Have you ever received an invoice for a business directory listing that you never ordered? Perhaps you had experienced the following scenario.
You received a phone call from a telemarketing company claiming that someone (could be your ex-employee) from your office had previously authorized the purchase of business listing in a business directory, and they would like to verify your business information, such as company name, address, telephone and fax number. This so called verification would lead you to believe that your business has already been listed in their business directory.
Shortly, you received an invoice, typically between $399 and $798, in the mail or fax for your “order”. A few days or one week later, someone from the Account Receivables department called to collect the payment for your company listing. If you refused to pay the invoice, the caller would harrass you and even threatened to initiate a legal action against you, and also forwarded your invoice to a debt-collection agency that could damage your credit rating.
Well, if this scenario happened to you, please be on your guard. You could be a victim of a business directory scam.
Here are what you should do if you received a phone call from a collector:
1. Do NOT under any circumstances send these scammers money.
2. Tell him/her that you are not going to pay for the invoice, and let this scammer know that you are going to take the actions outlined in the step 3 and 4.
3. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission by visiting the the FTC website (http://www.ftc.gov) or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).
4. Report the scam to your local Better Business Bureau and your state Attorney General.
Remember folks, you are NOT obliged to pay for services that you never requested or ordered. Last, your credit rating will NEVER be damaged/ruined just because of not paying this business directory scam.
To help you recognize this scam, here is a list of companies known to scam small businesses:
- ABI Publications
- B2B IPages – Chicago, IL
- Business Data Center – Plattsburgh, NY
- Canadian BizOnline
- Canadian Media Pages
- ClearView Corporate Communication, Inc. – Chicago, IL
- Canora Pages – Montreal, QC
- Commutel Marketing – Montreal, QC and Victoria, BC
- Empire Direct Group – Plattsburgh, NY
- DataSource411 – Montreal, QC and Rochester, NY
- Horizon Data Inc. – Champlain, NY
- Info US411 – Middletown, DE
- Infotel Publications – Montreal, QC
- National Business Information Exchange (NBIE) Inc. – Montreal, QC and Chesapeake Beach, MD
- Reed Publishing aka Reed Directories
- Target Publications – Ansonia, CT and Champlain, NY
- Tradeshow Data Center – Plattsburg, NJ
- YourCompanyListing.com (a spin off of NBIE Inc.) – Montreal, QC and Chesapeake Beach, MD
- YourYellowURL – Ottawa, ON and Watertown, MA
The list will go on and on… so please share with us if you know any of similiar companies.
What about Data Click i keep getting calls from them and globex and for the life of me i cant remember even talking to them yet they playback a conversation i had with them and i never even knew they existed,I would never get an internet listing for 600 dollars.
Hi Jo-Anne Bohle, I’ve had the same experience. They insist that I talked with them but I also for the life of me can’t remember talking to them. I have never heard of them until they started calling. It really sounds like a high end scam. We also would never get an internet listing for 600 dollars!
I am so happy in a way to know that I’m not the only one. Sounds very suspisious.
I was advised today that Can Media Pages now working as Data Click, called my client and used my name to renew their subscription. They thought it was me. They got the invoice realized it was not and contacted appropriate authorities.
When they received the second call that was recorded, they are in a collection stage, noone by the name that had them agree in the first place works there. Of course it is the customer’s fault.
Secondly the invoice name was different yet again.
My concern is that I own a legitimate business and my customers are saying whomever these persons are contacting them under my guise.
Add Universal Business Publishing, Yellow Business Ads, Blue Yellow Book, Yellow Blue Media, USBR Online, Kilobyte, Mega Byte, and On Line Business Solutions to this list. I can give you the phone numbers and addresses of these criminals also
usapagesonline.com. They say that they are calling to confirm a cancellation request and then try to collect 649.95 for the past years services rendered.
A company called Exchange Pages has been harassing me to pay an invoice that I never heard of. I told them to send me the invoice, and they never did. I own a PC Repair business out of my house, and as a businessman, I refuse to pay for something unless I get an invoice for it.
add direct market link,, they been trying to scam us for 2 months
Most of you need to realize that none of these scams would exist if there weren’t people AGREEING to purchase their products.
You people should be smart enough to say NO when someone calls you to sell something.
I know how these companies work because they calling my business.
1. A sales person calls saying we’ve been listed before and wants us to sign up again.
2. The sales person quotes a price for the order.
3. A quality assurance person calls back later to confirm the order.
4. Quality assurance tells me that the call is recorded
5. They tell me what I’m ordering and quote a price again.
6. A few days later, we receive the product and invoice.
Someone has to be pretty clueless to agree to this on RECORDING.
These companies don’t doctor the tapes or anything. It is actually the real conversation from beginning to end, but you were too dumb at the time to realize you were authorizing something.
So naturally, you’re gonna file a complaint because that’s what you do when something doesn’t go your way. It’s never YOUR fault, it’s always someone else’s fault. God forbid you take the blame for being retarded and agreeing to buy something sight unseen, over the phone.
Who cares what the sales person tells you. It’s up to you to perform due diligence and verify whatever anyone tells you.
If the sales person tells you that you’ve been doing business with them for 100 years, it’s your responsibility to verify that it’s true. Don’t just take their word for it.
If you’re not an owner of the company, chances are you’re NOT AUTHORIZED to accept anything, no matter what you are told over the phone. So don’t do it! Tell the sales people to call your boss.
If you’re accepting an order on behalf of your boss or owner of your company, then you are an idiot and don’t deserve to have a job, plain and simple.
Remember people, scammers wouldn’t exist if there were people around that are easily scammed.
They are making money relying on human stupidity.
Don’t file complaints, nothing will be done except you will have wasted your time. These companies will simply close down and re-open at a different address, under a different name and different ownership.
Learn to say NO. Educate your employees and you will never have problems with scammers.
United Business Solutions can be added to the list as well.
add exchangepages to the list, they’re located in new york city. They supposedly run your ad for a year then try to collect. Don’t let them record your conversation, they fake a tape of you approving the ad.
add ARTEMIS BUSINESS LOCATOR FROM CANADA WITH CALL CENTER IN PERU
SPANISH SPEAKING
Direct Markets Link is another scam. There is a Direct Market Link, but not a Direct Markets with an s link
add UBS Inc and American Credit & Debt Recovery Corp
Nicole, please add to the list Direct Market Ling @ 1405 rue Bishop, Montreal and Globex & U @ Box/CP #1 Succ. St. Jacques, Montreal.
Sorry for the spelling error, that was Direct Market Link
STERLING BUSINESS SOLUTION, hugeeeee scammmm, downtown montreal on st catherines street on google maps but actually on metcalfe, a street over. how do these people even go to work
Also another one is Data Direct in Montreal, also known as Megabyte info, When I did exactly as the outline said whne dealing with them, the guy started threatening me and saying everytime he calls it is the same thing. Hung up on him and he kept calling back. After that told him my next call was to the authorities. So add them as well.
A company called 411 Online Search has been calling me . They have a recording of me saying yes to questions i dont remember ever being asked. Helppppppppppppppppppp. Is anybody going threw the same thing with this company. Are they scammers?
ISSUE RESOLVED: Once i threatened to speak with a lawyer they quickly cancelled my account. Add 411 Online Search to the list.
Here are a couple more : Your business needs, I gave this company my personal address to see which other scams would come. This company I gave the address to is calledFirst Choice Data and next thing I know I am receieveing an invoice from Your business needs and when I told them I knew it was a scam they actually argued and demanded to know which website said theis, told them to do their own research and hung up.
Do you know if On-line Business Solutions out of Atlanta, GA is a scam also. I got an invoice form them in the amount of $488.00
Add All Purpose Business Communications Inc. (they have a p.o. box address in Montreal)
Add a company that refers to itself as the “Exchange Pages” a B2B listing service that I sure as heck can’t find in a google search. The called me today to cancel my listing… said I’d signed up for a trial listing in 2009 and now they want $495 for service during 2010… I’ve sent the little bit of info I garnered to the FTC (a phone number from my caller ID) and will follow through should they try to bill me in paper form… I operate a cage-free dog boarding and training facility. I don’t do B2B marketing and I don’t pay for listings… this is BS and if effects my credit rating I’ll go ballistic.
US Yellow Page Directory.com is another one (Nanuet, NY)
Add to the list: Local Business Guide, 18495 S. Dixie Hwy Suite 136, Miami, FL 33157
add http://www.pubenligne.ca to this list as well
I also got a call from Kelly at Tradeshow Markets 866-282-0492 (the same phone number as Tradeshow data center). They sent us an invoice a couple of months ago that we didn’t recognize. When asked for proof that we placed the order, she left a message with a “recorded authorization”. The phone call was doctored to appear that we placed the order. We didn’t, we do not make any purchases without issuing a PO number. I’m having all her calls just go to voice mail.
Add On-line-Business Solutions (amusingly, their letterhead is OBS)!
I’ve had three cases of suspected scams…one recently with Canadian Media Pages. They had a tape recorded message of me…I listened to it. I told them we didn’t want their service. They sent us a “disc” with our business listed in their company listings. We’re a one person show here. “why would I want to advertise across Canada?” They wanted over $600.00 for our so-called listing that we didn’t know we signed up for. Since we were worried about legal action, we settled with them for $159.00. This week, I had two calls two days apart…same intro as mentioned above. They call to verify our business info. Then they tell us we owe them money. I’m done paying money to people whom I have no record of ever speaking with prior to that day’s call. One company is Canadian Business Index, and the other is Canadian Business Directory. I’m wondering if anyone else has had experience with these companies?
Add Globex & U to this scam list
Add Golbex directory to your list,
they just called today and repteted the above bulshit to me.
Canbic, Inc.- Montreal, QC- probably a division/spin off of Canadian BizOnline
add globex directory and data source please
Add to the list Tradeshow Markets, supposedly in Plattsburgh NY.