News, Views and Random Concerns: Citizen Journalism for the Good of Talbot County Maryland

Phone Bill “Cramming” Becoming a Popular Practice

This is a practice that is happening NOW, please review your phone bills every month, and when you do get the call, Don’t agree to anything, they are listening and recording. This happened to me. We have since corrected this situation, but get your patience hat out.
cramming
Cramming” is the practice of placing unauthorized, misleading, or deceptive charges on your telephone bill. Crammers rely on confusing telephone bills in an attempt to trick consumers into paying for services they did not authorize or receive, or that cost more than the consumer was led to believe.

Phantom charges sneaked onto statements across the U.S.

By Bob Sullivan
msnbc.com
They call and offer a “free” service, such as a no-cost Web site or Internet yellow pages listing. They trick you into saying “yes” — to just about anything. Sometimes, they don’t even bother calling. And suddenly, there’s an extra $30 charge on your phone bill. It’s an old scam, known as “cramming,” but there appears to be a fresh epidemic of it. The company at the center of the accusations, ILD Teleservices, says it’s an innocent third-party billing firm. But either way, scores of consumers are hopping mad about $30, $50, even $80 charges that are peppering phone bills all around the country.

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But the single best defense is to call your local phone company and ask it to shut off “third-party billing.” That prevents companies from adding charges onto local phone bills.

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