scam.com — I got scammed by calling home from Costa Rica (off my Resort) for $200 bucks for 3 calls!! They were all under 5-10 minutes long, don't get scammed on your next vacation. Read up a little, trust me! Its such a pain now trying to fight this company to get a refund for this. Never EVER use a Credit Card to call home, even from a 5 star Resort!
Apr 26, 2007 View in Crawl 4
skybolt21May 3, 2007
Yup. Got me too. Just got back from Grand Cayman only to find over $200 worth of charges on our credit card bill for maybe 5 or 6 minutes of phone use. We were charged $41 a call, even if no-one picked up on the other end.... called like 5 times but only got an answer twice. RIDICULOUS. This company needs to be put out of business NOW. Get the word out.... BBG needs a good class action suit to shape them up...
investigativeguOct 31, 2010
Contact us at http://www.investigativeguy.com.We have just done one story on them and want to urge consumers to take action.e mail us at investigativeguy@gmail.com
John Mattes
jakexMay 15, 2007Submitter
Check the site, actually after about 4 weeks of waiting after emailing Naomi (guessing some manager / rep) replied to me and credited my all my calls! So it was a hassle, I was persistent but in the end I got my full refund.
edk89May 16, 2007
HOW TO GET YOUR MONEY BACKI was scammed by BBG for over $600 and is one of the fortunate to get my money back!It takes time but it works!Step 1File a complaint with Better Business Bureau at <a class="user" href="http://www.sandiego.bbb.org/framemaker.html?i=http://complaints.bbb.org/Welcome.asp">http://www.sandiego.bbb.org/framemaker.html?i=http://complaints.bbb.org/Welcome.asp</a>This is important and tells BBG that you are using all possible channels to get your money back. BBB will contact them number of times in your behave.Step 2Write an email to Noemi Olmos at noemi@bbgcomm.comShe is a customer contact manager.When writing an email try to express your feeling about the company, be as angry as you can be but do not use R rated vocabulary. They use special spam filters that will not let your email go thru if you use the words they really deserve.Write as often as possible, at least once a day. Few times I've sent her the same email 20 times on the same day. She ended up replying back via email asking for the credit card number which initially I did not want to send but did it anyway. Continue sending emails still. Monitor your credit card account at least twice a day, just in case. She finally called me and informed that they will refund all the money.I also initiated a dispute with my credit card company but ended up canceling it. It takes them a long time to start doing anything and there are no guaranties.You can imagine how happy I was when I saw this in my inbox about 1 week after her phone call:"Please be informed that we will issue a one time courtesy credit in the amount of $620.00 USD.Kind RegardsNoemi Olmos"Good luck!
beautyltnAug 26, 2008
Hey edk89, thank you for this comment. The same thing happened to me, they took over $500 from me. I was staying at a 5 star hotel and they had the company advertised on the hotel room phones so i thought i could trust them. I was soo wrong!!! Is there any way you can send me a draft of the type of email you sent to them. I am not sure how mean i can get, i am pretty pissed but i do not know if in writing it will convey it or not. I would apprecaite the help a lot, i am a senior at college and money does not come by easily. Thanks!
saadroOct 16, 2008
Thanks Skybolt21 and edk89.I have also been a victim of this scam. It took only one email to Noemi with the threat of reporting them to the ACCC (The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission) as well as threatening to use the resources of the company that I work for to pursue the matter further if necessary. They replied requesting my credit card number to check the calls. The next email response from them was similar to the one that edk89 mentioned.Good luck.
scammedbybbgJul 18, 2009
Hey edk89. You were badly scammed, you got furious, you wasted a lot of your time, you got your money back. Glad to hear it. But this isn't justice. Justice is getting this business shut down and getting all of the nice folks at BBG incarcerated. After you, BBG just succeeded in scamming a few more tens of thousands of travelers and said, "another wonderful day!"Here's how I spent my day yesterday. It took a lot of time, but I suggest that anyone who is scammed by this despicable company do the same.1. Report BBG to the IRS (irs.gov) using form 3949-A for suspected tax fraud. Any company whose business is robbing unsuspecting travelers at pay phones is almost certainly cheating the IRS out of millions. 2. Report BBG to the FBI using the FBI online form for suspected crime (fbi.gov). The FBI's online site lists gross lack of normal, fair, free, and open competition as an earmark of organized crime. What I've seen of BBG surely fits the bill. 3. Report BBG to the FCC. Details at ffc.gov. 4. Report BBG to the Better Business Bureau.5. Report BBG to the California State Attorney General's Office (on my to-do list for today).6. Call BBG customer support at (619) 661-6661, announce that you have done all of the above, and then hang up. Repeat at least five times.7. Email noemi@bbgcomm.com saying you have done all of the above. Send letter at least twenty times. Repeat the next day.8. Google "BBG" together with "phone," and read the many reports from people cheated by this horrible business so that you will savor every moment you spend helping to put this business where it belongs.BBG has managed to thrive in the business of crime because they know they can buy off individuals and make them go away. Their crime will end only when those they scam go on the offensive, contact all relevant authorities, and say that getting my $200 or $300 or $500 back is not *nearly* enough punishment for the misery this company has inflicted upon countless travelers.
dcdamesDec 6, 2009
Want to say that BBG Communication is getting ready for the 2010 South African World Cup Soccer - be aware, they are running all the phones in Protea Hotels... if you make a single call to anywhere they will charge you at least $41 for the connection. Be careful!!
sonysgDec 23, 2009
Since last week, BBG has been doing this to me. I was in LondonHeathrow airport and made 2 successful international calls and onefailed call on 18th December 2009, which was anyway too much for 2minute call($20+ per call). But these guys have been debiting mycredit card even yesterday and today when my card wasnt used at all.on 18th Dec - they have charged for 3 calls(including failed call) -for a total of $60+ and today (23 Dec 09)they have charged again $22+ twice ($44+)and $1 yesterday (22 Dec 09)that I hadto block my credit card.
investigativeguOct 31, 2010
HI John Mattes here
We are talking to consumers about the BBG scam and hope to propose a way to take action. in the meantime enjoy the story we did on them . You can see it at http://www.investigativeguy.com
Please contact us at Investigativeguy@gmail.com
John Mattes
investigativeguSep 9, 2010
The BBG/ Faircall/ International Satellite Communications scam must be stopped
John Mattes here at Investigativeguy.com .We are talking to consumers around the globe and asking for details of how they got scammed by BBG./ International SatelliteCommunications / faircall ... so we can take action. The scam has gone on for at least 5 years at hotels and pay phones all over the world.If enough consumers stand up we can end the scam .Write giving us details of how they scammed you. Send to investigativeguy@gmail.com
See all our scam busting stories at http://www.investigativeguy.com
Thank you in advance
I-guy
class123Nov 9, 2010
Class Action Against BBG Communications. Payphone Credit Card Scam
If you feel that you have been scammed and have a complaint against this company then continue to this website: www.bbgcommunications.info and join the CLASS ACTION
BBG Communications overcharges thousands of consumers a day at payphones around the world .The scam is simple, their payphones which are in international airports and hotels list the price for coin calls, but there is no mention of the outrageous charges for credit card calls.
Unsuspecting travelers who use a credit card to make a call only learn when they get their credit card bill that the minimum call could cost over $25.Consumers tell us they also get huge bills for calls that don’t even go through
The company goes by a number of names, BBG Londoon, BBG Luxembourg, International Satellite Communications, BBG Holand, Faircall, NTCS etc. For consumers whatever the name, the outcome is the same, being stuck with huge credit card bills.
One of the reasons BBG COMMUNICATIONS are getting away with their activities is because the amounts involved per individual are insignificant enough not to warrant victims taking individual legal action. But a CLASS ACTION can be instituted on behalf of a large group of people collectively bringing a claim to court
Add your claim to the CLASS ACTION.
www.bbgcommunications.info
class123Nov 9, 2010
Class Action Against BBG Communications. Payphone Credit Card Scam
If you feel that you have been scammed and have a complaint against this company then continue to this website: www.bbgcommunications.info and join the CLASS ACTION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BBG Communications overcharges thousands of consumers a day at payphones around the world .The scam is simple, their payphones which are in international airports and hotels list the price for coin calls, but there is no mention of the outrageous charges for credit card calls.
Unsuspecting travelers who use a credit card to make a call only learn when they get their credit card bill that the minimum call could cost over $25.Consumers tell us they also get huge bills for calls that don’t even go through
The company goes by a number of names, BBG Londoon, BBG Luxembourg, International Satellite Communications, BBG Holand, Faircall, NTCS etc. For consumers whatever the name, the outcome is the same, being stuck with huge credit card bills.
One of the reasons BBG COMMUNICATIONS are getting away with their activities is because the amounts involved per individual are insignificant enough not to warrant victims taking individual legal action. But a CLASS ACTION can be instituted on behalf of a large group of people collectively bringing a claim to court
Add your claim to the CLASS ACTION.
www.bbgcommunications.info
investigativeguNov 18, 2010
Good news.There is now a consumer class action filed against BBG
go to http://www.bbgovercharge.com to join the fight for refunds