FYI

I am one of those people who opens every bill to review all the charges-some companies count on most people not caring! Anyhoo-I opened my Verizon bill today and noticed that it was nearly $40.00 more than it should have been. Looking into it I saw a charge from "ILD teleservices"-it stated it was for a "interconnect Internet access monthly fee" and it gave me a 3rd party phone # to call with questions. So, I give them a call to find out what was going on-turns out that someone entered my name, address, phone # and email address into a online contest and it automatically signed me up for a voice mail service that is billed by a 3rd party to my phone bill! I asked what IP address was tracked from the entry (to make sure it was not actually one of my computers that signed me up-never know with kids!) and it was a different Ip address! So, basically ANYone who has your basic info can have services billed to YOUR phone bill and most of the time they can get away with it as long as you do not check for the charges. Some of the charges may be only $4 or $5 but others can be $30 or $40, depending on what all the person orders. The crazy thing is that Verizon actually allows them to do it! We have our phone/Internet/DVR (tv) through them-so they know that they already provide us with voice mail and the know what our IP address is-so why would they let someone order that service from an IP address that is not ours? I am so furious! At this point I have spent 2 & 1/2 hours dealing with this!

At any rate......I wanted to remind everyone to check ALL of your bills when they come in! You may be shocked at what you find!