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Thousands of Verizon Wireless customers are getting phony e-Bills that claim to be from the wireless phone company, but in fact come from one of the most sophisticated phishing scams seen yet. The Better Business Bureau reports scores of complaints from across the country, with bills looking nearly identical to e-mails sent directly from Verizon Wireless.  Only the amounts have been changed — boosted in some cases to more than $1,200.  Unwitting customers who click on the e-mail link are invited to make payment arrangements with any major credit card, which ends up in the hands of the scammer. WCPO in Cincinnati reports this scam almost fooled some Verizon Wireless customers. If the scammer was a little less greedy, it might have worked. (2 minutes)

Vidéotron, Quebec’s largest cable operator, is secretly filming some of their technicians on fake service calls to verify they are providing professional service to the company’s customers.

But instead of keeping the results to themselves, the company is publishing the resulting videos to their website for customers to enjoy.

A total of 21 technicians were put to the test, and the company set up some outrageous challenges for them to overcome, starting with a single woman trying to convince her mother the technician was her boyfriend, with comical results.

While we are unlikely to see the Vidéotron technicians that failed the tests, the company has launched a publicity campaign to praise itself for excellent service.

“Our conscientious technicians are ambassadors for Vidéotron and its values,” said Manon Brouillette, president of consumer markets. “We are very proud of them. They have achieved an impressive 96% customer satisfaction rate and this campaign is a tip of the hat to their great work.”

Putting technicians to the test, especially those working for third-party subcontractors, might not be a bad idea for some U.S. cable companies to try, especially after some of those technicians were later arrested for sexual assault, theft, and other crimes.

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Watch Vidéotron’s first edition of its hidden camera trap for company technicians, when a single woman gets in over her head with a little white lie.  (2 minutes)

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Cox Cable has slammed its phone company competition in a series of new TV commercials that call out antiquated and slow DSL. But customers switching to Cox have to endure that company’s unjustified Internet Overcharging schemes.  Cox arbitrarily limits your Internet usage in an effort to maximize profits and reduce costs.  Watching the online video Cox advertises could put you perilously close to your monthly allowance. Exceed it once too often and you may find your account shut off.

Cox executives promise they’ll listen to customers and what they want. Stop the Cap! urges you to participate in our pushback against Cox usage caps. Tell the cable company it does no good selling their broadband service for online video when the company threatens to shut it down if you watch “too much.”  (2 minutes)

Mayweather

Stop the Cap! reader Nick in Grand Rapids dropped us a line to share yet another Comcast customer service bungle.

Last Saturday, several Comcast customers who paid an incredible $60 to watch the pay-per-view Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s fight against Miguel Cotto were themselves knocked out when their screens went dark with six rounds yet to be fought.

Mayweather is a Grand Rapids native.

Outraged, customers called Comcast late Saturday night looking for an explanation and a refund (after they called friends to find out who won).

Comcast couldn’t be bothered.

‘Call back Monday,’ came the response from Comcast customer service reports Shaun DeWolf.

Monday came and went and Comcast still had not refunded his money.  He called WOOD-TV 8 looking for some justice.

“It’s done and over with now,” DeWolf told 24 Hour News 8. “But at least [give me a] refund and a reason why it went out.”

The newsroom called Comcast.

A Comcast spokesperson told WOOD-TV the cable system had no major outages Saturday.  DeWolf assumed that might be the response and took snapshots of the TV screen showing Comcast’s general pay-per-view information… and no fight.

Other viewers reported similar problems.

Comcast said it is looking into the matter, but there has been no definitive decision about whether DeWolf will get his $60 back. That is ultimately all he cares about, DeWolf told the station.

If this happened to you, Comcast recommends calling customer service at 1-800-COMCAST or go online to file a complaint.

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WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids intervened to help get a Comcast customer a refund for an expensive pay per view event he never got to watch.  (2 minutes)

A Comcast discount mix-up leaves customers with substantial rate hikes. (Image: KVAL News)

Several Comcast customers in Springfield, Ore. are facing a whopping $100 rate increase on their Comcast service after the cable company discovered they were getting a company-applied discount Comcast later determined they were not entitled to receive.

Elizabeth Thornton, a pensioner living on modest military and social security benefits is among them. When her latest cable bill arrived, instead of the usual $95.28, Comcast raised the price by almost $100 to $193.23.

That’s a lot more than expected, and it left Thornton upset trying to figure out how to cover the bill.

It turns out an undetermined number of Comcast customers in Springfield were given discounts for fire stations, which enjoy 50% off regular Comcast prices. Thornton agreed to a one-year contract at the lower price Comcast employees offered, even though the company later determined she was unqualified to receive that price.

Comcast has been discovering the error when customers call regarding their accounts.

Now affected customers want to know why it is okay for Comcast to lock people into price-guaranteed service contracts they later renege on.

Comcast spokesperson Theressa Davis told KVAL News the fire station discount was the company’s mistake, and the cable company will now reach out to affected customers to offer “an appropriate discount.”

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KVAL News visited with the daughter of Elizabeth Thornton, who is upset because Comcast raised her monthly rate by almost $100, leaving her unsure how she’ll pay the bill.  (2 minutes)