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CB Telemarketing Review of Spectrotel
Spectrotel

Spectrotel review: Fraud and scam 4

B
Author of the review
5:31 am EDT
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Spectrotel contacted me by phone and offered to beat whatever I was paying for my current phone service. I agreed to switch over to their company once we came to an agreement of how much I would pay for the service. They have a 3rd party Verification, and they repeat those prices, and then its over and you are done- you now have Spectrotel.

No Joke, 5 days later I received a bill for roughly double what I had signed up for. I called to see what this was all about, and explained I had the service only 5 days... Customer Service claims that they bill a month ahead of time, and this is what my bill will be. I told her I had agreed to a different price, and this was ridiculous.

Of course I get reansferred from person to person, because nobody can do anything for me. Finally, I said, go back and listen to the 3rd party verification, and you will hear for yourself. I spoke to the DIRECTOR in the Billing/Customer Service (her name is Ramanda Champion) - and she told me that the phone calls are not recorded, and she doesn't get paid to sort out that type of stuff. I tried to explain again what was going on, and she cut me off and hung up on me rudely.

I called back, and immediately asked if there was any type of contract on my account, or anything like that. The people in Customer Service told me there were no contracts, and I could cancel at any time. So I canceled the service right then and there. I told them I would pay a pro-rated amount for the 5 days of service, and thats it. They told me thats fine, and would send me the bill.

I got a bill the next month for the same amount as the month before, plus late charges. I called Spectrotel again, and spoke to customer service. They claimed that the account was closed, and I owed the amount on the bill, and there was no credit of any kind. So I asked to speak to a Supervisor... I talked to Toni Andreatolla. She and I came to an agreement for a Settlement Offer of $50. I had her fax me the Settlement Offer Letter, which I signed, and returned with my payment.

a month later I received a bill for $50 less than what my bill originally was, plus late fees. Aggravated as heck, I called Toni Andreatolla and asked her why I was still getting a bill when we settled last month. She couldn't answer that, so she transferred me to Ramanda Champion, who was as Rude as they come. She told me that I owed that money PLUS an $800 Early Termination Fee. I tried to explain to her that I had a settlement letter already in hand, and the account was supposed to be closed. It said right on the Letter that once I paid the Settlement of $50, they would consider the account closed, and no further action will be taken... blah blah blah.. She didn't want to hear it, and got really nasty with me and hung up. They would not answer my calls for the rest of the day, even when I blocked the number.

So the next day, first thing in the morning I called and asked to speak with Ramanda Champion, and the Customer Service people ask who you are, and get information from you before they will transfer you to anyone, and then it would go to her voicemail. I left numerous messages, and NONE were returned. I finally got her extension, and called her directly. Once she found out it was me again, she told me that she already explained to me that I owe that money, and I can either pay it or not, its up to me, but it would go to a collection agency if I didn't pay. I tried again to read her the settlement letter and she just dismissed me.

I called Toni Andreatolla on her direct line, and asked her why they were playing these games with me... She explained that this happens all the time, and theres nothing she can do, and shes just a temp. I was at wits end, and I told her that I was gonna call her and Ramanda all day everyday- every chance that I have if they dont honor the Settlement letter. She said that was fine, and that was that... This is when I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau...

Well after I filed my complaint, I called Spectrotel everyday, numerous times per day. Called both Toni and Ramanda, and pulled every trick in the book to get them on the line, and they would just say the same thing OVER and OVER... and I would just call over and over ### about the whole matter, and trying to explain the legality of a settlement once its been paid. Well I finally got an email back from the BBB, and they said that the NJ office would be looking into my case. I called Toni and Ramanda a few more times, and then one day Ramanda said 'Your account is closed, yo dont owe anything, I will fax you that in writing this week'. I got that fax 3 days later, and that was it, it was over.

Im not sure if it was my persistent psychoticness of calling them over and over (for 3 weeks), or if it was the BBB- but either way, Im glad that its over. I truely hope that you don't fall for this company's scam, and just stay away from them altogether. Im sure the Customer Service will have a LAME rebuttal, or response like they do on the other reports, about how they thrive in customer Service and all that. Well don't believe them, they are full of it, you DO NOT want to get involved with this company, because once they get you, its VERY hard to get away...

Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

4 comments
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specrep
Omaha, US
Jun 17, 2010 10:57 am EDT

i work for spectrotel... and i have spectrotel phone service and i didnt see any of these issues so i dont know why u did

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Gary1972
Fairless Hills, US
Feb 27, 2010 3:19 pm EST

I had a call from them as well, now operating as "surftone". I did a search on them and they are scam artists. Click link below, its a small sample of what i found. Google some of the names in the link

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:sOz7wdmce5EJ:www.psc.state.wv.us/scripts/webdocket/ViewDocument.cfm%3FCaseActivityID%3D272840%26NotType%3D%27WebDocket%27+Jacob+J.+Dayan&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESguJxFNK4uBDptYc9zE1ae2tNdZQpeACaa4r4eyvu8BYwGP015Qajeo6kztSKeePv6B3krZXb30n7OWQXS-4zucD8U3DRDE9gcxTHzh1I8DRlKcmupJwF0AynZzmTtRNuDTGovm&sig=AHIEtbT5w7G3LQouzK-y_uQKiz1Qd5eFmg

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Nav1976
, US
Jan 08, 2010 7:05 pm EST

You are absolutely right. The prices quoted do not include taxes or surcharges. They may tell you they don't know how much the additional fees will be but the surcharges are set amounts each month and add a significant amount to your bill. Filing a complaint with the Board of Public Utilities in your state is the best route if you get no satisfaction from the company. They are very concerned with any complaints filed because they can be forced out of the state if there are too many legitimate complaints. It has happened in the past to this company and others.

Also, be very aware of any early termination fees for signing a contract, especially for business lines. They may give you a small token of a discount off of the line charge but if you leave them before the end of the term they will bill you the full monthly amount including surcharges for the remainder of the contract which could easily reach into the thousands.

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§enshi
Baltimore, US
Jul 16, 2009 12:43 pm EDT

The person who posted this warning could not be more right... They have given in explicit detail the inner workings of this corrupt company and their shady dealings. I unfortunately fell victim to this company's BS as well, and took the same precautions... So please, please, please if you're reading the main post and this comment take heed to the words, because spectrotel is a hell that NO ONE deserves...