WASHINGTON, D.C.— Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV today convened a full committee hearing on unauthorized charges on consumers’ telephone bills. The hearing examined reports of unauthorized mystery charges being placed on landline telephone bills, a practice commonly referred to as “cramming,” and comes after a yearlong Commerce Committee investigation into cramming and its impact on American consumers. The findings of the Committee’s investigation can be found here.

Witness List:

Ms. Lisa Madigan, Attorney General, State of Illinois

Mr. Elliot Burg, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Vermont Attorney General

Ms. Susan Eppley, Decatur, Georgia

Mr. David Spofford, Chief Executive Officer, Xigo, LLC

Mr. Walter McCormick, Jr., President and CEO, U.S. Telecom Association

Key Quotations from Today’s Hearing:

“I know the FCC stated yesterday that it is now seeking comment on whether to ban third-party billing. I appreciate their effort, but we are well past the point of examining or studying this problem. We know there’s a problem. This Committee has confirmed it’s a billion-dollar problem, and it’s been going on for a decade. It’s time to stop it. In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that will put an end to this shameful practice once and for all. The Committee’s investigation has provided all the information we need to know that legislation is an important and necessary next step.”

Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV

“Simply put, these deceptive and sometimes fraudulent solicitations for products that no one wants or agreed to buy have persisted for at least 15 years and show no signs of disappearing. With a few exceptions for some regulated services, such as operator-assisted calls, it is time to put an end to third party billing on telephone bills by banning them at the state and federal level.”

Ms. Lisa Madigan, Attorney General, State of Illinois

“Vermont’s statutory approach takes account of actual consumer expectations—that consumers do not anticipate that they will be charged on their local telephone bills for third-party services. It is straightforward to enforce. It does not interfere with other methods of receiving payment for services provided, such as credit cards, debit cards, personal checks, and electronic fund transfers. And it is viewed as a solution to the problem of cramming in our state—one that other jurisdictions may wish to adopt in the future.”

Mr. Elliot Burg, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Vermont Attorney General

“I shudder to think that citizens, especially senior citizens who are often on a fixed budget, are falling victim to cramming because they don’t have an Accounts Payable Representative to check their phone bills for unauthorized charges.”

Ms. Susan Eppley, Decatur, Georgia

“These charges often have descriptions such as ‘Voice Mail,’ ‘Email,’ ‘Directory Services,’ ‘Web Hosting’ and other names that appear to be normal services to the customer. As it turns out, more than 99 percent of these charges are unauthorized by the customer and are for services that they are not receiving.”

Mr. David Spofford, Chief Executive Officer, Xigo, LLC

“[T]oday’s hearing demonstrates the problem of cramming persists. As the technology and sophistication of con artists and scammers increases, ‘best practices’ must evolve, and all parties in the billing chain need to elevate efforts to prevent consumer fraud.”

Mr. Walter McCormick, Jr., President and CEO, U.S. Telecom Association

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