Mike
United States of America#2Author of original report
Thu, September 27, 2012
I sent Verizon pretty much the same note I included in my RipOff report. I got this response email shown below less than 2 days after I emailed my complaint.
Hello Mike,
I understand how frustrating unexpected charges can be. I apologize that you had to take time from your day to contact us regarding this issue. My name is Kelvin and I am happy to assist.
I attempted to contact you by phone to resolve this issue but I left a message. I have credited your account for the premium text messages in the amount of $19.98.
In order for these third party vendors to charge our customers, they must provide a double opt-in process, which requires you to reply to a message sent to you by the content provider, or by inputting the PIN (sent to your wireless device) on the third party vendor's website. I have reviewed your account and did not find a text message sent to this vendor from the device. And you stated that your wife did not go online to input the PIN. I have submitted your feedback to the vendor and our management.
I trust this information will assist with resolving the issue with the charges from this Premium Message Provider. Thank you for choosing Verizon Wireless. Have a wonderful day!
Sincerely,
Kelvin
Verizon Wireless
Customer Service
I responded back to them with the email shown below:
Hello Kelvin,
I appreciate your response and the refund. I have some faith in you guys again.
However, this does not change my opinion of Verizon being complicit in this scam. Verizon should be active in finding dishonest purveyors and purging them from your system. If you go to complaint websites about FlyCell you will find hundreds of consumer complaints about them.
As for my wife I can assure you that all she did was open the text nothing else. She is always very careful online because she knows what a scam is. She knew when she opened this text it was a scam and she knew not to respond to the text in any way. All she did was delete it.
Again, thank you for your response and the refund.
Thanks,
Mike