Two Qwest customers contacted Whistleblower after waiting months for a promotional $50 Visa gift card that was supposed to come by signing up for Internet service.

Dawn Weinhaus said she tried to redeem the offer online at the beginning of May and was told she would receive the card in four to six weeks. During the summer and into the fall, she spent hours on the phone with customer service representatives, who promised that the card had been sent or it was still awaiting manager approval.

"I'm sure most people think, 'This is getting me nowhere,' and they just give up," Weinhaus said.

Marjorie Watson ordered her Internet service in June after learning about the gift card offer. In September, she called to ask where it was and was told that she never requested the card.

Qwest spokeswoman Joanna Hjelmeland acknowledged that things haven't moved as quickly the company would like, but she wasn't aware of a large number of complaints in Minnesota about the promotion.

"We transitioned to a new vendor to fulfill the reward cards," Hjelmeland said. "During that transition period, there were delays."

Weinhaus and Watson told Whistleblower they received calls from a Qwest marketing executive last week who promised they would have their cards by Nov. 30 or else he would credit their accounts the $50 and they could keep the gift card if it ever showed up.

Robocall ring busted

The feds still haven't captured Rachel from Cardholder Services, that annoying robotic peddler who violates telemarketing laws with her incessant offers to lower your credit card interest rates.

But they are making gains in the fight against "robocallers" that swindle desperate debtors with dubious promises of relief.

Earlier this month, a federal judge in Chicago shut down what the Federal Trade Commission called an "international robocall ring" pitching promises to lower credit card rates in exchange for $995 fees. The companies did little or nothing for the consumers, the FTC reported.

The scammers also falsely promised refunds if they didn't save their customers at least $2,500. The FTC estimated that nearly 13,000 consumers had lost almost $13 million.

Todd Kossow, assistant director of the FTC's Midwest office, said he didn't know whether these companies used Rachel, but it's in her line of business. The FTC worked with the ministry of the attorney general of Ontario, Canada, to identify and target four individuals based in Rochester, N.Y., and Toronto and operating two "boiler room" call centers in Orlando, Fla. The defendants operated under at least 10 business names, including AFL Financial Services, Direct Financial Management, F&F Payment Processing and other names.

Kossow said the suspected ringleader, David D. Richards, was based in Canada.

The Nov. 8 order from U.S. District Judge Joan H. Lefkow shut down the businesses and froze their assets.

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