pageoneresults - 6:19 pm on May 20, 2010 (gmt 0)

For those who may be running into difficulty addressing cramming related charges on their phone bills, the LATimes published an article about this on 2009-08-12.

Bogus fees land on phone bills too easily
[Articles.LATimes.com...]

I've been informed by one person that was hit with cramming that AT&T responds to consumers letting them know that California Law prevents them from stopping the charges. Well, I find that hard to believe so I'm wanting to get a little more discussion going here on how the phone companies handle third party billing. According to the LA Times article above, once you call and complain about a charge on your phone bill, it is the providers responsibility to investigate.

Still, Diamond said AT&T won't hesitate to waive a questionable fee if an investigation shows that the fee wasn't authorized - which may indeed be the case but doesn't reflect Cohen's experience.

It was mentioned that there are monetary incentives for phone companies to allow third party billing - and there are. They may be taking a piece of the action in the process. I wonder how much money they make from third party billing that is bogus?

If you've got charges on your bill that you know were not authorized, I'd fight tooth and nail with your phone carrier, let them take the onus, investigate, and refund your monies. Based on my research to date, the companies doing the cramming are the last ones to contact, they're going to give you the runaround and continually lie to you while additional charges appear on your bill. Or, you only get credited for a portion of the charges. It's really a nasty business and the PUC (Public Utilities Commission) need to step up to the plate and STOP it.