Slamming and Cramming, PART #3
Posted by Joseph Brochin
In the previous posts I wrote about slamming and cramming.
The following are some actions to take to protect yourself against this unscrupulous behavior.
Ask the following questions when reviewing your monthly phone bill (the same can apply to cell phones and pagers as well):
1.) Do I recognize the names of all the companies listed on my bill?
2.) What services were provided by the listed companies?
3.) Does my bill include charges for calls I did not place and services I did not authorize?
4.) Are the rates and line items consistent with the rates and line items that the company quoted to me?
Companies compete for your telephone business. Use your buying power wisely and shop around.
If you think that a company’s charges are too high or that their services do not meet your needs, contact other companies and try to get a better deal.
Please share with our readers some of your experiences you may have had with phone companies and bad behavior.
Slamming and Cramming, PART #2
Posted by Joseph Brochin
In the last post we discussed how slamming and cramming in the world of Information Technology and Telecommunications has nothing to do with basketball.
We briefly wrote about slamming and in this post we will write about cramming.
The FCC defines “cramming” as “the practice of placing unauthorized, misleading, or deceptive charges on your telephone bill.
Entities that fraudulently cram people appear to rely largely on confusing telephone bills in order to mislead consumers into paying for services that they did not authorize or receive.”
Like slamming, the FCC has cramming liability rules set in place to protect the consumer and penalize the telephone companies for their illegal actions. For either one of these violations you are entitled to file a complaint with your state attorney generals’ office and the FCC.
Cramming are charges that are often hidden in the mountain of charges on your phone bill and are usually flagged by general statements like the following: “service fee,” “service charge,” “other fees,” “voicemail,” “mail server,” “calling plan,” “psychic,” and “membership;” “monthly fee,” or “minimum monthly usage fee;”
Cramming charges can appear on local, long distance, and even cell phone and pager bills. The FCC’s Truth-in-Billing rules require companies to make bills easier to read for the average consumer. It also requires all companies to provide a toll free number on all bills for billing inquiries.
To protect your self from Cramming your should carefully review your phone bill every month.
Treat your phone bill like any other major purchase and review that bill.
If you do not understand what a charge is for call your company and if you are not satisfied with the answer then contact the FCC.