IntegreTel - Mytelebill Fraudulent Charges On Verizon Phone Bill Nationwide

As a former victim of Mytelebill, I took these steps to get my money back, letters of apologies, and Mytelebill getting fined.

Here's how I did it (est. time to complete = 3 hours in front of computer)

1. I called Mytelebill to find out what the bill was for, they said my wife had set it up. hmmm....my wife never called, so they backtracked and said I had called.hmmm..nope. I left with this comment, "you have knowingly used illegally obtained personal information, remove me from your billing services immediately".then hang up.

2. I then called my telephone provider and asked for all 3rd party billings to be sent via mail only, you need to push this issue. Oh, and yes, I let them know that Mytelebill was using illegally obtained personal information for billing.

3. Next I Contacted the Public Utilities Commissions here in my state of California to start a complaint investigation (mytelebill is considered a 'non-regulated' company, remember this) These guys are the best! Be nice, they will be the ones who help you the most in the end!

4. I tracked down the state and county they are located in via the BBB.

5. Next, I emailed all local government agencies in Mytelebill; including the Governors office, the states local telecommunications regulatory agency, and anyone else I could find and made them aware about the "Bad Nationwide Public Image " that Mytelebill was giving their state and communities.

6. I then emailed all the local newspapers in the city where Mytelebill headquarters resides about the government agencies I had notified and supplied links to other victims of Mytelebill for reference.

7. I then called back Mytelebill and told them this (after they stopped talking): " I have informed all local state and federal government agencies that regulate businesses in your state and in mine, including all local newspapers in your area pertaining to your illegal use of my stolen personal information. Please let your supervisor know that investigations have begun in both states". then hang up.

8. DO NOT CALL, just email you phone providers customer service department and fill-up there comment box with what you have just done, let them knew that you are serious. DO NOT THREATEN YOUR PHONE COMPANY, the utility commission agent will scare them enough for you in a more legal way.

Within 2 days I received a letter from the Public Utilities Commission agent confirming my complaint. Call this agent and BE NICE, make them feel that only they can help you, and they will. casually mention that the agent can find many victims just by typing in the name Mytelebill into Goggle.

By the third day, I not only received credit back to my account phone account IN FULL, but also a letter dripping with apologies from my phone service provider. Also a letter from the Public Utilities Commission stating that fines have been imposed on Mytelebill along with my initial complaints.

* BE PROFESSIONAL WITHOUT RUDENESS OR VULGARITY-IT HELPS YOUR CASE
** POLITICIANS HATE BAD PUBLICITY - USE THIS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
***ALWAYS REMEMBER TO CALL OR EMAIL THE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENTS THAT HELPED YOU - PEOPLE USUALLY DON'T AND THEY DESERVE THE PRAISE.
****DO NOT ARGUE WITH MYTELEBILL, THEY ARE TRAINED TO DEFUSE UPSET VICTIMS - SAY WHAT YOU NEED TO SAY IN A MONOTONE PROFESSIONAL VOICE AND HANG UP!
*****YOUR EXPERIENCE MY DIFFER, BUT THE STRATEGY IS THE SAME - THE MORE PEOPLE KNOW, THE HARDER IT IS FOR THEM TO HIDE.

OH YA!!!

You seem to imply that I did something that precipitated these charge being added to my Verizon bill and that somehow I am blaming Verizon. So let's get a few things straight, shall we?

First, I am in no way blaming Verizon for allowing these charges to be posted to my bill. Verizon has no choice but to allow third party charges to appear. When used by a third party responsibly and for legitimate (non-fraud, non-scam) services or products, third party billing can be a good thing.

Second, you seem to imply that I gave my electronic signature to MyTeleBill. I did not. You ask where they got the signature. The short answer is they either proceeded without the signature or they manufactured it, in which case they would not only be liable for fraud, but also for forgery. When you contract for a product or service, you must expressly do so. Without getting deep into contract law, in any given contract, there must be an offer and an acceptance. If either is missing, then no contract exists. Since I did not expressly accept MyTeleBill's offer, I am under NO obligation to them. And, since any attempt to collect a debt or obligation where one does not legally exist, and is not a legitimate good faith mistake, is fraud, I believe the conduct of MyTeleBill in this case constitutes fraud.

Third, you cite the terms and conditions provided by MyTeleBill. Since I did not expressly subscribe to the service offered by MyTeleBill, I am under no obligation to follow, or even acknowledge them. On top of that, if, indeed, I had signed up for the service, MyTeleBill, in not notifying me via email, would have breached the contract. A breach of contract renders the contract null and void unless both parties agree to ignore the breach and proceed with the contract. I am not likely to ignore a breach considering I work with contracts everyday.

Furthermore, another breach on MyTeleBill's part occurred when they failed to verify any supposed order. In neither receiveing the activation email nor a verification letter/email nor a copy of the terms and conditions, MyTeleBill failed in its contractual obligations AND abrogated its ethical responsibility to provide both parties with a copy of the agreement/contract. So, given the relative penalties for fraud and for breach of contract, I would have to say that MyTeleBill is probably better off taking the fraud charges and not complaining too loudly. However, this is all conjecture as the primary point is that I NEVER signed up for the service!

I agree with you, you should contact your congress man, even the president who allow other "third party" company to bill you in your phone bill, even if Verizon doesnt like, this is call fair competition and non monopoly, since Verizon is not given full control of his billing by the goverment.

here is the terms and conditions of my MyTeleBill, as you can see, they said they are not with Verizon and "If you did not wish to order this service, simply call customer service toll free at 1-888-839-5999.
MyTeleBill shall not be obligated to accept any order"

So sad that our goverment allows this kind of ripoff for the consumer and then Verizon or other phone companies get blame, please, please call your representative and ask him to stop this!!

And keep in mind that they said that they cannot charge you with you giving your electronic signature, gee, wonder how they got it.


Terms and Conditions

MyTeleBill and your local telephone company are not affiliated however, for your convenience, MyTeleBill charges will appear on your local telephone bill. The low monthly fee of $9.95 will be automatically billed on your local telephone bill in the Billing Resource Miscellaneous Charges section under Mytelebill. There is no penalty for cancellation.

You must be at least 18 years of age and duly authorized by the telephone account owner to make changes to and/or incur charges on the telephone account. MyTeleBill 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 specific terms and conditions. MyTeleBill's reliance on your electronic signature, as obtained herein, was specifically sanctioned and written into law when the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act ("UETA") and the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Transactions Act ("E-Sign") were enacted in 1999 and 2000, respectively. Both laws specifically preempt all state laws that recognize only paper records or handwritten signatures.

This promotion is a limited time offer and will expire on or before December 31, 2006 unless otherwise extended by MyTeleBill The service is subject to confirmation of MyTeleBill's ability to apply its billing against your working telephone number. MyTeleBill will verify and approve all orders in accordance with its standard order verification procedures, and shall perform any scrubs that it deems appropriate.

All orders are subject to approval by MyTeleBill. MyTeleBill will notify approved customers via email of the activation of their service. The activation email will be sent to the email address you provided on the order registration page and include complete operating instructions and customer service contact information. You may withdraw your authority to have MyTeleBill's future billing appear on your local telephone bill by contacting MyTeleBill's customer service department as outlined in the activation email. You may cancel your service within the first 30 days without additional cost or obligation. Questions? Call customer service toll-free at 1-888-839-5999.

If you did not wish to order this service, simply call customer service toll free at 1-888-839-5999.
MyTeleBill shall not be obligated to accept any order. MyTeleBill retains the right to discontinue providing its services to any customer for any reason or no reason.

MyTeleBill at P.O. Box 922 Gilbert, AZ 85299. 1-888-839-5999