Heads up for former Alltell customers who billed their cell phone insurance on credit card

Date: Sun, 12 Jun 2011 14:21:49 -0400
From: Robin Hill
Subject: previous Alltell customers

Just wanted to alert people who used to have Alltell that if you had signed up for cell phone insurance and it was being directly billed to your credit card, you should check and make sure it isn’t still.  Verizon says that they informed the insurance company (ESH) back when they bought out Alltell, but the insurance company says that they did not have the authorization to do so.  So I have been billed many months for coverage I didn’t need and no one will take responsibility for it.  My fault.

Robin Hill

21 Comments

  1. Looks like I am one of those folks still being charged for this ESH insurance. Tried loking them up and cannot even locate a phone number for them in Alpharetta, GA. Anyone have any experience with this outfit? Or how to reach a person to cancel this “service”? Thanks

  2. Help!!! I’ve been billed since June 2011. How do I get them to STOP?

  3. can’t find them either . may have to cancel card and get new number

  4. I too just rec’d a charge against my account…my bank has put this number as “HOT CARD” and is issueing me a new card…only way to stop it…
    this insurance co. is doing a very FRAUDULENT transaction..no wonder we can’t find any info on them!

  5. after canceling my credit card, decided to check into
    this further. went to the verizon dealer i got phone
    from and they use a company called eSecuritel. Called them and was told they do bill as esh ins. Was also told that they do not bill unless verizon signed me up. went back to russel cellular and had them pull up contract order (didn’t have hard copy with me) and sure enough it showed me getting insurance, though i know i didn’t. I never buy ins. offered by any company, ever! But since it was there in, I figure I’ll have to eat the 35.00 bucks or so i’ve been charged so far. Was able to cancel ins. during the eSecuritel call, though. The number there is 877-778-8880. good luck

  6. Let me add my name to the list! Bought an ANDROID II from a phone store in Deerfield Beach. The name of the store is VERIZON WIRELESS Wireless. No that is not a typo. It is the name of the store. ANd I foolishly presumed it was a Verizon Wireless store. Wrong. In spite of Verizon color scheme and LOGO all over the walls, the floor, the carpet etc., it is actually an independent telephone store that is authorized to sell the Verizon line of phones and to contract with Verizon, but for which Verizon has no responsibility. I won’t go into all the details, but it became an unbelievable mess when the phone had problems. And a worse mess when the replacement phone had problems. AND A WORSE MESS WHEN, yes! You guessed it, THAT replacement phone had problems. I finally switched over to the MOTOROLA ANDROID and have not had any problems (although the camera doesn’t compare!) — long story short, I have just realized that I have been charged $5 a month, shown on my bank account as being debited by ESH*INS with NO contact information– address, or phone number. After trying to track it down through both Verizon and Asurion and being told by both that they had nothing to do with this charge, I was about to file a claim with CHASE against the debiter. The very savvy & resourceful woman working in their claims dept. asked me right away if my phone service is Verizon. I told her yes. She told me that she bought her phone in a phone store, and received the exact same kind of monthly debit because the phone store signed her up for insurance. Mystery solved. But way too tricky for my taste. EVERYONE be very aware that when you walk into a phone store that looks like a VERIZON store, it might only be an authorized dealer, and if you have ANY problems you must deal only with that store. Verizon will not and cannot help you in any way.

  7. PS: SPECIAL THANKS to D U for posting the contact number to cancel the charge. I just called them. Yes, they are located in Alpharetta and yes, they are called eSecuritel. The number there is 877-778-8880.

  8. I hate to say that I share the experience of being cell phone insurance long after cell phone has been discontinued. It is very disconcerting to be charged for something with no phone number and no address. The bank has told me I must cancel my debit card and get a new one to settle the issue. ESH*INS is a racket! I have already spent two hours trying to track down contact info. Verizon totally denies they have anything to do with it! I will try the eSecuritel number today ….valuable lesson learned! Very disappointed in Verizon. Shoddy way to do business.

  9. Call esecuritel!! They will make it go away but will not refund any money…..thanks for the info!

  10. I was being charged 10.99 a month on my credit card for insurance . I called the 877-778-8880 number and spoke with a very helpful agent who cancelled it and gave me a credit back for the incomplete month I had yet to use . They were very helpful and efficient save some cash and call them .yes it appears as Eshins on your credit card bill good luck thanks to those before me .

  11. ESHINS MONTHLY PREM.will appear on your credit card if you are paying monthly insurance .To cancel call the number 877-778-8880 .I called gave them my zip and phone number to cancel . The agent was very helpful and even credited my card the unused portion for this month . Save cash and watch out for those hidden charges now ! Thanks to all those folks who wrote comments very helpful

  12. Just tried to call that number and it rings once and then hangs up. Any one got another number or info?

  13. So I found another number and was able to cancel my insurance with them. For any one that is looking, the number was on the billing info from my bank, otherwise the number I called was; 855 309 8345. Verizon offers insurance for $5.18 instead of the $6.99. Good luck to those dealing with this situation.

  14. I just called the 877-778-8880 number and was told that they would cancel the insurance and refund the part of this month. When I spoke with Verizon, I was told that I did not have insurance. I bought the phone at a Russell store. hmmm. We will see if the charges will cone off my bill.

  15. Just realized after reviewing my checking acct. statement that I’ve been being charged( by ESH INS Monthly PR Alpharetta, GA )$6.99/month for the past 16 months. That’s $111.84. Of course there was no contact info available. Called my bank, they did not know for sure but suspected it was cell phone insurance. So called Verizon, they said I had no insurance on my phone. Got on google and found this site, thank you Suzanne (11-17-12) for the phone #. Hark, yes they were the co. providing insurance for a phone I purchased on 09-30-11 from Russell Cellular in Ludington, MI., but returned the very next day. I’ve been in dispute with Russell over the restock fee of $35 since. I just called them to discuss ESH Ins. which they did not cancel nor did they instruct me to cancel it. Representative says “I’ll have to call you back.” That was 1 expensive phone I had for less than 24 hrs. Good luck everyone.

  16. this is a company allel and verzion used for a while back to get the charge to stop off your credit account .the company name is esecuritel ins. out of georgia call them and they will stop the withdrawal ot of your acct. this insurance was sold with verizon phones.

  17. Call (855) 309-8345 to cancel.

    I called my local Verizon store first and found out that if you bought your phone at an “authorized dealer” for Verizon, this is a company that some use as a kind of outsourcing option.

    I just got off the phone with ESH and canceled. Call lasted 9 minutes and after asking all the security questions for the account the girl just had to say the obligatory “if we cancel this and something happens to that phone and there’s no upgrade eligible, then you’ll pay full price for the new phone which is much more expensive than just having the insurance.” To which I replied, “that’s fine, we have an emergency fund for that.”

    Presto, bango, I get a refund for the unused amount this month and I’m done with ESH.

  18. ESH*TechProtect Plan

    took 4 phone calls to them to get to a person. they refused a 3 way call between me and my credit card company. they did not have my phone number that was attached to the insured phone on file. they also did not have the right specs for the phone that was insured. the plan originated with a store that looked like a verzion store but was not actually owned by verizon, just allowed to sell their products. $10.99/month.

    at least it is cancelled now. nice to know they continue to operate in such a way. i found out from the credit card company that even if the credit card information changes (like a new expiration date or 3 digit security code thingy) that they can simply call the credit card company and receive the updated billing info and continue to charge the account. all the other automatic billing on that particular card contacted me to let me know my card was expiring. shady to say the least.

  19. Just call 877-778-880 (1-13-15) to cancel my service and it took only 5 mins to cancel. Whereas I have been billed for this service for about a year in a half and never knew who was charging me. Thanks for the information on this service. Please other beware of false Verizon stores called “Russell” because of the issue with the insure I didn’t ask for and was charged for. It’s my fault because I was in another town and need a new phone and went into a Russell dealer thinking it was a Verizon Store. My BAD!!!!

  20. I’ve paid this fee for four months – it just automatically comes out of my bank account and it’s supposed to be protection for my phone I have through Verizon. How do I get my money back and how can I get the protection they say I declined?

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