[BC] Bizarre cell charges- Blinko/Verizon

[Reader]

Surprise charges upset cell-phone users
Products often weren't ordered, some complain
By Thomas Stauffer
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Meg Lee doesn't fully understand what cell-phone 
wallpaper is, but she's paying for it to the tune of $19.95 a month.

Every month, charges from an Italian company ? 
doing business in the U.S. as Blinko ? for 
products Lee neither wanted nor received are 
appearing on her Verizon Wireless phone bill. 
Charges for wallpaper, ringtones and other 
downloadable products keep showing up, despite 
repeated attempts to cancel the service, Lee said.

"It's a real scam, and I think people should be made aware of it," she said.

Lee said Verizon refuses to remove or refund the 
charges. The company advised her to contact 
Blinko to reverse them, a suggestion that Lee and 
others have found is easier said than done, she said.
"I got billed again this month, and that's after 
I changed my cell phone number, because Verizon 
said there was nothing they could do about it and 
that changing my number was the only way to stop 
it," she said. "Well, it didn't."

Lee said she tried to cancel the charges through 
Blinko's toll-free number, but it referred her to 
the company's Web site. Attempts to cancel the 
service through the site were unsuccessful, 
because the site either crashed or went into a 
never-ending loop that brought Lee back to a different Web page, she said.
Dozens of postings in Internet chat rooms 
chronicle similarly unsuccessful attempts.

Blinko, also known as Buongiorno USA, is the 
subject of an investigation by the Florida 
Attorney General's Office and a national class-action lawsuit.

Repeated calls and e-mails to Blinko, which has 
its U.S. headquarters in Miami, Fla., were not returned.

more at: http://www.azstarnet.com/business/145878.php

How Blinko signs you up:
You may receive an unsolicited text message, such 
as a daily horoscope or joke of the day. If you 
accept it, you become a "Blinko Club member."
You may take advantage of an offer for a free 
ringtone from the company, which also makes you a club member.
Someone else who knows your cell-phone number and 
your provider can sign you up on Blinko's Web site.




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