Cramming refers to a telephone company placing unauthorized, misleading, or deceptive charges on your telephone bill. Basically, if you get charged for something you didn’t use or ask for, it’s cramming. And yeah, it happens a lot. When cramming first became an issue, local and long distance providers were having all the cramming fun. Turns out, wireless providers are adamant crammers too, and they’re trying to steal the fun from the traditional landline providers. Naughty, naughty, wireless providers. Cram on you.
The only way to catch cramming is by reading you monthly bill. And it doesn’t count as reading if you just look at the total. Go line by line and make sure you understand each charge. It may take a while at first, but with time you’ll become familiar with the companies on your bill and what they’re charging you for. This will help you spot unusual charges if they appear. The FCC’s Truth-In-Billing Rules require companies to give customers clear and non-misleading descriptions of the services for which they are being charged. Kudos to the FCC for ensuring you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand your phone bill. The FCC also requires phone bills to display a toll free phone number where customers can ask about or dispute their bill.
So you’re diligently reading your bill, like you do every month, and you come across a strange item-“Micky Mouse Ring Tone Club------$4.95.” Not strange because you haven’t downloaded ringtones, but strange because you hate Micky Mouse. And you would certainly never join a club with his name on it. Even if you had accidentally joined this preposterous club while using your mobile Internet, you definitely haven’t received any Micky, Winnie, Kermit, or Tink ringtones.
The first step in resolving the Micky Mouse Incident is to call the ring-tone service provider. The FCC requires phone bills to identify the service provider for each charge. Tell the company that you are being billed for a service you did not order and ask them to remove the charges. Also call your telephone service provider and inform them of the billing error. If you get the runaround, file complaints with the FCC, FTC, and your state public utilities commission (PUC) depending on the type of cramming. The FCC and FTC do not take action on behalf of individuals, but will take action against a company if they receive enough complaints. State PUC’s may act on an individual complaint. You can also contact local consumer advocacy groups like UCAN, which help individuals resolve disputes with companies.
For San Diego and California residents:
UCAN Fraud Squad
3100 Fifth Ave., Ste. B
San Diego, CA 92103
Phone: 619/881-UCAN (8226)
Email: fraudsquad@ucan.org
Web: Fraud Squad
For cramming charges related to telephone service between states or internationally:
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Consumer Complaints
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554
Phone: (888) 225-5322
E-mail: fccinfo@fcc.gov
Web: www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html
Consumer Facts-Cramming
Consumer Facts-Understanding Your Phone Bill
For charges on your telephone bill for non-telephone-related services:
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Consumer Response Center
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20580
Phone: 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357)
Web: http://www.ftc.gov/complaint
For charges for telephone-related services provided within your state, contact your state public utilities commission:
National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC)