WARNING TO SENIOR CITIZENS OR ANYONE WITH ELDERLY PARENTS

The Office of Consumer Advocate is urging consumers to beware of phone calls offering a “senior discount” on their telephone service.

A company by the name of “Buzz Telecom” is targeting senior citizens by giving the impression that they are agents of the customer’s current local telephone company and telling them that they can save money on their long distance.  Instead of lowering the customer’s rates, the customer finds that they have been switched to another long distance carrier and billed at higher rates. The telemarketers who call the unsuspecting consumer, often use bully tactics in order to get them to agree to what they are offering.

Several states have filed charges against this company and Pennsylvania is currently staying on the lookout for any activity in the Commonwealth.

Any Pennsylvania consumer who feels that they may have been a victim of Buzz Telecom, may contact the Office of Consumer Advocate at consumer@paoca.org or by calling 800-684-6560.