Yellow Pages Online Services Ypedia.com Scam, Fraud, Con Artist, 1,000+ reported scams Irving Texas
I got hit with the Yellow Pages Scam (YPedia.com)- Now getting a surprise bill for $329.00 is one thing calling to attempt to clear up the confusion with the most unprofessional group of drones and supervisors is what brought me to the ROR, Yelp, BBB, consumer rip off, Florida Attorney General, Texas Attorney General and more...
I called and was greeted by an ill spoken drone named Bryonna ID# 766 who like to use slang like "Honey", Axe as in Ask you a question?.. but okay even that I can work with, what I couldn't/ wouldn't work with is Mss. Bryonna telling me "If you know how to read which apparently you can as you're reading the entire document to me, you should have flipped over the document and located the bold writing that this is a paid advertisement" THAT statement blew me away! I asked Drone 766 why she cared that I wanted to resolve this it wasn't coming out of her salary and she didn't have to pay the bill?. I explained that I do not own the company and the document on hand states FREE all over it, in fact it states FREE a total of 3 times in bold on the paper work. Drone 766 also took delight in advising us that if we didn't pay her company attorneys would come after us and also add 10% in late fees if not paid before the due date- when I asked her to stop cursing, yelling and calling me Honey she stated "What's wrong Honey gunna lose ya job for signing something you shouldn't have?" at this point I asked her what she made for a living a whopping 7 bucks an hour? advised her I was recording the call and told her she disgusted me before hanging up ( she refused to transfer me to a Manager) and called back
The paper work I speak of is a little flyer that came in the mail claiming that for FREE Yellow Pages Online Service would make corrections to an already existing FREE listing on my behalf as a courtesy... move forward 3 weeks and I am holding a bill for a 6 month agreement at $329.00 it should be noted that YP stamped this paper work as received on Jan 22, 2015 today is 02/16/2015 and drone 766 couldn’t actually show me a listing! THERE IS NO LISTING. I called the Real Yellow Pages and found out what this Scam is really about and how they spend their days speaking to victims like myself.
We spoke to Malvin Sando who claims to be the Customer Service Resolution Manager on a recorded line of course; his resolution was and I quote "instead of calling to complain about possible scams and invoices your company doesn't want to pay maybe you should spend more time coaching your employees to read documents before they sign them" This not only blew away my HR Director but the COO of the company. We asked Malvin to cancel the agreement to which he chuckled and stated it was too late but moving forward they wouldn't do business with us anyways? WHO SAYS THAT?
Myself and my team have attempted to reach someone much higher than Malvin and he shot us down, he backed the verbal abuse from his employee and said he was present for the entire conversation and he would look into her approach with customers?
Needless to say we will NEVER pay the bill and have sent everything over to our in house attorneys to look over. when I began to dig around I stumbled upon nothing but complaints on this scam company - I have pasted information on them from the Attorney General in Florida as this is an ongoing issue with YPedia and hopefully soon the FEDS shut them down.
How to Protect Yourself: Yellow Pages Invoice Scam
Source: Florida Attorney General's Office
Small businesses all over the country are receiving solicitations that appear to be invoices from the local Yellow Page Directory. The invoices are usually being sent by out-of-state companies that publish a directory with a limited number of businesses and limited availability. Many directories do not get published. Before you pay an invoice for a Yellow Page Directory advertisement, familiarize yourself with the following:
Why are the invoices confusing?
Most invoices contain the popular “walking fingers” logo and the name “Yellow Pages.” They will often include the consumer’s phone number, an account representative’s name, and a request to fix any incorrect information. This is a deceptive technique used to trick the consumer into thinking there is an established relationship. “THIS IS NOT A BILL” may appear on the invoice, but returning it may commit the consumer to a future bill. Read the invoice carefully, including the terms and conditions.
Please note courts have ruled that any business can use the logo and the “Yellow Pages” term.
Is it a Solicitation or an Invoice?
If it is a solicitation, the consumer has no obligations. The United States Postal Department requires the following disclaimer to be on all solicitations, so consumers should look for it on the "invoice:"
THIS IS NOT A BILL. THIS IS A SOLICITATION. YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO PAY THE AMOUNT STATED ABOVE UNLESS YOU ACCEPT THIS OFFER.
To avoid scams, obtain the following information about the company before responding:
Remember: Directories given exclusively to consumers who purchase advertisements, and statewide directories may be of little or no use.
Research the Company.
Contact your local Better Business Bureau or government agencies like the County Consumer Affairs Bureau, the Office of the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission to determine whether any complaints have been filed, or lawsuits are pending. For out of state companies, contact the appropriate agencies and authorities in the state where the company is based.