Q: I SIGNED up with a cell phone company and I was told that the plan would cost $39.99. But when the bill came, I ended up paying $60 because of all the additional “charges” and “fees” that had nothing to do with the calls I made or the minutes I used. I called the cell phone company so they could explain the charges. But I feel like some of these charges are still unfair. Is there anything that can be done about this at all?
A:The above scenario might be familiar to all of us who have cell phones. You look at your bills and you wonder why you’re being charged for personal 800-numbers, web hosting, internet directory access, or data transfer plans which you did not order. Or you might wonder why you’re being charged for international calls you never made. If any of these had ever happened to you, you have probably been “crammed.”
According to the Federal Trade Commission, “cramming” happens when a company adds a charge to your phone bill for a service you didn’t order, agree to, or use. These may be disguised as a tax or some other common fee. The charges can be small, for example, $2 or $3, or maybe just a few cents. Even if you look at the charges closely, most of the time, you don’t even know what they are for. They still sound like charges that come with the phone service and must be paid. It’s difficult to pick out which are legitimate charges and which are not, especially if your phone bill changes monthly. The crammer intends for the subscriber to overlook these small charges and just pay the bill.
Cramming charges are often billed by dishonest third-party suppliers of data and communication services. The phone companies are required by law to allow these third-parties to place their charges on the bill for the services they provided to the subscriber. Problems occur when the subscriber did not order, did not agree to, or did not use the services, or were misled into agreeing to the charges.
In response to complaints from consumers, some phone companies may respond by removing these charges from a consumer’s bill. Some may even go as far as to put a Cramming Block on the customer’s account to prevent third parties from adding charges. However, even the phone companies themselves may engage in cramming.
For example, you may have heard in the news that Verizon will be refunding over $50 million to its 15 million customers for the “mystery fees” it had been charging its customers for the last three years. In addition, it will be paying a $25 million settlement to the US Treasury as penalty.
The investigation on Verizon by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began in January of this year resulting from consumer complaints regarding mystery charges on their bills. The investigation revealed that the “mystery fees” were the result of defects in Verizon’s software which charged subscribers a data connection fee even when they didn’t subscribe to a data plan.
Catching cramming charges on your phone bill will require that you read your phone bill when you receive it, especially if your monthly bill changes every month. If your bill is usually the same and then it suddenly goes up, even by just a few dollars, you need to take a closer look. Some charges may appear just once; others are “subscription” charges that show up every month. The charges could be for anything, including subscriptions for Internet-related services like web hosting or access to restricted websites, entertainment services with a 900 area code, or collect calls. Pay attention to generic-sounding services and fees like Min. Use Fee, Activation, Member Fee, Voice Mail, or Web Hosting. These may be services you did not order.
If you are not sure about a charge on your bill, ask your phone company about it. They should be able to tell you more about the charge. If you suspect that you have been a cramming victim, seek experienced legal help. Even if you think the charge is a small amount, you may not be the only person that this has happened to. In the words of the FCC Chairman in the Verizon case, “People shouldn’t find mystery fees when they open their phone bills - and they certainly shouldn’t have to pay for services they didn’t want and didn’t use. In these rough economic times, every $1.99 counts.”
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C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is an experienced trial attorney who has successfully obtained significant results, including several million dollar recoveries for consumers against insurance companies and big business. He is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum—a prestigious group of trial lawyers whose membership is limited to those who have demonstrated exceptional skill, experience and excellence in advocacy. He has been featured in the cover of Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Verdicts and Settlements for his professional accomplishments and recipient of numerous awards from community and media organizations. His litigation practice concentrates in the following areas: serious personal injuries, wrongful death, insurance claims, unfair business practices, wage and hour (overtime) litigation. You can visit his website at www.joesayas law.com or contact his office by telephone at (818) 291-0088.
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