Extreme Biz Portal charge i didn't authorize
bkessig
Enthusiast - Level 1

Sorry if this is not in the right spot but it has to do with the net so I figured I'd try here.

I was charged by PaymentOne for using Extreme Biz Portal.com - 19.99 plus taxes.

I never even heard of this place till the charge.  I did a search and found others have been charged by this place in the past as well.  Anyone else ever hear about this?  Will Verizon credit me or waive this?  Outside of hackers is there any way I could have mistakenly done this?  I'm pretty tech savvy and while I use services like PlayOn, free antif-virus like avast, I am pretty good at reading things before submitting any go aheads...but I don't think even these  programs offer an option for services like this Biz Portal are offered. 

I just hope it can be waived or credited and make sure it never happens again!

1 Solution
Hubrisnxs
Legend

Call them and have them reverse the charge,   you never authorized it.  I think if you call verizon you are going to be asking them to not allow third party billing.     looks like they are a web hosting company of some sort ?  

http://www.extremebizportal.com/index.php?page=contact

  
 Contact UsDo you have any questions about our products or our company. Contact us at the following addresses or by filling out the form below and we'll get right back with you!
By Mail Only:
Extreme Biz Portal
8760A Research Blvd.
Suite 394
Austin, TX 78758

Customer Support: (888) 297-5245
Fax: (419) 794-3217
Email: customerservice@extremebizportal.com

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8 Replies
Hubrisnxs
Legend

Call them and have them reverse the charge,   you never authorized it.  I think if you call verizon you are going to be asking them to not allow third party billing.     looks like they are a web hosting company of some sort ?  

http://www.extremebizportal.com/index.php?page=contact

  
 Contact UsDo you have any questions about our products or our company. Contact us at the following addresses or by filling out the form below and we'll get right back with you!
By Mail Only:
Extreme Biz Portal
8760A Research Blvd.
Suite 394
Austin, TX 78758

Customer Support: (888) 297-5245
Fax: (419) 794-3217
Email: customerservice@extremebizportal.com

bkessig
Enthusiast - Level 1

Well even though other people found Biz Portal to be useless in refunding money I did contact them and it worked for me.  At least they claimed they would send me a check for the charge and remove the info they have.  Hopefully they do it.

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Novato
Newbie

We got this  too.

Figure they are making their money from the people that don't notice the new charge. They promised us that the service is cancelled and the check is in the mail. We shall see.

Assume that Verizon is getting a kick back for passing the bill though on the mail they send us. Or maybe Extreme Biz is just some subsidiary of Verizon. Or maybe the people that run Verizon are honest but stupid.

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jmosakowski
Enthusiast - Level 1

We too had this unauthorized charge on our bill. We never sign-up for this service.  We never received an email from this company confirming this service. We called the Extreme Biz Portal number. We spoke to an agent that said we would receive an email canceling the service. The email has not come. We were given a cancellation number but this all feels like a scam. We recommend that Verizon investigate this type of scam. Should we report this issue to other authorities or to consumer affairs reporters?

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Hubrisnxs
Legend

the only thing to call verizon about really, is to ask them to remove or block all third party billing.  Without your explicit request or consent to do this, they are required by law to honor these requests.

I saw a news report on Fox news report in California about this about a month or so ago.   

Here is a good article about it,   make sure to protect yourself and ask verizon to add that block.

How to Determine if Third Party Billing is on Your Phone Bill


What are “Third-party Billers?”  Some of them include: Basic Access, USBI, ESBI, PaymentOne.com ETS. What are these charges?  Who authorized them? How do you get rid of them?
First, you’ll need to know that removing these charges is a process; it takes time and patience.  These companies, although unjustified in charging you these charges, will not go away very easily.  Take good notes and document every call you make to them.  Make them prove that you or someone in your family authorized those charges.  Get confirmation numbers etc.

Step 1: Look carefully at page 1 of your bill — You will see the standard charges from your phone service company first. On the next line will be your long distance charges (if you don’t get billed separately from your LD company). The next line(s) will have any charges from companies that are NOT your local phone company or long distance carrier. There are hundreds of companies out there who are allowed to bill on your phone bill. Unfortunately, due to FCC and local Public Utilities Commission guidelines, your phone company is required to bill charges from third party companies who present requests for payment. So, your phone company has no obligation to determine the validity of the charges. In fact, most inquiries about these companies can only be answered by those companies!  Note: If the charges are for long distance calls from someone other than your carrier, see my article “How to Handle Getting Slammed.”


Step 2: Look at the specific charges — The first page of your bill will tell you on which page the charges are itemized. It will also provide you with the phone number of the company that is billing you. This is usually not the company that is charging you. The companies that are charging you are usually so small enough that they find it cheaper to pay a company that has a relationship with your phone company than to handle the cost of billing you directly. As a result, the third party billers themselves will rarely give you credit for the charges or even explain what they are for. They simply provide a buffer between your phone company and the company charging you. Go to the page where the charges show. Here you will find the company charging you. By law, they must provide a phone number to reach them.


Step 3: Try to remember events in the last month or two — Have you accepted any collect calls recently? Did you sign up for online advertising? These may be the legitimate charges for those services. Usually, though, these charges appear after someone calls you pretending to represent your phone company. Sometimes, they offer you great deals that don’t really exist and if you answer “yes” to any of their questions, they will use that recording as proof of authorization. This is completely unethical and illegal; however, if you don’t complain to authorities, these companies don’t get caught! Your phone company cannot verify the validity of their actions by law, because it is in all senses none of their business!


Step 4: Call the company that is charging you — Do NOT call you phone company first. Call the number listed on the page where the itemized charges appear and ask what they represent. Inform the company that there has been a mistake and that you do not wish to be signed up for whatever they have you subscribed to. Kindly ask that they provide you with credit for the charges. If they agree, go to step 6, if they do not agree or they hang up (yes, this happens often), see step 5 first.


Step 5: Call your phone company — Now it is appropriate to call you local phone service provider. Inform them that you have been charged for a service that you did not wish to be subscribed to an that you would like the charges to be sent back to that company. Next, ask that the put in a request to stop billing from that company. This request does not require a response from the company charging you for up to 60 days, so do not be surprised if you see the charges on the following 2 months of bills. You may have to call your phone company twice more to have the charges sent back.


Step 6: Inform the authorities —  No, don’t call the cops. There are, however, a few consumer advocates that should know about this:  The Federal Communications Commission or FCC. Check out their website at FCC.gov and contact The Public Utilities Commission or PUC.  A list is found here with your state. Every state has one, though their name may be different. Look on your state’s official website to learn more.  You can also try the Better Business Bureau. BBB.org


cweaver1
Enthusiast - Level 1

I checked my account in details information.  On page 3 Miscellaneous Chares of Extreme Biz Portal.com was charged to my account.  I did not give them right to do this.  I have been charged since Jan. 23 of $19.99 month, I called the 888 number and cancel this service and the email address wasn't mine or the address of services.  They used my phone number to place the charges on.     Everyone must watch your bill detail accounts.

Hubrisnxs
Legend

WOW,   that seems like blatant fraud, I would follow step 6 and reach out to the FCC and BBB about that company.  that is terrible.

Mavboyz3
Newbie

I just got off the phone with these people.  They say that they don't have any information as to who set up the account, it just happened to come from my email address, and I verified that  I was over 18.  They cancelled the account effective immediately, but was unable to issue a credit from the past due amounts.  (I've been charged 19.99 since February).  I will be calling Verizon later on to see if THEY will be able to issue a credit.

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