Help! This has me puzzled

and apparently customer service at Verizon, too.

So...we have Cingular (not relevant to topic). My husband's credit card shows two charges to a Verizon customer under the heading VZ CALL*TO and then the cell number. I recognize the number and know that this person is a Verizon customer. It's not on our cell phone bill, and when I called Verizon, they looked up this person's account and said the billing cycle wasn't complete yet and couldn't see if any calls had been placed to my husband's number or received by his number on that particular date.

Verizon has no idea....says they are unfamiliar with any features that let you redirect the charge onto a credit card rather than it showing on your cell phone bill. Pretty handy if one wants to "hide" that he made this call. It was also long distance at the time, as we were out of town, and I guess a possibility that it could've been placed from a landline, but not likely as our cottage did not have a phone and we were just using our cells.

So, is this a feature that Verizon customers have? Verizon said they have no record of my husband having any type of account with them, based on his name/DOB/SSN...all that.

Any detectives want to help me figure this out? Thanks in advance!

~S~

At 10 Aug 2007 22:08:23 -0400 Stardust wrote:
> My husband's credit
> card shows two charges to a Verizon customer under the heading VZ
> CALL*TO and then the cell number. I recognize the number and know that
> this person is a Verizon customer. It's not on our cell phone bill, and
> when I called Verizon, they looked up this person's account and said the
> billing cycle wasn't complete yet and couldn't see if any calls had been
> placed to my husband's number or received by his number on that
> particular date.


Just for clarity, WHICH Verizon are you talking about? Verizon the
landline phone company, or Verizon Wireless, the cellphone company.
Typically the cellphone company abbreviates themselves VZW, not VZ, like
your credit card Bill indicates.

I don't know of any way to charge a wireless call to a credit card, but
you could certainly charge a Verizon payphone call to one, or perhaps an
operator-assisted long-distance call.



> Any detectives want to help me figure this out? Thanks in advance!

I don't suppose you've considered simply asking your husband?


--

"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures or double
as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for all the bells and whistles,
but I could communicate better with ACTUAL bells and whistles."
-Bill Maher 9/25/2003

I haven't asked him just yet, b/c this kind of thing has happened in the past, and I feel better approaching the situation armed with information.

I was referring to Verizon wireless, so maybe that's it...it was a call from a payphone instead.

Thanks for the response!

Just divorce him and you'll both be happier.

-Frank

"Stardust" <Stardust.2v4xmo@no-mx.wirelessforums.org> wrote in message
news:Stardust.2v4xmo@no-mx.wirelessforums.org...
>
> and apparently customer service at Verizon, too.
>
> So...we have Cingular (not relevant to topic). My husband's credit
> card shows two charges to a Verizon customer under the heading VZ
> CALL*TO and then the cell number. I recognize the number and know that
> this person is a Verizon customer. It's not on our cell phone bill, and
> when I called Verizon, they looked up this person's account and said the
> billing cycle wasn't complete yet and couldn't see if any calls had been
> placed to my husband's number or received by his number on that
> particular date.
>
> Verizon has no idea....says they are unfamiliar with any features that
> let you redirect the charge onto a credit card rather than it showing on
> your cell phone bill. Pretty handy if one wants to "hide" that he made
> this call. It was also long distance at the time, as we were out of
> town, and I guess a possibility that it could've been placed from a
> landline, but not likely as our cottage did not have a phone and we were
> just using our cells.
>
> So, is this a feature that Verizon customers have? Verizon said they
> have no record of my husband having any type of account with them, based
> on his name/DOB/SSN...all that.
>
> Any detectives want to help me figure this out? Thanks in advance!
>
> ~S~
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> View this thread: http://www.wirelessforums.org/alt-cellular-verizon/help-has-me-puzzled-26753.html
> http://www.wirelessforums.org
>

"Todd Allcock" <elecconnec@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote in message
newsjcvi.13099$xN1.4273@fe117.usenetserver.com.. .
> I don't know of any way to charge a wireless call to a credit card, but
> you could certainly charge a Verizon payphone call to one, or perhaps an
> operator-assisted long-distance call.

This may be ancient history and not relevant, but I encountered something
like this back in the days of analog. In 1999, Hurricane Floyd caused major
flooding. I had my cellular service with AT&T at the time. Apparently AT&T
had gotten a great deal on a piece of land in NJ (I think it was in Rochelle
Park) and put their main switching center there without asking anyone why
the land was so cheap. They found out after Floyd - the whole center was
flooded and AT&T cellular service was off the air throughout the Northeast
for several days. During one of those days, while in my home area - in a
place where I always had a good strong AT&T signal, I urgently needed to
make a call and after I dialed the number, I was connected to an operator
who demanded a credit card number. I had no choice, so I gave the credit
card number. At the end of the month, I found I had been billed $12.00 for a
one-minute local call. I assume this sort of thing can't happen with most
digital plans, but if your phone still has analog and you are unable to lock
on to a preferred signal but you can get someone else's analog signal, there
may be someone ready to take advantage of you.

On 2007-08-11, Stardust <Stardust.2v4xmo@no-mx.wirelessforums.org> wrote:
> Any detectives want to help me figure this out? Thanks in advance!

I agree that it would be best just to ask your husband. My guess,
however, would be that they're payphone charges.

Dennis Ferguson

At 11 Aug 2007 13:13:56 -0400 Nick Danger wrote:
> I urgently needed to
> make a call and after I dialed the number, I was connected to an
operator
> who demanded a credit card number. I had no choice, so I gave the
credit
> card number. At the end of the month, I found I had been billed $12.00
for a
> one-minute local call. I assume this sort of thing can't happen with
most
> digital plans, but if your phone still has analog and you are unable to
lock
> on to a preferred signal but you can get someone else's analog signal,
there
> may be someone ready to take advantage of you.

Ahh, the good ol' ARN- the "American Roaming Network." They're still
around, charging something like $5 per call and $3/minute. They also
offer prepaid calling-card service now- $25 buys you 100 outgoing minutes
usable on any unactivated analog phone. (Incoming service is
unavailable, of course.)


--

"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures or double
as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for all the bells and whistles,
but I could communicate better with ACTUAL bells and whistles."
-Bill Maher 9/25/2003

For you to be feeling the need to scrutinize phone records, is all the
ammunition you need. Sounds like time for a heart to heart. Good luck


"Stardust" <Stardust.2v4xmo@no-mx.wirelessforums.org> wrote in message
news:Stardust.2v4xmo@no-mx.wirelessforums.org...
>
> and apparently customer service at Verizon, too.
>
> So...we have Cingular (not relevant to topic). My husband's credit
> card shows two charges to a Verizon customer under the heading VZ
> CALL*TO and then the cell number. I recognize the number and know that
> this person is a Verizon customer. It's not on our cell phone bill, and
> when I called Verizon, they looked up this person's account and said the
> billing cycle wasn't complete yet and couldn't see if any calls had been
> placed to my husband's number or received by his number on that
> particular date.
>
> Verizon has no idea....says they are unfamiliar with any features that
> let you redirect the charge onto a credit card rather than it showing on
> your cell phone bill. Pretty handy if one wants to "hide" that he made
> this call. It was also long distance at the time, as we were out of
> town, and I guess a possibility that it could've been placed from a
> landline, but not likely as our cottage did not have a phone and we were
> just using our cells.
>
> So, is this a feature that Verizon customers have? Verizon said they
> have no record of my husband having any type of account with them, based
> on his name/DOB/SSN...all that.
>
> Any detectives want to help me figure this out? Thanks in advance!
>
> ~S~
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> View this thread: http://www.wirelessforums.org/showthread.php?t=26753
> http://www.wirelessforums.org
>

Pegleg wrote:
> On Sat, 11 Aug 2007 08:05:36 -0400, Stardust
> <Stardust.2v6toq@no-mx.wirelessforums.org> wrote:
>
>> I haven't asked him just yet, b/c this kind of thing has happened in the
>> past, and I feel better approaching the situation armed with
>> information.
>
> Ha! Maybe you should get a divorce lawyer or at least seek counseling!

Yep: good divorce lawyer! My first thought on reading the OP.

Wherever you live, OP, don't forget to check the EasyPass (or whatever
it is called in your area) billing records on your accounts that will
show where the errant spouse was headed and returned through the toll
portals.

Q

I have the same thing on my credit card, dated 8/31 - "VZ CALL*TO", apparently from a company called "VZ Call" according to the credit card company. But they won't tell me anything else.
Thanks