Another Scam to Watch

Daddio

Daddio

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I have received a few phone calls in the last week asking if my first aid kit meets the new government standards. For a small fee of $50 each I can have my existing kits upgraded to meet the standards. I checked with a customer in the safety supply business and found out 2 things: 1. there has been no change in the regulations 2. the kit that is the proper size for my situation retails for $30
 
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I want to ad another scam to this post that was just pulled on me. A couple of months ago my brother (who works at one of my shops) called me and said that he had just received a phone call where a guy was asking to speak with the person in charge of the phone bill. He told them that I wasn’t available. They then asked if he could make decisions regarding the phone bill and my brother said no. The guy then proceeded to ask him to verify the address of the shop. He read off the address to the shop and my brother told him that it was correct. After the phone call was done, he called me up and told me about it. At the time I didn’t think much of it. Well the other day I was looking at the phone bills for my shops and noticed that the bill for one of my shops seemed a little high. I found a $49.95 charge on there from ILD Teleservices Inc. I googled this company and found out that they are a 3rd party company that processes charges directly to people’s phone bills for other companies. I called them and got the information of the client that had them charge my account. The company was called New Link Service. I then called up this company to find out who they were and why they had my phone account charged. They are a company that sends out faxes to other businesses. When I asked them who gave them permission to sign me up for their service, they said that I authorized it. After arguing with them for a little bit and telling them that I have never even heard of their company, they looked on their computer and said that my brother had said he was in charge of my phone account and that he had given them permission. After telling them that he was not in charge of the account they then agreed to remove the charges. The best part about it is that they had billed me for the upcoming month as well and that I have to wait 2 billing cycles to get my $100 refunded! It’s amazing that some salesman can call up, have my employee tell them that they aren’t in charge of the phone bill, and then go ahead and charge my account without permission. So they steal my money from me, get caught, and now I have to wait 2 months to get it back!
 
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That happened to us last year when I called and asked who authorized it the name they gave me was a 16 year old who works for us. She said she said no she wasn’t authorized but they verified the address etc. Make sure to call the phone carrier too. Just deduct it from your bill when you make a payment.

While we are on the topic another big scam like this is thermal paper rolls. They call and tell your employees they are the current provider and do we need any.

We pretty much hang up on all solicitors now…not worth dealing with it.

Kris
 
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We also had the phone scam where they charged our phone bill for services that we did not authorize. It has happened 3 times in the last 2 years. This last time I also filed a complaint with the Public Utility Commission. They took over the case and notified the company to credit our account and to never contact us again. They also followed up to make sure that we had received our credit. In fact, I didn’t receive my credit and and had to file another complaint with the PUC – it finally worked.
 
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Kris:
While we are on the topic another big scam like this is thermal paper rolls. They call and tell your employees they are the current provider and do we need any.

We pretty much hang up on all solicitors now…not worth dealing with it.

Kris
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I also was a victim of that scam years ago when I first started accepting credit cards. I had just got my credit card terminal in the mail and the very next day I received a call asking if it had arrived. I told the guy yes and he said that they would be sending me out some supplies for it. I thought he was from my credit card processing company since he knew I just got the terminal in the mail and from the way he was talking. He never put it in the form of a question such as whether I wanted to buy something. He made it out like he was from the cc processing company and sending me something complementary.

To make a long story short, when I receive the package the following week, it had 10 thermal rolls in it and a bill for $300. I called up the number on the invoice and they told me that I had ordered them. I offered to mail them back to them and they said that they do not accept returns and I would still owe them money. Needless to say, I told them to get bent and that they would never see a dime from me. It’s amazing how some of these companies get away with this stuff!
 
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Kris:
While we are on the topic another big scam like this is thermal paper rolls. They call and tell your employees they are the current provider and do we need any.

We pretty much hang up on all solicitors now…not worth dealing with it.

Kris
Click to expand...
I got the thermal paper one too! I’m amazed at all the scammers out there. I’ve got a guy coming around trying to sell me electronics and serveillance (sp?) systems for 60% off. Yea, I’m going to my security system from some guy selling from the back of his van.
 
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Dunno if any of you have been affected by this scam, but this happened to me when I was still able to be a Shift Leader.

I opened the store, and this employee for a fire hydrant company came in and told me it was time for the annual inspection, so I let him inspect and tag the hydrants.

Come to find out, he was NOT who normally inspects the hydrants and my boss had to pay the bill when he was billed…but my boss was completely sympathetic…I didn’t know and he didn’t think these stores would get “hit” with the scam, so he hadn’t thought to mention it to anyone…but it happened all the time in his other stores in GA.

So, there’s another…definitely let your openers know who are your exterminators (they can pull this, too), your window washers, and your safety inspectors.
 
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Are you sure it was a fire hydrant inspection?

If it was a hood system or extinguisher inspection it would make more sense. I own a fire protection company, and I have had alot of my customers have the same thing happen to them. The best way to stop this is have your employees doing monthy extinguisher inspections, the company you use for inspections should be giving them a quick class on this anyway (5 mins max). If a differnt company trys to pull the scam it is easy for the employee to check the tag for the company name, and the due date.

Plus it is a good fire and safety practice, the employees will know where the extinguishers are and that they are in working condition.
 
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Daddio:
I have received a few phone calls in the last week asking if my first aid kit meets the new government standards. For a small fee of $50 each I can have my existing kits upgraded to meet the standards. I checked with a customer in the safety supply business and found out 2 things: 1. there has been no change in the regulations 2. the kit that is the proper size for my situation retails for $30
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Hey Richard, he wasn’t an Aussie by any chance? One of my customers has moved over your way doing Occupation, Health and Safety audits. He did it here in Perth (legally). I directed him to your shop as he was moving to your side of the country and said he would miss our pizzas so I told him if he wanted a pizza that was 75% as good as ours to go and see you :lol: I gave him your address and phone contact.

One thing here is that the Governments have come down hard on First Aid kits in business. Any workplace, which includes work vehicles for tradesmen, sales reps etc must have a first aid kit. Businesses must have one to a standard for that particular business operation. Ours is a kit of an overkill but I got ours at manufacturers costs just before I bought my shop as I was an agent for them.

Maybe this Aussie guy is seeing a great opportunity using our legislation? He may be thinking he is still living here. :lol:

Can’t beat us Aussies for being ahead of the pack 😉

Dave
 
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Dave
I dont think this was your friend because his accent indicated more of an accent from Kalamboli rather than Currambine.
 
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