I have received 7 phone calls from 403-982-0486. First 4 times I told them I was not interested and please take me off the calling list. The fifth call came yesterday. I asked for her name and told Joyce again that this was the 5th call and we are not interested. She argued and wanted to speak to my husband who again I told her was at work. She said she would not take me off the caller list, my husband had to talk to her. An hour later got another call. This time they hung up on me. Just called today and I asked if this was Joyce? She said yes. I told her I wanted to speak to her supervisor and she argued again. Saying she was not going to pull her boss off for me to tell her I want to be on the do not call list. I told her if she did not let me speak to her boss I would call back and report her. She put a woman on who claimed to be her boss Cynthia and I told her that was my 7th call this week and began to tell her about Joyce's comments and she hung up on me. I have contacted my carrier and they are persuing this for me. If we could get the name of the company they are suppose to be working for and report their poor customer skills this could help. However, I am not sure this is a real business.
Got a call from this number. It said something about lowering an interest rate on a credit card down to 6.9%. The funny thing is, i don't own a credit card. I've owned one in the past, but its paid off. It asked me to press 9 on my phone, and by the time I had pressed the button the call was over. I've tried to call it back with a 1 in front of the number and without. Either way you can't call them back, my guess would be that its a scam.
Companies Sued For Credit Card Interest Rate Scheme
Consumers warned about telemarketers' claims of immediate savings
James Limbach
ConsumerAffairs.com
November 10, 2009
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed suit targeting a telemarketing scam that promises to reduce consumers' credit card interest rates immediately, but ultimately fails to achieve any savings for consumers.
"During these difficult economic times, consumers are understandably looking for ways to ease the burdens of rising debt," Madigan said. "But I urge consumers to be wary when solicitors try to make tempting claims of 'immediate' savings. In such cases, the schemers rarely deliver and usually leave consumers in an even worse financial situation than before."
Madigan filed suit against Priority Direct Marketing International, Inc. (PDMI), a Bedford, Texas-based telemarketing firm run by its President, William Fithian, and Advanced Management Services NW, LLC (AMS), a Spokane, Wash.-based firm owned by Ryan Bishop.
The suit claims that the two companies work in a concerted telemarketing scheme to solicit and enroll consumers in deceptive debt negotiation service agreements that promise to immediately reduce consumers' credit card interest rates, with a guaranteed savings of $2,500.
PDMI and AMS telemarketing representatives allegedly promise consumers that the companies will negotiate with consumers' credit card companies to lower interest rates, and will provide full refunds if they are unsuccessful.
After consumers agree to enroll in the program, the telemarketing schemers allegedly charge consumers' credit cards for set up fees ranging from $391 up to $1,590, the suit contends. The defendants allegedly tell consumers that these fees will be reimbursed at a later date by the consumers' banks. Only after consumers' credit cards are charged for the setup fees do they receive any documentation on the program's terms and conditions, which on several points, contradict the telemarketers claims in their sales solicitations.
Specifically, PDMI and AMS misleadingly claim that they can guarantee an interest rate reduction for all customers or provide full refunds in instances where rate reductions are not secured. When customers have requested refunds, after the defendants have failed to negotiate any interest rate reductions, the defendants allegedly refuse altogether or give refunds minus a non-refundable $199 fee that was not disclosed during the sales pitch.
Madigan's lawsuit charges the defendants with violating the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act by misrepresenting the services they provide to consumers and the effects the services will have on consumers' credit.
The suit asks the court to enter a permanent injunction barring the defendants from engaging in debt settlement in Illinois and to order the defendants to pay restitution for complainants, civil penalties of $50,000 for violating the Consumer Fraud Act, and an additional $50,000 for each violation committed with the intent to defraud.
Madigan advises consumers looking for legitimate financial assistance to consider credit counseling services that charge modest fees and provide true financial and budget counseling based on a consumer's personal circumstances.
Credit Card Rate Reduction Scammers Banned From Telemarketing
Canadian firm ordered to pay $7.8 million fine
July 13, 2009
A federal judge has slapped a telemarketing ban on a Canadian outfit that targeted U.S. consumers with false claims that it could reduce their credit card interest rates.
At the request of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the court entered a permanent injunction that puts the defendants out of the telemarketing business. It also bars them from misrepresenting that they are affiliated with consumers' credit card companies, or that they can get consumers' credit card interest rates reduced.
The court also ordered the defendants to pay more than $7.8 million.
According to the FTC's complaint, the telemarketing operation cheated about 12,000 consumers out of more than $7.8 million between 2005 and 2007 by falsely claiming that it could substantially reduce consumers' existing credit card interest rates and save them thousands of dollars in interest and finance charges.
The defendants are Select Personnel Management Inc., based in Ontario, doing business as Select Management Solutions Canada; 1402473 Ontario Limited; 1489841 Ontario Limited; 2105635 Ontario Limited; Special T Services Group Inc.; United Registration Services Inc., as well as individual defendants James Stewart, Luigi Paulozza, and Philip J. Richards.
The FTC charges that they stated or implied--falsely--that they were affiliated with consumers' credit card companies. For $675 plus $20 for shipping and handling, according to the complaint, the defendants sent consumers promotional materials with promises to substantially reduce their interest rates, and a "financial profile form" for them to complete and mail back.
The complaint states the defendants promised to reduce the interest charged on credit cards to rates between 4.75 percent and 9 percent, save consumers at least $2,500, and refund the cost of their services to consumers who did not save at least that much money.
In fact, according to the FTC, the operators of the scam did little more than add their own fee to consumers' credit card balances. The extent of the rate-reduction services consisted of setting up three-way telephone calls with consumers and their credit card companies, and asking that the companies lower the interest rates. Those requests typically were denied.
The FTC said the defendants' misrepresentations violated the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). The agency also charged the defendants with violating the TSR by "spoofing" telephone numbers so that their calls appeared on consumers' caller identification services as coming from another number, and by failing to provide the names of the defendants or their telemarketer on caller identification services.
Received a call & it was a company offering lower intrest rates on credit card as a middle man for my bank. Had last 4 digits of my credit card number and SS#. They new approx debt owed on all credit cards. I told them up front I do not give out SS# or Credit Card # ever to phone solicitors, but later they wanted me to confirm my card number. When I told them to read it off to me, they told me I was protected by the credit card fraud act, how my numbers go through multiple hands each day and they need the info to get me a lower intrest rate. When I offered to cal my bank to verify, I would call them back after teh verification they politely said "Absolutley Mam" and hung up on me.