phone scam

ComplaintsScamsonline local yellowpages

Complaint

0
Sally Riley
Country: United States
change the dates, the story is the same.  The amount of $667.39 is even the same.  
When it was happening on the initial call in July, our business person suspected as much because she tried to interrupt the caller and not to answer the questions in order and she said "You weren't supposed to do that!  Now I have to start all over!"  Our employee correctly asked for the name and number of a manager and got a cancellation number which (of course) we are now told is not a number from them.  Shocker.

Comments

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  • 0
    Alemayehu g/meskel
    Oromia Civil servies bureou.d/dolo town
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    Pastor Todd
    | 13 replies
    Same thing for my church. Original call was in July of 2012 with Online Local Yellow Pages offering to cancel a listing that we never ordered. They had all of our information so sounded legit. They said that we already owed them 599.99. They asked me to verify our info and, silly me, I did. Anyway, they recorded a part of the conversation which I heard today from their "collection department" saying that they have sent us three invoices (which we have never received) and that we now owe 667.39, interesting. They threatened me with more aggressive collections and would not listen when I challenged their "doctored" recording of me appearing to authorize the purchase of this so called listing, anyway, I hung up on the person who called me and have not paid anything to them, thank God! They actually also called back and left a message on our phone requesting that I call them at 914-205-6408. Has anyone else been given that number? They are very convincing BUT DO NOT PAY THEM!! They are obviously a scam!
    • 0
      AnnWithPlan replies to Pastor Todd
      Same thing happened to us. The caller was from same area code and first three digits of number the same as yours. I have no intention of paying. Did the caller ever stop bothering you?
    • 0
      Bethel.admin replies to Pastor Todd
      I just happened to google "local online yellow pages" and found your post.   I received a call on Monday, November 14th, at our church saying pretty much the same thing as you experienced.   I told them I never received the 3 bills and they insisted they sent them.  They stated that we were responsible for the amount because anything under $900 is a valid contract if approval was given over the phone.  I also listened to an audio of the call placed back in July 2012.    He stated that he would send an email to confirm the order.   I gave the information to person that was recorded, he called the number back that was in the email that they sent as proof of the order.   He began to state his case, and the person at the "collection department" hung up on him.   I think we were scammed too.   Praise the Lord that He watches over His people.
    • 0
      Accounting Godess replies to Pastor Todd
      The same thing happened to us in December and "Marco Gatti" called me again today 1/3/2013 demanding payment.  They are quite mean and condescending in the way they speak to you.  Don't be fooled though.  It is not legit and do not be pressured by them.  DO NOT PAY THEM!
    • 0
      mark replies to Pastor Todd
      | 2 replies
      Mine was Marco Gatti 914 205 4957  Did you ever pay them? Did they sue. How was it finally handled
      • 0
        Gail replies to mark
        | 1 reply
        I'd also like to know how you all handle this.  Have they ever taken anyone to collection and put a bad mark against your credit?  If you just ignore their demands to pay, do they keep calling?  That seems to be what is happening at our church.  We get a call about every 3 or 4 weeks since this started just before Thanksgiving.  Will greatly appreciate any advice!
        • 0
          md replies to Gail
          It happened to us also.  Write to your State Attorney General's office giving all the details.  They will checked it out.  We got a letter today from the State Attorney General's Office responding to our report of this incident. Online Local Yellow Pages responded to the Attorney Generals' Office that OLYP has dropped all payments and the account (which never was legit) was closed and we have been added to their 'do not contact' list. Let your State Attorney General's Office know about it!! They will intervene on your behalf.
    • 0
      Ken Roberts replies to Pastor Todd
      | 1 reply
      My church also suffered the same scam.  I am an attorney and I am going to reespond with a law suit if they persist.  I am also going to notify the FTC.  My I advise them of your case?
      • 0
        Barbara replies to Ken Roberts
        I am a parent of a child who attends Dreamland Children's School in Los Angeles. The owner is Korean and doesn't have a good comprehension of English.  She got a call in October from online local yellow pages telling her they would cancel her listing for a $60 service charge.  She didn't understand because she had no listing with yellow pages of any kind let alone on line.  She asked one of her teachers to get on the phone to translate what the guy was saying.  The teacher then got on the phone with no idea of what had transpired and explained that she did not know what this was about and she was just a teacher.  The salesman stopped her and said he needed her to confirm some info to remove their listing and to limit her answers to just "yes."  Despite her insistence that she knew nothing about it, he proceeded to record her.  Today, four months later, the school got a fax from "Anthony Green" claiming that since they had failed to pay their previous invoices they now owed $667.39 including interest.  The owner showed it to me when I dropped my son off.  I offered to call the company to let them know it was a misunderstanding.  Anthony Greene insisted they had a verbal contract and played the recording.  At the point at which the man asked Vivian (the teacher who got on the phone just to translate for the owner) if she wanted him to send the invoice for $599.99 or if she wanted to do it by purchase order.  You clearly hear Vivian say, "No.." then a 2 syllable response that is unintelligible.  I pointed out to Anthony Green that her answer was not clear so they did not have a verbal contract. He insisted that she had said, "Mail it to me."  I asked for a supervisor and he refused.  I called back and asked the receptionist for a supervisor and she passed me to Anthony Green again.  I was thinking I would have to file a claim with the Attorney General for a company that preyed upon businesses that do not speak English well when I decided to google and found this thread.  The owner of my son's school will be relieved to learn it is a scam and she need not worry about the phony invoice being sent to a collections agency.  Still, these people should be thrown in jail for preying upon vulnerable organizations. I'm sure the owner would appreciate if you advised the FTC of her case as well.
    • 0
      Frustrated replies to Pastor Todd
      I received a call confiming our address for the yellow pages. I listened to their speech which never mentioned a fee but had asked how we handle billing to which I replied invoice. So now they have my voice and I think they tampered with the recording to make it sound like I had ordered service. I work for a Doctor who will be retiring within the year. I told them all this and now are threatening to take my boss to small claims court. This occurred in October of 2012 and to be honest I don't even remember the call, we get so many sales calls a day it is hard to say. Now I was honest with my employer and told him I believed I was mislead or something because I would never agree to pay 600.00 for a listing that we do not need. This is a scam. I urge anyone who receives a call to hang up. I was stupid and listened to them and now we are being harassed!!! By the way they wanted me to call the same # as below 914-205-6408.
    • 0
      Preschool Director replies to Pastor Todd
      This is happening to me too. I thought I made a big mistake and am so happy to see that this is happening to others.  However I wish it was not. It really hurts that there are so many willing to take advantage of others. We are within a church as well. Maybe they think as giving people we are weak. Thank you for the words of strength and hopefully someone will be able to stop this evil company for good.
    • 0
      Paul Festian replies to Pastor Todd
      www.searchforithere.com is a local business directory. They are offering 2 month free listings their most expensive plan is $69.99 per month!!
    • 0
      dr smith replies to Pastor Todd
      some BS company says they are my local business YP-- claims they were att... just like YP claims they have me on tape ordering ads for 900 dollars BUT I just contracted with the real YP.com in my area for several ads totaling less than 500 /month as I am downsizing my ads-- these scammers are messing  with the wrong fella--I turned all the info into the FBI, the real YP.com and the ftc-- they do  NOT take cash or checks  they just want a credit card # or bank routing #--so they can clean you out--YP.com NEVER asks for this kind of payment--BUYER BEWARE
    • 0
      dr smith replies to Pastor Todd
      some BS company says they are my local business YP-- claims they were att... just like YP claims they have me on tape ordering ads for 900 dollars BUT I just contracted with the real YP.com in my area for several ads totaling less than 500 /month as I am downsizing my ads-- these scammers are messing  with the wrong fella--I turned all the info into the FBI, the real YP.com and the ftc-- they do  NOT take cash or checks  they just want a credit card # or bank routing #--so they can clean you out--YP.com NEVER asks for this kind of payment--BUYER BEWARE
  • 0
    tj
    They are running a fraudulent "business listing" telemarketing and billing scam, under several names.
    The recordings are doctored or edited to create the impression there is some "agreement".
    They call up small businesses, schools, and churches, claim they are "verifying your information" to get some employee to say "yes", then edit this "yes" into some script that sounds like "agreeing to pay for a listing".

    Or they may call about "last year's listing", and when you want to "cancel" what you never ordered, they demand payment for "last year" in order to "cancel the automatic renewal".

    They are often calling from Montreal, Canada, or possibly a call center in India or Pakistan.  Doctored recordings have long been common with Montreal telemarketing scams.

    It's a well known small business scam, and FTC as well as state AGs are very familiar with it.


    If they (or a fraudulent collection agency from NJ) sends you a fraudulent invoice through the mail, file a mail fraud complaint with the US Postal Inspector.

    They are all bluff and threat, and neither they nor their "collection agency" would risk actually suing you.

    File fraud complaints with FTC and your state AG.
    Report them, and ignore their threats.
  • 0
    Octopus567
    | 3 replies
    Marco Gatti from Online Local Yellowpages ( apparently not affiliated with AT&T Yellow Pages or YP.com)send us a fax stating that our bill was overdue for 676.80 this included a number of interest charges and and administrative fee.  When I called in response to the bill he claimed that there was an "agreement" that had been reached by gaining some consent from one of our receptionists over the phone.  He played part of what appeared to be a doctored recording that was not the complete conversation claiming agreement for some charge had been reached with our company.  I confirmed that the transaction was not agreed to and there was no written contract for single or continued services or listing.  He then tried to tell me that our company was responsible for that acts of our employees and that I should pay the balance or he reserved the right to call us three times a day to try and collect.  I asked for the address of the company since it was not on the invoice and he told me that it was 520 White Plains Suite # 500 Tarry Town, NY 10591.  Does anyone know the address or agency in New York state where I can lodge a complaint against these individuals?  This is definately a scam that you want to make sure you hang up on and do now pay them.
    • 0
      fraulyn replies to Octopus567
      | 1 reply
      Our church received the exact same bill...same amount with interest charges and admin fee, same address.  No one ordered this service, and fortunately, we have an astute church administrator who questions anything not familiar.  We plan to file a complaint locally, though if anyone knows how to file a complaint in NY, please post here, as we'll do that, too!

      Thank you to all of you!
      • 0
        Judy R. replies to fraulyn
        You can do as I did and file a complaint online with the Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan NY and the Department of Consumer Affairs of New York.  Also, you need to file a complaint with the Department of Consumer Affairs in the state you reside in and the Attorney General of the state you reside in.  Last, but not least, the Federal Trade Commission.  I am looking for others as we speak.  They won't stop, so I won't stop.  How do you like me now, Local Online Yellow Pages?
    • 0
      SB replies to Octopus567
      They are not located in TarryTown NY, that address is an empty office building up for rent.

      They are located in India, and Kahnawake Quebec. Under the business name Microteam.
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