|
|
|
|
|
|
Avoid telephone company cramming fees
Cramming is a common telephone company practice in which services you never agreed to end up on your phone bill
In addition to plain vanilla phone service, phone companies offer consumers a variety of additional services such as 3rd party calling,
call waiting, call forwarding, directory assistance, conference calling and internet access to name a few. Many of us have asked for some
of these services and expect to find them on our monthly bills. However, many people discover fees for services they never asked for. This
practice of charging consumers for services whether they asked for them or not is called "cramming" and it happens all the time.
Don't let over-zealous sales reps try to stick you when they think you're not looking. You can and should fight back if you're cramming victim.
If you know what to look for and what to do if it happens to you, you'll never pay for services you didn't ask for. We've compiled several tips
to help consumers avoid being "crammed" by the phone company.
How to Avoid Cramming Fees
- Check your phone bill carefully. If you are unsure about charges that appear on your bill, call the number listed on that page for
billing questions and ask for an explanation. Keep on checking, because even if the charges are removed one month, they may pop up again the
next month.
- Read the fine print. Contest entry forms, product coupons, checks and other promotional materials could include an agreement to buy
a service that will be charged to your phone number.
- Look at "junk mail" carefully. It could be a "negative option" notice that you will be charged for a service unless you contact the
company to cancel it.
- Don't return calls to numbers you dont recognize. A crammer may use Automatic Number Identification to see the number you're dialing
from and process an unauthorized request for service.
- Beware of phone company imposters. Someone posing as a representative from your phone company may try to trick you by asking about
your satisfaction with your service or telling you about a service change. A "yes" answer to a question could be tape-recorded and used as
proof that you agreed to buy a new service. Ask for the caller's name and number, and contact your phone company to find out if the call was
legitimate.
- Know what types of services can appear on your phone bill. In addition to billing for its own services, your phone company may bill
you on behalf of other companies for services they sell such as voice mail, paging, or Internet access - even for club memberships and other
types of services. Cramming is when a company charges you through your telephone bill for extra services that you never agreed to buy.
- Ask your local telephone company about "bill blocking." There may be a way to prevent someone from putting charges for extra
services on your phone bill unless you have confirmed directly with the phone company that you agreed to purchase them. If such a program
is available, sign up immediately.
- You aren't responsible for charges you never authorized. This final tip may be the most important. Just make sure you notify your
local phone company about the problem and pay the rest of the bill on time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This site is protected under both U.S. Federal copyright law and international treaties. No part of this site,
including text, layout or images, may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any method.
|
