Portland, Tennessee Blog

I am an employee of a major phone company and I opened my paper bill and found a charge from www.transclr.com wih an $8.43 setup fee. I called the 800 number and their rep said I must have entered a contest and used the info to sign up. They told me my e-mail address I provided was one that I only used to activate my DSL line 3 years ago. They must have accessed a cookie somewhere on my computer. PLEASE everyone put a miscellaneous billing block with your local phone company!

Same complaint.I just noticed two unauthorized charges on my AT&T Illinois bill. One from Myinfoguard,llc and one from Intelicom totaling $54.65 I called both and canceled and complained to AT&T.
These frauds are almost nation wide. Where are our agencies responsible for stopping this. FCC,etal.
This is tanamount to wire fraud. The phone companies appear to be aware of this but deny accountability.

I had two business phones and I used one line for the credit card processor. I just looked at my bill and found out that I had been charged $14.95 from EBSI. I called and had it credited but it will take two billing cycles. THIS IS A BIG SCAM!! I will be calling ATT and find out their procedures on preventing this.

Just read this entire page and I am sick! I was going over my Embarq phone bills online to see if there might be a way to lower my bill, anything to try and cover the price of gas these days. I went back one year and found this BOGUS charge from ESBI for $13.70 a month.. for an entire year!!! I opted sometime ago to turn off paper bills and now I regret that decision as I would have found this much sooner. I am out $191.80 as of this months billing due to the unethical business practices of ESBI!!! Today is Sunday so of course I can't get hold of them or Embarq, but you can bet tomorrow morning I will be burning up the phone lines with this rip off!!! I will also complain to the BBB, the Attorney General, FCC, and anyone else I can think of! I am going to demand a FULL & TOTAL refund and if Embarq isn't willing to assist me I will cancel my service with them. I have been a loyal customre with Embarq (formerly Sprint) for 30 years and can not believe they would allow any company to randomly bill me to their bill without checking for authorization. We all need to band together and think about a Class Action Suit or something. I am sure there are hundreds, probably thousands of others out there with the same issue.. and some may not yet even be aware. We need to get the word out to family, friends.. everyone we know and watch this company sink to the bottom of the ocean!! Talk about unethical business practices and the fact the supposedly reputable phone companies allow third party vendors such as ESBI to attach charges to our bills. Anyone interested in pursuing a suit against this company? I reside in Central Florida and I am PISSED and ready to take these guys down!!!

When I received my phone bill from AT&T, I noticed it was higher than usual and that's when I observed 2 extra charges applied to my account. One was from MYINFOGUARD, LLC & the other from US Credit Find, Inc. When I called both companies, they made me aware of the name the accounts were set up in. One account was set up in my 14 yoa son's friend's first name & his last name. The other was set up in his friend's first & middle name. Both accounts had his friend's e-mail address & P.O. Box number, but our phone number. Whoever is doing this, has obtained both children's info and is mixing it together to meet their goals. Also, another totally weird thing was that when I called the 1-800 # 2 separate times on 2 diff. days, I spoke with the same rep & at the end of the conversation, he was starting to laugh about something. I could hear someone in the background, but otherwise it was very quiet. That too was unusual. I then found out that my service only cancelled and no credit was being to AT&T. They said I had not agreed to that part of it. How crazy is that!!! I have not contacted AT&T back yet again to find out what will take place in the future. Thanks guys for the tip on the misc. call blocking you have added to your phone.

Call your phone company and threaten to cancel services. Then tell them to put a miscellaneous charge block on your account. That is what Verizon did when I threatened to cancel.

We just discovered this ID theft protection charge on our At&T bill too. My husband called and At&T claims they cannot see this item on our bill. Told us to call the MYINFOGUARD folks. Did that and were told the charge would be reversed. But the infoguard agent gave my husband a website address -- exclusivegiftcard.com -- saying that was how we got signed up. Exclusivegiftcard.com is just a clearinghouse website like Shopzilla. It's not really a place you can sign up for anything. The whole thing looks like a scam to me. The really weird thing is that we were signed up under someone else's name and it turns out to be a teenager (and a minor) that we had never heard of. So now we have a phone number from AT&T that we can call to block future 3rd-party charges against our bill. I'd like to know why we have to take action to stop this sort of activity. It should be the other way around -- that they have to ask permission to bill us for new "services." The whole thing is corrupt.

I had the same problem with www.unitedtel.com. I had $14.95 charges on my Verizon bill. I called to ask what this fee was and they said it was Hellomail. I NEVER signed up for this. 3 months later... I am still fighting for my refund!!!

This is a scam!

In the good old days, these people would have been strung up at the local light pole. This BS needs to stop immediately.

I have the ILD charge for 14.95 for voicemail. I called and canceled but apparently I can only get 2 months refunded from them. I have apparently had this service for a year. I asked At&t if I could stop any future companies from doing this kind of transaction...but they said they couldnt. When they sent me a copy of the thing I filled out ... it was on a date that I wasnt even around a computer or in the country for that matter. The information is something anyone could fill out. Anyone actually considering doing a suit against these companies? I've lost 150.00 dollars to them and didnt even ask for the service.

I also had a mysterious charge on my phone bill from verizon. ESBI 13.95 for 3 months. I have auto pay on my phone bill so i didnt catch it earlier. This is some 3rd party billing company, told me it was a standalone voicemail service. All of which i never signed up for. As soon as I called that company they refunded me and said that I will see a charge on next months bill, but it to will be refunded. The lady on the other end was basically laughing at all this. I tell you , this is very shady. I am outraged verizon allows things like this to occur without you verifying it. I never even heard of or asked for this king of service. Watch out everyone, it can easily happen to you. Im glad this kind of behaviour is monitored and that we can all feel safe that our phone bill is being billed the way it should be.

I'm from Illinois and got a $13.92 charge on my AT&T bill. What??? It was from 'Enhanced Services Billing, Inc.' Called the company and had it removed from the bill - they said it would take approx. 2 billing cycles. Then called AT&T and have an agreement to not allow third-party charges to our bill ever again. This is a heavy duty scam!!! If it happens to you, make sure your phone company will put a block on third-party charges so it won't happen again. As a P.S., I'm a little disappointed in AT&T for allowing this sort of scam to be continued. Their customers as their most valuable asset, and to lose confidence in their company is very detrimental to them. WAKE UP AT&T.........

We apparently have these same people working down here in Florida. ILD Services, and My Billing Guys have been charging my parents, and claiming that I am the one that authorized it.
I don't even live with my parents.

yes i too have been charged by MY BILLING GUYS for $8.43 and it is for MBG VOICEMAIL SETUPFEE....no authorization was made to setup this service and im not paying it...how do i get my self off their list???

All you guys have to do is put a block on your phone for all enhanced services. This happens when you fill out those online surveys to get a laptop or ipod or something. It is not a scam, you put your info in there and didn't read the fine print. Call the company,tell them to refund you, otherwise your phone company WILL...then they go after the company that charged you. READ WHAT YOU PUT YOUR INFO TO, stop blaming other people for your not paying attention.

I also recieved a $8.23 charge from My Billing Guys on my Verizon bill. Called my guys I was signed up for a 800# so people could leave voice
mails for me. 1-800-433-4518. Verizon told me that
by law they HAVE to allow 3rd party billing for
services they provided you. Call the attorney general of Minnasota? and your state. Also, call
your phone company & tell them to remove it off your bill & have these jerks bill you directly.

The next time I'm passing through San Antonio, I'm going to smash their office windows.

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I had this done to me before, you are getting these charges from opening something up on the internet, when you open it you are saying ok to the charges and you don't even know

I had this done to me before, you are getting these charges from opening something up on the internet, when you open it you are saying ok to the charges and you don't even know

I was looking at my phone bill from at&t
and I had this charge that I have never
seen before. I didn't even know what it
was, so I called my phone company,They
said that I had to call the ILD teleservices.
So I did, they said that they would cancel it
and they said they would put a creit on my bill
but you know what happened, they did not cancel
it, they billed me again, I am about to lose my
phone. How do I get rid of this scam??????????.

I just got off the phone with my billing guys said I signed up for a "frEE" 800 NUMBER NO CHARGES EXCEPT THEIRS said they'd give me a refund I guess we'll see their numbner is 800-215-1961 maybe we should all call just to see what type of business they do and if their 800 number is "free" also
just a thought not reccomending anyone take it upon themselves to do anything like that

I too have a $8.23 from :My Billing Guys." Does anyone have a number for them and/or an address. Does anyone believe that this is a giant fraud? I do. How many dollars has this scam tacken at only $8.23 each? SS

I would like to cancel this account. because Idid not ask for this . What kind of charges are these.please cancel this. thank You!

Did anyone ever get a resolution for the Total Protection Plus on their AT&T Bill? I have been getting this every month on my bill and I have to keep calling and having them to credit my bill. What is this thing and how can I get rid of it once and for all?

Just got my Verizon bill and noticed the charge for Mbg Vmail Mthsvcfee $8.23. Of course on Christmas Eve I cannot reach anyone at Verizon or ILDtelecom...

Any suggestions?

ILD Number 1-800-637-4009

Well We just got our phone bill and we also had a 15.85 charge from this company. We called and talked to someone who could not tell us how we got on it and said we signed up for it, we asked what email they had and they had the wrong one but was still able to bill us. Call your phone company and they will send you a form to fill out that will not let anyone add outside charges to your bill without your ok. ATT is holding the amount charged for two billing periods so i can deal with the company. Good luck

AT&T allowed this company to bill me too. This company is all over the internet for fraud. Why hasn't somebody did something?

Why is VERISON allowing this to continue ?????????????

Oh Yeah--I did find out that this companies are just about all from a "clearing house" whatever that means. I guessing they are probably all just about one and the same depending on the area of US and what phone service you use.

I also found out yesterday that I have been billed by this company for over a year. BellSouth credited my account for the last three months--the rest I will have to do on my own. Also I had a company name "my i products" billing me-without my consent. These two companies combined was over thirty dollars a month. Having cell phones I thought the exyra charges where from the wonderful "extra" fees we have to pay. Hopefully between all of us we can put an end to this or at least make people aware.

I, too, have been charged $8.23 by My Billing Guys and like so many others, I have not been successful in getting through to anyone at the number listed on my telephone bill. I have reported this to Ripoff.scam and hopefully, they wll be able to do something about it.

MyIproducts is based in Minnesota. I filed a complaint against MyIproducts, ESBI (aka USBI), and AT&T with the Minnesota Attorney General; and the Attorney General secured for me a full refund.

In addition to the complaint I filed with the Minnesota Attorney General, I filed complaints with the Minnesota, Texas, and Indiana Better Business Bureaus; and the Texas and Indiana Attorney Generals; and the Federal Trade Commission; and the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. I hadn't thought of filing a comlpaint with the USPS in regard to mail fraud (thank you: Gerald Ramirez, December 3, 2007 11:46 PM), but I will.

In order to protect ourselves and others from future victimization from companies such as MyIproducts and ESBI (aka USBI) we've got to get LOUD. Further, we've got to make companies like AT&T and Verizon accountable for their part in the fraud which they have allowed others to perpetrate against us via our phone bills.

Please file your own complaints with the agencies I have mentioned (including your own state's Attorney General, Utility Regulatory Commission, and the BBB).

my girlfriend is in jail,county jail she calls me collect everytime she calls me it cost any where from 5.95 to 15.00 per call.i have no choice but to pay it because they ( zpdl global-tel ) have rights or own every pay phone in any jail in texas. thats B.S.

after checked my at&t home phone bill i found a charge of $16.15 from a "company" called:
esbi voicemail services, i never heard about this
"company" or never sign up or ordered service from them, i called to block this service and ask for credit and they told me "your number is now blocked and you will see a credit next mont, but i received the same charges for a consecutive 4 months, after called this "company" i with no results i called at&t to get my money back and i reported this fraud to the fcc and to the cpuc, this is fraud, please report this fraud to the fcc or the cpuc by email or by phone, this "company" is making millions of dollars with this scam, imagine we are millions of people in the country, how many discover this and how many not? or who ignore this charges? we all can fight back by reporting this scam to the respectivev authorities.

Folks, if these fraudulent mail charges were included as part of a telephone bill sent through USPS (snail) mail, might this also constitute mail fraud. I too was crammed on this month's (Nov `07) telephone bill and intend to submit complaints to BOTH the Federal Trade Commission and the US Postal Authorities.

I JUST OPENED MY PHONE BILL AND NOTICED A CHARGE FROM MYINFOGUARD, LLC. I HAVE NO IDEA WHO OR WHAT THIS COMPANY IS BUT I HAVE NOT AUTHORIZED THIS DEBIT TO MY PHONE BILL. I ALREADY HAVE ACCESS TO PROTECTION AND RESTORATION FOR IDENTITY THEFT FOR ONLY $9.95 A MONTH, WHY WOULD I SIGN UP FOR SOMETHING THAT I NO NOTHING ABOUT. PLEASE REMOVE OR YOU WILL BE HEARING FROM MY ATTORNEY

I noticed a charge of 14.95 on my Cincinnati Bell bill from ESBI. This is fraud. They said I filled out a survey, they have information about me such as mother's maiden name. I'm trying to file a complaint against them. I've tried FCC who refered me to FTC. Does anyone have advice as to how to stop this company from bogus charges?

I just opened my Verizon bill and have a UTc Hospital Tel Charge of $22.74. I was not in a hospital or neither anyone I know was in a hospital on Sept 28. How do they do this? I don't have voice mail on my PC, so how do they do this. I don't even have long distance as I am on a fixed income at 72 yrs of age. My family calls me. I think this practice stinks. Sincerely, Mary

Just got it as well 24/7 downloads. Never authorized, yet $15.85 is charged every month!!! How do we stop it !!

I am in SC this happened to me. Contact your state consumer affairs office. This is called cramming. You can go to the FTC website and find out about this. You are not liable for charges you didn't authorize. I do not believe that these companies (Bell South, AT&T, Verizon) are enabling skam artist like these to rip off their customers. Really shows that they value their customers.

you ask me it all sucks,Ihave bills on my phone bill,seem like my phone bill just kept getting higher insteadof lower.yeah u guessed it.ILD TELESERVICES FOR 12.95 per month.billed on behalfof Empire Voice systems (Description)Empire VMail Mthsvcff.I ASO DONE A SURVEY for a laptop i thought i was sending information asking for your telehone number the survey reads must complete all survey to get lap top and were lap top is to be sent.But when u r half throuh the survey it wont let u get past the rest,I belive this were most personal information is getting out. your phne number by doing a survey,I looked ILD TELESERVICES on line go check it out.I am notpaying for something i did not order.i have called to havethis scam moved butit is still stuck to my phone bill.I will just pay for my telephone services i ordered and heck with the rest. WV GIRL FROM WEST VIRGINIA.

We have had Verizon as our telephone service provider since we moved to San Angelo, Texas in 1999, and have never had a problem until August 2007. I always try to pay all my bills on time, and I didn't notice in August that my bill was $16.10 over the regular payment that I normally paid Verizon. So like a dummy I paid it. In September, I finally noticed that the bill was higher, so that's when I noticed the ESBI fee. My husband called Verizon and ESBI, and Verizon said that they would credit our account, but to call ESBI to cancel whatever service that they provide. The lady at ESBI told my husband that I had signed up for their services at my job on the internet. This was not true. They told my husband that they would send him a copy of the form where I had marked "yes', that I wanted their services. We never received a copy of anything. It was a lie. They also said that they would cancel, but that we would be turned over to a credit bureau if we did not pay them. I just received my Verizon phone bill in the mail Saturday, October 20th, 2007, and ESBI is still charging us the $16.10 a month for who knows what. A Verizon agent told me that it takes a couple of months to get this corrected, and that we did not have to pay ESBI, just the Verizon services. He said that by law, that they had to let ESBI bill us on our bill. I told him that since it was a Verizon bill, that it was bad advertisement for Verizon since they are letting them do that. If this is not fixed by the next billing cycle, we may be getting rid of our land line. We do not even have a computer at home, and we will use our cell phones and do away with the land line. I am very appalled at ESBI. IT IS A RIP OFF!!!! What is this world coming to. Thanks for listening.

We have had Verizon as our telephone service provider since we moved to San Angelo in 1999, and have never had a problem until August 2007. I always try to pay all my bills on time, and I didn't notice in August that my bill was $16.10 over the regular payment that I normally paid Verizon. So like a dummy I paid it. In September, I finally noticed that the bill was higher, so that's when I noticed the ESBI fee. My husband called Verizon and ESBI, and Verizon said that they would credit our account, but to call ESBI to cancel whatever service that they provide. The lady at ESBI told my husband that I had signed up for their services at my job on the internet. This was not true. They told my husband that they would send him a copy of the form where I had marked "yes', that I wanted their services. We never received a copy of anything. It was a lie. They also said that they would cancel, but that we would be turned over to a credit bureau if we did not pay them. I just received my Verizon phone bill in the mail Saturday, October 20th, 2007, and ESBI is still charging us the $16.10 a month for who knows what. A Verizon agent told me that it takes a couple of months to get this corrected, and that we did not have to pay ESBI, just the Verizon services. He said that by law, that they had to let ESBI bill us on our bill. I told him that since it was a Verizon bill, that it was bad advertisement for Verizon since they are letting them do that. If this is not fixed by the next billing cycle, we may be getting rid of our land line. We do not even have a computer at home, and we will use our cell phones and do away with the land line. I am very appalled at ESBI. IT IS A RIP OFF!!!! What is this world coming to. Thanks for listening.

We have had Verizon as our telephone service provider since we moved to San Angelo in 1999, and have never had a problem until August 2007. I always try to pay all my bills on time, and I didn't notice in August that my bill was $16.10 over the regular payment that I normally paid Verizon. So like a dummy I paid it. In September, I finally noticed that the bill was higher, so that's when I noticed the ESBI fee. My husband called Verizon and ESBI, and Verizon said that they would credit our account, but to call ESBI to cancel whatever service that they provide. The lady at ESBI told my husband that I had signed up for their services at my job on the internet. This was not true. They told my husband that they would send him a copy of the form where I had marked "yes', that I wanted their services. We never received a copy of anything. It was a lie. They also said that they would cancel, but that we would be turned over to a credit bureau if we did not pay them. I just received my Verizon phone bill in the mail Saturday, October 20th, 2007, and ESBI is still charging us the $16.10 a month for who knows what. A Verizon agent told me that it takes a couple of months to get this corrected, and that we did not have to pay ESBI, just the Verizon services. He said that by law, that they had to let ESBI bill us on our bill. I told him that since it was a Verizon bill, that it was bad advertisement for Verizon since they are letting them do that. If this is not fixed by the next billing cycle, we may be getting rid of our land line. We do not even have a computer at home, and we will use our cell phones and do away with the land line. I am very appalled at ESBI. IT IS A RIP OFF!!!! What is this world coming to. Thanks for listening.

I was charged 19.99 by some company that sent me a joke a day (plus .10 for each joke)as a text message on my cell. This was attached to my Verizon bill this month. AT&T allowed some company by the name of MyiProducts IMail to charge me for voice mail for 14.95. All of this has happened in one pay period that I could not afford to pay out anything extra and buy gas to go to work. I thought my AT&T account already had a block on it, but obviously not. I got the Verizon thing stopped, but I still had to pay the 19.99. I refuse to pay the MyiProducts charge. Does anyone have the phone number to the MyiProducts company? Please email it to me, if you will.

Just out of curiosity - where are all the people from other states seeing this particular thread - Is there a link on another website?

Good luck to you all.

I got my bill and unitedtel.com charged me $15.96 and said i signed up for it. I don't know what it was until i called and told them i was not paying and i deducted the $15.96 from my ATT bill who said they did not know anything about it. we should do somthing to stop these phone companys putting false charges on phone bills. they said they would refund it with-in two billing cycles. they can make a lot of interest in this time.
Jim

me and my huband noticed a charge of 8.23 mbg vmail
on our verizon bill
we were not aware of any additional charges my husband called verizon immediately
and they had been charging several months
the woman we spoke with was very helpful
and gave us the last few months back to be deducted from the amount we owed
what a relief and they will be blocked in the
future.

VERIZON sent me another bill for $8.23 for MyBillingGuysVoicemail Monthly Service Fee. We don't even have voicemail! I called Verizon who said to call ILD billing. We had already done this last month so here we go again. The guy at ILD just repeats himself "We do not accept payments at this number." I called Verizon back and they insist that ILD can put in a stop. I have told them I get nowhere when calling ILD. The supervisor reluctantly put a "block" on our account so no more miscellaneous charges can be added to our bill but not before I looked up on the internet and was able to throw out a few words like cramming or FCC. She agreed I had been crammed. I also insisted that Verizon had to have contracts with ILD in order to bill and she says that Verizon is not a non-profit company so they have to contract to make their money.....I guess at the expense of non-suspecting customers. I will be contacting any and whoever will listen to this crime on the innocent.

When we called Qwest to discuss a billing problem, we noticed a hike in our monthly bill in August and September...ESBI began billing on August 7th. I called them and they said my son had signed up for their services on-line. When I informed them that my son was a minor, they quickly canceled the account and said they would refund the charges. In an email they sent confirming the cancellation, they stated:

...We understand that you stated that you did not authorize to sign up for this service and for this reason we have promptly cancelled the service and refunded you in full without hesitation.

Please be advised, however, that before a consumer signs up for our services, all material terms of those services, including all costs, are fully disclosed. The consumer specifically confirms that he or she is at least eighteen (18) years of age and that he or she is, or has authorization from, the telephone line subscriber to bill charges to the telephone number that they have provided. We also require the consumer to provide information including: date of birth, mother's maiden name, a valid email address (where an order confirmation is sent within 24 to 48 hours of sign-up), and we capture the Computer's IP address for security and verification purposes.

We apologize...

What bull! This is super-highway robbery...
These phone companies have not made any attempt to block or punish disreputable, phishing telecom third-party billing...It's disgraceful! I wonder what percentage of the profits Qwest,ATT,Verizon and others make off of this scam...why haven't they stopped this practice yet?

I have had this EBSI charge put on my verizon account without my approval or knowledge. Thank God I always check my monthly bills for errors and additions I was able to call and have a hold put on the charge. The link on the bill led me to this blog and several other sites. DON'T OPEN THE OTHER SITES. THEY ARE PORNO. I did have a block put on my account denying access to any enhanced services.

I went online today to pay my Verizon bill and under New Charges I found, for the first time, a ESBI charge for $14.95. Not knowing what this was, I called Verizon and was told it was for voicemail with ID Theft Protection! I was shocked because I never authorized this charge and it was added to my bill without my knowledge. The call person gave me the number of ESBI and so I called. After two more calls I finally spoke with a woman who said AS A COURTESY she would remove the charges but that I would have to pay the first charge of $14.95. I told her I would refuse paying this fraudalent charge to Verizon and so I subtracted that amount from my payment. Finally I sent Verizon an e-mail telling them what I'd done and why. I bet I'll receive the charge again next month. What's to be done about this fraud?

I went online today to pay my Verizon bill and under New Charges I found, for the first time, a ESBI charge for $14.95. Not knowing what this was, I called Verizon and was told it was for voicemail with ID Theft Protection! I was shocked because I never authorized this charge and it was added to my bill without my knowledge. The call person gave me the number of ESBI and so I called. After two more calls I finally spoke with a woman who said AS A COURTESY she would remove the charges but that I would have to pay the first charge of $14.95. I told her I would refuse paying this fraudalent charge to Verizon and so I subtracted that amount from my payment. Finally I sent Verizon an e-mail telling them what I'd done and why. I bet I'll receive the charge again next month. What's to be done about this fraud?

ESBI is a nightmare but since i didnot give Verizon permisson to sign me on with this company Verizon should pay any and all charges

i think it has to do with at&t, i did not wath happen with this change of 16,00 dollar .this is not rigth .taking for a free ride before you get your phone bill .bad for new for at&t online service?????????????????why ME

I live in Indiana and have AT&T as my provider. The $12.95 charge showed up on my bill this month and AT&T required that I contact MYINFOGUARD, LLC and opt out. I threatened to cancel and they offered to block my account from any 'enhanced services' being billed to my account in the future.

Ohio- I too have a ESBI charge on my ATT phone bill. MYIPRODUCTS IMAIL VOICEMAIL MTHLY FEE 15.92. I just noticed it on this month bill. I got out last month bill & found the same charge there as well. Needless to say someone is going to get an ear full in the morning.

This MYINFOGUARD cramming happened to me too - I live in Kansas and have AT&T for cell phone service. Myinfoguard quickly cancelled the service and all bills when I complained. Calling AT&T took 3 tries to get a clerk who knew something - he put a free block on all enhanced services so I can no longer have any 3rd party billing (don't think I wanted that anyway). Carol

I recieved my at&t bill this month it has a charge of 14.95 enhance serve I never sign up for it.

I went online today to view my phone bill. I could n't believe the amount. Bellsouth was just bought out by At&t and I just moved my number to a new location. I go to the bill detail and notice Enhanced Service Billing from Total Protection Plus, LLC for a total of 13.21 for Premium Voicemail Monthly Fee. I don't have voice mail. I immediantly sent an e-mail to At&t and am waiting a reply. It states on the bill that if you dispute any charges from any other companies that you can dispute the charges and not have to pay them until the investigation is complete and corrected. If found to be correct then you can still dispute but they can not disconect your service for an unpaid disputed amount. I can't believe this has been going on so long and hasn't been stopped. It's an outrage. I find it very funny though that once Bellsouth is bought out by At&t that this happens to my phone bill. I have never had a problem like this with my Bellsouth Bill for 15 years. Go figure....
Jennifer in Louisiana

I LIVE IN WEST VIRGINIA, AND I RECEIVED MY PHONE BILL TODAY, AND IT HAS A $14.95 CHARGE FOR HELLOMAIL MTHSRVFEE, A $8.23 FOR MBG VMAIL MTHSVCFEE, $12.95 FOR EMPIRE VMAIL MTHSVCFEE, AND $8.23 FOR MBG VMAIL MTHSVCFEE A TOTAL CARGE OF $44.36....THIS IS RIDICULOUS AND I AM PISSED BECAUSE VERIZON SAID IT IS NOT A CHARGE FROM THEM AND THAT THIS COMPANY AS WELL AS OTHER COMPANIES HAVE WAYS OF BILLING YOU FOR THINGS....THAT'S A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT TO ME...THE REP. AT VERIZON TOLD ME SHE WOULD SEND THE CHARGES BACK TO THESE PEOPLE...MY BILL SAYS THE CHARGES WERE BILLED ON BEHALF OF WWW.UNITEDTEL.COM AND MY BILLING GUYS AS WELL AS ENHANCED SERVICES BILLING, INC....I'M NOT PAYING FOR THESE CHARGES!!!!

I LIVE IN WEST VIRGINIA, AND I RECEIVED MY PHONE BILL TODAY, AND IT HAS A $14.95 CHARGE FOR HELLOMAIL MTHSRVFEE, A $8.23 FOR MBG VMAIL MTHSVCFEE, $12.95 FOR EMPIRE VMAIL MTHSVCFEE, AND $8.23 FOR MBG VMAIL MTHSVCFEE A TOTAL CARGE OF $44.36....THIS IS RIDICULOUS AND I AM PISSED BECAUSE VERIZON SAID IT IS NOT A CHARGE FROM THEM AND THAT THIS COMPANY AS WELL AS OTHER COMPANIES HAVE WAYS OF BILLING YOU FOR THINGS....THAT'S A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT TO ME...THE REP. AT VERIZON TOLD ME SHE WOULD SEND THE CHARGES BACK TO THESE PEOPLE...MY BILL SAYS THE CHARGES WERE BILLED ON BEHALF OF WWW.UNITEDTEL.COM AND MY BILLING GUYS AS WELL AS ENHANCED SERVICES BILLING, INC....I'M NOT PAYING FOR THESE CHARGES!!!!

I LIVE IN WEST VIRGINIA, AND I RECEIVED MY PHONE BILL TODAY, AND IT HAS A $14.95 CHARGE FOR HELLOMAIL MTHSRVFEE, A $8.23 FOR MBG VMAIL MTHSVCFEE, $12.95 FOR EMPIRE VMAIL MTHSVCFEE, AND $8.23 FOR MBG VMAIL MTHSVCFEE A TOTAL CARGE OF $44.36....THIS IS RIDICULOUS AND I AM PISSED BECAUSE VERIZON SAID IT IS NOT A CHARGE FROM THEM AND THAT THIS COMPANY AS WELL AS OTHER COMPANIES HAVE WAYS OF BILLING YOU FOR THINGS....THAT'S A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT TO ME...THE REP. AT VERIZON TOLD ME SHE WOULD SEND THE CHARGES BACK TO THESE PEOPLE...MY BILL SAYS THE CHARGES WERE BILLED ON BEHALF OF WWW.UNITEDTEL.COM AND MY BILLING GUYS AS WELL AS ENHANCED SERVICES BILLING, INC....I'M NOT PAYING FOR THESE CHARGES!!!!

ESBI tried this billing stuff with our phone service QWEST. I called Qwest and got the charges removed. This is called CRAMMING. All ESBI needs is a phone number and the billing begins. I took a survey for a new laptop( watch out for the surveys where you have to buy Video Professor or some other program to continue). I ordered VP then sent it back,then ESBI showed up with a 14.95 bill on mt Qwest phone bill. "CALL 1-866-597-0928 TO CANCEL THE SERVICE." YOU WILL ENTER YOUR PHONE NUMBER AND A RECORDING WILL COMFIRM THAT THE SERVICE HAS BEEN CANCELED.

I saw on my bill that I was being charged for myinfo guard and residential email. These people said they would give me a refund. I wonder why AT & T let them do this in the first place. I put a block on my phone and I called the help number. It is 1 888 288 3724 I don't like this but bbut what could I do?

I got charged mysteriously too. I have been on the phone for six hours three last month and three this month. I got charged $12.95five times and they said in a couipla months they would refund me. and then underthat place on my bill they said they charged me $14.95 twice. . I had one heck of a time trying to get info about who charged me this there was no telephone number. To save you a lot of time dial 1-888-288-3724. that is the help number at the top of your bill. this makes me so mad. Call customer service at A & T and have a block put on your phone so no one can add anything to your bill. What a bunch of crooks and I do not know how they sleep at night.

Same thing happened to me (My Info Guard through ESBI) on my SBC/AT&T phone bill. I called AT&T, and I was transferred by the automated system to My Info Guard. My Info Guard was closed, so I emailed AT&T and told them they needed to fix this. I'm not willing to spend any more time trying to reverse something I did NOT order (there's honestly no possible way I could even have ordered this inadvertently), don't want, won't use, don't even know HOW to use. Ultimately, this is AT&T's fault, and they should deal with it. If they don't, I'm cancelling my service with them. And there's no way I'm paying that charge. If they ask me to pay the bill and have it credited next month, I'll cancel my service and refuse to pay the bill. I'm just not willing to stand for this.

I had the same problem on my ATT bill. It is annoying companies can charge fees through an other company as ATT, verizon ... In ATT, they told me it is the law and they can't do anything they have to charge us, I think it is very strange and easy for them.

I received my Bellsouth bill today with a 12.95 charge on it. I called the company Total Protection Plus LLC at 1-800-773-0052 for charge for Premium Voicemail Monthly Fee. I called up the company they said my 11 year old answer a questionaire online at insider deals.com. They said they would remove the charge for this month and next month. They gave me a confirmation number an everything. Will they be around long enough for me to get my money. He claims it will take two billing cycle.

My ESBI charge appeared on my Embarq (formerly Sprint) bill after I cancelled my MCI long-distace service. THis really pissses me off--and the $50 tax deducstion for all the telephone taxes we get this year on our federal tax return does not compensate for this.

I am checking into sueing MyInfoGuard in my local small claims court and notifying the FCC re Verizon's apparent willingness to bill on the scammer's behalf without question.

Here it is the middle of November 2006 and VERIZON is still billing its customers for fraudulent charges for fraudulent companies for useless ervices that no one wants let alone know what these services are?
Where is the PUC, BBB, or Attorney Generals?

Seems like a very lucrative scam for Verizon and partners!

tampa fl i recived the same charge on my verizon bill also said the persons name that ordered was the same as my boyfriend i guess i owe him a big appolly

I was just scammed on my October AT&T statement by ESBI for $12.95 for "protected voice mail."

Tis is deffinately a rip off and should be reported to FCC.

Myinfoguard got me too! $13.33/month. I found a weird charge ( Voicemal Idtheftmthy ) from ESBI on my Verizon bill- for something I had not authorized. I called verizon, and they told me that they could contest the charges, or I could call the charging company directly (ESBI then redirected to myinfoguard ) which might be faster.

Once I reached a human, I was badgered a bit that I must have signed up for this by mistake (not likely- i don't even know this land line # b/c it is just for DSL). I was asked for more personal info, which was unsettling, but nothing that isn't listed in the phone book... and after asking for a manager was told all charges would be refunded in a month or 2. Total dirtbags preying on the unsuspecting.

AND- sadly, verizon took the opportunity to try and scare me into getting their DSL service. They claimed that by using another company for DSL it was likely THAT is how my info was obtained and I was charged.. and that I should switch to them.

i'm a sys-admin, and my machine is not leaking info. But verizon is clearly not above using fear to get more customers....

-sigh-

I feel like a ninny. I am a New York City woman-I should be smarter, more sophisticated and savvy, not to have what happened, happen. I am so perpetually exhausted when I get home from work-I just glance at my bills, then pay them. As I do not make an excellent salary and am trying to stretch my pay check even further I started looking into ways to make that happen, including sitting down and really looking at my bills. Imagine my surprise to find tacked on to my phone bill $15.58 (each month) from ESBI who claim to be helping me re: bills via my e-mail. I was perplexed and called their 888 (area code) number-constantly busy!! After a month I called my phone company Verizon. Seems I have been crammed. Verizon put a cramming block on my phone number and took off all the charges from the begining-over four months worth. I was so glad that I had been pro-active on my behalf. I finally got through to ESBI-they weren't very helpful, just saying I had ageed to it on some promotion-not true. I also looked at their web-site-how bogus are they-be warned out there-they are fake, phoney and the only thing they are watching in the money department are their own wallets as they grow richer duping us hard working honest Americans.

I live in the Detroit MI area. I have been getting billed by both ESBI my Info Guard. I never heard of them or signed up for anything. I can't easily reach them. When I asked that my billing be canceled, they said their computer is broken and they couldn't do it. I asked that they cancel me and send me an email when their computer was fixed. The never did. I am going to the FCC and to my phoine company ATT. If ATT can't help, I will cancel them as well.

My mom just called me and said that she had some bill for 12.95 with my name and e-mail too? so i decieded to type it up on line and this page came up...can anyone tell me how to get the charge off. they told my mom that she had to pay this month but it will come off with in about 2 bill from now. is there any way to get the charge off right away and how can you contact that company???

I, too have noticed this charge on my phone bill. I called the number and spoke with a representative. Apparantly, my wife had inadvertenly signed up for a service on line, to qualify to receive free gasoline. In the details of the Terms and Service, there is information showing that a monthly charge will be added to our phone service. I am going to talk with my wife to see if we really need this service or if we can cancel.

My parents just had a $12.95 plus tax charge on their AT&T phone bill. We are in Chicago. The crazy part is that it had my name tied to the charge. They did talk to the local phone company and they said they would remove the charge. How scary.... Can they really get away with this? It makes you wonder how many other people they have scammed.

I am from Oklahoma and was also hit with this charge from My Info Guard! I'm outraged! Monday morning is going to be a bad morning for these people when I finally get through to them!

I just looked at my Verizon bill and found the same charge from this ESBI company. My bills are automatically paid so I did not see it before. I had told Verizon in the past not to bill me for anything I did not order and did not confirm the order. Again there are those out there who are ripping us off and our phone companies are going along with it.

I've got the same charge. It started after I cancelled at&t long distance.It's time to talk to my congressman. I live in florida...

Hey I also was surprised by my monthly bill and read the breakdown, to my surprise not only esbi but several other voice mail protection "companies" have billed me too. As I have never even heard of these companys and don't even use voice mail I was shocked not only by the amount of my bill but that their charges surpassed my regular monthly fee. Is there any way to protect myself from future encounters of this kind?

Just recieved my Bell South phone bill and had a 12.95 charge from My Info Guard and Enhanced Services Billing Inc. for Voice Mail with ID Theft Protection....Never heard of this company and didn't fill out any thing saying I wanted this service, one would have to have heard of the service and felt an need for this type service and authorized the charge...I did neither and I'm so trier of dealing with Bell South..my phone bill is higher and higher every month, I can hardly keep it payed and I'm really considering changing services all together. Now I have to go through the hassle of getting these charges removed. Be careful everyone and pass this scam on to friends and loved ones.

I just got my bellsouth phone bill with a $13.21 charge from My Info Guard,EBSI or which ever and I'm pissed about it.I know nothing about this company and didn't order their service's.I refuse to pay it and I will not pay it.Bellsouth say's I have to pay it and they'll credit me on my next bill,well that really pissed me off even more and I told them that's just it,I don't want it put on my next bill,I need my money in my pocket.It's bad enough bellsouth is going up everytime I look at the bill.How can they allow this stuff to happen to people?Somebody need's to do something.I'm thinking hard about getting rid of my house phone.Wake up Bellsouth you are gonna lose alot of good customer's because of Greed.
Sign Mad in Louisiana

I just got my alltel bill and there is a charge on there for 9.99 from 42222 blinko, this is a scam how do i go about getting this credited back? can anyone help?
jen

just received my embarq bill with a charge for "my info guard voice mail id theft". The charge was for $12.95 plus tax. I am wondering how anyone can make an "authorized" charge to my phone when it is listed in my name. I called embarq and put a block on all unauthorized changes to my bill. It's a good thing i check my bill with a fine tooth comb. You never know what you might find on it.

just received Verizon bill with 2 charges by ESBI of 14.95 each for what I don't know, I will call Verizon tomorrow to get this cleared up.

This irks me to no end that they can charge
items to my phone bill that I have had for
30 years. I am reporting this to the District
Attorney's office. The website is totally
useless for immediate action---hum wonder why?

I just got my Sprint/Embarq bill with an ESBI bill.... now I wonder how many other times they hit me for $14. I have to check my old bills.

How can this happen... it is robbery.

I have used my magnifying glass and found ESBI on my phone bill. Billing me for $14.95.
Never heard of these characters before.
They closed for holidays.
Another scam my cell phone getting charged from 42222 Blinko, for childish quotes. This costs $9.99. mo.
IT'S A DIRTY OLD WORLD OUT THERE. WATCHIT!!

I just had the same thing come on my phone bill. I called verizon and they let me kno that that is called cramming and it is illegal. If you talk to your phone service provider and tell them that you got crammed and they will do or should do like verizon did for me and contacted the company that tried to cram that charge on me and let them know that the customer didnt want it and didnt ask for it and they can put a bill block on your account to where no one can do that to you again. Just wanted to let you all kno what I found out with the charge that came with mine and maybe this will help someone.

I was sent an e-mail saying that I had been signed up for this "service" and that it would be charged to my monthly phone bill. Sure enough, two days later I received my phone bill and there it was. I, unfortunatelly have NOT been able to get in contact with them because of their business hours. And their website is about as helpful as sunglasses on a blind man. So if anyone knows if there is another option putting a stop on this "service" please post it here. I'll be checking back if I dont find it.

Can anyone help me? I have been paying a bill to sprint for almost a year. They then charged another 14 plus for voice mail. Because their cost was more than than the real phone bill I quit. Now esbi is still trying to bill me and I do not have any phone service.

I have had trouble with this company before by a charge against one of my credit cards. I had one this month against my bill from ATT.

Just received my VERIZON bill with a $16.60 charge for "MyInfoGuard VoiceMail ID Theft Mth Fee" on behalf of ESBI. After going to their website - http://www.billview.com/esbi to find out a little more about the company ESBI - I found the website totally useless. I then called 800-773-0052 and found their business hours ends at 5pm EST (2pm PST - my time). Just like the previous person, I found out that my 12 year old stepson answered a phone questionnaire and WALA... we have an unauthorized charge on my phone bill. I, for one, am going to get to the bottom of this and report this practice. Be careful out there !!

Just found 2 $14.94's on my Verizon Bill. Verizon has been told that no changes to my service are authorized withoout my written notice and signature.

The same thing has appeared on my phone bill - I can only assume that it was from filling out an online survey. The number I was given for "my info guard" was 800.773.0052: - of course it is past business hours right now but the recording listed them as 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Mon. - Fri.

I saw the same type of charge on my Alltel bill in the long distance portion handled by Enhanced Billing Services Inc. A short phone call got the service cancelled and credited. By the way, my daughter's name was in their records as having "authorized" the service. I have to wonder how someone who does not 'own" the phone bill can make a change to the services provided with that bill? Perhaps this is a question I should ask my phone service carrier....