SBC says deceptive sales, slamming on increase

Turmoil and uncertainty in the telecommunications industry has led to increased confusion and concern for consumers and potentially, an increase in questionable and unethical business practices, according to SBC Southwestern Bell.

In recent months, SBC Southwestern Bell has received a significant increase in calls from residential customers seeking assistance with alleged incidents of deceptive sales, marketing practices and slamming. In SBC Southwestern Bell's five-state region, these customer calls increased 47 percent in June compared with the previous month, and are up 120 percent compared with January.

Slamming, or changing a customer's phone service without authorization, can affect the customer's local, toll and/or traditional long distance service. Customer awareness is the best weapon against this illegal violation of consumer choice.

In the SBC Ameritech region, the company July 10 secured an emergency action from the Illinois Commerce Commission ordering MCI WorldCom to refrain from slamming, deceptive sales and marketing practices directed at its customers in the state.

The emergency order was granted after SBC Ameritech received nearly 1,000 consumer complaints regarding MCI WorldCom between November 2001 and May 2002.

This confusion in the marketplace makes it more important than ever for consumers to pay close attention to claims and offers made via telemarketing calls and to monthly phone bills, which often are the first indicator of an unauthorized change in service or "slam."

SBC is committed to helping customers avoid slamming and other unethical business practices. The company offers the following tips to help consumers identify and prevent services and charges that may be a result of deceptive sales and marketing practices and slamming.

Be direct. Consumers should be suspicious of anyone calling and claiming to be a local telephone or long-distance company employee. Fraudulent callers may misrepresent themselves.

Ask questions first. When receiving a call with an offer to switch phone service to a new provider, be sure to ask questions that will help clearly identify the company, what it offers, price of the service and how a representative can be contacted. Also, be sure to clearly understand who will provide the service. If a customer intends to switch only one service, such as long-distance service, the customer should confirm with the caller which services will be changed as a result of the switch, including local or Internet services.

Carefully read your telephone bill. Consumers should thoroughly understand charges listed on phone bills and should have chosen to do business with the provider billing for those charges. If local service is changed, customers will receive a final bill from the old provider and a notice concerning the service disconnection. Customers need to be sure they only receive charges from the providers they've chosen.

Be suspicious of alleged changes in your service. Some customers have reported receiving calls or mailings from companies alleging that they bill or provide services on behalf of SBC, a tactic presumably used to slam customers. SBC reminds residential customers that they will not be contacted via outside companies regarding changes in service. Also, no changes will be made by SBC without the permission of the customer.

Consumers should contest any charges imposed by the company who slammed them.

According to the Federal Communica-tions Commission, if affected by slamming, consumers don't have to pay for services resulting from this practice for up to 30 days.

To file a slamming complaint, consumers can contact their local public utilities commission or the FCC.