My partner received a cold phone call from Excite Mobile (aka Telco in a Box) offering her a new phone and entry into a draw for a weekend hotel break. She is a bit naive in these matters and gave her details to the caller. The phone was received along with a 2 year contract with particularly expensive call rates. I called the company and told them I was sending the phone back and didn’t appreciate the way they did business. The (Indian?) account manager was very aggressive and threatened us with debt collectors. I sent the phone back and wrote saying I didn’t expect to hear from them again. On 15th December Excite Mobile tried to withdraw $825 from my partner’s account and have since sent an invoice for $866.50.

I don’t know if Excite Mobile has done anything illegal but they certainly try to take advantage of people’s weaknesses.