MYIPRODUCTS IMAIL does not seem to care if the tel# provided is actually the tel# of the person making the service request. It appears that MYIPRODUCTS IMAIL's only concern is applying the charges to a billable number.
How about those people who direct pay and do not receive a paper bill, this could go on for many months or years? Aren't there safeguards against erroneous or fraudulent third party billing practices to our phone accounts?
I believe that both MYIPRODUCTS IMAIL and ATT should responsible to provide safeguards against these types of erroneous or fraudulent third party billing practices. It would appear that the security practices applied at usacomplaints.com to open an account are more rigorous than those applied by either MYIPRODUCTS IMAIL or ATT with regard to third party billing.
This link from the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs in Georgia contains some good information on what to do if your phone account has been crammed. (Your state regulations will probably vary so find out what is appropriate in your state.):
Http://consumer. Georgia. Gov/00/article/0,2086, 5426814_39039081_38495276,00.html
Here are a few highlights directly from the Georgia Gov's Office of Consumer Affairs (Your state regulations will probably vary so find out what is appropriate in your state.):
Beginning of Georgia info
What to Do if You've Been Crammed
* Notify your local phone company immediately that you are disputing the unauthorized charges and ask for an explanation, even if the charges are small.
* Pay your phone bill on time, minus the charges you did not authorize. Your local service cannot be disconnected if you do not pay the disputed charges.
* Inform the company charging you that you did not order the services in question and will not pay for them.instruct them to remove the unauthorized charges from your bill and not to bill you again.
* Talk directly to the service provider making the charges and not a company acting as billing agent, which may not have the authority to remove the charges.
* Inform your local telephone company of any agreement to remove the disputed charges so that your bill can be recalculated without those charges and associated taxes or fees.
* If the "crammer" refuses to remove the charges, notify your local carrier that you are still disputing them (during which time they may still be referred to a collection agency).
* If neither the primary biller nor the company charging you will remove incorrect charges from your telephone bill, also file an online complaint form with the appropriate regulatory agency (below) or direct your complaint to that agency by phone or mailwith a copy of your bill if mailed.
Filing a Complaint
For charges for telephone-related services within Georgia, you should file your complaint with the Georgia Public Service Commission:
Georgia Public Service Commission
244 Washington Street, SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Phone: 404-656-4501
Toll-free: 800-282-5813
Fax: 404-656-2341
Web site: www.psc. Georgia. Gov
For charges for non-telephone-related services (for example, a psychic hotline) or for interstate or international phone service, your complaint should be filed with the FCC:
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Complaints
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
Phone: 888-CALL-FCC (888-225-5333)
TTY: 888-TELL-FCC (888-835-5322)
Fax: 202-418-0232
Web site: www.fcc. Gov
Kinds of charges to watch for
* Charges for unordered services that are explained on your phone bill in general terms, such as "service fee, " "service charge, " "other fees, " "voice mail, " "mail server, " "calling plan, " "psychic, " "debit card" or "membership."
* Charges that are added to your telephone bill every month without a clear explanation of the services provided, such as a "monthly fee" or "minimum monthly usage fee."
* Other charges from a local or long-distance company for a service it provides but that you did not order.
* Charges from companies unfamiliar to you.
* Monthly access or network charges from companies other than your long-distance carrier.
* Charges on a separate page of the bill that appear to be state or federal fees. Legitimate state and federal fees charged by your local or long-distance company generally appear on the same page as their other charges and should be clearly labeled as taxes.
When reviewing your phone bill, ask
1. Do I recognize the names of all the companies listed on my bill?
2. What services did I receive from the listed companies?
3. Does my bill include charges for calls I didn't place or services I didn't authorize?
4. Are the rates and line items consistent with what the company quoted me?
End of Georgia info.
Check your phone bills don't let them get away with this!
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