Why to use Google in-app billing?

How can our company protect ourselves from harassing by Skytel

• I have a problem with Skytel. About 10 months ago Skytel offered us 5 blackberries and 5 Motorola T900 2-way pagers to demo for 30 days. There was no cost to the demo. We would get the hardware, and the service for free. If we choose to keep any of them, after the 30 days, we would be billed and the service you continue. During that time we demoed the units to many of our clients and associates, with some of them then buying new units from skytel. Our demos were so successful at getting sales for Skytel that they offered to extend our demo for other 15 days, which would give us time to show them to some new businesses that recently signed up with us. We then returned 4 of the blackberries and none of the T900s. Skytel’s billing dept failed to register the returns, and 2 months later presented us with a bill for over $4,000, when the actual amount for the 5 T900s, the single blackberry, and 2 months of service should have been around $1,800. We refused to pay. Our sales rep apologized and try to get the bill fixed. He ended up not being able to get it fixed for weeks, and during that time Skytel shut off all service to the blackberry and the T900s. At the point we had dumped our pagers, and had come to rely on the T900s. It took them weeks to straighten it out and reactivate our service. Meanwhile we had no paging ability, and clients started to get upset. They finally said the only way to settle it was for us to pay the new amount which was $2,400. The extra $600 was because their servers had messed up and sent an entire an entire POP3 inbox to one of the T900s. Their blunder generated $1,200 in billing, and they felt we should pay half since we couldn’t prove that it was their mistake. Since I was tired of wasting time on this, we paid the $2,400, on the promise from our salesperson that he would then work to have the $600 credited back and was confidant h could do it. They turned back on the service for a few days and then the billing dept shut them all off again, demanding we then pay the remaining amount plus all kids of interest charges. Turns out their billing dept failed to credit the blackberry units we returned, and failed to communicate with whatever dept had fixed the issue and told us that the bill would be only $2,400. Our salesman kept calling and apologizing. He said that it would be corrected and everything would be turned back on at no additional fee. This went on for weeks. He kept telling us how sorry he was that Skytel’s billing dept was so messed up, and how sorry he was that he couldn’t do anything about the situation. We gave up on Skytel and had to dump the worthless blackberry and the five T900s, and ended up buying all new hardware and service from Earthlink. Skytel hardware cannot be used on anyone else’s network. Our relationship with Earthlink has since blossomed, and our continued demos have helped them sell many many T900s and blackberries. They have treated us well, and on the few occasions that they would make a mistake, they always credited us a few free months of service for having unconvinced us. Skytel is now calling me and still demanding thousands of dollars. They finally did credit $1,500 for the return of 3 of the blackberries, but that is just 3 of several. They have now added all kinds of extra fees and finance charges. I called our salesman only to find that he quit. I guess he got tired of dealing with an organization that is so messed up. Skytel is now threatening me that if we don’t pay them they will send the amount to collections and proceed to ruin our credit and harass us. We have worked hard to build a long and solid Dun and Bradstreet file. We have perfect credit in all areas. What can I do to stop Skytel from putting false charges into our corporate credit record? What are our rights as a company in dealing with such a messed-up corporate giant like Skytel (a subsidiary of WorldCom, which has been so much in the news for illegal accounting practices). Also… How can I use the Internet to warn other small businesses about Skytel, and the type of practices they engage in? I know I can post on place like epinions (www.epinions.com), but is there a way I can reach a broader audience? How can I have a report of this case come up when people search for skytel on search engines like Google?

• Answer:

  Before I answer this, let me extend my sympathies. It can certainly be frustrating to deal with something like this. Because I don't know where you're located, I'll try to answer this somewhat generically, and point out where the laws and remedies may differ according to location. I am assuming you're in the US. If you aren't, please let me know in a clarification. A nice, basic overview of credit reporting issues is available online from the FTC: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/crdright.htm This covers the subject from a broad perspective, but at this point, this advice is probably most valuable to you: "If you want to contest a credit report, bill or credit denial, contact the appropriate company in writing and send it "return receipt requested." When you contest a billing error, include your name, account number, the dollar amount in question, and the reason you believe the bill is wrong. If in doubt, request written verification of a debt. Keep all your original documents, especially receipts, sales slips, and billing statements. You will need them if you dispute a credit bill or report. Send copies only. It may take more than one letter to correct problems. " In a nutshell, this is about your only recourse right now. At this stage, there is little you can do legally. Essentially, Skytel has not taken any real action against you, such as sending your account to collections, suing you, or reporting you to the credit bureaus. All they are doing at this point is sending you erroneous bills. As such, your actions at this point will have to be somewhat proactive in trying to prevent them from taking this further. Your first course of action must be to try to get the attention of a living human being who has the power to resolve the issue. Calling a customer billing number hasn't done much good so far, so you'll need to go up the ladder a bit. I would recommend sending a letter, return receipt requested, to both your local sales office and to Skytel's corporate billing offices. Simply describe the situation as clearly and as unemotionally as you can. For these purposes, you could probably just modify the question you posted here slightly. In the first paragraph, outline the situation broadly--state that you are being erroneously billed for this amount, and you would like this to be cleared up immediately. See this page to locate your regional sales office: http://www.skytel.com/aboutus/contactus.htm This page at Hoovers provides detailed information about Skytel: http://www.hoovers.com/co/capsule/9/0,2163,14149,00.html According to this page, the VP of Customer Service and Support is Jim Myers, so you may want to send him a copy of the letter as well, at the coporate headquarters: Jim Myers VP, Customer Service and Support 515 E. Amite St. Jackson, MS 39201 Another step you might take at this point is to start collecting evidence. Gather together any paperwork you have that illustrates the situation, as well as your notes and narrative describing your communications with Skytel. Any time you contact them via mail, ask for a return receipt to prove that they received the letter, and save this, along with a copy of the letter, in your files. If you talk to them on the phone, you may even want to consider taping the conversations as well, if this is allowed in your state. If this is not allowed, simply take detailed notes, indicating the time and content of the call, as well as who you spoke to. This page provides a list of the states in which single-party consent is acceptable for recording telephone conversations: http://www.pimall.com/nais/n.recordlaw.html Also take into account where the other party is located. Skytel's main corporate offices are in Mississippi, a single-party consent state, so you should be able to record your calls to them (again, assuming that you are also in a single-party consent state). If you do choose to record your telephone calls, you'll need to get the equipment necessary for this. This website offers a number of different telephone recording devices, with varying features and prices: http://www.recordingjacks.com/ You can see their available all-in-one phone recorders here: http://www.ahernstore.com/phonerecorders.html And their recording jacks, which hook up to a separate recording device (such as a shoebox tape recorder) are here: http://www.ahernstore.com/recordingjacks.html If you'd prefer just to pop down to the store and pick something up, Radio Shack also has this basic recording jack, which may be in stock locally: http://www.radioshack.com/category.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F001%5F001%5F028%5F000&Page=1 IF THEY REPORT YOU TO A COLLECTION AGENCY If Skytel does report you to a collection agency, there are additional courses you can take from there. See this overview (primarily geared toward private parties, but applicable nonetheless) at the 'Lectric Law Library: http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cos26.htm From this page: "CAN YOU STOP A DEBT COLLECTOR FROM CONTACTING YOU? You may stop a collector from contacting you by writing a letter to the collection agency telling them to stop. Once the agency receives your letter, they may not contact you again except to say there will be no further contact. Another exception is that the agency may notify you if the debt collector or the creditor intends to take some specific action." So, once the case has gone to collections, you can write a letter (go to your post office and request a return receipt so you can show they received it), and tell them not to contact you again regarding the bill unless and until they decide to take action. This can serve to force their hand somewhat, as there's little more they can do to collect but take you to court. IF THEY REPORT YOU TO A CREDIT BUREAU If Skytel reports you to a credit bureau, your rights are then protected under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FRCA). This page at the FTC describes your rights as a consumer: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/crdtdis.htm To address your Dun & Bradstreet account specifically, their FAQ is here: http://sbs.dnb.com/sixQuestions.asp From the section, "How can I be certain the data D&B collects is up-to-date?" "If, for any reason, you should question the information received about a company, a group of dedicated consultants are available to reinvestigate the information at no charge." So, if Skytel reports you to Dun & Bradstreet as delinquent, you can contact Dun & Bradstreet directly to speak to a consultant in order to have them investigate the claim and arbitrate the dispute. Dun & Bradstreet's online help file lists the following contact information for Small Business Support: email: [email protected] phone: (866) 472-7362 IF THEY TAKE YOU TO COURT Although it's probably pretty unlikely, they also have the option of suing for the amount they claim you owe in court. The specific court they could sue you in would depend on your location, but for these purposes, it would either be small claims court or civil court. This would depend on the court rules for your location, as different municipalities have different limits on maximum claims in small claims court, and different rules for the types of disputes and awards allowed. Broadly, though, if you are sued, you should have the option of countersuing for damages according to your local court rules. The more comprehensive and accurate your records are, the more likely you will be to win any case they bring against you. Because the rules vary so much, general information about the courts would really be of limited value. However, if you are interested in learning more, you could try searching on - "small claims court" [state] - for the state you live in. As to your final question on how to alert other potential clients to your complaints, your best bet would be to report their actions to the appropriate regulatory agencies and consumer information resources. In this case, you might try the following: The Federal Trade Commission regulates industry broadly, and tracks and regulates billing issues, as well as other consumer issues. Their main website is here: http://www.ftc.gov and their online complaint form is here: https://rn.ftc.gov/dod/wsolcq%24.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01 The Federal Communications Commission regulates businesses within the various communications industries, including wireless providers. They do not resolve billing problems, as stated on here: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/cellular.html#billing "I'm having billing problems with my cellular provider; who can help me? The FCC does not regulate contractual arrangements with cellular providers, but does handle complaints about wireless service." However, they will accept your other complaints related to system outages and failure to provide service. See this page for information on how to file a complaint, including a link to the online form: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaintfiling.html You can also report them to the Better Business Bureau. The BBB office local to their corporate headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi, is online here: http://www.bbbmississippi.org/ You can also file a complaint within your specific region (See http://www.skytel.com/aboutus/contactus.htm to locate the your regional sales office.) Of course, you can also register complaints at various consumer sites, such as www.epinions.com, as you mentioned. Some others are: http://www.complaints.com/ http://www.tattletaleconsumerhotline.com/ http://www.consumeraffairs.com/ http://www.planetfeedback.com/ http://www.baddealings.com/ I hope this answers your questions sufficiently. If you'd like more detail or clarification on any of these issues, please feel free to ask. And good luck. SEARCH TERMS "consumer rights" billing erroneous bills "single-party consent" "telephone recording" "corporate credit" disputes "consumer complaints" BONUS: In my search on 'erroneous bills,' I uncovered this little gem I just can't help but share. (The original page is gone, but here's the Google cache): http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cache:jyWYlLL1gY0C:www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1010Tuition-TacoBell-ON.html+erroneous+bills&hl=en&ie=UTF-8