Complaint Review: USBI Telecommunications

re: unauthorized long distance billing charges on my verizon phone bill. my son is a verizon csr and tells me that this is a problem to them because open competition laws in many states including new york allow supposedly valid long distance carriers access to verizon records. from these records, companies like usbi are able to see your phone transaction lists from which they compile their own list and then submit to companies, like verizon, for payment for calls supposedly placed through them. this happened to me 2 months in a row. total charges $107.+

the fix is relatively simple and requires two steps. the first step is mandatory and establishes the basis for verizon to take action. you must call usbi and complain that the charges are not valid, that you did not authorize them as as a provider of services and want the practice stopped immediately. their response is that you or some member of your family authorized their services and that they have proof of it. in my case, they made a mistake because they said my wife authorized it and they had proof , which they did not. unfortunately she was on another phone at the same time and rebutted them. they agreed to stop the practice, but said i owed the money.
the second step is to call verizon and complain about the fraudulent billing. as long as you have contacted the fraudulent biller without any satisfaction, they will "recourse" the billed amount and you will not have to pay it and your verizon bill will not be affected. clearly no company like usbi will come after you for the money because they can not take you to court for fear of what would happen to them. you must then request verizon, or whatever phone co. you have, put a block on any other long distance carriers and that will stop the fraudulent billing practices, permanently.

the last step should be to contact your state's attorney general and file a complaint about these unethical business practices. if it were not for the state's allowing such activity under the guise of "open competition", these rip-offs would not occur.
demand action from the atty. general and also your state legislators for new laws to prevent these unethical practices.

monopolistic practices under "ma belle" were bad enough. if this is what de-regulation brings, give me the old system anyday. thank you.

Alan
johnson city, New York
U.S.A.