Integretel - THE 1-900-SCAM RIPOFF NUMBERS San Jose California

Thank you for your recent letter. The Federal Trade Commission has been directed by Congress to act in the interest of all consumers to prevent deceptive or unfair practices and unfair methods of competition. In determining whether to take enforcement or other action in any particular situation, the Commission may consider a number of factors, including the type of violation alleged; the nature and amount of consumer injury at issue and the number of consumers affected; and the likelihood of preventing future unlawful conduct and securing redress or other relief. As a matter of policy, the Commission does not generally intervene in individual disputes. However, letters from consumers provide valuable information that is frequently used to develop or support Commission enforcement initiatives. Your letter will be reviewed according to the criteria set forth above.

The 900-Number Rule (now referred to as the Pay-Per-Call Rule) was enacted by the FTC in July 1993, to implement the Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act of 1992 (TDDRA), 15 U.S.C. Section 5701 et seq. TDDRA required both the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and this Commission to prescribe regulations governing pay-per-call services, then limited to 900 numbers. The Commission adopted its 900-Number Rule, 16 C.F.R. Part 308, on July 26, 1993, and it became effective November 1, 1993. A proposal approved by the FTC to revise its 900-Number Rule -- including provisions that will combat telephone bill cramming, extend the definition of "pay-per-call services" beyond 900 numbers, and ban international long distance charges for these kinds of services -- was approved by the Commission on October 22, 1998 and published in the Federal Register on October 30th.

In summary, the current Rule requires that advertisements for 900 numbers include certain disclosures, including information about the cost of the call. This information must also be included in an introductory message (preamble) at the beginning of a 900-number service. Anyone who calls a 900-number service must be given the opportunity to hang up, at the conclusion of the preamble, without incurring any charge for the call. The 900-Number Rule also establishes procedures for resolving billing disputes for 900-number calls and other telephone-billed purchases. This section imposes certain obligations on entities that bill for and answer consumer inquiries about such services, such as investigating reports by consumers of "billing errors," a defined term in the Rule. ***It is important to note that your telephone service cannot be disconnected for failure to pay charges for a 900-number call.*** TDDRA, under which the original Rule was adopted, mandates that 900-number blocking be made available (under FCC rules), so that consumers can exercise meaningful control over access to 900-number services from their telephones.

The problem of "cramming" has been growing in the past year. "Cramming" refers to unexplained charges on a consumer's phone bill for services that were never authorized, ordered, received, or used. Sometimes a one-time charge for entertainment services will be crammed onto your phone bill; other times, monthly recurring charges are crammed onto the bill. These monthly recurring charges can involve club memberships (such as psychic, personal or travel clubs) or telecommunications products or service programs (such as voice mail, paging, and calling cards).

Most of these scams occur through the use of an 800 number or are initiated when a consumer fills out a contest or sweepstakes entry without reading the fine print. They are all deceptive and you should dispute the charges by calling or writing to the billing party listed on your phone bill. In the case of recurring monthly charges, the billing party often will cancel the charge or service if you complain.

It is also important that you report your complaint to your state consumer protection agency (such as your state attorney general), since several states recently have taken legal action against companies for cramming. You should include copies of your telephone bill and any correspondence you may have had regarding the problem.

I hope that you will find the above information helpful in addressing your problem. You should also know that more than 150 consumer and business education brochures and other materials are available online in the FTC Consumer Line and FTC Business Line sections of our Home Page, located at HTTP://WWW.FTC.GOV.




Sincerely yours,


Consumer Response Center

I was being illegally charged $115.00 on my phone bill for 1-900-scam numbers by Integretel, Inc. Integretel illegally installed spyware in my computer without my permission, and I didn't agree for anything or sign any contract with Integretel. To me, they used my private property without my consent thats invasion of privacy it is illegal. I'm the one should charge Integretel for using my computer for every second they used. I would like to charge Ingretel $20.00/sec for using my computer. For those big companies that are trying to rip little people off, beware Integretel Inc, I might just be like that little old lady take on the big giant, Mcdonal, and won the case.