Ever wonder what that unidentified charge is on your monthly telephone bill?  Ever wonder why you can't get a straight answer as to what the charge actually is for?

"Cramming" is the practice of placing unauthorized, misleading, or deceptive charges on consumers' telephone bills.  Crammers rely on confusing telephone bills in an attempt to trick consumers into paying for services they did not authorize or receive, or that cost more than the consumer was led to believe.

The process of cramming occurs through a layered relationship of local exchange carriers (LECs), billing aggregators, and third party service providers.  Cramming most typically occurs when consumers sign up for advertisements, coupons, or special deals over the Internet.  Whether through fine print language or overt deception, third party service providers obtain consumers' personal information when consumers submit their personal information for these advertisements, coupons, or special deals.  In some instances, there is absolutely no indication that the consumer is agreeing to additional charges, or that the consumer even understands they are being charged.  For example, one Wisconsin consumer faced $14.95 monthly charges when she clicked to accept a $500 gift card for Walmart.  Another consumer faced $14.95 monthly charges when she tried clicking on a link to view recipes on a third party website.  Cramming can also occur when malicious parties steal consumers' identities and enter their personal information onto these websites.  This occurs even if the consumers' personal information does not match their billing information (like having someone signed up as "Betty Boop").

After obtaining "authorization" from consumers, these third party service providers submit billing information to billing aggregators, who in turn provide the information to the consumer's LEC.  The LEC then takes this information to add charges to consumers' phone bills.  These charges are misleading, deceptive, and vague and can come up as a "service fee," "service charge," "other fees," "voicemail," "calling plan," or "membership."  As a result, consumers can be charged for months, even years, without detecting the fraudulent charges.

If you suspect you have been the victim of cramming, immediately call the company that charged you for the calls you did not place, or for the services you did not authorize or use.  Ask the company to explain the charges and request a refund or adjustment to your bill for any incorrect charges.  You can also contact your local telephone company, explain your concerns about the charges, and ask your local telephone company the procedure for removing incorrect charges from your bill.  Finally, if neither the third party company nor your local telephone company will remove the charges, file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or Wisconsin Department of Justice (WI-DOJ).  Don't be the latest consumer to fall victim to cramming.

For more information, visit the FCC website or contact our office at (262) 677-8999 with any questions.