TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (ABC 4 News) -An elderly couple in Taylorsville says all they want is their money back. And it turns out; the Better Business Bureau says they may have gotten scammed by something called slamming.
It all started when 83-year-old Betty Munsey picked up the phone to say hello; on the other end, a representative from Consumer Telecom, asking Betty about her phone plan. Within that conversation, Betty’s son says his mother agreed to have an addition along distance provider.
“I feel like my mother was tricked, and I’m angry that they took advantage of my mother,” Joe Munsey told ABC 4. You see, Joe Munsey's mom has Alzheimer’s and when a company called Consumer Telecom called 83-year-old Betty to tell her about their long distance phone plan she agreed.
Consumer Telecom which has an agreement with Qwest started to charge the Munsey monthly phone bill, $10.88 a month. Joe discovered the charges, Qwest gave him his money back but then Consumer Telecom started billing him too.
However, that's when the Taylorsville man contacted us. Turns out, Consumer Telecom have had other complaints: in Nevada and all over the state of Utah. “It sounds like slamming, slamming is when your telephone long distance provider is changed without your knowledge, and you may have said yes,” Jane Driggs CEO of the Better Business Bureau told ABC 4.
Driggs recommends people to contact them, the consumer protection agency along with the FCC.
ABC4 tried to contact the company to no avail along with a representative from Qwest. The Media Specialist we spoke to says he tried but was told to write a letter.
Consumer Telecom is an independent phone company, and Qwest allows their charges to appear on their bills.
