Bill would ban third-party charges on telephone bills

Sen Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced legislation that would ban most third-party charges on landline telephone bills. Under pressure from Sen Rockefeller, AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink announced earlier this year that they would ban most third-party charges, a practice known as "cramming." Rockefeller's Fair Telephone Billing Act would require all wireline telephone providers to block the charges. The bill would make exemptions for certain third-party charges, such as collect calls and "bundled" services like satellite television, sold with the telephone service.

Sen Rockefeller also sent letters to the major wireless carriers on asking the companies to explain what they are doing to prevent customers from being charged for unwanted third-party services. Sen Rockefeller expressed concern that crammers are now migrating to the wireless industry. He said in recent months, wireless customers have increasingly complained about being charged for unwanted services, such as celebrity gossip, horoscopes, sports scores or diet tips. Sen Rockefeller said the scams are "remarkably similar" to the scams his committee uncovered in its investigation of wireline cramming. He noted that consumers are receiving conflicting advice about how to avoid the unwanted charges. Some people say consumers should text "STOP" or "CANCEL" to opt out of the information texting services, but others say that texting anything will only confirm to the crammer that they have reached a working phone number. Sen Rockefeller asked the four national carriers — Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile — to explain what steps they have taken to avoid charging their customers for unwanted services and what consumers should do to opt out of the programs.