CRAMMING IS ILLEGAL – and reprimand-able with full recovery of false charges in some cases.
“Cramming”: Is when monthly charges pop up on your telephone bill for services that you never approved such as voice mail, paging, or club membership, it’s called “cramming.” This seems to happen on all services but far more often on cellular billings, landline, long distance and 800 number services too!
Here one way it happens…You or someone in your Company may be asked to return a missed call because it’s ‘Your lucky day’ and you or they’ve won a trip to some exotic location. When you/they make the the call, an automated system is activated and you are unknowingly enrolled in a club or program, and the charge then appears later on the phone bill.
The “cramming company” or “individual” may not need to do anything except take or pick one of your phone numbers out randomly and place false charges on your bill through your local telephone company, claiming that you/they agreed to buy these “mystery” services.
Bottom line is…Look at your bill closely every month. Charges for optional services should be itemized and state the name of the company providing the unknown service, how it is described and its phone number. If you or someone in your Company did not order or approve the services, call that number and insist that the services are canceled and the charges removed from your bill.
Also, putting a third party block on your phone service accounts could save you a lot of angst. It’s often free and it does not let any third party add charges to your phone bills. Should you be unsure of how to do these processes and requests, give us a call and we can help. (866) 504 4050.
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