round 2 from the scumbag Slammers
Complaint
Chuck
Country: United States
Feb21, 2008 @ 10:46
8663112992
866 311 2992
866-311-2992
Caller ID comes up as : TOLL FREE CALL
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APPARENTLY NOBODY CAN STOP THESE SCUMBAG CRIMINALS!
What a shame that no one is safe anymore, as the Government burys it’s head in the sand.
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They say they are Zip Wide Web, info can be found at:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/288/RipOff0288873.htm , as well as several search engines
Practices SLAMMING! Adds fraudulent charges to phone bills
AKA: USABD Internet Solutions, MSMB2B Inc
Other company aliases: eBridge Technologies, ZipWeb, eVisibility, USABA, The Billing Resource.
They have offices in Manilla (The Phillipines), Bangalore (India), Los Angeles and San Diego, CA.
When I referenced the slamming charges brought against them, she said arrogently "That's a matter of opinion, sir" as she was hanging up on me!
8663112992
866 311 2992
866-311-2992
Caller ID comes up as : TOLL FREE CALL
==================================================================
APPARENTLY NOBODY CAN STOP THESE SCUMBAG CRIMINALS!
What a shame that no one is safe anymore, as the Government burys it’s head in the sand.
==================================================================
They say they are Zip Wide Web, info can be found at:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/288/RipOff0288873.htm , as well as several search engines
Practices SLAMMING! Adds fraudulent charges to phone bills
AKA: USABD Internet Solutions, MSMB2B Inc
Other company aliases: eBridge Technologies, ZipWeb, eVisibility, USABA, The Billing Resource.
They have offices in Manilla (The Phillipines), Bangalore (India), Los Angeles and San Diego, CA.
When I referenced the slamming charges brought against them, she said arrogently "That's a matter of opinion, sir" as she was hanging up on me!
Comments
With what phone company is the phone service showing the slammed charges?
What state is the phone service?
Under whose name do their charges show up on the phone bill?
Who is the billing aggregator submitting the charge to your phone company?
For example, as mentioned in another post, "The Billing Resource" appears to be another name under which Integretel operates. (You might be able to confirm this by checking on their business licenses with the city of San Jose,, CA). Integretel settled with FTC a couple of years ago, and the agreement included stipulations on how they were to handle disputed charges.
Have you filed fraud complaints, either with FCC, or with FTC, state AG, or local DAs where the companies are located? For example, have you contacted the Santa Clara or San Diego County DAs?
P.S. Reported to the MN BBB.
Note that defendants Integretel/"The Billing Resource" are one and the same, and were one of the billing aggregators used by defendant.
Also note that although the monetary judgement was $34,547,140, the forfeit assets of the defendant are only estimated to be valued at $475,000. Scammers live the high life, and by the time the law catches up with them, there is seldom anything left.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/03/cram.shtm
"For Release:March 5, 2008
‘Cramming’ Defendant Permanently Banned from Billing on Local Telephone Bills
Willoughby Farr, the owner of three companies that billed more than $30 million in bogus collect call charges to millions of consumers throughout the country, has been banned from all billing on local telephone bills. Farr agreed to the lifetime ban as part of a federal court order settling Federal Trade Commission charges that he directed a massive unauthorized billing scam for more than two and a half years.
The FTC charged Farr and other defendants with billing consumers for telephone calls that never occurred, alleging that consumers were billed for phony collect calls, including calls to telephone lines dedicated to modems and fax machines, and to homes and businesses where no one was present. These bogus charges, usually between five and eight dollars each, typically were “crammed” in the back of telephone bills, which represented that the charges were billed by OAN Services on behalf of defendant Nationwide Connections, Inc., or by Integretel on behalf of defendants Access One Communications, Inc. and Network One Services, Inc. Farr owned defendants Nationwide Connections, Access One Communications, and Network One Services (collectively, “Nationwide”) and masterminded Nationwide’s deceptive and unfair billing scheme.
In February 2006, at the FTC’s request, a federal judge halted the defendants’ operation with a temporary restraining order, appointed a temporary receiver over Nationwide, froze the assets of Nationwide, Farr, and co-defendants Mary Lou Farr, Yaret Garcia, Erika Riaboukha, and Qaadir Kaid, and barred all of the defendants from engaging in unauthorized billing. In March 2006, the court entered a preliminary injunction order that, among other things, appointed a permanent receiver over Nationwide and extended the asset freeze over the defendants’ assets. In September 2006, after holding Farr in contempt for transferring assets in violation of the asset freeze, the court expanded the receivership to cover all of Farr’s personal assets.
The FTC also has charged the billing aggregators that billed on Nationwide’s behalf – Billing Concepts, Inc., ACI Billing Services, Inc., and BSG Clearing Solutions North America LLC (which billed consumers using the d/b/a “OAN Services”), and The Billing Resource d/b/a Integretel – with deceptive and unfair billing in violation of the FTC Act. The FTC’s case against them and Garcia, Riaboukha, and Kaid is still pending. Defendant Mary Lou Farr previously settled with the FTC.
On December 14, 2007, the court entered an order of default judgment against Nationwide for $34,426,696.85, which represents the amount of consumer injury. The judgment also orders the court-appointed receiver to wind down the three companies that Farr controlled.
The settlement with Farr bars him from billing on a consumer’s local telephone bill; benefitting from, having any ownership in, or having any connection with, any business engaged in such billing; and being an employee, officer, or director of, or advisor to, any business involved in such billing. He and his representatives are barred from making any misrepresentation that a consumer is obligated to pay any charge that has not been expressly authorized, and from selling or renting the name, address, account number, or other identifying information of any consumers who were billed.
The settlement contains a monetary judgment of $34,547,140, which will be partially satisfied by Farr’s transfer to the Commission of all but $7,500 of his frozen assets. The assets, which must be paid to the Commission, have an estimated value of $475,000 and include three homes and various luxury items. The settlement also contains standard record keeping provisions to allow the FTC to monitor compliance with its order.
..."
"For Release: April 14, 2008
Federal Court Prohibits Three Defendants from ‘Cramming’ Unauthorized Charges on Consumers’ Telephone Bills
Three individuals have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges for their role in a massive scam that billed more than $34 million in unauthorized collect call charges to millions of consumers throughout the country.
Yaret Garcia, Erika Riaboukha, and Qaadir Kaid led three companies, collectively known as Nationwide, which billed consumers for nonexistent collect calls for more than two and a half years. In February 2006, the FTC charged them, their companies, and two other persons with unfair and deceptive billing in violation of the FTC Act. A federal judge halted the operation with a temporary restraining order, appointed a temporary receiver over Nationwide, froze the defendants’ assets, and barred them from engaging in unauthorized billing. The court continued this relief in a preliminary injunction order issued in March 2007.
In December 2007, the court entered a default judgment of more than $34 million against Nationwide, which the receiver is winding down. The FTC has settled its claims against the other defendants – Nationwide’s ringleader, Willoughby Farr, and his mother, Mary Lou Farr (see press releases dated March 8, 2008, and October 25, 2007).
The FTC also sued the billing aggregators – BSG Clearing Solutions North America, LLC, Billing Concepts, Inc., and ACI Billing Services, d/b/a OAN (collectively, BSG) and The Billing Resource, d/b/a Integretel – that billed and responded to complaints on behalf of Nationwide through their contracts with local phone companies (see press release dated October 10, 2006). In a stipulated final judgment entered in March 2008, the court barred BSG from, among other things, billing consumers for unauthorized telecommunications charges, and ordered it to pay $1.9 million to the FTC (see press release dated March 13, 2008). The case against Integretel is still pending.
The settlements announced today include monetary judgments of more than $34.5 million against Garcia and Riaboukha and a $75,000 judgment against Kaid. The settlements require Garcia and Riaboukha to surrender to the FTC all of the funds in their bank accounts and will result in the FTC receiving approximately $12,000 from Riaboukha and approximately $75,000 from Kaid and Garcia. Upon payment of these amounts, the judgments against Garcia and Riaboukha will be suspended based on their inability to pay more. The full judgments against them will be imposed if they are found to have misrepresented their financial condition.
The stipulated orders bar all three defendants from unauthorized telephone billing and from selling or renting consumers’ personal information obtained from Nationwide. The settlement with Kaid also bars him from being an officer or director of any business unless he controls, participates in, or knows about its daily operations. The settlements contain standard record-keeping provisions to allow the FTC to monitor compliance with the orders.
..."
It just now came to my attention that I have been being billed the $49.95 a month thru my phone bill since July 2007.
I phoned to cancel and ask for a refund. I was told I would get a 2 month refund, but that would be it. They were supposed to e-mail me the audio phone recording. (If there is a phone recording, then it a spliced version as I did NOT agree to anything.) That wasn’t done. I have requested it 4 times now and it still hasn’t happened. I have confirmed my correct e-mail address numerous times. I do not want this service and I want my money back in full.
I did not agree to accept the service or trial offer.
ZWW-ISP are scam artists - Google them; a lot of people have had similar experiences.
And in response to what the Company claims:
They billed through AT&T without an agreement from me.
I did not receive a welcome packet.
When I spoke to the account manager both times, I said I did not want the offer or the service.
No progress report was sent.
No reminder was sent.
Ironically, my web site was not launched until the Spring of 2008 and there is no reason for me to have needed this service in July 2007.
Physical address is 16133 Ventura Blvd., Encino, CA 91436
Phone#s are (800) 222-5529 or (866) 586-3900
Fax# s (323) 525-3939
Other company aliases: eBridge Technologies, ZipWeb, eVisibility, USABA, The Billing Resource.
They have offices in Manilla (The Phillipines), Bangalore (India), Los Angeles and San Diego, CA.
Mark cave also owns lawstar and there are dozens and dozens of complaints at the BBB about him. The company is a scam the owner is a liar and a criminal if they call hang up and call your phone company and put a thrid party block on them. It has nothing to do with people being a sleep Yukki they flat out lie to you then give you no way to get a hold of them and cancel. I am contacting the attorney general in Ohio I have already filed a complaint with the BBB and I plan to contact the FTC as well this guy has a history of cheating people
He has also been involved with securities fraud here are the court documentS this guy is scum I hope he ends up in prison where he belongs.
out your phone # you risk being billed. Contact your local phone co. asap and
dispute the charges, and ask for the billing to be stopped asap. Don't hesitate to use the words Better Business Bureau and Attorney General, these companies are notorious for not following through on your request. I work for a major telecom company and cannot believe the extent of this questionable billing practice. Google USBI ESBI The Billing Resource among others to see countless lawsuits and complaints
I am sick about it and know I will never see my $200 again.
How can we let more people about this ?
How to Find Them, Eliminate Them & Get Your Money Back!
If your business still gets its phone service through the old "AT&T and Verizon, etc" local phone company (as opposed to one of the newer competitive phone providers) then you need to double check your phone bill each and every month for charges you did not authorize. You may not know it but the local phone company allows other companies to bill you through your local phone bill. And while the local phone company allows other businesses to bill you through your local phone bill, the local phone company does not verify that the charges being billed to you by the other company are valid. When these unauthorized charges fraudulently appear on your phone bill it's called "cramming". Unfortunately you as the business owner or manager are the only one that can spot the unauthorized charges and if you don't comb over your bill every month to spot these unauthorized charges - you'll pay for them.
Why does the local phone company allow other companies to pass charges onto your phone bill? "Third-party billing" is supposedly a great convenience in that you only have to pay one bill instead of separate bills for obvious authorized phone related charges like yellow-page advertising in the "real yellow pages", 411 information calls and long-distance calls from your chosen long distance carrier. Over the years though, some less-than-scrupulous companies have realized that most businesses rarely scrutinize their local-phone bills. To take advantage of this, these companies have come up with elaborate schemes to place
unauthorized charges on your phone bill that you'll end up paying for without even thinking. Unauthorized
charges you can end up paying for include charges for unwanted (and unused) email accounts, web sites,
directory information calls, directory advertising in obscure publications, voice mail accounts and other
services.
In theory, before these charges can be placed on your phone bill, the company that is originating the third-party billed charges is supposed to have a verification of the order like a voice recording. In reality though,
all the company needs to do to initiate the charge is submit your name and phone number to the billing
entity. The verifications are only required to be produced if a complaint is filed.
To prevent these charges from appearing on you business phone bill it's helpful to understand the four
parties that make unauthorized third party phone charges a costly reality. Party number one is any
employee who can answer your business phones. The unauthorized charge is rarely random and it usually
happens after one of your company employees gets a telemarketing call. Employees should be instructed to
document and report any overly aggressive telemarketing calls they receive. Party number two is the
telemarketing company that originates the unauthorized charges by trying to get your employee to accept
some service for which you'll be billed through your local phone bill. Party number three is the third-party
billing company that has billing agreements with your local phone company. The name of the third-party
billing is the one that is prominently displayed on your phone bill. After the third-party billing company's
name is the name of the company that is originating the unwanted charges. Party number four is your "former Ma Bell" local phone company that collects the unwanted charges (keeps a share for "Ma") and then passes the rest to the third-party billing company (who keeps a big share) and then passes the balance on to the company that initiated the unwanted charge.
Following are some of the top third-party billing names and unauthorized charge originators you'll find on
your phone bill. If you see these names on your phone bill you'll want to call the toll free number listed next to the charge to confirm it's a charge that's been properly authorized to be placed on your bill. Following are actual examples that we've recently found while auditing business phone bills.
We recommend customers should review any utility bills issued by deregulated utility companies. (In most instances today, consumers are paying higher charges to the deregulated gas and electric supply companies).
All Utility - Energy, gas, electric and water bills should be reviewed for proper reading and tariff.
If you suspect that you have been overcharged ask for detailed explanation and or file a complaint with your State Utility Commission.
Compiled by: Jay Draiman, Utility & Telecom Auditor
What should I do to protect myself?
Pardon my incredulity, but this is NUTS!
The 'general rule' of search engine optimization / reputation management is that you only add fuel to inaccurate complaints when you answer them - because all message boards like this are powered by 'unique content'. In other words, the more we respond, the more we highlight complaints / reports of disatisfaction.
BUT...
I really cannot stand by any longer and let these terrible mistatements about our company continue on without response of some kind.
Please allow me to tell you our product, AND our process.
We call business clients and introduce them to our services. Our service is essentially a simple and Very Important one: In the old days, everyone used the Yellow Pages book to find local businesses. Today, customers view any one of hundreds of different search engines and directories. Our service puts customers into 85 search engines and directories. We do that - it's not [***], it's a Fact. In addition, we Prominently display clients within ZipWeb - which is NOT a BS website as some (apparently terminated employee with an axe to grind) is trying to suggest. ZipWeb was one of the First "local only" search engines, and today retains a very good flow of 'traffic' to businesses listed within it.
BUT... As CitySearch has discovered, it's no longer enough to place clients in your own web directory, to get them traffic, as there are now Hundreds of sites and directories that customers now use (CitySearch has now become 'CityGrid" for that reason - delivering their customers into many other search engines and directories - Just As We Do.)
SO... we've now enhanced our service to include 200 search engines and directories... that's right... 200, making Sure our clients get seen all over the internet. It's a Valuable - even essential - service that all small business customers need today, to keep them in front of local customers, wherever they may be on the internet.
AND... The world of Local Search is ever-changing... So that new search engines and directories keep popping up every month. How the hell does a small-business person keep up? Answer: We do it for them: We get them found in over 200 search engines and directories - and when new ones arrive, we get them seen there, too - constantly keeping our customers in front of Their potential customers.
It's NOT a 'scam', it's NOT a 'fraud', it's a Great and Valuable service, delivered for a Very reasonable monthly fee. I've seen our competitors charging over $1000 / month for doing almost exactly what we provide for $99!
Oh, and another thing - we also place our clients into the Top 7 Results of Google Local... AND provide a 'reputation managment tool' - so they can see all the things being said about them and their business online. Hopefully they won't see such a horrible collection of mistatements such as we see here. Again - that's not a BS product - it's a great and valuable service. AND we provide Pay-Per-Click advertising for our customers... Another essential service for small business customers today.
Sure, we direct market to customers. But that is NOT a crime. If it ever becomes one, you can be sure we would have Nothing to do with it. We are Hard-Working, ethical people delivering a great product to Thousands of small business clients - most of whom greatly enjoy the service we deliver... So it breaks my - and our - hearts when we read mistatements such as the ones above, from the few we have managed -somehow - to [***].
When we call and enroll our clients, we make sure we record Every Moment of that conversation. Not just for 'compliance' purposes - but for ourselves: We genuinely Only want happy customers.
THEN we have a team who listens to 100% of all recordings of calls, to make Sure that the customer really wants to try our service. We are Crystal Clear that this is automatically billed unless cancelled during that call - and in the electronic welcome kit that's sent within the call.
THEN we have a second team evaluate the Quality Control work of the first! During those processses, we weed out 22% of customers who we feel didn't express a clear enough intention to try out our product.
THEN we call you then Next Day to show you around your dashboard, how to add key terms, pictures, information about your business...
THEN we send you a mid-month report to show you how many search engines we've already placed you in...
THEN we send you a 22 day notice - a billing reminder delivered at least a week before your first invoice is processed.. During these 1st month's processes, we lose about 25% of customers who don't wish to continue to billing - and that's a good thing, as our desire is Only to have Happy customers!
THEN we send MONTHLY newsletters keeping you up to date on all of the stuff we're continuing to perform for your business...
!!!
So... I hope you can see how disappointed I am. I'm CEO of a great team of people who are all working as hard as they can to deliver a Great product to a Great collection of wonderful small business clients - about whom we care deeply.
So my - and our - hearts are broken by so many mistatements. If ANYONE has any problem with the service we provide, all we ask is to call us Toll-Free on 1 800 222 5529 and we'll do Everything we can to turn you into a Happy, Long-term customer.
We really ARE 'the good guys' - so it's such a shame to see these statements. If you drop your viel of annonimity, and actually call us, you'll see I'm right. We're here to help, not hurt.
And now, of course, by adding all of the above 'unique content', I've done our company a major disservice by adding more visibility to the mistatements being made about us. But so be it. The truth is more important than our reputation.
Mark
When asked if she was authorized person to deal with our internet services and telephone billing, my receptionist answered "No." VERY CLEARY. The agent then responded with "Who is?" So clearly she understood the "No." She gave my name (owner of the company) and said they would have to speak with me. Then the agent keeps telling all about this "glorious service" with a trial period with no charges...etc.
Then she asks what I refer to as a run-on-sentence. Several questions all balled up together trying to get a yes to the "tricky question," that gets people! The first of the sentence was "Are you 18 years or older...are you....do you...authorize..." My receptionist answers "Yes, I am 18 years or older." The agent then proceeds to repeat the rest of the question (I should say questions) and by this point I don't think my receptionist knew what the heck the lady was asking. But let's get to the nitty-gritty. I will quote the CEO 'Mark":
"THEN we have a team who listens to 100% of all recordings of calls, to make Sure that the customer really wants to try our service. We are Crystal Clear that this is automatically billed unless cancelled during that call - and in the electronic welcome kit that's sent within the call.
THEN we have a second team evaluate the Quality Control work of the first! During those processses, we weed out 22% of customers who we feel didn't express a clear enough intention to try out our product."
-First my employee has already answered that she is not authorized to make those decisions, but I guess the "NO" wasn't Crystal Clear enough. It was never mentioned in the phone call about the "automatically billed unless cancelled." I've listened to the recording numerous times and it was never mentioned. And the electronic welcome kit- never received an email from the company, period. So if the 1st team couldn't decide it was a "NO" then the 2nd team of Quality Control must be made up of monkeys. But on to more quotes from "Mark":
"THEN we call you then Next Day to show you around your dashboard, how to add key terms, pictures, information about your business...
THEN we send you a mid-month report to show you how many search engines we've already placed you in..."
When I asked why we were never called the Next Day- the response was, we called but no one answered. The mid-month report...never received one. Wait around, it get's better.
"THEN we send you a mid-month report to show you how many search engines we've already placed you in...
THEN we send you a 22 day notice - a billing reminder delivered at least a week before your first invoice is processed.. During these 1st month's processes, we lose about 25% of customers who don't wish to continue to billing - and that's a good thing, as our desire is Only to have Happy customers!
THEN we send MONTHLY newsletters keeping you up to date on all of the stuff we're continuing to perform for your business..."
As you can probably guess, just like the other things we should have received as stated by Mark, we never received a "mid month report," "22 day notice," or a "monthly newsletter." One more quote if I may:
"If ANYONE has any problem with the service we provide, all we ask is to call us Toll-Free on 1 800 222 5529 and we'll do Everything we can to turn you into a Happy, Long-term customer."
I am "ANYONE" and I had a problem. I called the number and they did "NOTHING" to turn me into a "Happy, Long-term customer," but refuse to give me a refund on the money they illegally charged to my account. Funny thing is, I told the person I spoke with they were a huge scam, and his response was "Ma'am, trust me we are not a scam." Um, ok I'll take your word for it?!?!?! That's a joke. I then asked if it made him feel good to work for a company that was doing this to people- his answer: "Ma'am, I cannot answer that question." His final response was my employee should have been more DILIGENT. I guess saying NO isn't diligent enough for scam artists. Mark- if your company IS legit (which I highly doubt it), maybe your agents and quality control employees should be "More DILIGENT" in screening the calls and speaking with a person who has the authority to make decisions for the company. Until then, go play in traffic. Please
How DARE you?!
You have to be the biggest liar I have ever read!
We are NOT a scam. We are a very useful, very valuable, very affordable service - essential for every small business to be found in the hundreds of different search engines that today's customers use.
I am NOT a 'criminal' - that awful statement of yours flat out disgusts me. If you're ever not enough of a coward to post your real name (as I use mine), I'd like to see you in court for that piece of libel.
I run a highly respectable company. You have obviously completely misunderstood us. That's OK. Misunderstandings can occur - especially in the field of direct marketing. BUT...We can correct that if you ever Just Call in. We're open every business day on 1 800 222 5529. Misunderstanding is one thing, but don't ever, ever call someone a 'criminal' just because you had a less than perfect business experience! Imagine how that would make YOU feel, in your business?
I do not - and our company does not 'have a history of cheating people'. If you ever actually called our customer care dept, or took the time to log into your account, you would have known that.
The claim you make that we 'lie to you then give you now way to get a hold of them and cancel' is, I am sorry to say a Flat Out Lie, and a HUGE one at that.
Here's how to prove the lie: Call in to our customer care department, toll-free, during ANY business day, at 1 800 222 5529. Claim to be a customer. See if the person at the other end of the line in ANY WAY tries to block your conversation, or prevent you from cancelling.
You see, Joe - once you start lying, it's easy to prove that you, sir, in fact, Are the Liar.
I challenge EVERYONE Reading this to do just what I said... Call us and find out how we handle your enquiry, and ask us what we do for thousands of happy small business clients...
And then you'll prove to yourselves, Once and For All, who the 'liar and criminal' Really is..
And it's YOU, 'Joe'.
Sincerely,
Mark Cave,
CEO,
eBridge, Inc.