Kgb.com (542542 Text) Fraudulently charging my cell phone account Internet

I have recently encountered a problem with their billing as well. I was with my daughter when she asked to use the service, one time. While there is only one charge on my Verizon bill, it's for $9.99, not 99 cents. Verizon will not remove it. They told me to contact kgb to have them issue a credit against my bill. From what I am reading on this site, I don't see that happening. There seems to be no return contact from them by phone. I am still waiting on a reply to my email to them.

I am both a former Independent Contractor for the company, as well as a user of the kgb_ service. There are a few inaccuracies with this claim that I just don't understand, both as a former kgb_ agent and a current kgb_ user.

The end credit of every single kgb_ commercial I have ever personally seen has always had the words "texts cost just $0.99" underneath the 542-542 number. It's not in tiny print at the bottom of the screen, but clearly stated in large print just underneath the text number. My guess is, most people who text kgb_ do so as a result of seeing the commercial, meaning it's very likely that the author's daughter did see the $0.99 cost warning prior to texting

This is not the fault of kgb_, nor is it the fault of Verizon. This is rather a misunderstanding between child and parent. Even if the author's daughter did not see the $0.99 warning, that doesn't mean it's not there. It's listed on every commercial as well as advertised on their website in at least 2 different places on the main page (not the bottom of the screen as the author claims).

This is by no means faulty advertising on kgb_'s part. The $0.99 charge is clearly stated in both the commercials and on the website, and I don't see how one can hold the company responsible simply because the consumer either did not notice it, or chose to ignore it.

A better approach to this would be for the author to talk to his daughter about the charges and make sure she realizes that kgb_ is not a free texting service, but is charged per answer received.

in response to posting from Amber in Brentwood:

Dear Amber,

We want to know more about your situation so we hope you will call us toll-free at 888-566-9542 (M-F Eastern Time) to discuss this with our customer service staff.

We have thoroughly searched our records but could not find any reference or record of your complaint, so please contact us at your convenience and we'll look into this right away. If you can provide us with the mobile number for which the charges were incurred, we can investigate the validity of the charges.

Based on your post, it sounds as though it was not you but your daughter who personally used our service. Therefore, we thought it might be helpful to you, as well as to other parents and readers of the Ripoff Report, to explain exactly how our service works since we noted several inaccuracies in your note.

Here is the process - when a customer first texts a question to kgb at 542542, we send them a very clear message letting them know that answers from kgb cost 99 cents each. Customers who don't want to be charged can text STOP or NO and they are not charged.

kgb is not a subscription service so no monthly fees for kgb service will appear on your statement. kgb is one of many pay-per-use services, and kgb only charges when an answer is provided to our customers.

Our ads, which you can view at http://542542.com/videos, clearly state that the service costs 99 cents per answer. This disclosure meets or exceeds the guidelines proposed by cell phone carriers and by the Mobile Marketing Association.

If you are concerned about future charges on a particular phone, we will be happy to provide advice on how to work with your carrier to manage such fees, or we would be happy to remove your mobile number from our database. That way you can be sure that no one is using that phone to incur charges for kgb service. Please contact our customer service department toll free at 888-566-9542 with the mobile number you would like to block and we will be happy to do this for you.

We hope this is helpful.

Sincerely,

the kgb customer service team