AKA: Mystery Charges
Cramming-it sounds so vulgar. It must be a bad thing, huh?
Sho nuff, as we say in the south… Cramming is slang for being screwed…By extra charges on your monthly bills.
Don't Just Review Your Calls!
Cramming fees, also know as mystery fees, can turn up on lots of statements. Recent articles in the WSJ and PCWORLD review the problem:
- Telephone, cable and even hotel bills may have cramming charges tacked on.
- Phone bills can be especially tricky with descriptions such as voice mail or service charge.
- Of 47,000 cell phone bills examined, 20% were found to have what were probably cramming fees in the form of third party charges.
- Phone companies pass along $2 billion in 3rd party charges yearly, most of them unauthorized.
- Charges are often removed when customers complain.
- A phone call can block 3rd party charges from land line accounts.
- Vodaphone customers can block 3rd party charges, but must opt out twice.
- Hotels at times slide in ‘resort fees’ or other mystery fees, even if you don’t use those services.
- Cell phone bills turn up with bogus charges for what should have been a 1 time download fee or an app never even used.
- Cramming fees from a third party are often overlooked because they are usually small.
The FCC handles more complaints about cramming fees than any other problem. Even more than complaints about Howard Stern…Wow!
A recent FCC ruling proposes some changes to the way these little cramming devils are handled.
- Those 3rd party charges must be listed separately on your bill.
- Companies must tell customers how to stop 3rd party/mystery charges.
- FCC links and complaint info readily visible on your bill. {The FCC logo is pretty cool. Doesn’t look like a government agency logo at all. Wonder how many tax dollars went to develop that baby??? Their budget is funded by “regulatory fees” whatever that means, but that’s for another article….}
We’ll see what happens with that rule proposal…
Now you know.
Cramming to do’s:
How do we keep a better check on those little mystery charges:
- Review your bills.
- Protest anything that looks ‘mysterious’.
- Block 3rd party charges on your phone bills. Here is a link to Verizon’s page on blocking cramming fees. AT&T’s cramming facts page is here.
- Be careful who has your cell phone number.
- Think twice before letting anyone charge your phone bill.
- You can report problems directly to the FCC.
Cramming Review:
A little bit of extra time spent looking over all those monthly bills could save you some money.
Don’t forget: many of these charges ARE YOUR FAULT, ’cause you succumbed to some 900 number pitch.
Don’t succumb. It’s like that last drink. If you were sober you’d know better than order it, but you’re not, so…..Hangover here I come!
Don’t be tempted by “free trial” services that in the small print begin a monthly charge in 3 or 6 months. They hope you won’t notice, and when you notice, can make it hard for you to cancel.
Reader Questions:
If you’ve been crammed, let me know your story….Confidentiality will be honored if you’re embarrassed…
{photo credit: James Burrage c.c.}
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Tags: cell phone and cramming charges, cramming, how to deal with extra charges on your phone bill, how to dispute cramming charges, how to notify the fcc about cramming charges, how to prevent cramming
[...] Dean presents Cramming Charges: TenThings YOU Need To Know! posted at The Millionaire Nurse Blog. “Did you know most phone and utility bills have errors [...]
I hate hotel “resort charges” — if its a universal charge, why not just build it into the price of the room??
Ain’t it the truth!!!