Phone bill could be 'crammed' with bogus charges

A reader called the other day because he was upset over his phone bill. He had looked it over and saw a $7.64 fee for a service he didn't recognize.

He made a couple of phone calls and was told the charges would be removed. It sounded like a happy ending except he wasn't completely happy.

He was bothered and a tad suspicious about AT&T putting charges from another company on his bill. It was supposed to be an AT&T bill, wasn't it?

He wanted me to warn people to check their bills.

That's always good advice, and I suggest you take it. But some explanations could help, too.

AT&T -- and other phone companies as well -- contract with what they call third party billers. These are usually companies you buy services from -- long distance, ring tones, whatever. The phone companies bundle all the bills together for convenience. Bundling is a good selling point.

But it can also be a vehicle for abuse from crammers -- businesses that place fictitious charges on your phone bill.

AT&T has to assume that you've actually authorized the charges those third party billers say you have. It only knows that you didn't when you call to complain.

Noelle Talley, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Attorney General's Office, said the consumer protection division has received 88 complaints about cramming so far this year. That's up from 72 all of last year. Most of the complaints are connected to land-line phone bills, she said. The office also gets complaints about cramming charges showing up on cell phone and credit card bills.

Della Bowling, a spokeswoman for AT&T, thinks complaints are up because customers are paying more attention, and that's good.

It helps, too, that AT&T's bill is easier to understand. There's a separate section for non-AT&T charges and each of those charges has a company name and phone number attached to it.

Bowling said if you don't recognize a name or charge, you should call AT&T. The phone company is contractually obligated to tell you to first try to resolve the issue with the other company. If you can't, you will have the heft of AT&T on your side, she said.

As long as AT&T knows you're disputing the charge, the company won't cut off your phone service if you don't pay the third party bill.

But does AT&T police those billers?

"We're always reviewing and evaluating any allegations against third party billing," Bowling said. "We have a variety of remedies which would include termination of contracts."

Which brings me back to my caller. His fee came from ILD Teleservices, a Florida company. ILD's spokeswoman, Ilona Olayan, said ILD processes payments for a variety of merchants including directories, Web hosting services and online entertainment services.

She said ILD removes disputed charges but added that most are authorized -- by someone.

"We have come across consumers, people in a household who signed up for a service and didn't communicate it," Olayan said.

Of course, you -- or someone in your home -- may have authorized a service without realizing it. Bowling says entry forms for contests and the like are almost a vehicle for cramming.

"When you're signing your name on anything know what you're signing," she said. "When you sign up for a raffle or drawing make sure you understand all the conditions. Look at the front, the back and all the fine print."

Remember to do that with your bills, too.