Anti-Cramming Best Practices - "Consumer Summary"

• Purpose:

  • These voluntary LEC guidelines offer an array of Best Practices designed to prevent, deter, and eliminate cramming.

• Definitions:

  • Cramming: The submission or inclusion of unauthorized, misleading, or deceptive charges for products or services on End-user Customers' local telephone bills.

  • Local Exchange Carrier (LEC): The local telephone company that renders the bill to the End-user Customer.

  • Clearinghouse: Billing and collection customers that aggregate billing for their Service Provider customers and submit that billing to the LEC.

  • Service Provider: The party that offers the product or service to the End-user Customer and directly or indirectly sends the billable charges/credits to the LEC, for billing to the End-user Customer.

• The Best Practices Include:

  • Bills should be comprehensible, complete and include information the consumer may need to discuss and, if necessary, dispute charges.

  • Consumers should be provided with options to control whether or not a third party's products and services are charged on their telephone bills.

  • Consumer authorization of services ordered should be appropriately verified.

  • The LECs should screen products, services and Service Providers prior to approval for inclusion on the telephone bill.

  • Clearinghouses should ensure that only charges that have been authorized by the End-user Customer will be billed.

  • The LECs should continue to educate consumers as to their rights and the process for resolution of disputes.

  • Each LEC should provide appropriate law enforcement, regulatory agencies, and other LECs with various categories of data to assist in controlling cramming.