Premier Premium Communications ripoff, fraudulent billing, self-dialer access, trojan horse Fort Worth, Texas And Bedford, New Hampshire Texas and New Hampshire
I received a bill from a company I have never dealth with before, Premier Premium indicating that our COMPUTER, ha, entered a PAY PER VIEW website. NO ONE in our family has ever accessed any PAY PER VIEW website. Our computer is in a prominent place in our home with children all around, this is something that just wouldn't happen in our home!!! After trying to figure out WHERE this bill could have come from, my family finally figured out that our computer, which had been running very slowly and kept getting an automatic dialing every time it was turned on, was infected with a trojan horse virus. We immediately purchased Spybot software, which is on my credit card, proof that our computer was having problems that we were trying to fix, and then additionally added a Sygate firewall. I emailed PREMIER PREMIUM at their email address, the ONLY WAY you can possibly reach these people, explained the situation, told them we must have been infected with something, was willing to submit my credit card bill showing the lengths we went to to get this resolved and was emailed back saying Sorry, you still have to pay your bill!!! WE HAVE NEVER ACCESSED ANY PAY PER VIEW websites, EVER!!! I eventually contacted their 800 number, which they indicate on their bills, don't even try to discuss the credit or refund issue over the phone, or any billing disputes for that matter. I told the girl the situation on the phone and she said "Just reply back to the email that I rec'd." Well, that was two days ago. I have asked which web site we accessed and have not rec'd that information excep to say that it was a Live webcam. No one will say to where or any other info. I have not rec'd any other response back from this company and cannot file another report or dispute because the web site will not accept it!!!! Further evidence that this is not a reputable firm. I have filed a report with the USPS Internet Fraud division. This cannot occur to other people!!! BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY!!!!!!
Theresa
Waldwick, New Jersey
U.S.A.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Theresa
Waldwick,New Jersey,
U.S.A.
REFUND REFUND REFUND!!!
#4Author of original report
Mon, December 06, 2004
HI EVERYBODY. I HAVE JUST REC'D GOOD NEWS FROM "TOM" FROM PREMIER PREMIUM. I HAD TRIED WRITING AND KEPT GOING BACK TO THE SITE BUT IT WOULDN'T LET ME WRITE A DISPUTE. YESTERDAY I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO AND AT FIRST I GOT THE SAME STANDARD RESPONSE AND THEN I WROTE BACK AGAIN RESPONDING TO THE EMAIL SAYING PAY UP. I EXPLAINED AGAIN THAT OUR COMPUTER HAD TO BE RECONFIGURED WITH A LOT OF EXPENSE TO US DUE TO SOME UNCONTROLLABLE VIRUS THAT ATTACKED OUR MACHINE. THAT WE WERE NEVER EVER ACCESSED ANY PAY PER VIEW WEBSITE. TO MY SURPRISE THIS MORNING AN EMAIL FROM "TOM" SAYING, "Based on the investigation we have done, no billing errors have occurred. As a courtesy I have issued you credit on your bill, you do not owe anything and no further collection actions will occur."
I AM DONE WITH THIS COMPANY GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU AND KEEP TRYING. I THINK IF THEY GET INUNDATED WITH EMAILS, THEY WILL HAVE TO START DOING SOMETHING.
TERRY
Failure
Oklahoma City,Oklahoma,
U.S.A.
RIPOFF IS THE WORD FOR THIS COMPANY.
#4Consumer Comment
Sat, November 20, 2004
wow whaT A rip off.its bad whe nyour company goes out and steals ppl money for service they did not use!
i have read/heard so many horro storys on this so called *GAY COMPANY*Premier Premium Communications ripoff NO WOUNDER WHY YOUR ON HERE ON A DAILY BASIS...
if the person claim they did not use your service why charge them? JUST COME CLEAN AND DELETE THE CHRAGES WHY MAKE PPL PAY FOR SOMETHING THEY DID NOT USE?
SOME COMPANY....I HOPE YOU GET HIT BY A CAR ON THE WAY HOME FROM YOUR SO CALLED *JOB* THAT RIPS PPL OFF OF THERE MONEY........IF THAT WAS ME I WOULD SAY ***KYOU AND YOUR BILL.TRYING TO CHRAGE PPL FOR SOMETHING THEY DID NOT USE.
Theresa
Waldwick,New Jersey,
U.S.A.
Premier Premium Communications
#4Author of original report
Sat, November 20, 2004
I am adding additionally that these supposed accesses to Per Per View websites were to Numbers in the UK 44 207 335 84. Also, I was charged $180 for these fees and an additional $200 plus on my regular phone bill, which, after speaking with some at the company, Telliss, they graciously refunded the Total $200 after the explanation of some type of internet frauda taking place. To date I have not heard from Premier Premium except their standard response from George, who must have it all copied and pasted on to the hundreds if not thousands of people who have had this problem within the last two to three weeks. I will copy to below for anyone interested. Anybody else receive this SAME RESPONSE??
Dear theresa tiernan,
Somebody who had access to your computer had placed an international call to the United Kingdom through our billing software to access a premium rate Internet web site on a per minute basis. We provide billing for a variety of premium rate web sites including sports information, games, music, chat, and others. Our solution works in a similar fashion to 900 services, but has been specifically optimized for Internet services.
You had inquired specifically what web site was accessed. Our records show that a call had been placed to a premium rate adult website called "Live Web Cams". Premier Premium Communications does not own this site and simply is a billing company.
We use the same technology as 911 to trace the call and determine what address the traced phone number belongs to. In extremely rare cases billing errors do occur where a customer would get a bill for a phone number that does not belong to them. These rare cases occur when a phone number was reassigned to another subscriber and the local exchange carrier databases were not updated immediately. In such cases we do credit for the call placed as required by law.
In order to be billed on a per minute basis the user needs to take several actions. First action the user would have to take is accepting a certified download. The second action the user had to take was read through a legally binding disclaimer which started the cost of the call and also stated they either had to be the telephone line subscriber or have permission from the telephone line subscriber. Once that step was taken the billing solution would disconnect them from their standard Internet service provider and reconnect them to a premium rate Internet service provider in the United Kingdom. Once the connection has been established, the premium rate web site is shown.
Finally once our billing software establishes a connection to our remote billing server in the United Kingdom, the first 2 minutes aren't billed allowing the user plenty of time to disconnect from the service and not be billed if for some rare reason they made a mistake despite our previous precautions or are not interested in the premium rate website content.
Even if you as the telephone line subscriber didn't make the call, you are still responsible for any charges that a minor or guest may have billed to your telephone. According to the Michigan Public Service Commission website (source: http://cis.state.mi.us/mpsc/execsec/alerts/900number.htm)
"It doesn't matter who dialed the 900 number a minor, a guest or someone working in your home the call will be billed to the telephone number of a call's origination and the billed party will be responsible for paying the charges. These 900-number service providers are usually unable to verify authorization or the age of callers and are not required to do so. The rates they charge are not regulated by anyone!"
The Massachusetts Attorney General web site (source: http://www.ago.state.ma.us/sp.cfm?pageid=1187) also adds:
Q: If my minor children made calls to a 900 number, am I responsible for the charges? - Beverly from Mattapan, MA
A: Beverly, the general rule is yes, the consumer of record is responsible for any calls made on his or her telephone. In addition to 900 numbers, pay-per-call services may also include long distance or international numbers, or a local number from which the service calls you back collect.
Although our service does not terminate to a 900 number, we are given the same rights and also have to comply with the same regulations under the Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act. For a summary of your rights and our responsibilities please view the back of your invoice.
You are still liable for the charge and payment must be made. Failure to make a timely payment will result in your account with us to be in default and will be forwarded to a licensed collection agency. Your credit rating will be affected if you default on this bill. Furthermore, you will be liable for all collection agency and attorney fees that we have incurred which can double or even triple the amount you owe to us.
We accept checks and major credit cards. If you wish to use a credit card to pay your bill, let me know and I can offer you a 5% discount on the amount due.
If you wish to pay by credit card, please go to the following url:
http://www.premierpremium.com/creditcard.php
Please reply back and let me know when you expect to be making a payment and what payment method you plan on using. If you still have more questions, please feel free to ask them. If you do not reply back and/or do not mail in any sort of payment within the due date given your account will be considered in default.
Regards,
George
Premier Premium Communications