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IP: another from Telecom Digest -- $20 for an 800 call
From: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 08:18:39 -0400
From: Michael Dillon <michael () memra com> Subject: $20 Bill For 800Nnumber Phone Call Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 11:29:42 -0700 Organization: Memra Software Inc. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This was forwarded to the Digest by Mr. Dillon. It is an old, old story told here many times in the past. I cannot imagine any regular Digest reader who has not heard about this. I've also published the phone numbers to be called at each telco to ask for a permanent block against these charges; it is known as 'Billed Number Screening'. Go through the back issues in the archives if you want to see that list again. PAT] ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 13:06:52 -0400 From: Barry Shein <bzs () world std com> To: Multiple recipients of list <com-priv () lists psi com> Subject: Since it's such a slow week on com-priv... Did you know that you can incur a $20 or more charge on your phone bill by just dialing a 1-800 (or 888 etc, "toll-free") number? And, if you don't pay it (or resolve it) you'll be in default on your phone bill. There seems to be this racket run by companies such as Integretel where someone can set up an 800 number and if you call it, wham, there'll be some large charge on your phone bill in the 3rd party section. You don't have to agree to anything, the other party just has to capture your number (which they always can do with toll-free dialing) and bill it. Do you expect a $20 or more charge to appear on your bill as the result of calling an 800 number? I found this out first-hand when not only did I get such a charge, but it kept re-appearing anew month after month! I kept calling my local telco and they kept removing it (warning me each time that the other party could pursue collections by other means), but it became enough of a nuisance that I began to investigate. I was particularly disturbed that a call to Integretel to try to clear this up appeared on my bill as another $20 charge! Not only didn't they remove the call, they tried to bill me for calling them to tell them they made a mistake. A call to the PUC here indicates this is completely legal and they even defended the practice, but did get this month's new charges removed for me and said they called Integretel and asked them to stop adding these charges. This is relevant to com-priv because I believe this started when I called an 800 number during the investigation of a spam message to our system. I think this is crooked, a full-employment act for criminals, and it undermines the utility of 800 numbers for honest people. I know I'll think twice now before dialing any toll-free number and would advise the same hesitation in others. Although it's not that difficult to get the specific charge removed from your bill (yet): A) It's a nuisance to have to call every month to get charges removed. And what right does this company have to add new charges month after month? Why did I have to to spend my time calling the PUC to get them to stop this, and why isn't there any (apparent) sanction against the company for doing this? Even if they claimed I called this 800 number once, I certainly didn't call it every month since August 1997! B) It assumes you carefully check your bill every month, which you should, but I bet that's what these slimebags live off of; people who don't check or just don't understand that they've been ripped-off and assume it must be something they owe. C) The PUC was so certain that this was a legitimate form of business that I wouldn't bet on getting these charges removed politely in the future. I think we're going to find ourselves in a position of "hey, you want your phone service, pay what it says, otherwise we'll shut you off". I realize most people think their shock and outrage at what they'd view as a ridiculous charge should save the day, but believe me that wasn't what the PUC was saying. They were basically saying to me "that's right, that's how it works, we'll remove it this time but get used to it!" Apparently the FCC also thinks this rip-off is a swell idea. SUGGESTIONS: 1. You should be able to block the ability to dial these numbers from your phone, just like you can block 900 numbers. If the telco finds that too complex then they should dump this whole service. 2. Such companies should be required to give a clear message that if you proceed you will be charged, and how much, and give you a chance to hang up before any charges are incurred. 3. The telcos should be required to spend some money informing their customers that they can be liable for large charges on their bills as the result of dialing what appear to be toll-free numbers. Because right now this is just a fraud, plain and simple. I don't believe you could find one person out of a 100 on the street who would know that they can be charged $20 or more for dialing a TOLL-FREE number. -Barry Shein Software Tool & Die | bzs () world std com | http://www.world.com Purveyors to the Trade | Voice: 617-739-0202 | Login: 617-739-WRLD The World | Public Access Internet | Since 1989 *oo* [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Only a twenty dollar charge? Wow, did you get off cheap. Fifty or sixty dollar charges are quite common. Legally they are in the clear because they *do mot* charge you for the trans- port of the call itself -- it is a toll-free number -- but rather, they charge for the alleged *telecom-related service* performed as part of the call. Under the present law, telecom-related services can be billed to your phone bill. It has always been this way, since nearly a century ago when Western Union first started accepting telegrams by phone and charging them to your phone bill. Now sometimes the defin- ition of 'telecom-related service' gets stretched rather thin, and certainly the prices charged are seldom if ever a bargain, but they are legal as long as they inform you that a charge of X dollars will be levied per minute or call as a result. They can inform you of that with a *tiny* one line message on the bottom of the television screen, or a tiny message printed in very small type at the bottom of an advertising flyer, etc. They can say it verbally using about twenty words pronounced very fast at the start of their conversation with you. But they informed you, you chose not to break the connection, and that makes it legal. Left unstated are whether you completely understood the extent of the charges, or if indeed you have the authority to impose additional charges on the subscriber to the telephone line, i.e. an extension user on a PBX. The ONLY way to assure that it does not happen to you is to get the list of companies which engage in this practice from the Telecom Archives; call each and every one, and provide them with *all* of your telephone numbers -- not just your first, or main listed number -- and insist that each number be placed on their negative list; what the legit, established telcos refer to as 'Billed Number Screening'. Like I said at the beginning, an old story that comes to life about once a month, each time telco has a billing cycle and a few new people get swept up in it. PAT]
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- IP: another from Telecom Digest -- $20 for an 800 call Dave Farber (Apr 17)