The Consumer Action Handbook

a result of your calling a payper-call
service (see page 13).
Resolving Slamming or
Cramming Problems
Under Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) rules, no
telecommunications carrier can
arrange to switch your service
to its own without verifying that
you agreed. If you’ve been
slammed:
● ask your local phone
company to switch you
back to your original company
at no charge;
12
● tell the original company
you’re switching back,
and ask to be enrolled in
your previous calling plan;
and
● contact the company that
slammed you, whose name
and number is on the bill, to
exercise your rights regarding
those charges.
Generally, consumers can’t be
held liable for services they
never agreed to buy. If you’ve
been crammed:
● call the number that
appears on the page
where the charges are
detailed;
● tell your local phone company,
which provides the
billing service, that you are
disputing the charges and
that you plan to deduct
them from your bill payment;
and
● if the service provider
insists that the charges
are valid, contact your
local or state consumer protection
agency (see page
72) or state public utilities
department (see page 105).
Your phone service cannot be
shut off for refusal to pay for
unauthorized services. For
more information about FCC
rules, call 1-888-225-5322 or go
to its website at www.fcc.gov
and click on Consumer Info.
Pay-Per Call Services
You can get everything from
recorded sports scores to live
psychic readings by calling 900
numbers that provide information
or entertainment services.
These numbers are sometimes
also used to conduct surveys or
Pay-Per-Call Charges - Protect Yourself
● Don't make the call if you don't know the cost.
● Be wary of promises for free gifts or prizes.
● Find out how free minutes really work.
● Watch out for phony offers of financial assistance.
● Don't stay on hold, you'll be charged for that time.
● Don't respond to messages to call pay-per-call numbers.
Fraudulent pay-per-call services may leave messages pretending
to be calling about a family emergency, a prize or a
debt.
● If you use a pay-per-call service, look for new unauthorized
monthly charges on your phone bill. (See page 12, cramming.)
contests, or for charitable
fundraising. The “information
provider,” the company or
organization you’re calling, sets
its own price for the service,
and usually bills you through
your local telephone company.
Consumer Rights
The Federal Telephone
Disclosure and Dispute
Resolution Act requires adver-
tisements for pay-per-call services
to tell you:
● the cost of the call. It may
be a flat rate, a per-minute
charge, or calculated on
some other basis. The ad
must also state the most
you can be charged, if that
can be determined, and any
minimum or additional
charges that you might have
to pay;
● the odds of winning or the
factors that determine your
chance of winning any
sweepstakes, prizes or
awards, and how you can
enter any contest without
calling the 900 number;
● if it’s a private company
offering information
about Federal programs
and that the company is not
endorsed, approved or
authorized by the government;
and
● for services directed primarily
to children under
the age of 18, that they
need their parents’ consent
to call the number.
The rules bar advertising payper-call
services directed to
children under age 12 unless
they are for legitimate educational
services.
If the charge for pay-per-call
services will be more than $2,
you should hear the following
information when you dial
the number:
● The company or organization
name and a description
of services;
● the cost of the call;
● a notice that you can
hang up without any
charge within a certain
time after a signal. You can’t
be charged for listening to
the preamble; and