- Report: #946264
Complaint Review: Verizon - Internet
Reported By:
Mike -
Lexington, South Carolina, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
Verizon
Internet, United States of America
Phone:
Web:
Verizon.com
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good?
Verizon Verizon Is Part of a Fraud Internet
My wife is a 60 year old woman who would never want a ringtone or wallpaper for her cell phone - the only wallpaper she wants is wallpaper for the bath. However, this was not enough for me to get charged $19.89 on my Verizon bill for "premium messaging", and if I had not caught it on my bill I would get charged $9.99 per month forever. ( I have read about some Verizon customers who have not noticed it on their bills for years and have continuously been charged every month.)
I called my carrier Verizon who informed me that the charge was form a company called FlyCell. FlyCell is a company who mostly uses tricks and outright fraud (e.g. you only have to open the text from them and you are signed up; kid concerts blast out that if you text this number you get a chance to visit the singer and when you enter the number you get signed up for the scam; you complete an IQ test and when you request the results you are signed up for their services; and etc.) to get people to sign up for their services through a cell phone text message.
My wife was signed up for this service when she got a text from FlyCell on her birthday - you see part of the scam is to send it on a day you know that people are going to open just about every text they receive. She paused to open the text because she wasn't familiar with the number, but again she is a kind person and it was her birthday so she wanted to make sure it wasn't someone who she needed to thank for remembering her birthday. All she had to do was open it - she didn't respond to it or anything, and she got the birthday gift from Verizon that keeps on taking - a $9.99 charge every month on her Verizon cell phone bill from Verizon.
Thinking that any large company like Verizon would not allow something like this to be perpetrated against their customers, I asked for these charges to be reversed. I found out very quickly that they have no interest in helping me with these charges at all. When I asked for who this company was I initially got enough push back from the Verizon customer service representative (their term - not mine) that I felt that they were not going to give me the company contact information. However, I did finally get the name of the company (FlyCell) who they allow to rip off their customers, but would not provide any other contact information about FlyCell.
The only reason Verizon allows this fraud to be perpetrated on their customers is that they get money from their accomplices every time they rip off their customers. What is great about Verizons part of this scam is that they can simply blame it on another company and still get their cut isnt America great. As for how many scam artists Verizon is working with - who knows, but I am sure Verizon will not stop soon due to the great money they are making off of unsuspecting customers such as me.
And for you who are asking yourself why the FCC, WTB, or some other government agency doesn't prevent Verizon from being a part of this fraud - good question. Maybe the reason government doesn't do anything about this is what my father always told me - follow the money.
I called my carrier Verizon who informed me that the charge was form a company called FlyCell. FlyCell is a company who mostly uses tricks and outright fraud (e.g. you only have to open the text from them and you are signed up; kid concerts blast out that if you text this number you get a chance to visit the singer and when you enter the number you get signed up for the scam; you complete an IQ test and when you request the results you are signed up for their services; and etc.) to get people to sign up for their services through a cell phone text message.
My wife was signed up for this service when she got a text from FlyCell on her birthday - you see part of the scam is to send it on a day you know that people are going to open just about every text they receive. She paused to open the text because she wasn't familiar with the number, but again she is a kind person and it was her birthday so she wanted to make sure it wasn't someone who she needed to thank for remembering her birthday. All she had to do was open it - she didn't respond to it or anything, and she got the birthday gift from Verizon that keeps on taking - a $9.99 charge every month on her Verizon cell phone bill from Verizon.
Thinking that any large company like Verizon would not allow something like this to be perpetrated against their customers, I asked for these charges to be reversed. I found out very quickly that they have no interest in helping me with these charges at all. When I asked for who this company was I initially got enough push back from the Verizon customer service representative (their term - not mine) that I felt that they were not going to give me the company contact information. However, I did finally get the name of the company (FlyCell) who they allow to rip off their customers, but would not provide any other contact information about FlyCell.
The only reason Verizon allows this fraud to be perpetrated on their customers is that they get money from their accomplices every time they rip off their customers. What is great about Verizons part of this scam is that they can simply blame it on another company and still get their cut isnt America great. As for how many scam artists Verizon is working with - who knows, but I am sure Verizon will not stop soon due to the great money they are making off of unsuspecting customers such as me.
And for you who are asking yourself why the FCC, WTB, or some other government agency doesn't prevent Verizon from being a part of this fraud - good question. Maybe the reason government doesn't do anything about this is what my father always told me - follow the money.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Mike
United States of AmericaVerizon Refunds Money - But Still Part of Fraud
#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
