BUCKS WATCH
Free Consumer Action Handbook a Great Value - The Federal Citizen Information Center’s new 2006 Consumer Action Handbook is now available to consumers looking for information about a vast array of consumer issues. Telecommunications consumers can find a wealth of information on telemarketing scams, identity theft, cell phones, prepaid cards, 900 numbers and more. There is also page after page of advice on buying an automobile, Medicare drug coverage, insurance, travel, credit, housing, and services for people with disabilities, just to name a few topics. In addition the Guide contains a comprehensive directory of local and national consumer groups, Better Business Bureaus, federal, state, and local consumer agencies, and corporations. We highly recommend that any consumer looking for up-to-date advice on consumer issues pick up a copy. Fortunately, the guide is available free of charge. It can be downloaded at www.consumeraction.gov or by clicking here. Up to 10 printed copies can be ordered online (also, free of charge) by visiting http://www.consumeraction.gov/caw_orderhandbook.shtml. Consumers without Internet access can order the Handbook by phone by calling 1-888-878-3256. Written orders can be mailed to:
Handbook
Pueblo, Colorado 81009
Be sure to include your name and shipping address in the request.
SCAM WATCH
Tips on Protecting Cell Phone Records - As we discussed in recent editions of TRACNotes, cell phone record theft has become a big problem for consumers. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a Washington privacy-rights watchdog, lists 40 websites that offer to get private phone records for a fee (click here to access the list). The legality of these services is dubious and Congress and the FCC are working to enact new measures to better protect cell phone records. In the meantime, what can consumers do to protect their cell phone records?
- Make sure that your account is in your name. If someone else is paying your bill or even having the bill mailed to their house, they can probably get access to your calling records. Jealous spouses or significant others, employers (if the phone is a company phone), or others close to you may be able to see your call records. Imagine the embarrassment if you use your company cell phone to call another employer about a job and your current boss sees the call on your bill. If you don’t want anyone else to see a record of your calls, make sure the account is in your name only.
- Password-protect your account. Most consumers know that they need a password to access an e-mail account, but did you know that you could ask your cell phone company to put a password on your account? Use a password that is easy to remember but that only you know, so avoid common passwords like your birthday, mother’s maiden name, pets name, or your Social Security Number.
- Opt out of customer proprietary network information (CPNI) sharing. Carriers often make money by selling your phone records for marketing purposes. You can avoid this by telling your carrier that you want to “opt out” or “restrict” your account from all CPNI sharing.
- Remove online access and detailed call records. Subscribers who aren’t planning to take advantage of a carrier’s online account management service should request that their carrier deactivate online account access. Also, if you don’t pay attention to the details of your call history, request that it be removed from your wireless bill.
For more information on cell phone record theft and what Congress and the FCC are doing about it, click here.
WASHINGTON WATCH
Simon Assesses the Impact of the 1996 Telecom Act for Consumers – On Monday, TRAC founder and Chairman Samuel A. Simon was among a group of leading policy experts who spoke at a symposium in Washington, DC about the legacy of the 1996 Telecommunications Act in observance of the 10th anniversary of its enactment.. Simon discussed the growing difficulties that consumers have faced since the Act was passed in comparing plans and services to find the best deals. Thanks to the entry of new competitors for local and long distance phone service, the explosion in wireless phone use and the growing use of VoIP phones and “converged” communications devices, consumers now face a myriad array of choices when it comes to communications services. For most consumers, “the cost of finding out [the best deal] ... isn’t worth the complexity and effort,” complained Simon. While the Act certainly brought consumers more choice, not everyone has benefited, said Simon. For example, consumers making the fewest long distance calls have saved the least from competition, and in some cases, are paying more because they are still on basic plans whose prices have gone progressively higher. For more information on the 10th anniversary event, click here.
WIRELESS WATCH
Consumers Spending More Time Than Ever on Service Complaints – Wireless phone users are having to call their carriers more often than ever to get customer service issues resolved, according to a new survey from market research firm J.D. Power and Associates. According to the survey, wireless customers are having to call their carrier a average of 1.94 times by phone to resolve a problem, the highest level in 6 years. Customer service representative training is not keeping up with the warp-speed increase in the complexity and capabilities of new wireless devices, noted J.D. Power. The ability of next-generation phones and PDAs to take pictures, capture video, stream audio and video files is putting pressure on the carriers’ service representatives to get complex issues resolved, even if they are not properly trained on how to handle these problems. This decrease in customer satisfaction could lead to more subscribers getting fed up and switching carriers. “Since future switching levels are three times as high among customers who need to re-contact the carrier two or more times to get the inquiry resolved, the challenge for wireless providers is to provide contact channels that can offer an informative and efficient experience for their customers,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates. For the third quarter in a row, T-Mobile topped J.D. Power’s Customer Care Performance rankings. Verizon Wireless and ALLTEL tied for second place and Cingular and Sprint Nextel again came in below industry average. For more information on this survey, click here.
TRAC AND YOU
Question of the Week: Cable Choice - The U.S. Senate is holding a hearing this week on the question of whether it is important to give consumers a choice of video provider aside from their existing cable or satellite company. The local phone companies are now seeking to enter the cable business, with Verizon already deploying high speed broadband networks. TRAC is interested in your views. First, how important is it to you to have an additional choice of video provider aside from the existing cable and satellite providers? Second, would you support policies that "expedited" the process so the new provider could get a “quick start” to challenge the two current (incumbent) providers? Let us know! E-mail your thoughts to trac@trac.org.
INTERESTING LINKS
FCC Main Page: http://www.fcc.gov
FCC Complaint Form - http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm
List of State Regulatory Commissions: http://www.naruc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=15
What do you think? Got a tip you want to share? Nominate your "Scam of the Week" and your "Tip of the Week" - If we select your submission, we'll give you a one-year free membership in TRAC and acknowledge your contribution by name in TRACNotes. Send an e-mail to trac@trac.org to submit your ideas!
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©2006 Telecommunications Research and Action Center. TRAC grants unlimited rights to reproduce TRACNotes or any information contained in it provided attribution is given as follows: "Source: Telecommunications Research and Action Center. http://www.trac.org"
