Anyone use "US Directory" which they associate with yellow pages - or is it a scam?

[tankman1989]

I don't know if I made a mistake in dealing with this company. http://www.usdirectory.com/. I received some yellow pages solicitations in the mail over the last month or so and the last few days I started to receive phone calls from "US Directory". The woman was definitely from India or the Philippines and was persistent in her sales pitch. She had a good bit of my company information and was selling a $5/month advertising +$.25 per referral.

I was very hesitant upon signing up but when I looked at their website and asked if this was a division of yellow pages or yellow book, she said yellow pages. They have the yellow pages "icon" on their site so I figured that it was legit. I decided to try it as I could cancel with a 100% money back garuntee within 60 days with no cancellation fee.

Next came the account information. She wanted a checking account number but I said I wanted to use a credit card. After I gave her the info, she asked for my mothers maiden name and the last 4 digits of my SSN. This is where I stopped and decided no to go any further. I told her i wasn't comfortable giving that out so she then asked my birthdate and other security questions that I wasn't comfortable with. I decided not to continue with real information. I asked if I could see their website and fill it out online. I did and when it came to the security questions, I made up info as I figured this would be the safest route.

After signing up I did a search and found that the company had been reported as a scam. I also looked through their site and found local businesses advertising there so I am at a loss as to figuring out if they are legit or not.

Scroll down about 1/5 of the way down this page and see where it says that there was a lawsuit in Harrisburg, PA (and 25 other states) for fraudulent business practices. http://lee.org/blog/2007/09/29/usdirectorycom-is-a-scam/

Well, after seeing this I decided to cancel my check card immediately and told my bank what happened. They canceled it and were helpful.

I'm still not sure if this is a legit company or not and am wondering if any of you have had any experiences with them.

 

[callthatgirl]

I think I got the same call and they said my listing was free, then she got my info (no credit card though, just business info) and handed me over to the sales guy. I ended up hanging up on him because I smelled scam.

I dunno, I don't really trust the calls from foreign countries.

 

[tankman1989]

I think I got the same call and they said my listing was free, then she got my info (no credit card though, just business info) and handed me over to the sales guy. I ended up hanging up on him because I smelled scam.

I dunno, I don't really trust the calls from foreign countries.

I can't tell that it was from a foreign country, other than the accent. I know it sounds stupid not to think they are from over-seas, but people are called racist for less than that.

Just as a notice, the caller ID comes up as "Unknown name 123-456-7890" which I just found out is a Skype number...

I'm really P1ssed about these scammers. I get probably 6-9 a day and it gets really annoying!

 

[callthatgirl]

It's common knowledge today that folks from other countries are into the IT business and are marketing to Americans. Nothing racist about that, I assume talking to 2 different folks with accents = foreign marketers. Which whom I don't do business with. I can't believe I agreed to "confirm" the info to be honest, usually I just hang up.

Mine had a weird number too.

Edited to add: I get many foreign marketers on LinkedIn and my junk mail increasted greatly after I accepted their invites. Now I don't allow any foreign folks in..period. Took me forever to clean up that mess.

 

[sjlplat]

I'm usually skeptical about any form of telemarketing. I won't sign up for anything until I've researched it. Most telemarketers don't tell you everything you need to know.

 

[Poindexter]

I had the same kind of call. Very persistent. And I just asked for him to just send an email because I would like to see more information. He seemed bothered but complied with my request. The email was sent from an odd address. Not US Directory. So I just left it alone.

"February 22, 2010


Dear Sir/Madam,


Thank you for speaking with me and for your interest in a preferred listing in USDirectory.com. We discussed the many benefits of Internet advertising when we spoke and the following information outlines our discussion.

US Directory will place your business on the major online yellow page directories including USDirectory.com, Verizon's Superpages.com, with their millions of users, Switchboard.com; and on major search engines like Google and Yahoo! and all their affiliates.

- Our preferred listing is very effective in advertising your business throughout your Local area which will increase the number of customers who contact your or visit you.

- Your business is listed in up to 6 categories so you receive the maximum exposure in your market place. A restaurant; for example, might list: Restaurant, Italian, Catering, take-out, etc.

- Your preferred listing also includes 5 pages of website space to further advertise your business, provides a map for directions, space for Sales and Specials, even product pictures. The US Directory website will have a direct link to your promotional web pages at no additional charge.
If you want to remain competitive in today's market
www.usdirectory.com/ie5r will enable your company to take advantage of the thousands of searches each day! Only for $5 a month plus $0.25 per refence.

USDirectory.com Advantages:

- Trackable - see exactly how many customers visit your listing and who are looking for your product or service.
- Geographically targeted - Most yellow page users search locally
- Accurate - Your advertising can be modified and updated by you in a matter of seconds
- Increase traffic to your Business - Quickly reach users right at the moment they're ready to buy. Over 30 million page view per month!
- Expanded Reach - You will be TOP listed in, USDirectory.com, Superpages.com and Switchboard.com with additional exposure in MSN, Area Guides and Google.
- Satisfaction Guaranteed - No commitement, contract, or long- term obligation.

Please copy and paste the following URL to your web-browser to learn more or just click the link:
www.usdirectory.com/ie5r

Regards,US Directory Internet Yellow Pages
Toll Free: 1-800-842-1499"

And here is the address it came from info36@xacti.com

 

[tankman1989]

What I meant by being racist is saying that just because they have an accent they aren't from the US. It almost seems that some of them get offended when I ask where they are located. Many do all they can to avoid answering the question which makes me even less likely to deal with them.

I have another issue besides this one regarding an old medical bill for which I was charged $9,000/hr+ for an ambulance and two emt's who did nothing besides sit me on a bed/gurney and drive 1/2 mile down a hill to the hospital and then wheel me inside. The ambulance company never billed my insurance and now 4 years later I am getting calls from India asking me to pay (plus 29% apr @ 4 years!) for the bill which my insurance would have covered had the ambulance company ever actually billed. I found about 5,000 other complaints exactly like mine where the ambulance company never billed and then goes after the insurance holder instead of the insurance company. I think they do this because the insurance company won't pay their inflated $9,000 bill so they wait for the claim window to close and then go after the patient. These complaints are almost all from California residents as well..


This is the email the girl sent me:

March 2008



***
Thank you for speaking with me and for your interest in a preferred listing in USDirectory.com. We discussed the many benefits of Internet advertising when we spoke and the following information outlines our discussion.

US Directory will place your business on the major online yellow page directories including USdirectory.com, Verizon’s Superpages.com, with their millions of users, Switchboard.com; and on major search engines like Google and Yahoo! and all their affiliates.

Our preferred listing is very effective in advertising your business throughout your Local area which will increase the number customers who contact you or visit you.

Your business is listed in up to 6 categories so you receive the maximum exposure in your marketplace. A restaurant; for example, might list: Restaurant, Italian, Catering, take-out, etc.

Your preferred listing also includes 5 pages of website space to further advertise your business, provides a map for directions, space for Sales and Specials, even product pictures. The US Directory web site will have a direct link to your promotional web pages at no additional charge.

If you want to remain competitive in today’s market www.usdirectory.com will enable your company to take advantage of the thousands of searches each day!
USDirectory.com Advantages:

Trackable – See exactly how many customers visit your listing and who are looking for your product or service. You even have the ability to track your calls ($39.95 value free)!
Geographically targeted – Most yellow page users search locally
Accurate - Your advertising can be modified and updated by you in a matter of seconds
Increase traffic to your Business- Quickly reach users right at the moment they’re ready to buy. Over 20 million ad views per month!
Expanded Reach- You will be TOP listed in, USDirectory.com, SuperPages.com, and Switchboard.com.
City Search – a $129.99 value Free
Google Local and Yahoo Local – You will be listed their local search
Satisfaction Guaranteed- No commitment, contract, or long-term obligation. If the service does not pay for itself in the first 60 days you will receive a 100% Money Back Guarantee!
Please copy and paste the following URL to your web-browser to learn more:
www.usdirectory.com/sl/24975880/index.htm
Regards,
US Directory Yellow Pages
Toll Free: 1-800-842-1499

It sounded good but I'm ashamed for not listening to my gut. Live and learn.

 

[callthatgirl]

Well, unfortunately...we all post our info on our signatures here. They are smart and are lurking around. I'm sure we are all getting the same calls here and there from TN lurkers.

I will now just hang up on the marketing calls. I don't even feel bad...it's just them trying.

My assistant got one the other day, spent 10 minutes talking to him and turned to me and said, "he wants to sell us some SEO stuff.." I told her to hang up.

No point. I trained her to close nicely, but don't waste my time.