How to Avoid Telephone Service Fraud

How to Avoid Telephone Service Fraud

Monthly telephone bills must contain full and accurate descriptions of all charges and clear

identification of each company responsible for those charges. If you have been "slammed"

or "crammed," these charges can often be found on your phone bill.

Slamming

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from one company to another without a customer's consent.

What is Slamming? Slamming is switching a customer's service (usually long distance)

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month. Are the charges listed from your designated long distance company?

How to Spot Slamming. Carefully review your long distance service charges each

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do the following:

If You Have Been Slammed. If your service has been switched without your consent,

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them the name of the company that slammed you.

Call your local company and explain you will not pay the disputed charges. Give

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Call the long-distance company you had been using to re-establish service.

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Cancel service with the carrier that slammed you.

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Division

File a complaint with the WUTC or the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection

Cramming

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your monthly phone bill. Generally, they are for services you did not order.

What is Cramming? Cramming is unauthorized, misleading, or deceptive charges on

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local phone bill may contain charges from multiple companies. Review every itemized

charge and make sure you recognize and have authorized each charge.

How to Spot Cramming. These unauthorized charges can be hard to spot because your

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have been crammed:

If You Suspect You Have Been Crammed. Take the following action if you believe you

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Call your local phone company and ask for an explanation of the charge.

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complain. If the customer service representative cannot resolve the problem, ask to

speak with a supervisor.

If you are convinced you have been crammed, call the company charging you and

Resolving disputes

Be prepared.

documents and information related to the problem.

Research any questionable charge or billing error immediately. Gather all

Record Everything!

Include the date, company name, the person you spoke with, and an explanation of what

was said. This information will help if you need to file a complaint beyond the billing

company.

Note the details of each attempt you make to resolve your dispute.

Notify the Company First.

company responsible for the charge.

Speak with the customer service representative and go over the charges you are disputing.

If the charge is in error, request an adjustment on your bill.

If you cannot resolve the problem with the customer service representative, ask to speak

with a supervisor.

Attempt to get an explanation and a resolution with the

If the Company Does Not Resolve the Problem.

www.wutc.wa.gov, or the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at

4636 Contact the WUTC at 800-562-6150 or800-551-or www.atg.wa.gov/consumer/Bill Collins 1