Frontier Not Very Helpful When it Comes to Cramming May Charge Fee to Block Recurring Fraud Charges As we recently noted, the practice of cramming (or piling up your phone bill with absurdly-priced services you may or may not have actually ordered) continues to be a very serious problem, with only the most aggressive of these companies really getting punished. The ecosystem perpetuates itself in part because phone companies have no incentive to really crack down on the practice, given they share in the profits. Stop the Cap directs us to one recent example where a man complained to Frontier about a fraudulent $14.95 charge the company said they couldn't stop from recurring to the tune of $300 over two years: “Frontier takes customer concerns very seriously and always tries to make things right. Our normal policy on a ‘cramming’ issue, which is an unauthorized charge on a customer’s account, is to assist the customer in contacting the 3rd party company who added the charge. These 3rd party companies get a customer authorization from the customer although in some cases the customer doesn’t realize they’ve authorized the charge. An easy way to avoid these is to have a 3rd party block put on your account by calling Frontier Customer Service." Amusingly, in addition to taking a cut of these services, Frontier told the user they couldn't guarantee that they wouldn't someday charge a fee to have such services blocked. For a company bleeding landline customers Frontier wasn't very helpful, and now the user was so disgusted he had his landline disconnected for good.
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  cdruGo ColtsPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:7 | Frontier themselves cram... I recently switched from Comcast to Frontier for internet only. I cut the cord for television and was bringing my own VoIP. In order to get the 2-year price protection, you had to have their emergency phone service that got you 911 only service. You can't receive incoming phone calls.
I get my first statement in the mail and there's a $3 unlisted number fee. Apparently I had to pay for an unlisted number for a phone line that doesn't have a number/can't receive calls.
I wonder if I can get any number listed to avoid the fee... | |
|  | | | Re: Frontier themselves cram... Just dropped frontiers phone and fired up VoIP from obihai. 911 service costs $4.95 a month via call centric and add in a google voice number for free unlimited calling. Quality on my fios line is great. | |
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rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO | AT&T (mobile) has free blocking (so far) After two support calls, they claim that my account is finally blocked. Twice I've been "crammed" with $9.99/month bogus plans. One was for ring tones and one was for some kind of text message service.
The first time I was cordial but the second time I was angry since I thought this type of activity had been blocked. The customer service representative was a real winner. He explained to me that only charges within 60 days are refundable. At hearing that, I was really pissed. I cut him off and told him my contract was up in August '12, that this isn't right and that I'd be looking for a new carrier. Then he explained that I did not let him finish. After he educated me about how these charges could end up on my bill (i.e. sending a text message, clicking YES on a web site that has my cell phone number), then he told me he would credit me those charges within 60 days and issue an immediate credit for the remainder of the charges.
I caught it after noting my last auto-payment was higher than usual but seemed reasonable because I knew there were international data charges. I didn't think much of it. Then the second statement was high and that's when I went through the entire statement and discovered I had been crammed AGAIN.
He wanted me to know that AT&T didn't have to do this but since AT&T values me as a customer and wants to make me happy. What an ask hat. I told him as much and said I don't need to be educated about how it happens. Just BLOCK IT and I don't need to know how it happens. It's a complete waste of time. I told him that I know that I didn't order these services and all that I needed was to hear "we will fully refund all fraudulent charges". I also told him that I don't care what their policy is. Fraud is fraud. I also told him if you bill me you better be prepared to have proof that I ordered the service. He said because the services were not ordered through AT&T, there was no way they could do this. I told him that's a helluva way to run a business and hung up.
I'm sure there's something in the fine print that allows this type of crap since he wasn't the least bit concerned about telling me that he cannot prove I ordered it.
I really hate to say this but we need more regulation. I know enforcing it costs money but since carriers cannot behave, they'll have to be corrected. | |
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join:2000-12-11
Portage, IN | Re: AT&T (mobile) has free blocking (so far) said by rradina:After two support calls, they claim that my account is finally blocked. Twice I've been "crammed" with $9.99/month bogus plans. One was for ring tones and one was for some kind of text message service. ...
What an ask hat. I told him as much and said I don't need to be educated about how it happens. Just BLOCK IT and I don't need to know how it happens. It's a complete waste of time. I told him that I know that I didn't order these services and all that I needed was to hear "we will fully refund all fraudulent charges". I also told him that I don't care what their policy is. Fraud is fraud. I also told him if you bill me you better be prepared to have proof that I ordered the service. He said because the services were not ordered through AT&T, there was no way they could do this. I told him that's a helluva way to run a business and hung up. If you were acting like that towards me, I would have hung up on you.
You sound EXACTLY like the type of person who would put your phone number in a website, then throw a temper tantrum when you got some charge on your bill.
The rep was trying to educate you on how it happens, SO IT WON'T HAPPEN TO YOU AGAIN. He was trying to help you, and you were being a prick. This has nothing to do with the carriers, and everything to do with you entering your phone number on a 3rd party website or sending a text to 1239999 for a Justin Bieber ringtone. Give us all a break, you sound like a spoiled little child. | |
| | | rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO | Re: AT&T (mobile) has free blocking (so far) Did you miss the fact that I had already been cordial the first time (just two months earlier) and after that experience, I asked them to block such activity? That experience went well -- except for the apparent fact that the block did not actually work.
Things went south when I asked how something like this can happen. That's when the script must have said something about "educate the consumer". My question wasn't asking for how something like this can be ordered. My question was asking them to explain how a block can be added and it didn't work. Looking through the case history, they even admitted that the block was added so he added it again and I'm now assured that it won't happen in the future.
I certainly won't be surprised when it happens again and yes, I will be angry. I even asked if I can verify that the block is enabled via the web site. They said no, you have to call. I did receive an e-mail saying the block was activated. Of course this is the same e-mail I received the first time.
You don't think this is BS? It takes at least 30 minutes of my time to wait in a holding queue and then I get an ask hat trying to educate me on how it can happen? This is not customer service. This is someone who hates their job. Someone who cannot carry a conversation. Someone who has not been trained to diffuse the situation with something more than reading from a script. This is someone who has no idea what customer service is. Not once did he apologize or offer some kind of credit for the block not working.
As I said, we need more regulation because doing business this way is ridiculous. We shouldn't have to tolerate it and I won't. I pay ~$150/month to AT&T with direct pay and paperless billing. Aside from two cramming incidents, they've had no problem with me for nearly four years. They should kiss my you know what trying to make me happy. | |
| | | | | I can partly see why he is losing his temper; AT$T should have blocked any 3rd party add-ons being added the first time around.
I mean serious how is this even allowed? You can go and type someones number in 100 different websites and then get charged for it? Total security flaw.
If you want the service for "$9.99/month ring tones" then you should sign up on their website and get charged separately. | |
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1 edit | Re: AT&T (mobile) has free blocking (so far) I've gotten those messages, i've even seen those websites, I'll use a fake-number to get by the enter phone number, I allways enter a NPA-555 number...
Then it asks for a code, that was in the text message they send you to your phone to confirm
I get these to my cell phone often, that I don't enter,
I don't think it would take too much, for a company to skip requiring the code to be entered.
I like the Reply with Yes option, this the carrier could then see, because it would be an outgoing message on your account.
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Yes, I am not employed and looking for IT work. Have passport, will travel. | |
| | | | | rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO | Re: AT&T (mobile) has free blocking (so far) I see this similar to the 99% vs. the 1%. 99% of on-line businesses deal directly with the consumer and accept a credit card. This should be no different. We need to regulate away the ability to send a text message and have it charge your mobile account.
Not that it isn't convenient and a good idea but the way it's currently implemented, there's no accountability. Whether you call it cramming, slamming, ramming, hamming, jamming or whamming, it's unethical. It's the kind of thing that just makes folks angry. Since it's the mobile carrier that has to collect, they get blamed and that means they should clean it up. Instead, I'm sure they stand behind fine print which completely covers the wieners sported by the executive staff. | |
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bn1221
join:2009-04-29
Cortland, NY Reviews:
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| Big Deal? Comcast and Verizon allow cramming too. And you call them they say "not my fault we just pass along the bill"
Been trying for 4 years to get a dialup account off my office line. They offshored 3rd party keeps promising to fix it but they never do | |
| | | | Re: Big Deal? said by bn1221:Comcast and Verizon allow cramming too. And you call them they say "not my fault we just pass along the bill"
Been trying for 4 years to get a dialup account off my office line. They offshored 3rd party keeps promising to fix it but they never do
Can't speak for Verizon but Comcast doesn't allow cramming. The only charges on a Comcast bill are Comcast charges. There are no third party billings. | |
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| | all the carriers allow it. they know full well most of the charges are fraud, but since they get a percentage of the amount they are happy to let it continue since profit is far more important than any kind of customer satisfaction. | |
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1 edit | USB-powered 16-Port 1Gbps Switch, Please! (Wrong forum for posting. Sorry.) | |
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