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Report: #181049

Complaint Review: Star Communications - Canoga Park California

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  • Reported By: Marysville Washington
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  • Star Communications 6433 Topanga Canyon Blvd PO 402 Canoga Park, California U.S.A.

Star Communications Fraudulant scam Misrepresentation, Rude Customer Service Canoga Park California

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My husband one day got a call from Star Communications offering a Family Fun Pass. I wasn't home and so my husband thought he'd suprise me with this wonderful time we'd have to spend as a family. Little did he know it was a scam.

They said that all he had to do was give them $4.95 so that they could send out a packett of information and we'd have 10 days to review it and if we didn't like it we could send it back no ties attached or otherwise they'd take out something like $128. My husband gave them his debit card number and they took out the $4.95. Then he forgot about it.

Days past and then one day I decided to call the bank to get the balance on our account. We had like $20 something dollars in there because it was the end of the month and we just wanted an exact amount. Boy was I surprised to find that we were overdrawn by about $150!!! I knew it wasn't me and my husband knew he hadn't spent anything so we talked to our bank and asked them what went wrong. They gave us the name of Star Communications, the amount they took out and how to contact them by phone. Mind you, we had NEVER gotten this package to review so there was no way

I got on the phone but after waiting at least 20 minutes they refused to talk to me because I wasn't my husband. So I got my husband on the phone and he was trying to get things taken care of as well as getting ready to take my car in which I ended up having to do because these people wouldn't cooperate. They kept him that we had to write the company at the address above and they'd review it and our money would be sent to us in about 1 month. My husband finally gave up with them.

I got home and heard what had happened and was fuming. I called that number and waited until a representative got on the phone, again. I knew they wouldn't talk to me if I told them I was his wife and so I used his name with my normal voice. They didn't catch on. I asked to speak to a specific supervisor that my husband had talked to so I could get a little bit more information but low and behold I was told that she didn't exist and that they'd be happy to help me instead. I told them that I wanted the money put back into our account not in a month but immediately. They assured me that there was nothing they could do and that I'd have to write the company and tell them what happened and they'd review it and that was the only chance of getting my money back. I once again asked to speak to a supervisor and after asking a few times they hung the phone up on me.

I didn't give up easy. I called that company at least 5 more times that week talking to various representatives that hardly could speak English or else they had an accent so think you couldn't understand them. No one caught on that Donald (my husbands name) wasn't a females name. They'd tell me they didn't have ID numbers and that the supervisors were in a different building and they didn't have supervisors and that they were allowed to let me speak to a supervisor and the list went on.

My last call I did end up getting ahold of the supervisor that my husband talked to and after realizing how upset I was even though I kept my cool this supervisor who told me to keep them anonymous told me to contact my bank, the attorney generals, and the postal master or something like that. (They deal with fruadulant mail but I can't remember the exact name.)

Our luck came though the bank after filing the report and making sure that this company had a block on our account the bank realized that the thing had been a scam and gave us our money back and cancelled our overdraft fee. They even helped us close our account and start a new one free of charge and even got a gift even though we have been customers there for over a year!

This isn't a fun company to fight with it feels like you are going no where. They don't allow you to record the conversations although they are recording you. Each representative has something different to say that wasn't true. In fact, the supervisor we talked to said they do have ID numbers, and you are allowed to talk to a supervisor.

Looking back (it's been about 6 months) I can see the humor in it because of the things I said to them to try and talk to a supervisor including that they could "stand on their head and wiggle their ears" or my favorite was the part where I got a young foreign man on the phone who said it wasn't really a big deal after all it was only $128 to which I ended up telling him if it wasn't a big deal I'd take it out of his account and asked him for his name, card number and the experation date. He gave me it all until I asked for the experation date and then he thought I was serious and wouldn't give me anymore information and hung up.

All in all, try and work with your banks to get the problem solved. Immediately cancel your bank account and restart another one and put a block on it for that company. Secondly, when you call the company insist upon talking to a supervisor and don't give up. Don't be rude but be VERY FIRM and if they say that writing the company is all you can do ask them if there is anything else and let them know you've called the better business bureau and found out how many people they've scammed (say the actual number) and tell them that you need that money immediately. If this doesn't work tell them that you are informing the post master general and the attorney general and until they give in don't stop calling even if it takes a week like it did for us.

I hope things work out for the rest of you and in the future make sure you:

1) End up checking with this site or the better business bureau first before you give your account number to a company and agree to let them take funds out. Do your research before saying yes.

2)Find out exactly what the company name will be on your bank statement so that you know when they've taken something out and so you have a future reference. This will help in the future because if this is a scam and you find out this information later on you can quickly put a stop to any of that companies withdrawls from your bank.

3)Ask them if you can record the conversation to make sure that you are getting everything they say you are getting in the deal if you should end up getting scammed. If they say, "No".

4)Then do yourself a favor and tell them to take them off your calling list and HANG UP!

5)If you've already given them your account number and information go and cancel your accout and start a new one. It's not worth the hassel to have to try and deal with this company. It's much easier to cancel your bank account or change credit card information than it is to try and get your money back from these people.

Annalise
Marysville, Washington
U.S.A.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 03/14/2006 01:10 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/star-communications/canoga-park-california-91303/star-communications-fraudulant-scam-misrepresentation-rude-customer-service-canoga-park-c-181049. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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