Slamming, Cramming And Other Abusive Tactics Of Long Distance Telephone Carriers

With deregulation of long distance telephone providers, consumers now have more options than ever available to them for their long distance telephone service. However, many unscrupulous long distance telephone carriers have abused the new marketplace by illegally switching phone customer's service from their preferred carrier to a more expensive plan with a different carrier. This practice is called "slamming." Many times, the customer doesn't find out about the unauthorized switching or slamming, unless the consumer carefully reads each page of his or her phone bill.

Another practice used by unscrupulous long distance providers is the practice of "cramming": tacking on extra fees for "services" that either don't exist or were not ordered by the customer. Again, unless the telephone customer reads his or her bill carefully each month, the customer may unknowingly pay for these extra fees and services for many months without catching it.

Both "slamming" and "cramming" are illegal under federal law and the laws of many states. Even so, these federal and state regulations are left to be enforced by an over-worked and under-budgeted bureaucracy which is often inadequate to provide consumers with even partial relief in a timely manner. These regulations have also been late in coming. Telephone industry protests designed to forestall and weaken pro-consumer regulations have been largely successful. Moreover, most attorneys in private practice are unwilling to accept and prosecute a case for money damages resulting from slamming or cramming because the relatively small amount of money involved will not justify the investments of their time or expenses.

For these reasons, slamming or cramming complaints may be better suited for claims brought as a class action. With the class action procedure, consumers can level the playing field with the large telephone companies by joining together hundreds or thousands of claims into a single legal action. If you would like further information on class actions that are currently being prosecuted against long distance telephone providers for slamming and cramming, or if you would like to talk to an attorney about a slamming or cramming claim, please contact David Tekell.