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MyiProducts IMail telephone bill, cramming, fraudulent, dishonest billing ripoff Forrest Lake Minnesota
I received my June 1 At&T phone bill but did not notice extra charges until today, June 15. There was an additional charge by a third party service. The service was billed through ESBI, Inc. on behalf of myIproducts Imail. The charge was 14.95 plus 1.05 tax.
I attempted to call AT&T regarding the charge but they were most unhelpful. I was directed to call ESBI, Inc. to try to discover what the charge was exactly, and who had authorized/ordered it. ESBI, Inc redirected me to a myIproducts Imail customer service representative.
The myIproducts Imail representative didn't speak English very clearly and I had to ask several times what the service is. Apparently it is some kind of voicemail service that can be called/accessed via an 800- number. When I asked who had ordered it she gave me the name of one of my son's friends who is staying with us for the summer. She also referenced that friend's email address. I asked the young man to get on the line while I still conversing with the representative. The young friend was adamant that he had not ordered any service to be charged to my phone bill.
The customer service representative informed me that the service was ordered over the internet but could not be specific about its origins--it might be a 'promotional link' found on some web site or something of that nature. I informed the customer service representative that the charge could not be authorized by a minor, and could not legally be charge to *my* phone bill.
The rep told me that the service would be cancelled but it may take 60 days or more to 'show up' on my bill. In the meantime, I am expected to keep paying that extra $16.00 every month or face telephone disconnection. She made some reference to a credit that might appear on my bill after that 60 day period but I am not hopeful of that. Instead, I filed a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General's office, demanding an immediate credit and no further charges to my phone bill.
I'm still not certain how this company obtained the name & email address of a person staying in my home. I suspect a popup message from some web site or perhaps it was phished via mySpace.
Dawn
Martins Ferry, Ohio
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Dawn
Martins Ferry,Ohio,
U.S.A.
UPDATE 6/29/07
#2Author of original report
Fri, June 29, 2007
My state Attorney General's office contacted myIproducts Imail. I received a copy of the responding letter with other information by myIproducts. In that letter, the company representative writes that I have been promised a credit of $29.90 that will show up on my phone bill within 60 days. I never got such a promise. I was only told that that I would receive a credit of some sort and that the service would be discontinued within 60 days. myIproducts also states they sent three emails informing the buyer that he had initiated the purchase. There are no copies of those emails included. The person in my home that supposedly purchased the product received no such emails. I've searched his inbox and spam folders myself. The letter also states that the company only processes orders that are initiated by the customer. That's very deceptive.
I believe I've figured out how this company operates. An unsuspecting customer (in this case, a minor child) clicks on a website advertisement for something 'free', such as an brand new shiny XBox 360, or perhaps some free coupons or something of that sort. The the customers are asked fill out information, including phone number. The customer is then redirected to a website named clickshuttle.com (CPA Market LLC) and asked to confirm. The tiny fine print, a 'terms of use' link, something of that sort that is very difficult to find, informs the unsuspecting dupe that they will be charged for other services and those services show up later on the phone bill. No effort was made to ensure that the person who actually is responsible for the phone service made the order. Anyone can do it, as long as they have your phone number. The service can only be discontinued by calling an 800 number. There is no online opt-out, no way to cancel the order unless you receive your phone bill or by getting the phone number from one of the three emails that never actually arrived.
Of course you never do win that shiny brand new XBox 360.
I have copies of myiproducts customer pages sent to Ohio's attorney general office. Perhaps someone can use the information.