FCC to fight 'mystery fees' on phone bills

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Julius Genachowski announced plans to stop the practice known as "cramming" - the sudden appearance of mystery fees on phone bills. According to the FCC, about 20 million Americans have seen unexplained charges appearing on their bills, ranging from $1.99 to as much as $19.99 per month.

"Cramming is not only illegal, it erodes consumer trust in communications services," says Genachowski. "The FCC will not tolerate cramming, and we are turning up the heat on companies that rip off consumers with unauthorized fees. We want to send a clear message: if you charge consumers unauthorized fees, you will be discovered and you will be punished."

"The Commission acting on our Enforcement Bureau's investigation and recommendations proposed $11.7 million in fines against four companies that appear to have engaged in widespread cramming," says Genachowski. "We found that each of these companies was charging thousands of consumers for a type of long-distance service they never ordered or used, with each company billing consumers roughly $13 to $15 at a time. This resulted in the apparent overcharging of consumers to the tune of about eight million dollars."

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