scammed by voice verification

Complaint

0
Don
Country: United States
Like and idiot I believed the sales rep who built up this great product but left all of that out of the voice verification.  When I found out that it was heavily misrepresented and told him that I did not want the product, he said it was too late and they would develop a website and charge me without my cooperation.  This is only last week.  The website that they produce will not be acceptable to my company standards and I could lose my dealership.  I am sick about this and want to join any lawsuits.

Comments

  • 0
    tj
    If they had actually wanted to create a binding contract they would have sent you a contract for signature that included the details about what they would deliver, what it would cost, and the timeframe for completion.  You would have reviewed it, and either indicated your agreement by signing and sending in a copy, negotiated any changes, or just decided not to proceed.

    Instead they deliberately kept it verbal, then changed the alleged terms after supposedly you had reached an agreement.  That is the mark of a scam, fraudulently set up from the beginning to force you to pay whatever they are after without regard to what, if anything, they deliver.  Don't be surprised if they are actually after "cancellation fees", basically for doing nothing.


    "left all of that out of the voice verification"
    "he said it was too late and they would develop a website and charge me without my cooperation"

    That is an admission that their misrepresentation was intentional, and therefore that any agreement was obtained through fraud and deception.  It's "too late" to cancel, but yet they get to change what they are delivering anytime they want.  That isn't a "contract", it's a scam, and they have experience at playing it.

    In effect, they were intending to set you up for a "bait and switch", to create the appearance of an agreement while "losing" anything that might document what that agreement was.  It allows them to sell you one thing, and then deliver whatever "cookie-cutter" website they actually produce.  Or as indicated above, deliver something so unusable, you find yourself paying them to go away.  


    Send them notice by certified mail that any agreement is terminated due to the fraudulent misrepresentation of their sales agent, and that you have filed complaints with your state Attorney General.  

    They can mitigate any alleged damages they might claim by not proceeding with their sham "website", as apparently they haven't done anything yet.  Maybe it wasn't even their goal to produce a useable website.
  • 0
    tj
    You may find they misrepresented who you are dealing with.

    ATT owns Yellowpages.com

    You may be dealing with some third party company, that may or may not have an agreement with ATT to develop and sell websites connected to them.  If they withheld who they really were, pretending to be and have the reputation of yellowpages.com/ATT, that would be a material misrepresentation that if you had known the truth, you would have decided not to do business with them, or certainly not without a written contract.
  • 0
    tj
    After filing a complaint with your state Attorney General, you might give ATT's legal department a call, and find out who these bozos are who are running a "bait and switch" con in ATT's name.

    Deceptive cons depend on magnifying the strength of their position through uncertainty.  Collapse the uncertainty, and it's just naked bluff.
  • 0
    File a complaint with the FTC
    I just got off the phone with yellow pages and was smugly told that I was in a contract with them, despite the fact that I've never signed a contract. They said it was a voice authorization. I was NEVER told that I was in a contract. I was told the voice authorization was to give them permission to publish the site. I was unhappy with the site and submitted a help ticket that was ignored. I was never able to log in to the admin account because the login and password they provided was not valid. I've only ever received ONE correspondence from the company since November when I had originally called to set up the site. They JUST e-mailed me my first copy of the "contract" when I told them I wasn't in a contract and would sue them if I had to. This is no way to run a business. They said I'm in some directory too. I've never even heard of the Acadian Directory! I did a search on their site for my business and it didn't even come up! For a large company like this, you'd think they would have some experience with customer service. This needs to be reported to the FTC by everyone that feels they have been deceived. I'm doing this as well as sending in my "notice of cancellation" via return-receipt certified mail. I suggest you all do the same too. I'd also recommend reporting them to the BBB. Here's the complaint site for the FTC. https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/. No company should be allowed to continue robbing people. I told the "investigations" department that they never delivered the product I ordered. He continued to read the "contract" to me. Apparently, they are trained to handle these complaints in this manner...they must get them a lot...especially since I'm seeing so many complaints about them NOW all over the web. I wish I'd just have checked here first.

    Christine
  • 0
    kb
    fyi i get these scams pretty regularly.  they either tell me they're giving me a free website but don't say they're charging after the first month, or ask me to update my company's listing where they try to take me thru voice verification but every time i question them on it, they just hang up.  its generally a unknown number on my caller id.  i've even had them curse me out.  they just did it to me again which is how i found this site.  

    anyways don't EVER go through voice verification, even with the big companies if you can prevent it.  i've even had Verizon's win back program scam me but i believe they hired a 3rd party telemarketing company to get them back accounts they lost who were probably getting paid per switched back clients where the 3rd party just scammed their way to get their incentives.

    SOOOO many scams out there, and its a shame since our government seems ineffective in reducing them.
  • 0
    jmarshall
    Achhhh!!! I knew this was a scam - but to late! They had me verify our address and phone and then instructed me to press 9 to disconnect the $40/month web page offer and then say yes to have my name REMOVED from the call list. Following this they started another 'voice verification'. That's when I got totally sick of it. What was in the recordings did not match the answers they wanted me to give - and he kept coming back in to ask why I didn't answer the way I was instructed to do. I tried to get a company name and phone number - He claimed to be working for Yellow Pages and gave me a bogus number.
    I was shouting and cursing him out by the time my boss finally came and just hung up on him.
    I definately have no authority to authorize any cahrges of website for our company. I would like to find out who they are. Something so petty as this may not be worth our time to go after - but we have enough legal eagle in our nest to make it hurt.
    Jamie - another dupe
  • 0
    Sara
    | 1 reply
    The same stuff is happening to me with them....they're claiming i owe them $1000 for a service I never activated or authenticated ANY payment for ...i did do a "voice verification" to run my credit for said service and every time i talk to them they say I already activated and approved any charges because I did that. I was told it was "moving forward" to see what sort of payment plan I could do. I just got something from collections and nervous about messing up my credit, but it just seem really really really shady to me. Meanwhile I have talked to everyone possible at YP and written in that I never wanted these services to start and that the voice verification is very misleading. They keep telling me I need to handle this with the representative who started the claim which isn't really getting me anywhere...as a customer you would normally think they would just cancel it with all these complaints...which makes me wonder if it is a scam. Everyone says they can't help me because of the voice verification. I also have been told to freeze my credit because that's what I am nervous about but not sure if it is even worth spending the $60 total in fees to freeze and unfreeze it with all 3 bureaus.
    • 0
      tj replies to Sara
      They are well known liars fraudulent telemarketers, and swindlers, as is their "collection agency".

      Stop talking to them or writing to them.
      You are just telling them you are a sucker who can be pressured if they keep at it.

      They can't carry out any of their threats, as they have to hide their location across the border in Canada.
      The NJ collection agency uses the pretense that they "don't know" whether the "accounts" are real, even playing the same misrepresented or doctored "recordings", but they have been reported  doing this so much it's not likely they will step beyond making threats, since if they did damage your credit, that is the line they would have to cross for you to sue them, and they clearly know it.

      The "everyone" who says they "can't help you" sounds like you are talking to these scammers themselves.  They aren't going to do anything but try to swindle you.  they are liars.  Stop talking to them.  


      File fraud complaints with FTC, your state AG, and at www.ic3.gov
      If contacted by the New Jersey collection agency (ACA, collections for scammers), file fraud complaints with FTC, your state AG, the New Jersey AG.
      I fyou get a fraudulent invoice through the US Mail, file a mail fraud complaint with the US Postal Inspector.

      If you get anything that refers to a US address, like a mail drop at a "virtual office" in NYC or Nevada, (say, a "virtual office" run by Regus), file complaints for acting as a front for a fraudulent scheme against Regus with the US Postal Inspector, and the state AGs of that state.

      Stop worrying about your credit.  Freezing your credit doesn't stop a collection agency from posting to it anyway.  If they actually damaged credit, the thousands of small businesses reporting their scam attempts would have reported it long ago.  

      If they did damage your credit with posting fraudulent "debts", that would allow you to sue for damages under FCRA, in federal or state court, and if you win, the court can award you damages AND your attorney fees.  They might even set themselves up for punitive damages, based on their long history of fraud, or RICO treble damages with a class action lawsuit.

      That is exactly what these "collection agency" scammers don't want, and they have been very careful to not cross that line,  In past years, when their scams were more in the line with collecting on shady "payday loans", they got sued several times, which is why they now run this scam against small businesses, since it's safer to avoid the traps of FDCPA and FCRA.
  • 0
    Jas Kani
    How seriously should I take "collection calls" by yellow pages?

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