BELLEVUE, Neb. -- An elderly Bellevue woman said she was billed for more than $1,000 in phone sex calls that she never made.
Arlene Hald, 86, said she was surprised to receive a bill addressed to her husband, Sylvester, who has been dead for nearly 20 years.
"I've never had a credit card, so I figure it's too late in my life to get started with one," she said.
Sylvester Hald never had a credit card, either, yet an account in his name was charged for phone sex services.
"We knew this was wrong," said Arlene Hald's daughter, Peggy Rytych.
Rytych said she suspected her late father was the victim of identity theft and called Preferred Platinum Plan, the billing company. It agreed to forgive the charges.
"So we thought, 'OK, that's the end of it,'" Rytych said. "Then last week, she got a new bill from them in my dad's name and the same address for another $71.49."
Rytych called the KETV NewsWatch 7 I-Team, which discovered that the Preferred Platinum Plan has received hundreds of similar complaints nationwide. The Better Business Bureau gives the California-based company a failing grade.
KETV NewsWatch 7 I-Team investigator Carol Kloss called a company representative. He asked that if Arlene Hald hasn't made the phone calls, who did.
"She has no idea," Kloss said on the phone. "This is an 86-year-old woman. Do you think she has any idea who's making sex phone calls?"
The company representative agreed to remove the latest charge and promised never to bill her again.
Hald and her daughter said they hope it puts the matter to rest once and for all.
The Nebraska Attorney General encouraged anyone who has received bills from Preferred Platinum Plan to contact the Consumer Protection Division at 800-727-6432.
source:http://www.ketv.com/news/18755523/detail.html
