Feb 25 2009
ESBI phone bill ripoff
I usually ignore my phone bill and I just now figured out that some asshole company called ESBI has been adding $19.95/mo to it for the past four months. Who the hell is ESBI? No idea, never heard of them. Of course the dicks at AT&T said to call ESBI directly, which I did, and now ESBI is supposedly going to be refunding my $80 on my next phone bill.
According to the ESBI guy, this is who he had in his records for my signup:
Ashley Hinton
283 W Dickens Ave
Chicago IL
Bitch! Fake bitch, I’m sure. And how could AT&T let this fraudulent charge make its way to my account? Don’t ask them, it’s not their problem. Of course.
Check your phone bill! If this is what you see attached to the end of it, you’re getting hosed.
Un-fucking-believable
BSG is a local exchange carrier (“LEC”) clearinghouse, not a telephone company or telephone service provider. BSG is simply the billing clearinghouse, not the initiator of any charges. BSG forwards charges for services provided by various long distance, operator service, and digital content providers to local phone companies such as AT&T, Verizon and Qwest to be included consumers’ local telephone bills.
BSG’s customers (vendors NOT consumers) include long distance, operator service and enhanced service providers that offer valuable services to millions of consumers across the nation. As a result, BSG enables competition in the long-distance, operator service, and digital content markets by providing consumers with service provider alternatives at highly competitive rates.
It is important to note that before BSG accepts a service provider as a customer, BSG subjects the service provider and its officers and directors to a comprehensive due diligence process. This process includes extensive product review, background checks, and site visits.
If the service provider becomes a customer of BSG, then BSG monitors the number of end user inquiries each service provider receives each month. BSG may require the service provider to cease billing or terminate the service provider based on performance.
Here is the typical transaction flow for most services:
o Service provider markets its service to a consumer.
o Service provider must obtain consumer’s consent through third-party verification (“TPV”) recording or electronic letter of authorization (“LOA”).
o Service provider validates information provided in the consent to ensure charge is authorized.
o Service provider sends charge to BSG.
o BSG sends charge to appropriate phone company (because BSG holds the contract with the phone companies the charge will appear on ESBI, USBI, ZPDI, OAN, or HBS page of local telephone bill. This is often where confusion comes in. Consumers will note that the actual VENDOR from whom the charge is coming is typically printed right below ESBI’s information.)
o Phone company includes charge on appropriate consumer’s bill page.
o Consumer pays telephone bill.
o Phone company deducts amounts for fees, refunds, and reserves and then remits balance to BSG.
o BSG deducts amounts for fees, refunds, and reserves and then remits balance to service provider.
(Note: If the charge is for a long distance, collect call, or 1010XXX call, then the service provider will have a record of the call actually taking place on the network. The record of the call is called a “switch record.”)
While no company in any payment industry can ensure the elimination of fraud, BSG has done more to prevent fraud in the third-party billing industry than any other company.
Should a consumer find a charge on their bill that they did not authorize, we recommend they start at the source by first trying to remedy the issue with the service provider. If they don’t get relief, they can then contact BSG at:
http://www.billview.com
(800) 460-0756 for ZPDI
(800) 460-0556 for USBI
(800) 460-0078 for ESBI
(800) 604-4653 for HBS
(800) 944-9646 for ACI/OAN
One note is that – because charges billed through BSG do require valid authorization - in only rare instances a vendor charge is made in error. (Could be the consumer doesn’t recognize the charge because it is being billed through BSG; a spouse made a charge without notifying their partner, or the consumer simply forgot). That said, BSG is happy to help consumers clear up any questions they may have.
Due diligence my ass. ESBI is a ripoff of epic proportions, and the fact that BSG is still handling ESBI’s payments makes your company as much of a scam as ESBI is.
Have you even bothered to google ESBI? Here, let me do it for you:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&newwindow=1&safe=off&rlz=1C1GGLS_enUS310US311&q=esbi+phone+bill&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=
A LOT of people have been ripped off by ESBI and I can assure you that the charge was not initiated by me or my dog. There is nobody else in my household, and I had never heard the name “Ashley Hinton” before calling ESBI to find out how the charge got onto my phone bill.
And for the record, ESBI only refunded me $40 of the $80 they owe me.
Leslie, if you’re serious about doing damage control from this ESBI scam, here’s what you need to do:
1. Paypal me the $40 I’m still owed by ESBI
2. Drop ESBI as a client because they’re obviously scam artists
If you refund my $40 I will make a point of noting that here on this post.
You can use the Contact page to get in touch with me directly:
http://www.thisblogsucks.org/blog/contact/
Thanks,
Michael
I just realized, as I was loking through my bills that I have a Fukkin 14.95 charge on my phone bill from this ESBI place…who the hell is it? I didn’t sign up for this crap……No wonder my phone bill has went up a little…WTF?????????
I am calling Frontier tommorrow(formerly known as Verizon, and checking into this