This is a growing problem. Consumers should be aware that the "Walking Fingers" logo is not copyright protected and may be used by anyone. If a consumer receives any notice regarding yellow pages advertising they should contact their last known sales rep before paying any invoice or cashing any check! If anyone has any doubts about such invoices they may post a question with a description of the bill on our YellowPagesBlog. (info) blogsite and get feedback from the professional yellow pages community.

Hello,
I was the sales & marketing manager for Yellow Pages Inc and let go yesterday. I want to help anybody and everybody in this matter, I was wronged by Yellow Pages Inc and feel that something needs to be done. This is America, I gave up another career and time for this company and out of nowhere John Wurth, President walks into my office and say's " We are laying you off and drops a half paid salary on my desk and walks out...HELP!
Lonnie
airfive@sbcglobal.net

TITLE: Local Internet Marketing Firm, California | Search Engine
Marketing for Small Local Business, California

Desc: Local Internet Marketing at its best for the development of
marketing and advertising small business online.

Local Business Search Directories Marketing Firm, California- LocalClick.Com provides local business listings, including addresses, phone numbers, and other details for California.

TITLE : Local Website Creation California | Website Development for Small Business

Desc : Local Website Creation; California - LocalClick.Com provides website creation & development services for local and small businesses.

Key Words : Local Website Creation, Website Creation, Local web Advertising, Local Advertising, Local, Market, Small Business

Vitamin at N101. Your source for supplement, nutritional supplements, protein bar and body building supplement.

title: Calcium Gluconate, Pharmaceutical Chemicals Delhi, Calcium Gluconate Dealer

Description: Calcium Care is a leader in the field of specialty chemicals and sustainable growth springing from its own innovative strength.

Keywords: calcium gluconate, pharmaceutical chemicals, calcium gluconate i.p, clacium gluconate b.p, calcium gluconate dealer, calcium gluconate agent, calcium gluconate supplier, calcium gluconate distributor, calcium gluconate stockist, calcium gluconate manufacturer, calcium gluconate trader, calcium gluconate dealer in delhi, calcium gluconate agent in delhi, calcium gluconate supplier in delhi, calcium gluconate distributor in delhi, calcium gluconate stockist in delhi, calcium gluconate manufacturer in delhi, calcium gluconate trader in delhi.

Digital Photo Printing Service - Printroom.Com - provides Digital Photography & Imaging Services For Professional Photographers for high quality prints from digital images on real photo paper, offers free online albums / galleries and membership at low print prices and volume discounts for professional photographers.

pls i wanna know how to use scam pages i have lots of scam pages but i dont know how to use them an link it to my email box pls any one should help me my email adress is okon_gloryland@yahoo.com

I am in the process of dealing with a yellow pages company which has tried to scam my organization into paying for a listing. Please see the details of my experience at my blog www.katybowman.blogspot.com. I really want to get the word out about this company and do what I can to stop them from trying this on other people.

Business Owners,
Some of my valued customers have been victims to Yellow Pages Scams. Here are some things to look for & ways to protect yourself..

Characteristics of a Phony Yellow Pages Invoice

The solicitation from an alternative business directory may have the appearance of an invoice. It may bear the "walking fingers" logo and feature the name "Yellow Pages." It also may falsely suggest that the publisher is affiliated with your local telephone company or with another bona fide Yellow Pages publisher you recognize. Further, the solicitation may lead you to believe that your business already has been listed in the telephone directory and you are now being billed when, in fact, you are only being solicited for placing an ad.

Typical language used on the ad solicitations, such as "present listing information;" "prompt payment is necessary to guarantee ad placement in the directory;" "renewal payment stub;" and "directory listing renewal invoice" also may appear on Yellow Pages invoices. This adds to the confusion.

How To Protect Yourself

Examine the piece of mail you have received and determine whether it is a solicitation or an invoice. If it is a solicitation, you should see a disclaimer required by the U.S. Postal Service. It states, THIS IS NOT A BILL. THIS IS A SOLICITATION. YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO PAY THE AMOUNT STATED ABOVE UNLESS YOU ACCEPT THIS OFFER. But whether you see this solicitation disclaimer or not, be wary.

Consider taking the following additional precautions:

l Investigate the company and its product before responding.

l Ask for a copy of a previous directory edition.

l Ask the publisher for written information about its directories. Ask for distribution figures, the method of distribution, and the directory's life span.

l Ask where the directories are distributed and whether they go to all local telephone customers.

l Ask if directories are available free. If there is a fee, ask for the cost.

l Call your local Yellow Pages publisher to learn if it is associated with the company soliciting your business. If more than one Yellow Pages publisher distributes directories in your area, call the publishers whose books you are considering for your ad; ask if they are associated with the company that sent you the solicitation.

l Check with consumer protection officials in your state and in the state where the company is located to learn if they have received any complaints about the publisher. Keep in mind, however, that suspect companies often leave before complaints are registered or before local authorities have a chance to act. Just because your local consumer protection agency has no complaints on file against a company, that does not mean the business is legitimate.

What To Do if You Are a Victim

If you believe you have been the victim of this misrepresentation scheme, contact the U.S. Postal Inspector office as directed above.

You also may direct questions about Yellow Pages directory publishers to the Yellow Pages Publishers Association (YPPA), a private trade association representing over 140 Yellow Pages publishers throughout the United States. Write: Yellow Pages Publishers Association, 340 E. Big Beaver Road, 5th Floor, Troy, MI 48083.

For More Information

To learn how to protect yourself from other fraudulent sales practices that may affect your business, send for the free brochure, Buying by Phone. Write: Public Reference, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C. 20580. You also may write to this address for a free copy of Best Sellers, which lists all the FTC's consumer and business publications.

Below is my email that I have sent to the Better Business Bureau, hoping we can recoup the money. I just know this was a scam:

To Whom It May Concern:

I have a serious issue with your company. Yesterday I received a rude phone call from a representative named Gordie (phone: 866-270-6697 ext 601) demanding payment on an invoice. I asked him what he was referring to and he said that he was calling from National Yellow Pages. He needed a fax number and would fax the invoice. I told him that I had never received any invoice from National Yellow Pages and I didn't know what he was referring to.

After a long sigh, he said that I had purchased an ad in National Yellow Pages and it had been running since 02-14-08. I asked him if this was a joke. He became quite angry and said No, it was not a joke. So I told him to fax a copy of the invoice to 540-785-9772 and to put a number of someone higher than him on there as I would need to get this straightened out.

I did receive the invoice via fax, with of course no number to contact any superior.

I remembered speaking with National Yellow Pages and found my notes from 02-14-08 when I spoke with a Valerie at National Yellow Pages and then a Shannon. On my note, I have Shannon's phone number ( 866-270-6697) and I have where he works in Quality Control. When I had orignally spoken to Valerie (the one who made the cold phone call), she quoted me a price of $389.00 for a national listing ad and told me that she would mail out information for us to review prior to this purchase (after I asked her for information to review-it was not originally offered). I had already told her that we only have ONE location and we are local, so we didn't need to be included in the National Listing. However, she continued to talk to me about putting our business in the listing - so because she had told me that I could review documents prior to purchasing, I was ok with everything.

She then transferred me to Shannon in Quality Control. He talked about the listing and gave me a reference number. I did not authorize a purchase, though I did tell both Shannon & Valerie that I was authorized to make purchases for this business.

Today Gordie called back - he spoke with the owner of Premier Physical Therapy-Yvette Slezak. He played back the recording of my conversation with Shannon. During the recording, Shannon's explanation of the fact that I was in fact authorizing a purchase was crystal clear the first time, which right off makes me truly believe that this tape has been tampered with. Because right after he says that, you hear me ask him to repeat himself. This is because I could not understand a word he said - he was WAY to quiet. He does repeat himself and I say yes. This I will admit to as it is the truth. However, I feel completely and udderly scammed. Because I was told that I would be able to review this information PRIOR to purchasing it. And I was lied to.

Interesting how the only recorded conversation is the one between myself & Shannon - but there is no record for when Valerie tells me, after I asked her, that she will send out documents to review before I have to make any decisions.

I checked the mail for weeks, and because I never received anything, I figured that the initial call was a scam and nothing would happen.

I am so disturbed by the whole ordeal, I don't know what to do. When I try to even look National Yellow Pages Online up on the internet, nothing even shows.

How can I trust this?

The owner has since paid for this listing.

I think this is absurd. I know how businesses run. And when something like this happens, you write it off. Therefore, I am asking for a refund in full and I am contacting the Better Business Bureau. Something needs to be done to people who think that they can make cold phone calls and charge people's accounts.

My wife fran has the same problem as Jenny Park with nat.yellow pages online. I had abusive phone calls and down right harrasment. I just received a bill in the mail today 06-06-08, wanting over 600.00 from nov. of last yr. That's the first mail I have received from them.This group is out of Russell,Il.

Hey Bill ~ Let me know if you were able to do anything about it? I'm still so irritated that they got away with what they did. They shouldn't be allowed to remain in business. I did complain to the Better Business Bureau and after I put up a fight, I still lost. They directed me to small claims court.

just wanted to comment to you all. For those of you who lost money, i hate it for you. You probably wont get any back. for those who are receiving invoices, you can do one of two things. You can ignore them or you can just do everything in your power to piss them off. I made one guy so mad that he was literally screaming at me. You dont have to pay a dime. They will stop calling eventually.

Oh My Gosh!! Jenny Park's is the exact same story as we have with my business.
My business associate told "Richard" that she was not interested and needed to talk to her business partner, me.

After getting the invoice and looking up the useless listing we called back and got receptionist who directed us to "Richard" again who then sent us to the legal department, who had the same "tape" of the conversation that Jenny described.

To date I have spoken to only 2 different people. They both claimed that hey would call us back. Left 5 different messages, faxed that they are a scam organization. Asked to speak to thier legal department, got Voice mail.

7/22/2008
Spoke to a JOHN DANIELS in the legal Department. He played back the recording of my partner speking to Quality Control "Shane". Many skips and 2x my partner indicated that she was not authorizing a charge nor was she going to authorize a invoice payment until she saw what she was getting and spoke to me.
JOHN Daniels indicated that he would cancel the listing, zero out the charge and never call back again.

I reccomend that whenever you are getting a call from a company such as this, ALWAYS verify and speak loudly your intentions to the "Quality Control" representative. Never use the phrase YES or I am in a position of authority.

BUYERS BEWARE!!!!

SCAM ORGANIZATION!!!

The best thing to do is send letters of compliant to various Attorney's General in the home state of the company and your home state and also to the Postmaster General, the DMA (Direct Marketing Association), the FTC and the FCC (just to cover your bases).

I recently got a call from the collection agency of Goam Media from Beth Porter @ 1-888-401-3843 x 2457. She stated that my employee stated that she was authorizing an agreement to be billed for services in their yellow pages $489). Of course they let me listen to the verification of the order, but it was so tampered with. My employee would have never answered "yes" to the fact the she was authorized to make this transaction and she did not. What I wanted to hear was the original phone conversation, which of course was not taped. After hearing everything that Ms. Porter had to say about the FCC, the FTC, the FTD the CIA and anything else she could rattle off in 5 minutes with her intimidation tactics. I told her I wasn't paying a dime and hung up. I then called back and asked to hear the rest of the conversation, as I said before they did not have it. But she did give me their complaint address:

GOAM Media
2520 SW 22nd St.
Unit 2-354
Miami, FL 33145

and said that when I had my lawyer directly call her that she could connect him to Mark Lewis in their legal department.

She said she'd file a formal complaint for me and gave me a number and also her employee number (whatever that does??) Let them rot. I don't care how many times I have to hang up on them!!!

We will form a formal complaint to the FCC, BBB and my lawyer.

Hey,
I just posted a comment about GoAm today. I sent letters to the BBB, my Attorney General in Illinois and the state of Florida, and also to the FTC. Check out the BBB website info of this company and the complaints they've had and their F rating. Please send your complaints in. This cannot go on!!!!

http://www.bbbsoutheastflorida.org/BBBWeb/Forms/Business/CompanyReportPage_Expository.aspx?CompanyID=92005394

jj in chitown

The exact same thing happened to my company. I don't know how these people sleep at night. The nerve to be attacking small business like this!
We have been dealing with them for several months now. It has gotten to the point where it is almost humorous. They call to yell and threaten us with there claims and tell us that we may as well pay it because the amount with just build in collections. We tell them they can call all they want, we are not paying it. We have even received calls from their phony in house "Collections Department". Again, we always tell them they can call all they want, we are not paying for something where services were never rendered. They don't have a leg to stand on legally. A tampered with recording of a verbal yes means nothing. Aside from the fact that they couldn't afford to take everyone to small claims over $400.
My advise -
DO NOT PAY!!! No matter how much they hassle you. They will give up eventually.