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You've Been Crammed -- Now What?

How to Prevent & Dispute Cramming Charges on Your Phone Bill

November 27, 2006

The Cram Artists • How Congressionally-Sanctioned Crooks Scam Consumers • Customer Rep Rejects Her Bill-Cramming Past • NWNT: Crammed with Good Intentions? • You've Been Crammed -- Now What? --- Earlier Stories • Congress, Feds Sleep While Cramming Charges Afflict Thousands • Florida Seeks Nationwide Telephone Billing Probe • Florida Opens "Cramming" Probe • Cramming Hits Consumers When They Least Expect It • Spitzer Wins Cramming Concessions from Verizon • Mobsters Charged in Cramming Scheme • FTC Opens Hotline for Epixtar Victims --- • ILD Teleservices • Zero Plus Dialing

Cramming can, and does, happen to just about anybody. But there are a few steps you can take to lessen the risk you'll be one of them, and some steps you can follow once you've been cramming.

Prevention

Here are some cramming prevention tips:

• Be careful with telemarketers. Don't agree to anything over the phone unless you placed the call to a company you are familiar with. Most telephone solicitors are not to be trusted.

• Check your mail. It's no longer safe to just throw junk mail out. Some scam artists send you a mailing to "confirm the sale" or notify you that you have selected them, even if you haven't. If you get one of these, write the company (it's better to write than call) and keep a record of all the correspondence in case you need it later.

• Look skeptically at checks. If you get an unexpected check for a few dollars, chances are it's a scam. By endorsing the check, you will be agreeing to purchase one or services you probably don't need or want.

• Read your telephone bills and statements completely. Your best weapon against fraud is to remain informed. Know the names of any companies from which you have accepted services and write down any times when you or anyone who uses your phone may have accessed alternative carriers or services on a per-use basis. Consumers may be billed legitimately by telecommunications companies when their services have been accessed on a casual basis -- for example, calling card or collect calls placed on other networks or calls placed using 10-10-xxx access.

• Look into billing blocks. Some local phone companies have begun to offer billing restriction services. These may not block all unauthorized forms of billing, and you will still need to review your bills carefully.

Disputing Cramming Charges

When you discover a charge that is not legitimate:

1. Call the company whose toll-free number appears on the bill. This will often be ILD, ZPDI or NWNT. When you get a customer rep on the line, politely but firmly say that you did not order the service you're being billed for, do not want it and will not pay for it.

If the rep does not agree to cancel the charge, inform him or her politely but firmly that you will be filing complaints with your local telephone company, your state's attorney general, the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission, ConsumerAffairs.com, the Better Business Bureau and other consumer publications and organizations. If the rep still refuses to cancel the charge ...

2. Call your local telephone company, the one that sent you the bill containing the disputed charge, and say that you wish to dispute the charge. You should be prepared to pay the rest of your telephone bill but in most states, you can omit the amount of the disputed charge. If after 60 days the charge has not been canceled ...

3. Follow through. File a complaint with the agencies and organizations mentioned above.

More Information

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