`SLAMMING': STATE HELPS CONSUMERS FIGHT PHONE COMPANIES' UNFAIR SWITCHING TACTICS

"Slamming," the unauthorized changing of a consumer's telecommunications provider, is the number one complaint made to the Federal Communications Commission.

Nationally, the number of slamming complains has tripled since 1994 and in Missouri slamming complaints are up about 20 percent during the first six months of 1997.

"It's a big problem everywhere," said Scott Holste, a spokesman for the Missouri Attorney General's office. "Our slamming hotline is busy."

Some companies are becoming more blatant about their slamming practices, said Holste. "They're not even going through the pretense of being legal."

The Missouri Attorney General's office has teamed up with Southwestern Bell to better inform consumers about slamming.

"Hang Up on Slamming," a campaign to help consumers and businesses protect themselves, is designed to fight the unauthorized and illegal switching of a consumer or company's long-distance company without their consent.

Thousands of complaints about sudden switches have been logged with the Missouri Attorney General's office and with the FCC since 1992, when the FCC adopted rules designed to protect consumers from slamming.

An increasing number of complaints involve long-distance companies that use contests, prize giveaways, checks and other promotions to lure new customers.

In many of these cases, said Holste, people are unaware that by signing the contest form or consenting to a charitable donation they have agreed to switch to another long-distance company.

Federal regulators have taken actions against a number of long-distance companies for slamming, assessing fines ranging from $30,000 to $200,000.

Experts predict that slamming is likely to increase even more as competition in the telecommunications industry continues to heat up.

There are a lot of legitimate companies out there, Holste and Southwestern Bell slamming expert Debbie Beamer say. A few companies have given the entire telecommunications industry a bad name, and consumers and businesses want a stop to the slamming, say Holste and Beamer.

Findings show that about 15 percent of carriers account for 75 percent of slamming disputes.

Southwestern Bell has responded to about 30,000 Missouri slamming complaints from January to June. By the end of the year, the company predicts it will intervene on behalf of almost 500,000 victims of alleged "slams" throughout its five-state service territory. The company received 378,000 complaints last year.

Southwestern Bell is not a long-distance carrier but serves as billing and collections agent for many telecommunications providers. As such, it must make changes to customer accounts on behalf of the providers.

However, when customers call to complain they have been slammed, Southwestern Bell acts as an intermediary and advocate for customers, insuring them they will be returned to their provider of choice.

"Slamming is a significant and growing problem for our residential customers" said Beamer. "And recently, the problem has spread to small businesses."

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon said part of the problem lies in the fact that some slammers are becoming more deceptive. They are tricking customers into switching long-distance carriers through various promotions and contests, he said.

"In some cases they are even identifying themselves as being authorized by Southwestern Bell or another credible company to obtain information about the customer's long-distance company of choice."

"The truth is that Southwestern Bell already knows who their customers' long-distance carriers are for purposes of billing," said Beamer. "Besides, we'll always identify ourselves by giving our names and, if requested, return phone numbers."

Nixon said some companies are technically within the law regarding their marketing offers and charges.

Southwestern Bell and its parent company, SBC Communications, has also petitioned the FCC to develop and implement rules that would strengthen laws and penalties against companies that repeatedly slam consumers and businesses.

The "Hang Up on Slamming" campaign is designed to inform consumers about new slamming "scams" and offers tips that can be used against slamming. Some of them are:

-- Read your phone bills. If your long-distance provider has been changed, a switching charge of $5 to $6 will appear along with the name of the new company.

-- Educate family members and designate one who is authorized to make telecommunications decisions. Slammers often target children, baby-sitters and housekeepers.

-- Read the fine print. Never enter contests or promotional drawings at fairs or festivals. Some long-distance providers use these tactics to entice consumers to sign "entry" forms that double as authorizations to switch your service.

"Just recently we issued a restraining order against a company doing this during a fair in the Kansas City area," said Holste.