OAN Services, Inc. ripoff fraudently billed for phone call to mystery number; never used OAN Dir Assist, never heard of number Internet

On 10/25/06 Verizon phone bill, was billed on separate page under bill heading "Other Providers," for spurious services provided by OAN Services, Inc.

I had never heard of this company, so I read every word on the page, to find I was being billed for a date and time that I would have been the only person having access to the phone - I live alone; visitors never use my phone.

The billing was "on behalf of 'Calling 10 15 15 800'," which company I had never heard of either.

The call was supposedly to Directory Assistance, at 101 515-8000. I have never heard of a 101 area code or toll free code.

If I were to use Directory Assistance it would have been the standard 800 555-1212 or the Verizon information number. I seldom use Directory Assistance, having a phone book, on-line access to Yellow Pages and am frugal by nature.

I was charged USF Carrier Admin Fee of $1.65 in addition to the Directory Assistance charge of $5.49, for a grand total of $7.14!
This was purportedly for one (1) call. Preposterous!

I will be contacting Verizon to protest the fraudulent charge.

I will also be contacting the USF Carrier Admin, if they exist, to file a formal complaint. This is a clever take off on Federal Universal Service Fee, standardly see on phone billings under the Regulated Service Taxes and Surcharges heading. Note the first inital of the last three words, USF, have been used as an official sounding acronym.

Last, but not least, I will be filing a formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, the Oregon Public Utility Commission and the United States Postal Service, as the bill came by mail.

Of course, I will contact both (?) the phone numbers given for "billing questions", in a valid consumer effort to give the company an opportunity to correct this grievous error. How considerate, two phone numbers.

What do you get when you cross a junk yard dog with a moray eel?
An irrate, ripped off consumer.

Follow suit; if we are lucky it may just turn out to be a class action "suit."

Diana
Lakeside, Oregon
U.S.A.