Chairman Rockefeller Tells FTC That Bogus Billing on Consumer Landline Phones is a Major Problem

In a letter to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Jon Leibowitz, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) said that unauthorized third-party charges on telephone bills remain a major problem for American consumers and businesses and that further action is needed to put an end to it.

Chairman Rockefeller said that the telephone companies have been too willing to place third-party charges on their customers’ bills, without first determining whether the charges have been authorized by their customers. “For way too long, cramming has cost consumers and businesses both time and money. Shady third-party vendors sneak these costs onto the landline phone bills of unsuspecting Americans, and the result is they have to pay month after month of bogus third-party charges,” Chairman Rockefeller said. ”It is time we put an end to this dishonest practice.” Cramming involves placing unauthorized third-party charges on consumers’ telephone bills.