Any Virgin Mobile users in Texas receive this bizarre letter?

[ekatiel]

DH and I both have Virgin Mobile phones. Got a letter in the mail yesterday from "Lite Up Texas", the state's discount phone program for low income households. The letter states that I had been receiving a discount on two phone lines (my husband's and mine), but that only one line per household was eligible, so they had removed my husband's line from the program .
We do not receive ANY assistance from ANY government program, we make way too much money.

The letter also had some nasty wording in it, telling me that I could be subject to "government prosecution" for having 2 lines enrolled in the program.

Called the program today, and they told me that they send that letter out to all Virgin Mobile users who have 2 phone lines, whether they are in the program or not .

I verified with them that neither of our phone lines are enrolled in the program. I am calling back tomorrow to talk to a supervisor of the supervisor I spoke with.

I am concerned that Texas 1) is wasting tax payers' money sending out these nasti-grams to people not even enrolled or remotely eligible for this program and 2) seems to not be concerned that they are accusing innocent citizens of governmental violations.

Anyone else receive this letter? Anyone else call about it? --Katie

 

[bigmamimia]

Did the letter include the phone numbers? If not you might want to make sure that someone hasn't applied for government assistance using your name and information.

 

[OklahomaTourist]

Did the letter include the phone numbers? If not you might want to make sure that someone hasn't applied for government assistance using your name and information.

Exactly what I thought.

I would immediately order a copy of your credit report (yours and your husband's). As in right now.

Low-cost/low-income cell phones are emerging as one of the most corrupt "benefit" programs going right now, and cell phone credit fraud is also a huge target for identity thieves. Had to deal with this myself a while back (fraudulent cell account), and it was a pain in the neck to get it cleared up.

Also, did you contact the cell program through a number provided on the letter? If you did, find an independent source for contact information, call them again, and see if they tell you the same thing. Its not at all impossible the letter you received was fake, and any number/contact info listed was not to the "real" program office.

Very, very fishy.

Good luck.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/1266887/

 

[JB2K]

Exactly what I thought.

I would immediately order a copy of your credit report (yours and your husband's). As in right now.

Low-cost/low-income cell phones are emerging as one of the most corrupt "benefit" programs going right now, and cell phone credit fraud is also a huge target for identity thieves. Had to deal with this myself a while back (fraudulent cell account), and it was a pain in the neck to get it cleared up.

Not sure if this would work for OP, since the "benefit" phones are basically the most entry-level (basic flip) phones in the prepaid family.

Service providers for these state-administered programs are either Tracfone or Virgin Mobile (depending-upon the state you call "home").

And Tracfone/VM are famous (and appealing to many) for not conducting credit checks to establish service -- they may ask for some basic information, but that is to satisfy the requirements of the "Patriot Act".

 

[rszdtrvl]

Low-cost/low-income cell phones are emerging as one of the most corrupt "benefit" programs going right now,

I hope I don't get a letter. I would be apt to give them a piece of my mind about their "low income" phone issuance. A "low income" person does not need internet access on their phone. I can see text, I can see telephone access, but NOT INTERNET. Internet is not a "life or death" situation. The "low income" people in my city have way better cell phones than I do!!

I have had VM as my cell phone providor for 8 years (and I DO NOT have internet on my cell phone - I can live without it) and I PAY for it out of my own pocket (I am grandfathered into the $.15/minute rate).

DH and DS also have VM cell phones. I guess the odds are "ever in our favor" of getting a nastygram if they decide to hit Washington State.

 

[NotUrsula]

Not sure if this would work for OP, since the "benefit" phones are basically the most entry-level (basic flip) phones in the prepaid family.

Service providers for these state-administered programs are either Tracfone or Virgin Mobile (depending-upon the state you call "home").

And Tracfone/VM are famous (and appealing to many) for not conducting credit checks to establish service -- they may ask for some basic information, but that is to satisfy the requirements of the "Patriot Act".

To be fair, if you are paying for the service yourself there is no reason to require a credit check, as they don't extend service if the bill is not paid in advance. Unlike traditional subscription phone accounts, these require the money to be in a deposit account before the service is used: no money, no service. And while yes, you could sign up with someone else's CC account to get the service, the amount of damage that you can do is relatively minimal because the charges are always on a flat-rate, and the minute it is discovered no further charges will accrue.

Four years ago our HR files at work were hacked, and along with about 20 coworkers, I was the victim of an identity-theft that involved traditional cell phone accounts, the sort that had roaming charges, etc. What the thieves did was to establish multiple cell phone service plans that came with free phones and multi-year contract obligations, then had the phones delivered to a vacant address. (There were 17 accounts established in my name.) The thieves then took the phones into immigrant neighborhoods and sold them as 60-day throwaway phones to be used for making unlimited overseas calls during that time period. When the first bill was issued after 30 days and was not paid, service was suspended, but I was still on the hook for the calls that had already been made. The bill against each phone averaged about $2K over that period of time, because almost all of the calls ran up international surcharges. Not only did they try to get me for the calls made, but also for the base service fee for the 2-yr contract on each phone account. ALL of the phones were issued by US Cellular. It has cost me several hundred dollars in fees for things like police reports and notary services to get out from under that bill, but it STILL keeps popping up on my credit report because US Cellular keeps re-selling the accounts to new debt collection agencies.

 

[ekatiel]

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/1266887/

Thanks for this link. It is exactly the same letter we received. I did not have time to call them today, but I am hoping to call tomorrow. The whole thing STINKS of some sort of fraud, or at the very least, a misuse of government funds in mailing out a ton of unnecessary letters.-- Katie

 

[bumbershoot]

Scary sort of letter to get!

I hope I don't get a letter. I would be apt to give them a piece of my mind about their "low income" phone issuance. A "low income" person does not need internet access on their phone. I can see text, I can see telephone access, but NOT INTERNET. Internet is not a "life or death" situation.

Another side to it...I *like* it that the govt has ways of not singling out low income people as being Low Income People now. I like it that food stamps are on a card, and not extremely obvious pseudo-money anymore. I don't mind if they give people some internet access. I was a child living in poverty, and the CONSTANT, obvious reminders that we were flat out DIFFERENT got really really old. Like having to go to the school office every day before lunch to get our special and obvious popsicle stick that we gave to the lunch ladies to show we got free lunch. Way to be discreet. Daily reminders at lunch, cashiers giving my mom trouble, etc etc... Awful way to live.

To give people some internet brings a little normalcy to a life.


Here in Tacoma over the summer, every single day they serve free lunch to kids at a certain park. You don't have to prove ANYTHING about your level of income, they just provide it. I could go get it for DS; it was actually recommended to me by a woman who is in a much higher level of income than we are. We haven't; the school's version of a healthy lunch is much different than mine, and I wouldn't anyway, but I *like* that they don't check. Makes the kids who *need* it feel a bit more normal, which helps them feel less bitter, which almost certainly allows them to move up in their own lives a little easier.



That said, someone said that the phones are very basic. And I was looking at the FCC page that said that the discount provided was on average 9.25 per month. That doesn't get you very far. So I'm not even sure that internet is provided with this service at all.