bill stout

Oklahoma City, OK

ILD telephone scam

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 wmhstoutpc@msn.com .  (Apr 26, 2007 | post #1)