FairPoint Communications ESBI FairPoint places, on its own bill, a fraudlant charge, but then claims it cannot remove it. Lewiston, Maine
I was about to pay my FairPoint bill as usual, but then I noticed a strange extra $12.95 charge. It was labeled "BILLED ON BEHALF OF COAST TO COAST VOICE" (ESBI).
I thought it would be a matter of a few minutes to call FairPoint billing and remove this charge sine I have never heard of this service before and certainly didn't order it.
To my dismay, FairPoint's customer service rep (Jennifer @ 1-866-984-2001 10:40 AM EST) said that she could not cancel the charge. Instead, she suggested that I call this ESBI company (of which I have never heard before) to ask them to credit my account.
Now... I never dealt (and will never deal) with a company called ESBI. The only company with which I am currently dealing is... FairPoint. The only bill I received was from FairPoint. If they could place the charge on that paper bill, they can also remove it.
I have already filed a complaint with the FCC (09-C00181336). I am currently expecting a call for a supervisor. If this isn't resolved to my satisfaction, I will escalate...
I hope that FairPoint is wise enough not to lose a customer who never missed a payment, for $12.95 only... Fraudulant, misleading and customer-unfriendly practices like this shouldn't be tolerated.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
datfp
Vermont,USA
Problem solved (sort of)
#2Author of original report
Wed, December 16, 2009
This is an update from the original poster of this complaint: The case has finally been resolved.
FairPoint has removed the charge from *their* bill but advised contacting ESBI nevertheless, to avoid receiving bills directly from them.
I was reluctant to contact a company with which I never had any business (and now I certainly don't want any business in the future) but I eventually called their 1-888-458-3724 number.
The system actually transferred me to Coast to Coast Voicemail, which is the company that originated the charge. I was surprised to encounter no hassles in canceling the charge. Google "Coast to Coast Voicemail" to understand why.
Coast to Coast Voicemail claims that their record shows someone registering my phone with their service on 11/22/2009 at 10:23 AM EST from IP address 12.239.0.15.
If you lookup that IP address, you will see that it's in Dallas, Texas. Far far from Vermont...
The case is closed now, but I wouldn't say to my total satisfaction since I had to spend way too much time on this - Not to mention that the fundamental problem of scammers impersonating others so easily has not been addressed. That is, it can (and probably will) occur to others.
Why isn't "Block" FairPoint's default mode?