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Understanding_Your_Phone_Bill
| Understanding Your Phone Bill
Understanding Your Phone Bill
Background
Consumer confusion over telephone bills has significantly
contributed to the growth of slamming (changing a consumer’s
telephone provider without his/her permission), cramming (adding
charges to a consumer’s bill for services he/she did not
authorize), and other types of telecommunications fraud. To help
consumers detect fraud, the FCC has asked phone companies to
simplify their bills so that their customers can easily
understand what they are paying for and how much they are paying.
The following FCC rules to which wireline companies must adhere
ensure that consumers are given the essential information they
need to protect themselves from telecommunications fraud and to
make informed choices in today’s competitive telecommunications
marketplace. These rules state that a telephone company’s bill
must:
Be clearly organized;
Identify the service provider associated with each charge;
Highlight new service providers and indicate the date the
provider change was made;
Contain full and non-misleading descriptions of charges;
Identify those charges for which failure to pay will not result
in disconnection of the customer’s basic local service; and
Provide a toll-free number for customers to call in order to
lodge a complaint or obtain information. If the customer does
not receive a paper telephone bill but instead accesses that
bill only by e-mail or over the Internet, the telephone company
may provide the customer with an e-mail address or Web site for
inquiring about charges.
The FCC has also determined that telephone companies should use
standardized labels on bills when referring to certain line item
charges relating to federal regulatory action, such as local
number.
How to Protect Yourself and Save Money
Carefully review your telephone bill every month.
Treat your telephone service just like any other major consumer
purchase. You should review your monthly telephone bills just as
closely as you review your monthly credit card and bank
statements.
Ask yourself the following questions as you review your
telephone bills:
Do I recognize the names of all the companies listed on my bill?
What services were provided by the listed companies?
Does the bill include charges for calls I did not place and
services I did not authorize?
Are the rates charged by each company consistent with the rates
that the company quoted to me?
Keep in mind that you may sometimes be billed for a call you
placed or a service you used – but the description listed on
your telephone bill for the call or service may be unclear. If
you don’t know what service was provided for a charge listed on
your bill, ask the company that billed the charge to explain the
service before paying the bill.
The cost of small, incorrect charges for telephone-related
services adds up over time. Make sure you know what service was
provided for small charges. Crammers often try to go undetected
by submitting $2 or $3 charges to thousands of customers.
Keep a record of the telephone services you have authorized and
used – including calls placed to 900 numbers and other types of
telephone information services. These records can be helpful
when billing descriptions are unclear.
Carefully read all forms and promotional materials – including
all of the fine print – before signing up for telephone services.
Companies compete for your telephone business. Use your buying
power wisely and shop around.
If you think that a company’s charges are too high or that their
services do not meet your needs, contact other companies and try
to get a better deal.
Federal Communications Commission · Consumer & Governmental
Affairs Bureau · 445 12th St. S.W. · Washington, DC 20554
1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) · TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC
(1-888-835-5322) · www.fcc.gov/cgb/
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--------------- This article courtesy of International Long
Distance Phone Service This article may be reprinted freely,
provided this attribution remains intact.
About the author:
Arnold Brod has helped businesses and consumers save money on
their long distance bills. Visit his website at
http://www.longdistanceservices.com.
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