buyechina.com:Mysterious 'cramming' fees anger cellphone consumers

AT&T reimbursed the state $2.5 million for its investigation. Verizon Wireless paid $1.5 million; T-Mobile, $600,000; and Sprint-Nextel, $800,000.The Federal Communications Commission in July proposed new rules that would protect buyers. Carriers would have to tell clients about blocking options when they sign up for service, and third-party fees would be separated from the carrier's fees. Carriers also would have to give shoppers the FCC's contact information so that consumers could easily file cramming complaints.Most carriers already have started these practices to deal with cramming, including issuing refunds on a case-by-case basis and adopting disclosure standards for third-party vendors, among other safeguards.


Stephanie Smith of AT&T in Tallahassee said the carrier clearly identifies third-party costs in a separate section of the bill, including the service provider, contact number and website URL. AT&T also allows consumers to block third-party services and track complaints of cramming.Sprint-Nextel clients can go online and adjust their account settings to block certain texts and numbers, said spokeswoman Crystal Davis. Users are asked twice through text messages before they purchase services such as ring tones or make charitable donations.

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Chuck Hamby of Verizon Wireless said cellphone customers also are asked twice whether they want to purchase a service. T-Mobile will also disable third-party charges at the customer's request.MetroPCS customers are not affected by third-party vendor expenses because they pay at the beginning of the month for their service, said spokeswoman Chandra Waters.Despite these safeguards, consumers are still losing money to cramming."I blocked the number, and the [third-party vendor] just charged me from another number," said 20-year-old Grace Freeman of Orlando. T-Mobile reimbursed her for half of the $80 billed to her account for a game her 10-year-old brother had accidentally downloaded."It was an eight-month ordeal,'' Freeman said. "I had to get a new contract and a new number. Now I know to read my bill more closely."


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Florida's legislative session ends in early March and Eisnaugle doesn't expect the bill to make it to committee this year. But he said the bill "shed light on the problem.""The telecommunication companies, after the workshop, said they want to work on the issue," Eisnaugle said. "It's given me hope and optimism that we'll fix the problem in the coming years."A 2011 investigation by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee showed that carriers have made more than $1 billion from third-party charges in the past decade. But some carriers also have suffered financially from the transactions.Former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum reached settlements with AT&T, Sprint-Nextel, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless from 2008 to 2010 related to unauthorized third-party expenses on customers' wireless bills.