ILD telephone scam

[bill stout]

Here’s a scam. The problem began when MZ received her March AT&T bill only to discover that it contained a charge for "United Voice Messaging Setup Fee" (UVM) in the amount of $15.74. On page 3 of her bill, she found ILD's statement in the same amount under the heading "Billed on Behalf of UVM."
Befuddled, she contacted AT&T and was told that ILD was a third-party billing entity. The AT&T rep advised her to contact ILD to discuss and/or dispute the charges.
She has since received 2 more bills from AT&T containing the original unpaid ILD/UVM setup charge as well as a recurring monthly charge. There is no explanation or telephone reference number other than that of ILD on any of the bills. She now owes ILD $47.22 on behalf on UVM which AT&T intends to collect.
As an attorney, she knows that this type of corporate misconduct infuriates me to no end. She was right. I woke up Monday morning itching for a fight.
I actually talked to a real person who explained that Meliss'a son, Raney, had signed her up with UVM when he ordered a "Worldcraft of War" PC game. I was incredulous and resolved to sort this mess out.
An exhaustive internet search revealed that ILD does business in virtually every state under at least 11 different names. There are literally thousands of similar sounding consumer complaints posted by watchdog groups and others. I also learned that news channel 4 (kfor) in OKC had conducted an investigation and featured ILD in of their "In your corner" segments.
My next step was to discuss this with Raney (Melissa' son) and see if he could shed any light on the subject. He explained that his father had used his credit card to purchase the game directly form the “Worldcraft of War” website. He also said it was a one time charge and that he was not asked or required to do business with UVM in order to receive his game.
I verified this by visiting the "Worldcraft of War" website. As it turns out, they are a very reputable PC game creator. Their Billing Rep assured me that they have no such arrangements with UVM or ILD.
I then contacted the OK Corp. Commission to file a complaint. Suffice it to say, the Commission is very familiar with ILD and its shady business practices. The investigator told me that any person who knows how to spy can obtain personal information which is used by ILD’s “business partners” to create fictitious service agreements. ATT&T can legally pass the buck to ILD who claims to be nothing more than an innocent third-party billing service. Many people unknowingly pay these bills for months without noticing the additional charges. Another problem occurs when ILD’s business partners cease to exist or don’t provide the services for which ILD is billing – e.g., long-distance calls, collect calls, voice messaging, phone cards, etc. ILD has been the subject of enough complaints to realize that many of their “business partners” are committing fraud.
Apparently, ILD has a nasty habit of running afoul of state and regulatory provisions. As a result, it has been prosecuted, fined and repeatedly admonished. The reality is that ILD is making millions and can afford to absorb these payments as a business cost. In other words, it is a giant scam made possible by the legal loopholes created when Congress deregulated the telecommunications industry. There is no telling how many unsuspecting consumers have been duped by these corporate bandits.
I was tempted to contact the OK AG’s Consumer Protection Division until I remembered that they have a poor track record in these matters and will do nothing to actually stop this activity. Not to worry. Since ILD is not subject to OK administrative jurisdiction, I am seriously considering a class action lawsuit. If you have had a problem with ILD and would like to know more about this process, please feel free to respond via email. My address is [e-mail].

[Connie king]

I received a $153.08 charge on my at&t bill for 2 collect calls from ILD, 4 dollars a minute already had a block on my phone for other company cramming charges on my phone bill. What is this world coming to!

[Cory Martin]

I was in the Cincinatti Airport in Ohio and needed to make a few calls from a pay phone. I was out of change, so used my credit card to pay for the calls. 5 seperate charges of $32.48 were charged to my card. I had made 5 calls, but each lasted only 1 minute, no one was home. I paid over $160.00 for 5 minutes of long distance with ILD. Someone needs to stop this from happening.

[In your mind]

You need to stop being retarded and falling prey to scams.

[Tracy]

AT&T should not allow third party billing. I asked them if they could put a block so no third party billing can come through to my bill.They said they cannot do that. It is their bill so I don't understand why not.I am not paying for charges for voicemail I did nor authorize from Enhances billing, My iproducts, members edge..these are the third parties that have appearded on my bill . ever since I got my computer in December is when all of this started. I advised my boyfriend who uses my computer not to go on any sites and apply for any so called 'free" things because somehow this is happening even though he says he didn't order any voicemail. I know he didn't we don't want voicemail we have a answering machine. This needs to stop. I am on a fixed budget and I pay my bill for phone service and my internet every month, but I will not pay for charges I didn't order!

[Shahin - CA]

I noticed a bogus charge from ILD on my ATT
bill for a call to a 555 one two one two
number which I
never made. ATT wants me to call ILD and
clear it up with them. I think ATT should do it because of their sloppy billing practices.

[Eddie]

I received my latest billing statement from Verizon today. There is a $14.95 charge from ILD for voicemail professional fee on my bill. I have absolutely no idea what this is. I have voicemail included with my telephone service and also have a answering machine. I called the number listed on my bill for ILD but their office has closed for the day. I'll call tomorrow morning but I'm sure I'm in for a long time of aggravation with this situation.

[Lori]

I am infuriated with this company and AT&T. Is there a class action Lawsuit? It is blatant fraud, I did not authorize this charge, and no good or service is being provided. I am being billed for this and have the same problems as everyone else getting it taken off my bill.

[Fred]

We need to file a class action lawsuit. I got the same bogus ILD charges and will not pay it. I have Verizon and they are of no help at all.

[Jennifer]

I am so furious!! I was charged for 2 months by ILD on AT&T bill for calls I never made. We should file lawsuit. I am convinced that AT&T will go out of business soon. I feel they are teamed with those fraudulent companies to trick us. I do not understand why not actions have been taken against them. I do not know why AT&T is so not clean. Fofore it merged with BellSouth, Bellsouth bills never had any problems. Now almost every month, I would find out something fishy on the bill. I is very time-consuming to contact them and try to solve the problem.

[Mary]

I too have the same problems with ILD and AT&T and am letting AT&T know that I will no longer user their services if they cannot keep these people off my account. I DID NOT AUTHORIZE for 3rd party billing and should not be charged for it. AT&T says it is to make it easier for us, the customers ... sure!
I am in California, so am also contacting the California Public Utilites Commission.

[Melissa]

I have over 2000 of charges to my business Sprint account since 2005 and they will not refund any of my money. This is a growing problem that seems to be happening to all telephone carriers.

I will urge my business partners to file suit if we have enough people.
Thanks

[Amanda]

A bogus charge showed up on my bank statement from ILD! I had never heard of them, did not know who they were until I googled them. I did not receive a bill from them, nothing on my phone bill from Bright House... just a 30.66 charge to my bank account!

[Matt]

By the way, its called "World of Warcraft"

[Jeff Breen]

Same story. ILD/ ESBI pulled the same thing on me Charged my AT&T bill. AT&T is no help. I think I will switch to Charter telephone.

[Veronica]

I just dealt with the ILD charges on my account. 4 months of $49.95 plus $60 set up for a web service that I know I turned down. I convinced ILD to reverse most of it and some is in dispute. My carrier is Sprint/Embarq and they WILL put a block of these third-party charges on my account. This block also disallows collect calls (this could be draw back for some.) The Embarq rep encouraged me to file a complaint with the FCC. He said if there are enough complaints, the FCC can put ILD out of business. Here is the link: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints_general.htm...

[Chad]

I called Verizon regarding a different bill issue and the lady also asked me if I had signed up for ILD Teleservices which was on my bill. I had not signed up for this services. She discounted the charges ILD had charged (only two month at $15.70) and filed a dispute on my behalf. I filed a complaint with the FCC and would encourage everyone else to do the same. This type of practice needs to stop. It is nothing more than fraud thousands of people across the nation.

[PSA]

Does anyone know of a class action suit against ILD?

[Rae]

Dec. 2007 3 different times I have had charges put on my AT&T bill without concenting or signing
up for any new service. I have had very good people to help me with this problem in the past from AT&T. They have taken these charges off of my bill leaving me my regular charges to pay. They recommended getting a hold of ILD to have them stop those charges. They have done so but sometimes have charged my the following month but have taken those charges off and eventually stop. I have no idea how they are chargeing me and am sick of going through all the hassle. I will be reporting them to Consumer Affairs, Federal Trade Commission, and the state Public Utilities Commission. I see this all over the internet, stories like mine. I wish someone would do something about it once and for all.

[The Cat]

You're all about to start into what I call "The UnLucky Loop". You will chase your own tailsm because all of these fraudulent companies will promise refunds (or not), your phone companies will continue to tell you they cannot do anything for you, and you will continue to make calls of protest. No one out there is doing anything about it, and the phone companies don't care becaue it would actually require them to make changes in their systems. A class action suit won't work, because these pernicious little net-phone scams are slippery (they open, make money, then close very quickly when there's trouble). They also work multiple scams out of the very same office. I found this out TWICE when their own phones went haywire and I was connected to a different scam (from my own bill!) on the same contact number. I have decided to counter-balance this in a unique way, and I suggest anyone else here who is tenacious do the same thing: I AM GOING TO BILL THEM IN REVERSE. I am going to bill them as a business and ethics auditor, and I am going to charge by the hour (or by the minute, perhaps?), and my fees are going to be exhorbitant! If need be, I will follow that through with a collection agency, and I will follow that through to the phone company, and I will follow it through to the news, and I will follow it through until someone in Congress is listening to what's going on -- and how many hundreds of thousands of people are being affected by this stupid, piddly, nickel and dime garbage -- until someone does something to stop this from happening. It's going to be slow... but stay tuned.