You know how I said the telemarketers are claiming I actually requested that they call me? They may be right...not that I personally requested it, but that *somebody* is using my name and information to request information.
Just got my phone bill, and wondered why it was more than usual. Found a charge for $14.95 + $0.75 fees/taxes on the very last page, charged "as a service to the company identified above". That company? ESBI, Enhanced Services Billing Inc., on behalf of "Residential Email, LLC".
Call up the ESBI number provided on the bill, get a message saying they are "transferring me to the provider of the services". Spoke to Jane [supervisor name is Riva], and when I questioned the charge, she started giving me a spiel about what Residential Email provides.
I stopped her. Told her I didn't need to hear it, I had no interest in the service and that it was a fraudulent charge. She said that her records showed that I visited a website offering $1000 in coupons and agreed to the service in order to receive the coupons.
I told her that the information was received through fraudulent means, and I demanded that the service be cancelled and the $15.70 credited immediately. When I mentioned contacting the Better Business Bureau to report both ESBI and Residential Email, very interestingly, she had a script ready to go: "Ma'am, there is no need for further action, as you will be receiving a credit for the amount and your account has been cancelled." She repeated it a few times throughout the call. Gee, convenient that they would have that option covered...
She also had a routine to cancel the account [well, she claims it is cancelled...we'll see what happens], said that the amount would be refunded within 1-2 billing cycles, and when asked, said that I should pay my phone bill minus the $15.70 [though I am going to call AT&T to (1) report the fraud, (2) make sure they know that I will be underpaying the bill, and (3) ask that they prohibit any third-parties from charging my phone bill]. Again, convenient that she had a process all ready to go.
When I checked out the Residential Email site [not going to link to it], I see this:
Residential Email´s™ authorization to provide and bill its services is obtained by way of your electronic signature. Once submitted, this electronic order constitutes an electronic letter of agency authorized by your electronic signature in accordance with Residential Email´s™ specific terms and conditions. Residential Email´s™ reliance on your electronic signature, as obtained herein, is done pursuant to the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act and the electronic Signatures in Global and National Transactions Act. Both laws specifically preempt state laws that recognize only paper records or handwritten signatures.
Okay, so there is a slight chance that the company itself is above-board, and some data-mining scum had my phone, address, and name on a list. But I'm still pissed. At them, for accepting electronic signatures so easily. At AT&T, for blindly letting a third-party add on to my phone bill without contacting me. And I'm pissed because I have no idea where else I have been added to lists, so I'm going to have to be even more vigilant and put up with more telemarketing calls who claim I have requested their services.
Damn it. Grrr. Grumble.
