PHONE CUSTOMERS MUST MONITOR LONG-DISTANCE BILLS

Telephone bills these days can contain a lot of pages detailing local and long-distance charges from several companies. Sometimes, the bills also contain a disturbing revelation: Long-distance service has been switched to another company without a customer's consent.

The practice is called "slamming," and it represents the largest source of complaints to the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC receives more than 700 slamming complaints each month. Twenty-five states, including Missouri, are calling on the FCC to further strengthen its rules to protect customers against the practice.

The FCC would be wise to heed the call from these states. But consumers must also become more educated about the problem and their rights to protect themselves.

Consumers must watch phone bills carefully for illegal switches. Most of the complaints have involved smaller, lesser-known long-distance companies. Fewer complaints have been filed against the Big Three: AT&T, MCI and Sprint.

It is illegal for a company to switch long-distance service without permission. If a switch occurs without consent, customers should complain to the FCC. While customers are liable for the phone charges, the individual must only pay the rate that his or her preferred long-distance company would have charged.

Many times companies that practice slamming charge a much higher rate. State attorneys general say these unauthorized charges amount to millions of dollars a year. But they concede it is harder to collect the overcharge once the customer has paid. Customers should also contact their preferred company immediately about switching back.

A petition filed by the 25 states wants the FCC to get even tougher with these phone companies. They want liability for such charges to lie with the company making the unauthorized switch -- not the consumer. This seems a better incentive to keep long-distance carriers on the straight and narrow.