Because of telephone deregulation Verizon and other phone companies are required to allow 3rd party billing on your phone bill. Other companies are allowed to include charges on your phone bill for email, voice conferencing or other services. However, many business and residential customers are discovering charges they have not authorized. It is difficult to find these charges unless you are very carefully checking your bill. Here in Virginia, Verizon and these 3rd party billers appear to making lots of money billing for these unauthorized services.


Integrated Voice Services of Tampa Florida has been charging my company $7.30 for the last 8 months on my Verizon phone bill. On my bill it says Integrated Voice SVCS on page 3. It is really hard to determine that this is a 3rd party billing on my Verizon bill. I called the company's customer support number and was routed to India. They offered to cancel my service as soon as I called (of course they would because they don't want me to cause a fuss). I am causing a fuss.

I own an IT company and decided to ask some of my customers to check their telephone bills. The very first customer I visited had unauthorized charges from Integrated Voice Services of Tampa Florida. I then asked the business next door to mine to check their bill and they too were being charged as well. The next day I was shopping for furniture and got into a conversation with the owner and yes he had also been charged by the same company. Based on my small sampling I can only imagine how many millions of dollars Integrated Voice Services and Verizon has stolen from honest unsuspecting customers.

I believe this company and Verizon should pay huge penalties for scamming people through their telephone bill. Usually when someone discovers they are being charged for unauthorized services they just complain and have the service canceled. It is your right to have all unauthorized charges refunded to you. Integrated Voice Services will try and tell you that they have a voice recording of someone in your office approving charges. This usually happens after some telemarketer usually from India calls to confirm your information. My advice is to hang up, call your phone company and put a cramming block on your phone bill.

I have contacted the Florida Attorney General's office and filed a complaint with the FTC.

People check your phone bill, there could be a thief lurking there.