Menu
Write a review
File a complaint
ComplaintsBoard
D
3:48 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

USBI Incorrect billing information

I was told by a representative from their company that many customers were switching to USBI away from Verizon long distance to save money. She told me that I would save money moving forward. My bills went from $59.49 to 67.24. She told me the initial bill would be a little more, but then I would notice a drop. I went back to Verizon and switched back after three months.
When I called USBI to request a possible refund, I was initially hung up on. The second call was with the same women who continued to be rude. I asked to speak with a manager who then put me on hold for three minutes. When I explained the reason for my call he said I was not mislead and that their service "could lead to a reduction in bills". I told him that was not what I was told and the women I initially spoke with told me that I would see a reduction and I gave it time. He repeated that it could happen and that he'd pass it onto billing, but I knew what I signed up for.

Moral of the story: do not sign up for anything they offer!

Read full review of USBI and 2 comments
Hide full review
2 comments
Add a comment
M
M
malin
US
Send a message
Dec 16, 2011 11:22 pm EST

Company is charging me for long distance services I never agreed to! This is the second month and still no credit. My next step is the BBB! Shut this company down!

C
C
Caralaret
US
Send a message
Jun 03, 2011 10:34 pm EDT

I noticed that USBI was charging me $39.90 a month to my AT &T bill for unauthorized long distance charges. I called and they said they would remove.

ComplaintsBoard
B
11:37 am EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

USBI Misleading telemarketers

I was contacted by a telemarketer from USBI "selling" free long distance service. She assured me that if I went with USBI that I would save money and receive unlimited free long distance. She ASSURED me that it would NOT affect my billing with CenturyLink (the phone provider in this area) and/or my "Core Bundle". When I received my next bill from my phone company, I was in total shock. Not only had USBI charged me, but their "services" had broken my Core Bundle package and my credit had been reversed, as well as being re-charged. We are talking more than $100.00. This is a lot of money for a small business that opened less than 1 year ago, and struggles during the winter months.
I would like to warn everyone about this scam! USBI----------don't do it! If it sounds too good to be true, then it is!

Read full review of USBI and 1 comment
Resolved

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

Hide full review
1 comment
Add a comment
C
C
C Goodger
Maple Grove, US
Send a message
Mar 03, 2015 12:31 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

The exact same situation has happened with our business as well, and there are a lot of phone calls to be made to resolve the issue.

ComplaintsBoard
L
10:45 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

USBI Long-distance phone service

We have had no long-distance phone service since Hurricane Sandy. Whenever I call USBI, the biller, they say that Dialaround is the company providing our service. They are located in New York and were hit by the hurricane. They did eliminate the service fee of $.99 at my request, since we are getting no service. We have had no communication from them as to when they expect to be back in business, which I think is a terrible way to run a business.

Read full review of USBI
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
M
7:50 am EDT

USBI USBI uses deceptive sales practices

USBI uses deceptive sales practices. I am wondering if anyone else is having a problem with them. They are a long distance phone carrier that call people out of the blue and not give them ALL information needed to make an logical decision. They prey on elderly people, I believe. So, who in their right mind would authorize a new long distance carrier THAT YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR, when you already HAVE a long distance phone company with unlimited calling, IF all the information needed was spelled out to you. Their phone call didn’t start off with sir, do you have a long distance phone provider? That wasn’t the question. They never told me it was going to cost extra. I dealt with an antagonistic person this morning, rude, and actually said why don’t you hang up then? I did, because she got me so hot, making me feel like an imbecile. Then a few minutes later another person called me and offered me a credit for $8.00. This is what I would call a bait and switch company. Am I the only person that was duped by this company? They ought to be investigated fully, and perhaps I wasn’t “on my game that day”, but still the needed information was NOT given to me. IF THEY ASKED IF ALREADY HAD A LONG DISTANCE CARRIER, I WOULD HAVE SAID YES, AND THAT WOULD BE THE END OF THE PHONE CALL, AND THE AGGRAVATION THEY PUT ME THROUGH. On top of that, this began in June 2012 and has finally ended as of 09/22/2012, I was away on vacation for most of June and July and they still billed me for calls that were made from two partial calls. All this time I was ignorant of the fact that I was being charged for these calls. It wasn’t until I checked my mail when I got home in late July, that I realized something was amiss. My phone company uses automatic draft, so I had no need to physically write a check for these bills.

Read full review of USBI
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
Z
7:10 am EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

USBI fraud

I notice that after calling At&t to make payment on my phone bill because I did not have my phone bill. At&t said that my phone bill was $43.00 over the amount I pay monthly. After talking with someone at At&t, I was told I had to look on my phone bill and call the number of USBI who put this charge on my bill. I never asked for this service . This is the second time this has happen. I want this to stop.

Read full review of USBI and 1 comment
Resolved

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

Hide full review
1 comment
Add a comment
P
P
plcllc
US
Send a message
Jul 13, 2009 7:41 pm EDT

I was contacted by a USBI representative who claimed to be AT&T and as a consequence of some fraudulent activity on behalf of USBI or National Access LD, my long distance calls from June 15th to June 29th were stolen from my intended provider, AT&T.

This fraud was conducted on all three of my phone lines for $33.63 for just a few days. My plan with AT&T was 10 a month unlimited calling, so these charges are not only completely unauthorized, but completely unacceptable. I never authorized any other company than AT&T to handle my long distance, and these people at USBI have the recorded conversation to prove that I insisted my billing stay within AT&T as I had done a great deal of work to get combined billing, including my wireless.

Of course, during third party verification, you aren't allowed to say a word except Yes or No, or they hang up on you.

I have reported these charges as fraud to AT&T and provided them with USBI's company and contact information so we can take appropriate legal action if necessary. I am VERY unhappy that a company could misrepresent itself to be AT&T and have the power to change my telephone arrangements. This action has caused me to receive a bill with early cancellation fees totaling over $400! I will pursue this fraud until I find a satisfactory resolution.

ComplaintsBoard
G
5:24 pm EST
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

USBI unauthorized charge (SCAM)

This company USBI apparently a Phillipine company which changes your long distance provider without your knowledge. Whatever federal company is in charge of telephone scam needs to rip this company a NEW ONE. The reason they are doing so well in the stock market is because they SCAM people through changing their provider WIYHOUT your knowledge. If anyone knows who to report this SCAM COMPANY to please do so. Beware of USBI!

Read full review of USBI
Resolved

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

Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
T
6:08 am EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

USBI 3 rd party companies billing to my at&t account

AT&T was allowing a 3rd party company to charge to my account an they did't batter on contacting me to verify for any of the changes, I mean come on I was paying less money with them watt makes them think that I want to pay a more money for the same product and wen I try to contact this other company they were screaming at me, whats up with that.

Read full review of USBI
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
K
2:45 pm EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

USBI Fraudulent Charges

I have a charge of $41.42 I never asked for this "service" and do not want it. I have no idea where this charge came from and I can promise you I will not pay it. It is time these scamming theives were turned over for prosecution. These useless people are ripping off working people and it is time it stops. ATT should not be allowing these theives to add charges to our bills without calling us to confirm we asked for these services.

Read full review of USBI and 1 comment
Resolved

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

Hide full review
1 comment
Add a comment
K
K
killemall07
Colorado Springs, US
Send a message
Feb 02, 2010 12:21 pm EST

I noticed this USBI company had all of a sudden been charging my Qwest phone bill. They claim that my (ex) wife signed up for it on the internet, but refused to answer an questions regarding what web site. They were quick to "cancel my account" and advised I will be billed one more time. I have tried to get a supervisor on the phone, but they are always in a meeting, or not in the office. (probably plotting their next scam) Strangely enough, I have gotten the same phone rep both times I've called. Hate to say it, but I'm glad I'm not the only one that has had to deal with these guys. They should be put in jail for this crap.

ComplaintsBoard
J
3:28 pm EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

USBI Cramming

BEWARE of a company called USBI & LTC. Attention to people who have a land line in their house! I was almost scammed.

So I have a land line in my house. Our service provider is verizon. We have the triple play that includes, phone, internet & Cable. Under our plan, we have unlimited local & long distance calling. The bill is under my boyfriends Dad's name. Someone called him a month ago saying they were a part of verizon, (their preferred billing department). They told him that he wasn't using all of his long distance minutes so they offered to give him a better deal on the bill.

The first thing wrong is that they have no way to tell how many minutes you use for long distance. Even Verizon cannot tell because we have unlimited calling.

So they told us we could save money on our bill. Who wouldn't want to save money? So my boyfriends dad asked if he will still have unlimited local & long distance calling. They assured him that he would. He was also under the impression that these people were from Verizon. So he agreed to the plan.

We got our phone bill today saying that we owe $396 for just our phone bill. Our bill for phone, internet & cable come to about $200 a month. I called Verizon and said that there was no way I was paying this bill. I got back onto the Verizon phone plan (which we thought we were already on). I had them put a freeze/hold on our account. So this way no company can do this to us ever again. Also a third party is now needed if we ever make changes to our plan.

Also by not paying the bill, it will cause Verizon to terminate your services. It shows up on your Verizon bill even though its another company.

I was then given the number to USBI. I called them and asked to speak to a manager. She basically told me that he knew that the company was not apart of Verizon. I said that how they worded things made him believe he was. She then try to give me a credit but trying to confuse me to stay with them at the same time. I told her flat out that I am not agreeing to anything she says because I am not sure what I am agreeing to. I told her flat out that I never wanted to leave Verizon in the first place. And also that I wanted all of my money refunded.

I told her that I would call the Better Business Bureau, the local news & maybe even the FCC. She then said that they will credit my account for almost all of the charges. The final charges came out to $466. I would only have to pay $46.91. I agreed to this so I could just get off the phone. But I later realized that i could have fought those charges as well.

I now have to wait 1 to 2 billing cycles for the credit to show up, (which USBI told me that it would only take 48 hours). Verizon informed me that this is allowed by the FCC. Companies like USBI have found a loop hole. Verizon (and I'm sure other phone companies) have to allow this because the FCC says so. I think that it is nothing but a scam. A lot of people are getting taken advantage of. I would call your phone provider to protect you from this happening. Please share this info with people you know.

Read full review of USBI
Resolved

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

Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
S
4:31 pm EST
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

USBI telephone Service Fraud

Telemarketers are BIG FRAUDS.
If their mouth is moving ... you can be sure they are lying.
I would suggest you NEVER TALK to telemarketers.

The telemarketing agent said he represented Qwest, my telephone service provider
and they needed to set up my account so all of the billing would come from the same place.

These are the companies that have represented themselves falsely.
ILD Teleservice INC, [protected] billed on behalf of
(2) CSP Telecom [protected]
USBI Long Distance [protected] billed on the behalf of
(4)LCD Telecommunications, INC. [protected]

I was slammed by ILD Teleservices in March of 2008. . The conversation was recorded for accuracy. In that recorded conversation, I remember stating three times, "Now this is Qwest and nothing will be changed to my Qwest services." I wrote down the jist of our conversation that day, with the date and agent's name. This helped when it came to the dispute.

That month, my long distance service was changed to ILD Teleservices, billed by Telecom, Inc. My Qwest long distance was changed even though it had a pick freeze with a special password. I called Telecom, ILD and Qwest, immediately and told them to cancel the long distance change to ILD. Telecom said I had to talk to ILD. ILD cancelled the service but said I would have to pay because of their recording with me changing my long distance. They played the recording-- it had been digitally changed-- all of the Qwest comments were erased.

That was March 28, 2008, for the next 12 months, Qwest and myself called ILD on a regular basis and they continued to charge me monthly. Finally, in Feb of 2009 it looked like it was cancelled and all the money had been refunded.

Unbelievably, on Feb 28, 2009, another telemarketer called identifying himself as Qwest to my husband and he ok’d it. I called Qwest immediately and they said not to worry because my long distance couldn't be changed without my special password. You know what happened, this time it was a company called LCD Telecommunications being billed through USBI. The first time charges showed up, I was being double billed for long distance from Qwest and LCD. Qwest helped me cancel LCD, but I received charges from March 09 to August 09.

THEN... somehow, the first SLAMMER, ILD billing for CSP Telecom got through Qwest's system and started to charge me in September of 09... so we started again. ILD said there had been a block on my phone line and that's why they hadn't billed me in 2009. They couldn't find the record of the three-- different-- times-- I had cancelled their service in 2008. The last bill I had Feb 2010 showed the final refund from the 2nd time around.

Are you confused, yet?
I want to say that Qwest has made everything right with me, but how can the government regulation allow this!
I hope this helps someone, sincerely, S.Bennett, Utah

Read full review of USBI
Resolved

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

Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
T
10:26 pm EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

USBI Did't authorize service

We recived our phone bill with an amount showing double of what our bill normally is each month. Looking at the details learned that another company had attached themself to our ATT phone. We did not authorize this change in service. We have been happy satisfied customers with AT&T for more then 20 years. We have not been able to reach USBI or Teleuno to reverse this charge. And continue to try to get a "person" or corp. office location to clear this up in person. Does anyone do anything in person today?
We have read many complaints dating back to 2008. Who was sleeping and did not catch this scam from USBI? AT&T wake up and smell the scram.

Read full review of USBI and 2 comments
Resolved

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

Hide full review
2 comments
Add a comment
B
B
B Brieger
Cypress, US
Send a message
Mar 17, 2011 3:35 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

[protected]
The same thing happened to my parents. On my parent's phone bill they are, "Comm. Telefonicas Latinas Corp". We have tried for over 3 months to get them off of their AT&T bill. We got a live person on the phone last month who refused to give us her name and ID # or the signed contract with my dad's name on it. My parents are on a fixed income and at witts end!
B. Brieger

S
S
Susan Hayslip
Waxahachie, US
Send a message
Nov 17, 2009 12:06 pm EST

The same thing happened to me in September 2008 but I did not notice until December after paying $59.85 to USBI. I have spent unlimited hours trying to get this resolved and everytime I get a credit from USBI, they simply assess a new charge. AT&T must be part of the scam because they were alerted in December 08 that I never authorized USBI to bill my account yet AT&T has allowed three new charges since then. The latest in August 09. I have had it and now plan to file suit. I have sent a 60-day deceptive trade practice letter to AT&T and USBI. Anyone interested in joining, please email danhayslip@sbcglobal.net.

ComplaintsBoard
B
8:22 pm EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

USBI unuthorized service

I, like many others, opened my Qwest bill to find new charges from a company I know nothing about for services I couldn'd decipher. I called and left a message for an explaination and recieved a call back the following morning. I was told this was for a long distance plan I had ordered online (No I didn't, I have unlimited on my home phone, and cell) she even read to me my e mail address. She cancelled the order and told me I wouldn't be credited for the amount. I was told I would be sent a copy of the email confirmation and have yet to see it. I had to call back to speak with a supervisor who told me I would have my memeory of ordering this jogged when I see the email. She then told me I had refused the email. I will call again tomorrow and speak to Tyler, her "supervisor".

I did contact my service provider and they will not be paying USBI and will stop further charges. How infuriating, these little scammers and thieves!

Read full review of USBI
Resolved

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

Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
S
7:09 am EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

USBI Unauthorized charges

USBI Has been charging me $15.22 on my phone bill listing it as Mainstreet Telephone, it looks like it would have something to do with the phone company. This charge goes back as far as March 2008, when calling the company the first thing they ask is would you like a refund. So they know clients are calling for wrong billing, over billing and charges that don't belong to us. They agreed to credit me for 2 months worth and then told me I would have to email them with my request for a complete refund. So I did, they emailed me back saying: Thank you for contacting our Customer Service Department. We have received your recent correspondence and will respond within 5 business days. Please note that our office is open from Monday through Friday. I will update when I hear back from them.

Read full review of USBI and 6 comments
Resolved

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

Hide full review
6 comments
Add a comment
Valerie
Valerie
US
Send a message
Oct 22, 2008 11:31 am EDT

I came home to find a phone bill with a charge from USBI. After three calls to them - in Manilla! - I was told my husband ordered it through the internet. They could provide me with no proof, not even an email address. Then thy told me I had to pay the charge or be tuned over to a collection agency! Of course, they'll issue me a credit. What kind of crap is that? The "Supervisor" could not provide me with corporate HQ info or names! This is fraud at it's finest - why does Verizon allow this? Where are the regulators? Where's the government?

G
G
Georgia McClenton
Clarksdale, US
Send a message
Jul 30, 2009 8:53 pm EDT

USBI charged unauthorized charges on my AT&T account. I noticed an increase in my phone bill and realized that I was charged for services that I did not consent to.

P
P
phone_user
US
Send a message
Aug 12, 2009 7:46 pm EDT

I did not know what this USBI charge was on my phone bill stating "billed on behalf of Startec, Inc." until I looked up all the people that complained about them usbi fraudulent charges. Those ### are scammers and are slamming people.

I already paid my July2009 phone bill but didnt have a chance to go thru & verify all the charges. Good thing I did and caught this extra charge on my at&t bill. I do not know how they are able to double charge me on my long distance when I already have at&t for my long distance plan.

I called up usbi and was able to talk to a live person, however they would not talk with me saying I couldnt verify the info on my account which is bunch of baloney ! I told them "Why are you charging me for long distance? I already have at&t long distance plan, you better take the charges off my account." They then transfer me to a different dept. out in space, placed on hold and thats the last time you'll talk to a live person.

I even called at&t asking them about these fraud charges. I told them you better credit my account. I'll see if anything happens in a month or two.

USBI and Startec, Inc need to be stopped. I am filing complaints with FTC, BBB, Consumer Affairs, etc. They are thieves !

Z
Z
zulema tamayo
San Diego, US
Send a message
Dec 17, 2009 1:23 pm EST

I called this company back on Nov 13, 2009 spoke with Nichole regarding these unauthorized charges in my telephone bill starting October 13, 2008. As per my phone conversation with Nichole I did not give my authorization for this service to be added/ billto my account. I have requested for these charges to be credited back to me for the past year that I've been billed for, but till this date I have not received a response from this company. I will provide my e-mail AGAIN to see if I get a response from the person who handles this type of issues. My e-mail address is lilly_202125@yahoo.com. After I have a response regarding my refunf these unauthorized charges I will go ahead and provide you with the address to where you should mail the check to.

I thankyou for your time and i'll be awaiting your response.

Zulema Tamayo

A
A
Angels Unite
US
Send a message
Mar 08, 2013 5:12 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Called to pay phonebill today throigh Centurylink, and was suprised to hear there were charges fom USBI of about S35.00 I asked Centurylink how this happened and told the rep I spoke with I did not athourize this. Rep told me I would have to call USBI directly, but from the conversation I had with the Rep from Centurylink sounds like Centurylink can athorize it, AS I SURE DID'NT AND THE REP SAID THEY WERE GIVING ME THE BEST DEAL, NOT! and NOT ATHORIZED noticed also ON this months bill NO REFERENCE TO THESE CHARGES UNTIL I CALLED AS I SAID TO PAY MY MONTHLY BILL. Total on paper less than 30.00 dollars. NOTHING IN REFERENCE TO USBI. ALSO NEVER SHOWED THIRD PARTY BILLING RESTRICTIONS BEFORE MAKES ME WONDER IF THEY ARE IN ON THIS SCAM?

L
L
larry s hall
Blythewood, US
Send a message
Jul 09, 2012 5:03 pm EDT

usbi is a fraud they charge more than your local co. tell them to cut it off they charge for 2 more months and the rate goes up again this is nothing but a rip off i would advise everyone to stay away from usbi its a scam

ComplaintsBoard
T
7:17 am EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

USBI Terrible experience

USBI / Cheap2dial crammed my Verizon phone bill. They added their 'Max Minutes Plan' to my phone bill without authorization.

I phoned their billing number 3 times. I told them they had crammed my bill. Each time, after they asked my phone number, they disconnected me! I filled an FCC 501 slamming report. I called them back and began my conversation with, 'I have filed an FCC 501 complaint that I would like to talk with you about.'

They did not disconnect me this time, and said that they will credit my bills in one to three billing cycles. They gave me a confirmation number.

Read full review of USBI and 2 comments
Resolved

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

Hide full review
2 comments
Add a comment
B
B
biff all
seattle, US
Send a message
Mar 12, 2009 5:18 pm EDT

I have had the exact same experience including being hung up on three times.
Bill Aal

K
K
Kit Rodenbough
Greensboro, US
Send a message
Mar 11, 2009 11:16 am EDT

Tony, this company is owned by a man Barry Rynearson, who has several other companies that are all operating internet scams. Check out all the complaints about Mineral Elements. Another of his scams. He must be stopped and I am doing everything in my power to let the local television, radio, papers, ADA, and others know. They refuse to refund your money.

ComplaintsBoard
J
6:17 am EST
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

USBI Scammers!

I'm pissed at USBI. It's a scam assisted by ATT. The phone company gets something for billing and sending the money to these orifices.

I think we should all file a small claim in every local court and have USBI lose when no one appears to give testimony.

I can't believe the so called oversight committee of the federal government allows these companies (ATT and USBI) to operate a scam on the people who pay their bills and try to be good citizens.

I did file a stop billing order with the phone company for all third party billing. We will see if it works.

Read full review of USBI and 1 comment
Resolved

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

Hide full review
1 comment
Add a comment
D
D
Depot Deb
Avoca, US
Send a message
Jun 07, 2010 12:02 pm EDT

My best friend got a call from USBI stating they were with Verizon & changed her service. She got phone bills in astronomical amts & finally called Verizon. Her last bill was over $400! She filed a complaint with Pennsylvania Utilities Commission on USBI. This has to STOP! Who's getting the kick backs for this? USBI misleads all the people they contact. What about senior citizens? How many have they scammed?

ComplaintsBoard
D
8:27 am EST
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

USBI Awful experience

On approximately January 15 I called AT&T to change the code for my long distance carrier as requested by Power Net Global. Today on February 20th I received a bill from USBI through AT&T that is charging me $1.71 per minute for every call I made between Januray 15th and February 5th. I did not authorize USBI, nor did I even know they existed. I have talked on the phone for over two hours with AT&T and Power Net Global. AT&T is saying that I have to contact USBI for whom they have no phone number, nor was there a phone number or address for them in the bill I received.

I contend that USBI who states on their web site that they are not a long distance carrier, but provide service to long distance carriers has hijacked my long distance account for the period between January 15 and February 5th before they released it to the proper code that Power Net Global asked me to have AT&T change it to.

USBI's phone number should be on the bill, but it isn't. The only way I have of even contacting them now is using a form on their web site which I do not feel comfortable giving them additional information.

Can someone help me obtain their phone number, or a way to fix this mess. The main problem is the time it takes. My bill was over $350.00 where it should have been under $20.00 had the proper codes been in place during the time duration described above.

I noticed that there are a number of complaints against this company. Is anything being done to stop them from doing this to others in the future? This is frustrating and time consuming! If they do this as a common practice shouldn't they be stopped or better yet put out of business?

Read full review of USBI
Resolved

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

Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
G
11:18 am EST
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

USBI Unauthorized billing

Just billed by Verizon for USBI for the amount of $21.35. Verizon said they can do nothing about it and to contact Usbi directly, but they do not answer the phone directly and instead have to leave a message-Absolutely unscrupulous I am not paying and may drop verizon for not investigating

Read full review of USBI and 3 comments
Resolved

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

Hide full review
3 comments
Add a comment
R
R
Riter
US
Send a message
May 11, 2010 11:50 am EDT

USBI is sending to me a telephone bill in behalf of United Telecom Inc even though Verizon should be my telephone company.

I never authorized United Telecom Inc to be my telephone company. I want all charges by USBI and United Telecom Inc to be cancelled and I want to know what is this deceiving story.

K
K
Kit Rodenbough
Greensboro, US
Send a message
Mar 11, 2009 11:20 am EDT

Gerald, this company and several others are owned by Barry Rynearson. He operates several small time companies, all running internet scams of some type or another. Check out his company Mineral Elements, and all those complaints. He must be stopped and I am doing everything in my power to let the Harrisburg Pa papers, tv, and radio know about him. I have reported him and his company to the BBB, and the FTC. Help and let's get this scam artist brought down!
kitrodenbough@yahoo.com

T
T
Tina
US
Send a message
Feb 02, 2009 10:10 pm EST

I've just discovered that we have been charged by USBI/Advantage Telecom on our Verizon bill for the past 5 months to the tune of a total of 92.72.

We have Verizon's Freedom Plan, Verizon is our long distance carrier.

We are supposed to be credited but will take 2 billing periods.

Since this is something that we did not order and did not authorize I blame Verizon as well. They should notify customers and get authorization before adding any 2nd party charges to the bill.

ComplaintsBoard
A
7:13 pm EST
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

USBI False Charges

Starting in December 2008, we have begun receiving charges on our AT&T local phone bill for USBI services. We are still trying to obtain information on how USBI obtained our personal information. We were told in December that we would get a refund for the December charge. That refund did not occur and we were then charged the same amount in January 2009. I have tried calling back a few more times but often get either a busy signal or the line just continues to ring.

Read full review of USBI
Resolved

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

Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
S
10:42 am EST
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

USBI Fraud and cheating

I don't carry long distance service on my house phone choosing to use my cell phone instead. The land line is merely a convenience for the computer or local business calls. In my December 2008 bill I was surprised to see a charge from Flat Rate Long Distance for Miscellaneous charges. I phoned the number provided by USBI for billing inquiries [protected] and was then automatically redirected to Flat Rate Long Distance [protected] where the line just rang and placed me on indefinite hold. I was then furious because I knew it was a scam because no one was answering the number provided by the company. I called my phone provider Embarq and was able to dispute the charge and pay only what was due of my actual bill. In reviewing my bills I then found the same charge occurred in November. I again phoned my local provider who filed another dispute and this time also placed a Third Party Billing Block on my line. I will also be filing a report with my State Attorney as suggested by Randy who was also scammed by the same company and a BBB report against USBI.

Read full review of USBI and 6 comments
Resolved

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

Hide full review
6 comments
Add a comment
E
E
Emanuel Hostetler 270 349 3235
Greensburg, US
Send a message
Aug 25, 2016 7:27 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I what was not keeping close enough tabs on my phone bill . and the first thing I knew I was paying for a long distance carrier. usbi . I had no use for them I'm already paying unlim ited minutes through windstream . but they say they called that number of mine and sumbody answered and said that it would be okay to add their service . so maybe they have me. maybe 1 of my guys answered the phone and said yeah sounds good . So is that all the security we have .
So my kids can pick up the phone and say yes sir . We want your service .
I'm a christian I'm not going to fight over a few 100 dollars .but don't get trapped in the same predicament I'm in .

A
A
Alek
US
Send a message
Jan 09, 2009 5:30 am EST

We received a phone call from a Chris Carpenter in October and I quote 'hi this is Chris Carpenter with AT&T and we have some great new plans to reduce your local and long distance bills.'

I explained that we already had a plan with AT&T that could not be changed or we would loose the discounts that we had as it is a packaged plan for small business accounts. He said that he understood but he wanted to ask me some questions that required yes and no answers. He then proceeded to ask me questions so fast that you could not even understand what he was saying. I stopped him several times with questions and he kept saying that he was with AT&T and that this would not change our bill. He Lied

After I hung up with this Chris I immediately tried to call him back at the number he had given me but of course no one would answer the line. I immediately called AT&T and had them put a block on our billing account in case they tried to switch anything. Well we received our bill today and we had been slammed for $115.77 and it was going to change our plan so that we would have lost all of our discounts.

The person at AT&T is being very helpful at getting this problem resolved and our company is going to file a complaint with the Government against USBI. I have already called USBI and told them that we are not paying this bill.

This little incident almost cost me my job today and so yes I am extremely upset. Companies like this need to be prosecuted for lying and closed down.

S
S
Sher Lyons
New Albany, US
Send a message
Jul 11, 2011 5:08 pm EDT

I had the same experience at work. After many calls and lies, I am unaware of any recourse. However, you can contact your primary carrier and have an outside carrier block put on your phone as well as pic order requiring verbal authorization from you with your primary carrier for ANY changes made to your account before they are inacted.
Sorry to hear of your trouble - you are not the only one. I just wish there was a way to make these companies accountable.

K
K
kipnichelle
Villa Rica, US
Send a message
Oct 13, 2010 7:37 am EDT

I'm the same here I notice my statement USBI with the phone number listed. I contacted AT&T ask the customer service what is this long distance charge? I do not have long distance with my landline I perfer my long distance with my cell phone. What's surprising the customer service rep could not explain this, which at this point I am anger with USBI and AT&T, I did not or have not authorize this bogus company to charge this to my account...

Something has to STOP! I'm reporting this company to the Better Business Bureau asap!

G
G
glaziers_gal
US
Send a message
Mar 24, 2010 9:24 pm EDT

OMG, just had the same thing happen to me. I am paying 17.82 per month for at least 4 month and ATT says they dont know what company USBI is (how can it be on their bill and they not know what that is) and that I need to check my monthly statement (and they are not responsible for my phone bill being hijacked) WHAT?

L
L
Lee Monnet
Richmond, US
Send a message
Aug 20, 2009 3:49 pm EDT

I am furious because I am just another victim of this scam.

On June 25, 2009, someone from SILV Communication called and said she was from AT&T. She said they had a better plan than what I was having with AT&T (she knew exactly what I was paying under the AT&T plan for local and long distance). I said since she's with AT&T why couldn't they just go ahead to make adjustment to my existing plan; she said it was the procedure they had to take...

During the conversation, I repeatedly asked her if this was some kind of switch-of-account scam, she assured me "no; it is the same company (At&T)" . When I asked for her telephone she gave me [protected]. As soon as I hang up with her, I called that number: it was an At&T number.

Yesterday, I received my AT&T bill and it included one separate bill from USBI (billing on behalf of SILV Communication). Not only was I billed by SILV Communication, I had to pay an "early termination fee" of $87.67 and $95.00 for long distance (it was $10.00 flat before) from AT&T.

Today, I called AT&T and talked two customer service representatives for over two hours. They were very helpful to get things straightened out. But I have to watch for another one or two billing cycles to see if USBI/SILV has in fact taken my number out of their list.

I also checked the BBB ratings of USBI and SILV Communication. Both have "F" the lowest.

Be careful! There are thieves out there!

ComplaintsBoard
D
7:57 am EST
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

USBI Scam charges

I received my telephone bill on Saturday, 01/10/2009, but due to my busy schedule was not able to go thru my mail until Sunday night and when going over my telephone bill I saw there was an increase on my bill from previous month and saw USBI charges for cheap2dial telephone, llc., for mas minutes ld plan monthly fee and I have unlimited local and long distance with ATT.

I called the total free number listed on the invoice for this company and received a message: 'I had called after hours or the call volume was high' but the message did not give the hours of operation. So, I decided to look up the company on the internet and saw it was a fraud. My husband and I decided to wait to call ATT in the morning and let them know charges for this company will not be paid because it was not authorized but in the meantime will be checking my previous bills to make sure no additional charges are there as well.

Read full review of USBI and 6 comments
Resolved

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

Hide full review
6 comments
Add a comment
Q
Q
Quero
Brighton, US
Send a message
Feb 18, 2010 4:19 pm EST

I just found out that USBI has been charging me since November 2009. Somehow my local provider, Qwest, turned off my LD option through them and USBI picked it up. when I called USBI, they claimed that my wife gave them authorization and had a recording of her voice. I said prove it. So far they have not called me back. I complained to Qwest and they have told me that I have to take my problem up with USBI, and if I did not get any headway with them to call Qwest back.

N
N
nancy fazl
US
Send a message
Jan 12, 2010 3:59 pm EST

i had the same problem i was with at&t and usbi charged me $35.00 for a free local call i called them several times once in a conference call with at&t rep on the other line confirming that this is a free local zone. They said they will investigate but never refunded my money, called them several times never any refund
for a call that was not even long distance.

R
R
ROBERTITO
US
Send a message
Jun 23, 2009 2:25 pm EDT

I LOVE FIGHTING FOR WHAT I KNOW IS RIGHT, ROBERTO

R
R
ROBERTITO
US
Send a message
Jun 23, 2009 2:24 pm EDT

I ALSO HAD THE SAME PROBLEM, I'M MILITARY AND DON'T HAVE TIME TO BE CHECKING MY BILLS WITH DETAILS. SO I HAVE SO TIME NOW AND THIS COMPANY ON THE CHARGES, CHARGE ME 5.99 AND 6.40 WITH TAXES. SO I CALLED THE NUMBER FOR USBI [protected], I SPOKE TO SOMEONE NAMED JOSE. I STARTED EXPLAINING TO HIM, IF HE COULD TELL ME SINCE WHEN THEY HAVE BEEN CHARGING ME AND HE SAID, SINCE JUNE 2008. I FLIPPED AND ASKED TO TALK TO HIS SUPERVISOR AND HE HANGED UP ON ME, SO I CALLED BACK AND TOLD HIM, IF I DON'T SPEAK TO A SUPERVISOR, I HAVE OTHER 27 LINES I CALL HIM FROM, AND ASK HIM, HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU GET PER PHONE CALL? WELL I ARGUED WITH HIM, WITH THE SUPERVISOR AND HE WANTED ME TO PAY THE TAXES ON IT, I FLIPPED AGAIN, UNTIL HE GAVE ME THE CHARGES BACK. I CALLED BACK AGAIN AND THEY GAVE ME THE NUMBER FOR TELE UNO [protected] AND I PUT THEM IN THEIR PLACE. FINALLY I'M GOING TO GET 89.60 CREDIT BACK TO MY ACCOUNT.

I LOVE FIGHTING FOR WHAT I KNOW IS RIGHT, ROBERTO

G
G
goldenage
Bell, US
Send a message
May 15, 2009 3:18 pm EDT

I have also recently been the victim of a scam involving a company called Tele circuit/USBI. My phone company is AT&T and handle all my telephone communications needs with AT and T. Somehow, Tele Circuit hijacked my phone service so to speak, and is charging me for calls that I would have to pay any per minute charge for with my AT and T calling plans. To make matters worse, when I contacted At&T the representative was kind enough to take the thrid party charges off my AT and T bill. However, I was forced to pay AT and T the one time activation fees in order to reactivate my calling plans. This is obviously unfair but I agreed, hope that would be the end of it. This company, Tele Circuit, essensually uses AT and T as its "collection arm" knowing full well that If I refused to pay Telecurcuit, that AT and T will consider me to be delinquent with them as well. This is a very sneaky way to back somebody into a corner in order to force them to pay charges to a company that I NEVER signed up with in the first place. Also this crooked company knows that if one does not pay them, that one's credit will be affected and this is what they seem to rely on in order to get people to pay. I'm unsure of how they were able to switch me over to their company without my permission in the first place. This month it happened again and im afraid they are going to keep doing it. My phone company, AT and T offers no protection to it's customers from this kind of questionable business practice on the part of third party companies. It has been suggested that AT and T is in on the scam and though I did not want to believe that, it seems to be that that is the case. After all, AT and T bills on their behalf, does not provide its customers protection against third party companies switching their customers services to this crooked Tele Circuit company, and worse of all AT and T charges customers activation fees for restoring the plans they had before they were fraudulently switched over from AT and T to Tele circuit. At and T makes more money everytime a customer like myself has to re-instate my calling plans. That is a fact. The right thing for AT and T to do would be to re-instate your plans without any charge. I hope they come to realize that by allowing crooked third party companies to bill through them, they are making themselves look bad and untrustworthy for the AT and T name appears on the same bill as the Telecircuit charges. I hope that At and T gets it's act together before such a well known and traditonally reliable company loses face.

K
K
Kit Rodenbough
Greensboro, US
Send a message
Mar 11, 2009 11:21 am EDT

Don, this company and several others are owned by Barry Rynearson. He operates several small time companies, all running internet scams of some type or another. Check out his company Mineral Elements, and all those complaints. He must be stopped and I am doing everything in my power to let the Harrisburg Pa papers, tv, and radio know about him. I have reported him and his company to the BBB, and the FTC. Help and let's get this scam artist brought down!
kitrodenbough@yahoo.com

Giving a Voice to Consumers

We support genuine feedback

At ComplaintsBoard, we know how real consumer issues matter. Our platform is a special place for honest opinions, where people share their reviews openly and honestly, whether good or bad.

We are committed to authenticity

Our team checks each complaint or review thoroughly to confirm that each one comes from a real customer experience, keeping our platform trustworthy.

We prefer proof

We're totally cool with complaints, as long as you've got some evidence to back it up. Whether it's a photo, a detailed story, or documents, providing evidence makes your complaint more believable and helps others make smart choices.

We’re all about conversations

ComplaintsBoard is more than just a place to share complaints; it's a community where we talk things out fairly. We welcome reviews that not only point out problems but also mention any positive experiences, giving a balanced view.

We are open to everyone

We're dedicated to providing a fair and unbiased platform for all complaints. Every complaint is important to us, no matter what it's about, ensuring your concerns are heard and respected.