Complaint Review: Protect ID Today

My AT&T phone bill had a mysterious charge of $14.95 listed as PaymentOne.com.  I called the number and was told that the charge was for Protect ID Today, a service that I never ordered.  The company issued a cancellation but said it would take "a couple" of billing cycles for the credit to appear on my account.

After reading a Ripoff Report about a similar situation, I also called AT&T customer services to complain.  The AT&T rep issued a 'block' to eliminate future 3rd party charges.  I was told that the block would be activated within 2 weeks.  The AT&T rep then filed a claim to credit my account for the fraudelent charges (2 months @ $14.95 each). 

The AT&T rep told me that she had heard numerous complaints about this, but that it would take up to 60 days for the credit to appear on my account.  Since AT&T has known about this fraudelent practice for some time, I questioned why this major corporation hasn't put a stop to it and is still passing thru these erroneous billings.  Shame on them. 

I asked the AT&T rep what has the FTC said about this practice and she gave me the FTC complaint # 877-902-3971.  AT&T appears to be a willing partner in this scam and I plan to file a complaint with the FTC. 

Review your phone bill carefully and raise questions.