BBB Alert: Online phone listing draws complaints

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Posted 10:00 PM 8/22/2012 : BBB Alert: Online phone listing draws complaints

TUCSON - None of us like to see the bills in the mail. It's even worse when you get a bill for something you never ordered.

Tucson businesses are being billed for ad space in cyber space that they say they never signed up for. And when they try to fight the charges things get really nasty.

"He became very obnoxious, rude, degrading, insulting," says Rosa Arroyo who runs a medical office in midtown.

Last month the office received a bill for over $600. It came from an outfit called the Online Public Yellow Pages. The charges were for a telephone and address listing on that company's website. A listing Rosa says they never ordered.

Rosa's received half a dozen letters and faxes from the company along with phone calls demanding payment. She contacted the Better Business Bureau and found out they've heard similar complaints from businesses all around Tucson.

"These on-line yellow pages is really becoming epidemic. Not just in Southern Arizona, but around the country, it's kind of the new hot business scam," says Nick LaFleur with the BBB. It's believed businesses are being targeted because so many invoices come through an employee will assume the bill is legit and send the payment.

The Online Public Yellow Pages uses the iconic "Fingers Do the Walking" symbol seen for decades on phone books.

Rosa describes the aggressive tactics she's heard over the phone from the company.

"If you hang up, they call you right back and tell you you're not educated, you don't know what you're talking about, obviously I can't speak to a decent adult here."

The News 4 Tucson Investigators tried to talk with Online Public Yellow Pages about Rosa's complaint. We left several messages but they never returned our calls.

The last thing Rosa heard from the company was a threat to turn her over to a collections agency.

If you think you've been a victim of the Online Public Yellow pages or any other entity, you should file a complaint with the Arizona Attorney General by clicking here.

And contact the Better Business Bureau as well by clicking here.

To keep up with alerts like this please Like the News 4 Tucson Investigators on Facebook by clicking here.