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The good, the bad, and the ugly - discover what customers are saying about International Satellite Communications

Welcome to our customer reviews and complaints page for International Satellite Communications. We understand that making informed decisions about where to invest your time and money can be challenging, which is why we've created this platform for our community to share their honest feedback about their experiences with International Satellite Communications.

On this page, you'll find a comprehensive collection of reviews and complaints from real customers who have used International Satellite Communications's products or services. Our reviews are authentic and unbiased, providing you with a complete picture of the company, its products or services, and their customer service.

Whether you're considering doing business with International Satellite Communications, or you've already had an experience with them, our community's reviews and complaints will give you a valuable perspective on what to expect. Our goal is to help you make informed decisions about where to invest your time and money, and we hope that our platform will be a valuable resource for you.

Please feel free to browse our reviews and complaints and share your own experience with International Satellite Communications. Your feedback is an important part of our community and will help others make informed decisions.

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10:30 pm EDT
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I PHONED MY HUSBAND FROM COSTA RICA AND THE FIRST CALL HAD NO CONNECTION. THE SECOND CALL WAS BRIEF AND DID NOT EVEN LAST 3 MINUTES. WHEN I RETURNED FROM MY TRIP I FIND 2 CHARGES OF $41.92. WHEN I CALLED THE 800 NUMBER THAT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CHARGES. I WAS GREETED BY A RUDE INDIVIDUAL WHO CALLED HIMSELF STEVE. HE EXPLAINED TO ME AS IF I WAS A 5 YEAR...

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8:36 pm EDT
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International Satellite Communications Unauthorized charges/exorbant charges

For all of you interested in the address of this company, it is:

511 E. San Ysidro Blvd.
Suite 1770
San Ysidro, CA 92173.

They are scam artists aand should be investigated by the better business bureau and the FBI for fraud and illegal/unauthorized charges to credit cards of pay-phone users.

They pick up your bill from the local companies that own your pay phones and charge you an exorbant fee on your credit card for making the call.

Their customer service claims that they are a collect call processing company, yet no operator comes online to help you with the collect call. No warning, notice, or labels are provided on any of these phones that highlight the charges associated with making a phone call. Meanwhile, they will charge you credit card with an outrageous amount ($46 for a 3 minutes) just for using the pay phone.

Their dispute office personel are well trained to act indifferent to any claims. The only way to deal with these scam artists is to have a federal agency investigate their illegal practices.

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Investigative guy
Investigative guy
san diego, US
Sep 09, 2010 1:57 pm EDT

The BBG/ Faircall/ International Satellite Communications scam must be stopped
John Mattes here at Investigativeguy.com .We are talking to consumers around the globe and asking for details of how they got scammed by BBG./ International SatelliteCommunications / faircall ... so we can take action. The scam has gone on for at least 5 years at hotels and pay phones all over the world.If enough consumers stand up we can end the scam .Write giving us details of how they scammed you. Send to investigativeguy@gmail.com
See all our scam busting stories at http://www.investigativeguy.com

Thank you in advance
I-guy

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4:25 pm EDT
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International Satellite Communications Unauthorized Charges

I was travelling and needed to call my daughter to say good night each night, but didn't want the calls on my hotel bill as I was traveling for work. The hotel posted long distance charges in the in room directory, but the phone showed an option to place the call using your credit card which is what I did...not knowing the charges would differ. I made a total of 13 calls for a total of 36 minutes and my credit card was billed $384 dollars! That was more than my food for the 2 weeks I was gone.

I disputed the charges with the company, (International Satellite Communications), and after talking with 3 people was able to get the bill reduced by $170...I'm still not happy and intend to ask for rebate through the hotel for not posting charges. The company's reps must be very use to these complaints as when I spoke with my credit card company I was told that they deal with this company all the time and have difficutly disputing them as they are set up to protect themselves. Obviously their intent is ripping people off.

DON'T MAKE CALLS USING A LONG DISTANCE COMPANY! I was out of the country and had just purchased a new phone -- which I had forgotten to set-up for international travel before I left...If you're ever in this situtation call from the hotel direct!

This company is a rip-off!

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Terrie Parsons
, US
Jan 28, 2016 6:16 am EST

Same thing happened to me. I made 2 very short calls he first one i just hung up before the call was even answered, as i had to attend to my children. The second call was for around 5 mins. the bill was around $91. Totally outrageous and i told them most expensive calls i have ever made. I told them i have called international from hotels before and never this rate. He was quick to offer back a refund which was $37. I wanted an address and he would not give. He said i would have to call when the supervisors were in. Saying i just don't understand about international calling companies. He said i could of spoke to the operator to find out the rtes. I told him i expected it to be expensive but not this expensive.

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plissskin
Blythew, US
Dec 17, 2010 1:01 pm EST

My experience with this company came when my son, a Navy Petty Officer recently deployed to El Salvador, needed to make a call home. His cell phone was turned in while on deployment since it would not work from El Salvador, so he had no choice but to use a pay phone. He called collect and we, assuming the rates would be a little higher for international call, accepted the call. When I got my bill the 10 minute phone call cost $93.77. Outrageous! Didn't expect $9.00 a minute. The company used ILD Teleservices to do their billing, as it turns out these guys are a little shady too.

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Guillaume Morin
, CA
May 20, 2010 8:52 am EDT

Same thing happenned to me. Called from Mexico to Canada. Got charge 4 times 57$. They refeunded one. They didn't want to tell me the company address saying they would'nt not refund if they would tell me the address... Like it was a company politic or some reaason like that. When i asked the guy if the company address was the one stated up there he said he could'nt confirm but he looked surprised...

Thieves...

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10:22 am EDT
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International Satellite Communications Billed telephone calls without being connected

I placed 2 telephone calls to my friend when I arrived in Ireland. Both times the phone rang, no answer. I was charged $19.85 for one call and $19.80 for the second. When I contacted the company they insisted I left a voice mail. I explained I never reached the party, they offered to reimburse me $15.85 for both calls. I insisted on an investigation that will take approximately 4-6 weeks. I told them I wanted the investigation. This company is out of control.

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Investigative guy
Investigative guy
san diego, US
Sep 09, 2010 2:02 pm EDT

The BBG/ Faircall/ International Satellite Communications scam must be stopped
John Mattes here at Investigativeguy.com .We are talking to consumers around the globe and asking for details of how they got scammed by BBG./ International SatelliteCommunications / faircall ... so we can take action. The scam has gone on for at least 5 years at hotels and pay phones all over the world.If enough consumers stand up we can end the scam .Write giving us details of how they scammed you. Send to investigativeguy@gmail.com
See all our scam busting stories at http://www.investigativeguy.com

Thank you in advance
I-guy

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pdxcyn
Portland, US
Jun 28, 2010 11:09 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

We received a charge from this company on our regular phone bill for a collect call from Cuba that was supposedly 5 minutes long for $40.50! However we never even accepted a collect call from Cuba. Calling International Satellite got us nowhere, they refused to do any investigation or offer us any refund.

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JML164
Bastrop, US
Jan 07, 2010 8:22 am EST

What was the outcome of the investigation. I am in the same situation with this company. Since they do not provide any ticket # or investigation # I am doubtful that they actually do an investigation.

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4:21 pm EDT
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International Satellite Communications Local phone call placed at phone booth on Les Champs Elysee in Paris

I placed two phone calls on April 4, 2009 in Paris, France -- both calls were made in Paris to a local Paris phone number for a few minutes each time. Over one week later, $101.57 was charged to my credit card for these two calls (for call #1 I was charged $63.59 and for call #2 $37.98). Neither the connection fee or fee per minute was listed on the advertisement posted in the phone booth and I was shocked to find this outrageous fee charged to my credit card. When I called customer service, they told me that there is a range of "fees per minute" and that it depends on the call (they were not able to specifically tell me how much one would be charged per minute when making a local call) and that the connection fee for each call was $15. This is false advertisement, a blatant withholding of information, and a violent attack against consumers worldwide. People should be warned of this corporation and International Satellite Communications should be publically labeled as the deceitful scam artist that it is.

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Investigative guy
Investigative guy
san diego, US
Sep 09, 2010 2:03 pm EDT

The BBG/ Faircall/ International Satellite Communications scam must be stopped
John Mattes here at Investigativeguy.com .We are talking to consumers around the globe and asking for details of how they got scammed by BBG./ International SatelliteCommunications / faircall ... so we can take action. The scam has gone on for at least 5 years at hotels and pay phones all over the world.If enough consumers stand up we can end the scam .Write giving us details of how they scammed you. Send to investigativeguy@gmail.com
See all our scam busting stories at http://www.investigativeguy.com

Thank you in advance
I-guy

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Thorntongal
Thornton, US
Mar 13, 2010 11:25 am EST

I had the same thing happen to me in Thornton, Colorado. I was charged $14.00 for a 3 min phone call. No fees are posted on the phone. I am currently working on getting this compnay shut down!

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9:34 am EST
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International Satellite Communications Unauthorized billing

Last weekend I lost my cell phone at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) and needed to use a payphone to make 4 phone calls. I swiped my credit card in one of the available payphones by my departing gate. While I knew that it would be more expensive than using change, how expensive it turned out to be was utterly ridiculous.

The first two calls I made were to my lost cell phone, a local call that went directly to voicemail. For each of these calls I was charged roughly $9. I made two subsequent calls, one to Orange County and one to San Francisco. Both lasted roughly 5-8 minutes and cost me $25 a piece.

When I saw that I had been charged $70 for four short phone calls, I called the number listed on my billing statement. The voice that picked up on the other end didn't state a company name, but instead just said a name (Brian Cervantes). I inquired about the phone calls and gave the voice my credit card number. After briefly putting me on hold, the voice returned and let me know that I would be refunded $20 as 'I didn't know about the rates'. Brian Cervantes then let me know that while the rates weren't listed, I could have called the operator and inquired about the rates before making the call. I inquired about the company's name, and Brian responded .

After the blatant suspiciousness of my exchange, I decided to look more into the company and found almost nothing online (aside from complaints). I called them back and demanded that they give me their mailing address (earlier they let me know they were based in LA). Brian let me know that because we had agreed on the $20 reimbursement he didn't have to give me the mailing address. I countered that I had never agreed to anything and that if they were going to bill me even $1 they were obligated to provide me with a mailing address. Again he declined, and I let him know I would call back within a couple days after looking into the situation more.

If anyone knows anything about this company please let me know. An address, a parent company, etc? While they ended up ripping me off for only $45, it's the principal.

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Eudoxia Mavrogiannis
Brooklyn, US
Dec 07, 2010 5:49 pm EST

My name is Eudoxia Roufakis. I made two phone calls which I wasn't able to get through when I was in Sandal Grande Antigua Resort. They charged me $17.53 for the first time and $17.50 on 10/7/2010 by my credit card, Chase. Please, don't use the phones to call home from the Antigua Resort in the Sandals Resort. I called them and they are rude and arrogant. They wasted my time on how to they were justify to charge me.

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pramod_255
Milpitas, US
Oct 26, 2009 8:46 pm EDT

Two one minute call from San Salvador to San Francisco cost me $ 41.91 each!

This was from a pay Phone acecepting credit cards on the airport. Talking to them didn't help because they said I had the option of not making the phone call!

The rates were not advertized anywhere, nor the fact that it is a satellite phone.

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airlineemployee
Grapevine, US
Aug 01, 2009 11:36 am EDT

I recently make a credit card call from a Caribbean island back to the U.S. I learned later than these calls are handled by a third-rate company named International Satellite Communications, which charges exorbitant fees for their calls. A call that lasted less than one minute cost me almost $50. These guys are a bunch of crooks. I would strongly recommend saving yourself lots of money by using a pre-paid phone card instead.

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Grumpy
,
Nov 29, 2008 4:39 pm EST

They charged $75.00 CAN for a call that lasted a few minutes from Frankfurt airport to Calgary Canada. It's obscene, it's gouging and credit card companies are participating through facillitating these charges.

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december12
Mukwonago, US
Dec 08, 2010 8:02 pm EST

$41.91 for a 30 sec phone call!? No information, no guidance, no warning, etc. Having traveled internationally for many years, I understand that a call using your credit card is going to be higher, but this is "extra special". Action will be taken.

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ManuelSD
, US
May 11, 2011 10:16 pm EDT

The owner works in Mexico and lives here in San Diego. His parents are from Israel and is a Billionare to say the lease. Sue this company and bring this person down. A lot of damage has been done already!
His sons run the business as well...Low life individuals for sure.

Investigative guy
Investigative guy
san diego, US
Nov 05, 2010 6:52 pm EDT

HI John Mattes here
We are talking to consumers about the BBG scam and hope to propose a way to take action. In the meantime enjoy the story we did on them . You can see it at http://www.investigativeguy.com
Please contact us at Investigativeguy@gmail.com.Tell us what happened to you so we can take action. Consumers have to stand up to this scam.

John Mattes

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monif
New Westminster, CA
Oct 29, 2010 6:35 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I think we should start a CLASS ACTION SUIT against this company.

It cost me more than $200.00 for five phone calls from pay phones at the Rome Airport! The charges were $40 - $42.00 each.

I called the number from the VISA bill and spoke first with Charlie.
When I asked him for the address he put me on hold, and I was finally just disconnected.

When I called again I got the aforementioned "Brian" who would NOT put me through to Charlie without my giving him my Visa card number again, which I refused to do.

This is UNCONSCIONABLE! I understand that VISA has been fielding hundreds of these calls and the company says they will credit you, and then they do nothing!

UNHEARD OF! Criminal Activity. Are there any lawyers out there willing to take on the challenge? I'm up for it.

Investigative guy
Investigative guy
san diego, US
Oct 29, 2010 12:41 am EDT

HI John Mattes here at Investigativeguy.com
We are doing stories on the scam and plan to take action.
Send us details of what happened to you to investigativeguy@gmail.com.
Meanwhile enjoy our first story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2o77z-ue_o

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Payphone Duped
, US
Oct 28, 2010 2:33 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Here we go again! I was at LAX and needed to call my mom in St Louis to let her know my flight would be delayed...I lost my cellphone. Nonetheless, I never even made the call - once I swiped my card they allowed me to KNOW the rates. Once I was told what the rates were...I refused the connection. I NEVER connected NOW there is a 19.98 charge on my credit card!

I called the number on my card and a gentleman insured me the charges would be removed in 5-7 business days! WHAT? Why do they get to hold my money in limbo? This cannot be legal, so I am contacting the FCC, FBI and trying the websites listed above. They cant keep doing this to people!

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