Miscellaneous Forum

INTERNATIONAL CREDIT CARD TELEPHONE COMMUNICATIONS SCAM

website: http://infonaa.com/english.php#4

My wife and I stayed at the Parliament Hotel in Dublin for 3 days at the beginning of July. We booked this hotel via Expedia.ca as we have had great success in using Expedia for our yearly travels to Europe and the United Kingdom.

During our stay at the Parliament Hotel in Dublin Ireland, we placed 3 overseas calls to family in Canada. Our normal process for making overseas calls to Canada is to dial direct by keying in 0 001 area code and phone number. At the Parliament Hotel we came across a card next to the phone outlining their process for making overseas calls. Their process was to go directly to a credit card option which put us in touch with an operator who took our credit card information and put the call through.

After our stay in Dublin, we travelled to Belfast, Rome, Florence and London and in each location, we were able to follow our normal process of dialling direct. Upon our arrival back home, we were astounded to see the charges on our credit cards for the calls placed during our stay at the Parliament Hotel in Dublin. An example and comparison for you: 2 minute call to Canada using the process outlined at the Parliament Hotel cost US$39.91 and the same call for the same duration made in Belfast and in Italy cost US $4.50.

We have called our Credit Card Company to lodge a complaint and have been advised that this particular phone company being used by Hotels abroad is indeed atrocious and they are charging far too much money for a normal overseas call. Our credit card company advised us that they get dozens of calls daily about this company.

We have since done our own on line investigation about this company and the complaints and stories are very similar to ours.

We called the company directly to complain and was told they would be willing to knock off some of the charges PROVIDING we did not lodge an official complaint.

This must be happening thousands of times a day.

Amazing how this just keeps coming up. Clearly it's a problem.

Indeed.

But you know, there are no stories about this in Ireland, obviously because we all have mobile phones and/or cards for public call boxes and thus we don't need to use this service ourselves.

So, if new people see this thread when they're doing a search about this issue, let me say this...

It is all very well venting your rage here in the forum, it is perfectly understandable and no-one would blame you for doing that but BACK IT UP AND COMPLAIN TO ORGANISATIONS WHO CAN HELP. There are a number of suggestions posted here, give it a go. Merely letting off steam in an internet forum isn't going to change things - this thread has been going on for a year and the company hasn't changed.

At this stage, I would also recommend writing to the Irish PM, as the Parliament Hotel is in his constituency of Dublin Central.

It's outrageous... I never thought something like this could happen.

I'm a Portuguese guy working in Amsterdam since July and I've also been ripped-off at some Schiphol airport public payphones. I used the same service for some short calls to my parents and my girlfriend, just to let them know I had arrived safely, while I was waiting for my baggage on the belts.
The telephones are programmed with this service, just press the key labeled "special services" and then "credit card international", as seen on the lcd readout. But nowhere you see a hint that it's not a service billed by the Dutch phone company, KPN, the owner of the public phones there and throughout The Netherlands. There's no advertisement to the service, no sticker with a number, nothing but a direct link on the device! You only get an automated message and there's no menu, only a possibility to choose Japanese instead of English. And then you proceed with the card data, on to the final rip-off, all through an automatic operator.
I used this service in september, three short calls (~5 min), and did it again early this month, because I did not check my credit card bill in the mean time (yes, I know that was stupid). Only yesterday I realised, to my despair, the bills on account of INFONW.COM, to a total amount of €258.00 for 7 calls, 2 of which did not go through (I remember), even though I was billed €21.00 for each!

I feel so depressed and outraged at the same time... even worse is that KPN is coniving with them, providing every new public phone with the direct link, not only at Schiphol, I've seen them throughout Amsterdam. It's not just about an illegal sticker on a France Telecom public phone, as was the case in France with someone's case I read on the internet.

Of course I will file a complaint to my credit card company, but as someone said that's very unlikely to work.
I'll go to the KPN costumer support (do they really know their partners?), the dutch consumer association (Consumenten Bond) and the ConsumentenTV.
Fellow victims, any other suggestions? Any europeans out there? As I am european and these scammers are American, can I complaint to the FCC and FTC? I also wonder if any european entities, official or not, have any effect over those crooks in California. Perhaps I could try to hold KPN responsible...

sorry for such a long post, I really needed to let this out...

Today I saw there was a link to BBG on the Malahide Castle website. This is horrible, even Dublin Tourism is conniving with them. I could not find an email address for Dublin Tourism, so I sent an email to the Irish Tourist Board alerting them. Doubt they will pay any attention to it.

cheers

Israel

PS-their web sites are so strange and lousy, like I've never seen, especiallly www.bbgusa.com! Who could produce such horrible sites and still have connections with hotels and landline companies all over the world? Doesn't that make you wonder?

I am so glad I decided to look up this company prior to paying the bill I just received for a collect phone call from Dec. 2005. It is now April 2007 and I got a bill for a 7 min call from the airport in Madrid for $49.89 I called the company and they also told me if I wished to pay it they would give me a discount of $19.95. If I didn't want to pay, then write them a letter explaining why. Now I will do just that. What a rip off. Is this illegal?

I know what you mean. I live in the states, and was trying to place a call to my girlfriend via a credit card reading pay phone. I tried to call her twice before I got hold of her. So that was two unanswered calls, and one answered. When I just recently looked up my bank account online, I saw that they had tried to charge me 6 times. Five of them were for $10 and one of them for $20. I would advise anyone not to use credit reading pay phones, as I did. They are a scam and a half. Three of them were to different companies. And then the last three were to this BBG Company.

I'll probably get slapped for this but:

What do you expect us to do about it?

VT nor VT forum members are not in a position to help you all with this problem.

We sympathise, but there is *nothing* we can actually do about this.

Please, please contact the company directly and sort it out with them.

Orla

Costa Rica to Fort Myers Florida- Call for 15 minutes cost $103.94, and yet these guys are promoting the Global Warming Concert like they care. They are liars, and pigs, and they have smeared the cause they support.

Thanks to all who have shared their experiences about this scam. I was scammed this August (2007) while staying at Jury's Christchurch in Dublin. I was charged over $25 (twice) for approximately one minute phone calls to the US. I won't go in to details since other folks have done a good job of explaining the scam and the company behind it, in earlier posts. I am trying to find a solution, in addition to just getting the word out. I will follow-up with my credit card company, but don't expect thye will consider it their problem. I have sent complaing messages to the parent and sub companies, but don't expect relief as this is their business model (ripping off unexpecting consumers). I couldn't find any info on the US BBB site about these companies, but since the transactions took place in Ireland, I don't think the US BBB is going to have much leverage.

I think there are two place where I might get a response. One is the hotel (Jury's) where I was staying. They are allowing this vendor to operate their racket on the Jury's premises. I sent an e-mail to Jury's complaining about this racket and advised them I will no longer use Jury's until they confirm for me they have fixed this problem.

Secondly, since I was snared by this racket in Ireland, I believe the Irish tourist authorities have some responsibilty and authority to correct the situation. I have sent a message to the Irish Tourist Board, and to an Irish Consumer Protection organization. Hopefully they will put some pressure on Jury's and the offending company. Tourism is a big part of the Irish economy and they don't want to have tourists leaving Ireland feeling ripped off.

Thanks again to the folks who took the time to post and I hope this company's ripoff business model is exposed.

Well done.You've done a lot to flag up this scam.I hope the various authorities take note and act to stop it.

I think the fact this thread gets periodic posts and even gets found, is good to help keep people on their toes.

Absolutely.

Yeah, I'm amazed at how often it pops up.

Just got scammed by the same bunch. Checked out the website at 3w.bbgusa.com. If you look at their client list you will see:
Sandals
Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts
The Ritz Carlton
Sol Melia
Holiday Inn
Starwood
Marriott
Sheraton Four Points
Royal Resorts
Club Med
Samsung
Panasonic
Tyco
Etc.Etc.

Keeping in mind that these hotels get a split off the scam I would suggest writing to these companies and advising them you will not stay with them or purchase from them if they continue their relationship with BBG or one of its aliases

I was interested to find this site and these postings when I was searching for info BBG International Calling. We fell for this just before Christmas whilst staying at a Resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
I was ill and unable to find a plug converter on the Resort and had we were going to use the Hotel phone service until we saw a card in the room which said we would save on the Hotel Phone Charges by using the direct dial number with a credit card. We made 12 calls of which only 4 were connected to speak. Each call cost a minimu of 40Dollars and the ones I actually spoke on cost 50-90dollars. Therefore the 4 calls cost us $660. We made 3 calls through the Hotel switchboard and these, although expensive, at $70, were about 25% of these so called 'cheaper' calls. I am sending details by email to BBG, The SANDOS Group of Hotels, American Express, Capital One and the Calafornia Fair Trading Office.
So, I see that this thread goes back to 2005 and its still going on big time. Why do the Credit Card companies allow these 'scams' to have the backing/endorsement of their facilties, thereby letting us believe they are 'trustworthy' businesses?
We will post here any progress we make

Hi, These charges seem crazy but I can't believe you all happily hand over your credit card details to this crowd without knowing what you are going to be charged.
You can't just assume the charges are going to be fair because if they are not listed then there's a good chance its going to cost you more than you think.

It's not "handing over your credit card" it's using a telephone that you think is a normal payphone that has no explicit details about the call charges - even before you call. this should be banned from national airports where people will obviously use payphones if they can't use their normal mobile phones for quick calls etc.

I was charged about €68 in total for three very short minute long calls and just called them and they said they will refund it. call them and get your money back!!!

I guess it was our turn to get scammed! We stayed at a Hotel in Costa Rica, and the phone actually had a beautiful sticker on it detailing information for calling internationally through the same company. We called the US, and actually asked the company what is the charge x minute. They answered ONE DOLLAR. We called the US and left a message on a voice mail, the entire call couldn't have lasted more than 2 minutes (probably only 1). We were charged $39.91 just as you were. I called the company, and they said there are no supervisors to speak to, and they would not refund and added that is their minimum charge per call. Did you receive a lot of e-mails about this? I would like to forward these stories to the Better Business Bureau in the US, as well as other agencies responsible for monitoring these types of scams. Thanks for posting your story.

Yeah- this one is from 2005!

I just received my phone bill from AT&T with a charge from these same people. I called them and received credit of $15.00 on a $40.00 bill for a FIVE MINUTE call from our son who was returning from Iraq. He called from Germany. We've lived in Germany and a five minute call from there would normally be $5.00 not $40.00. The fact that they don't disclose their charges up front is a disgrace. Also, when I called to get an address to sent a letter the person on the other end (i.e. "Customer Service") refused to give me the address. What kind of business refuses to give their address out to customers?
The big slap in the face is that our son is on his fourth overseas deployment, risking his life to preserve freedoms at home. Freedoms that allow scum like this to take advantage of the very people who are protecting their freedoms.

had around 160 US$ for 4 unanswered calls - when complained to my credit card company they checked and in 2 days they cancelled this charge (they asked for call specifiation and were informed they won't get any reply)

<<<What kind of business refuses to give their address out to customers? >>>
The sort that doesn't want anyone going round there and shouting at them!!
Wonder how many posters from the beginning of this thread (2005) are still with us on VT? Not many familiar names left?

i'm here! and it cracks me up that this post pops up every now and again. but you are right, always someone leaving. but, on the other hand, always someone joining...

<<<i'm here! and it cracks me up that this post pops up every now and again.>>
Me, too-Happy 3rd.Anniversary:-)

Yeah, I can't believe this old post keeps popping up on my console! I think people find it on the internet and join to reply.

We have been a victim of the same company.And there are a lot more all over the world.I called from Bulgaria to the US.Seems like this company is being used at airports all over the world.Prague,Frankfurt,London....and many more.We filed a complaint with bbb.org- in San Diego.I encourage everyone to do so. If there are lawyers out there that would love to sue this company, I will gladly make it my personal goal see those people loose a few milions.You would NOT BELIEVE how many people are being scammed!

A lot of people seem to think that they can prevent themselves from such thing happening to them.There is NO way to know what company are you using when you call.I used a REGULAR phone at the airport.Same kind of phone that is all around town and I have used millions of times. There is no way the authorities will do anything if they don't know about it.They do not read travel blogs! I ask you not to say Oh,what can you do and just pay.Write to every organization that protects consumer rights, bbb.org,fcc.org-federal Communications Committee and even the news!You cannot do anything through your credit card company.They require paperwork that there is no way you can provide

While I was in London on May 12 I made an international phone call using a phone that was in my hostel. The first phone call lasted less than 30 seconds because I dialed the incorrect number and hung up. The second phone call was about 10 minutes. When I returned to the states I checked my credit card bill to find that they charged $119.70. It was $41.91 for the first phone call and $76.84. When I called the company (International Satellite Communications) they couldn't explain to me exactly how the charges work but when I threaten them with complaints to the BBB, FTC, and FCC they told me they could cut the charges by 50%. I think this is still a ridiculous amount for 2 phone calls lasting about 10 minutes. They told me that if I tried to fight it they would take their refund back. I have filed complaints with the BBB, FTC, and FCC but I'm not sure where to go from here. I googled this company and so many others have been ripped off. This company is such a scam and people need to know.

I have read that people are interested in filing a class action lawsuit. I am very interested and I would like to do it if others would join in. Email me through here if that is possible.

Is this the SAME company the original poster complained about? Or are the posters complaining about multiple companies pulling the same scam?
This post has been going on for almost 4 years!
It is unbelievable that one company can be getting away with such a scam for so long.

They're exoerts at it, Rhonda!There are always new punters to be scammed.

I have had much the same experience. I called someone for a conversation from the United States to Mexico and got a bill for $55 for a total of 16 minutes USING AN 800 NUMBER. I was shocked. In my view, both AT&T and ILD Communications, who did the billing have some responsibility for this as well. The name of BBG was not even on the bill, and I did not discover it until I complained to ILD. I got a 40% credit, but now am told cannot collect it because I changed phone companies, which is ridiculous. I already have complained to ILD and AT&T and am actively pursuing BBG. I will contact regulatory agencies such as the FCC as well as the Better Business Bureau. Any other ideas of where to take this complaint?