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Telephone bills may have surprises
By CHARLYN FINN
The Federal Trade Commission advises consumers to study their telephone bills for unexplained charges.
Noral McCauley of Port O’Connor agrees. He found an unexplained charge of $7.59 on his telephone bill from a company called OAN Services Inc. that has the website buzzing. A total of 302 people across the United States allege that they have gotten mysterious bills included with their regular telephone bills from OAN Services Inc.
According to McCauley’s bill, OAN Services Inc. is a clearing house agent for another company, Calling 10-15 15 800. This is a web site address for a company that sells anything from baseball cards to reasonable priced computers.
The problem is, McCauley said he never ordered anything on the website and he doesn’t know why he is being billed.
“I don’t object to the bill so much as knowing people may be paying telephone bills without reading them and paying for something they did not buy,” McCauley said.
A Verizon employee told The Wave OAN is a foreign carrier that contracted with Verizon to do its billing.
An employee for OAN said his company is not a billing agency, it processes records on behalf of its customers and then contracts with Verizon to include OAN’s customers bills on Verizon’s telephone bill. Verizon tells customers nonpayment will not result in the disconnection of local telephone service but collection of unpaid charges may be pursued by the service provider.
FTC calls this type of service “Cramming.”
Cramming refers to unexplained charges on customers phone bill for services they may never have ordered, authorized, received, or used. Sometimes a one-time charge for entertainment services will be crammed onto a phone bill. Other times, monthly recurring charges are crammed onto phone bills.
Cramming of monthly recurring charges, according to FTC, fall into two general categories: club memberships, such as psychic clubs, personal clubs, or travel clubs; and telecommunications products or service programs, such as voice mail, paging, and calling cards.
FTC says scams occur through the use of an 800 number. Others are initiated by contests or sweepstakes. A consumer may call an 800 number advertised as a free service. A recording prompts the consumer to give their name and to say “I want the service,” or some similar phrase, to get the advertised free service. The consumer may have no opportunity to speak with an operator or ask questions, but they automatically become enrolled in some service.
A consumer may fill out a contest entry form, thinking you’re entering to win a prize. The promoter is using the contest to get the consumer’s phone number, enroll them for a calling card or some similar service.
Whatever, the end result is a bill attached to the consumer’s telephone bill.
Sweepstakes promotions received in the mail invite consumers to dial an 800 number to enter or claim a prize. When they call, a recording follows an automated script to automatically enroll the hopeful winner in a club or service program. The phone number from which the consumer called is captured and billed. The disclosure on the sweepstakes mailer is very difficult to comprehend and in very fine print. The consumer gets nothing except another bill attached to the telephone bill.
FTC warns consumers their local telephone companies may bill for services provided by other companies. Bills may include charges for long distance telephone calls, information or entertainment services accessed through 900 numbers or pre subscription agreements, club memberships, and non-basic telecommunications services like voice mail or paging.
With the right technology, companies can get phone number when consumers call them, using a process similar to caller ID. Once they have a number, an unscrupulous company can cram charges onto phone bills. What’s more, since this technology can automatically bill the phone number that is called from, other people using your phone can cause charges to be billed to your phone.
Consumers should check their phone bill every month for unfamiliar charges. Examine phone bills for recurring monthly charges.
First try to resolve the problem by contacting the telephone company, information provider, or billing agent whose toll-free number is listed on your phone bill. If you call, follow up with a letter.
While cramming charges typically appear on consumers’ local telephone bills, they may also be included with bills issued by long distance telephone companies and companies providing other types of services, including wireless telephone beeper and pager
Noral McCauley of Port O’Connor agrees. He found an unexplained charge of $7.59 on his telephone bill from a company called OAN Services Inc. that has the website buzzing. A total of 302 people across the United States allege that they have gotten mysterious bills included with their regular telephone bills from OAN Services Inc.
According to McCauley’s bill, OAN Services Inc. is a clearing house agent for another company, Calling 10-15 15 800. This is a web site address for a company that sells anything from baseball cards to reasonable priced computers.
The problem is, McCauley said he never ordered anything on the website and he doesn’t know why he is being billed.
“I don’t object to the bill so much as knowing people may be paying telephone bills without reading them and paying for something they did not buy,” McCauley said.
A Verizon employee told The Wave OAN is a foreign carrier that contracted with Verizon to do its billing.
An employee for OAN said his company is not a billing agency, it processes records on behalf of its customers and then contracts with Verizon to include OAN’s customers bills on Verizon’s telephone bill. Verizon tells customers nonpayment will not result in the disconnection of local telephone service but collection of unpaid charges may be pursued by the service provider.
FTC calls this type of service “Cramming.”
Cramming refers to unexplained charges on customers phone bill for services they may never have ordered, authorized, received, or used. Sometimes a one-time charge for entertainment services will be crammed onto a phone bill. Other times, monthly recurring charges are crammed onto phone bills.
Cramming of monthly recurring charges, according to FTC, fall into two general categories: club memberships, such as psychic clubs, personal clubs, or travel clubs; and telecommunications products or service programs, such as voice mail, paging, and calling cards.
FTC says scams occur through the use of an 800 number. Others are initiated by contests or sweepstakes. A consumer may call an 800 number advertised as a free service. A recording prompts the consumer to give their name and to say “I want the service,” or some similar phrase, to get the advertised free service. The consumer may have no opportunity to speak with an operator or ask questions, but they automatically become enrolled in some service.
A consumer may fill out a contest entry form, thinking you’re entering to win a prize. The promoter is using the contest to get the consumer’s phone number, enroll them for a calling card or some similar service.
Whatever, the end result is a bill attached to the consumer’s telephone bill.
Sweepstakes promotions received in the mail invite consumers to dial an 800 number to enter or claim a prize. When they call, a recording follows an automated script to automatically enroll the hopeful winner in a club or service program. The phone number from which the consumer called is captured and billed. The disclosure on the sweepstakes mailer is very difficult to comprehend and in very fine print. The consumer gets nothing except another bill attached to the telephone bill.
FTC warns consumers their local telephone companies may bill for services provided by other companies. Bills may include charges for long distance telephone calls, information or entertainment services accessed through 900 numbers or pre subscription agreements, club memberships, and non-basic telecommunications services like voice mail or paging.
With the right technology, companies can get phone number when consumers call them, using a process similar to caller ID. Once they have a number, an unscrupulous company can cram charges onto phone bills. What’s more, since this technology can automatically bill the phone number that is called from, other people using your phone can cause charges to be billed to your phone.
Consumers should check their phone bill every month for unfamiliar charges. Examine phone bills for recurring monthly charges.
First try to resolve the problem by contacting the telephone company, information provider, or billing agent whose toll-free number is listed on your phone bill. If you call, follow up with a letter.
While cramming charges typically appear on consumers’ local telephone bills, they may also be included with bills issued by long distance telephone companies and companies providing other types of services, including wireless telephone beeper and pager
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