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Reference:TSR23, ID# 00824713

The following is the information you requested from the FCC National Call Center. Thank you for your inquiry. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20554

____________________

INTERNATIONAL TELEPHONE SERVICES

International telephone information services include horoscopes, "psychic hotlines," work-at-home schemes and chat groups. The charges for such services appear on the customers' monthly local telephone bill as international long distance calls. There has been an increase in the number of such international calls, stemming in part to Congressional regulations tightening up on abuses in these services in the United States. Due to consumer complaints about fraudulent billing and the unauthorized use of their telephones to place such calls, Congress, in 1992, restricted the ability of information-service providers to use domestic pay-per-call ("900" or "976") telephone numbers in the provision of their services. As a result, many providers of such services moved their operations to points outside the United States. Because the blocks applied to prevent the use of domestic 900 and 976 calls for information services do not block international long distance calls, minors and other unauthorized users can use a subscriber's telephone line for access to an International Dial-a-Porn or other information service without the subscriber's knowledge or permission. Furthermore, because the charges for international information services are simply added to a telephone subscriber's bill, without a prior credit arrangement, and because they are based on substantial per-minute charges that are generally not disclosed in advance, a telephone subscriber can receive a bill for calls to information services that is unexpectedly large. It is a violation of federal law for providers of information services to offer service over an 800 number and then to charge a caller for service (unless the provider has entered into a prior arrangement with the caller to bill him or her separately for the service or to charge the service to the caller's credit card). An information provider is allowed to use 800 numbers to advertise its services. It is also allowed to advertise an 800 number and, when a caller dials the 800 number, direct the caller to hang up and place an international call that will be billed at international per-minute rates. Telephone subscribers should, when calling information services, beware of an unlawful practice engaged in by some information-service providers. That is, when a caller dials an advertised 800 number, the information-service provider will direct the customer, without hanging up, to dial additional numbers, often described as an "access code." Dialing such numbers often converts the call into an international, direct-dial long distance call that will be billed at relatively high international rates. Recognizing an international call may not always be easy. Most international telephone numbers are preceded by the numbers 011. Telephone numbers in Canada and the Caribbean region, however, have area codes that make them look like U.S. telephone numbers. For example, calls to British Columbia, Canada start with the area code 604 and calls to the Caribbean begin with area code 809. Moreover, advertisements for Dial-a-Porn and other information services sometimes direct customers to dial a string of numbers that contains the 011 international call designator, disguised so as to hide the fact that the call is in fact an international call. For example, the number in the advertisement might be 1-0xxx-011-xx-xx-xxx-xxxx (where x is any digit). In this example, the first five digits,1-0xxx, are the access code of a U.S. international carrier and the 011 is the prefix to an international telephone number. Similarly, as more fully explained in the previous question, the use of an 800 telephone number to arrange access to an international Dial-a-Porn service could mislead customers into thinking that they are dialing a domestic telephone number. If you are unfamiliar with an area code advertised, we suggest that you look it up in your telephone book or ask a telephone operator whether the telephone number is an international one. If you disagree with a telephone bill listing charges to international numbers, you should first try to resolve your complaint with the local telephone company on whose bill the charge appears. In some cases, however, your local telephone company may refer you directly to the long distance company or to the company that provided the information service. This is because the local company merely acts as a billing agent for the long distance company or the information-service provider and does not resolve their billing disputes. All of the major U.S. local telephone companies have agreed to work with subscribers, long distance companies and information-service providers during the first billing cycle (that is, the first billing period for which information-service charges appear on the local bill) to resolve subscriber complaints that they did not make the calls or that the calls were not authorized. They will seek to ensure that the Dial-a-Porn provider, rather than the subscriber, bears the cost of the disputed calls. Be aware, however, that not every local telephone company has agreed to this policy. If your local telephone company does not agree to participate, your refusal to pay disputed charges could result in its terminating your telephone service. If you are unable to persuade one of these companies to adjust the charges, and you feel that such refusal was unreasonable, you can file a written complaint with the FCC. Although the FCC cannot adjust your telephone bill, the FCC will investigate your complaint and determine whether any of the companies have violated the Communications Act or FCC regulations and whether to initiate an enforcement action. To file a complaint, simply send a letter describing your complaint, in your own words, to:

Federal Communications Commission

Common Carrier Bureau Consumer Complaints

Mail Stop Code 1600A2

Washington, D.C. 20554

Your complaint letter should include your name and address, the telephone number or numbers involved with your complaint, the telephone number where you can be reached during the business day, the names of all companies involved with your complaint, and a copy of the bill(s) listing the charges that you are disputing. It will expedite processing of your complaint if you circle on the copy of the bill(s) all call charges that you are disputing. False or deceptive advertisements for an international information service is within the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC").
The FTC is responsible for preventing the distribution of false or deceptive advertisements in consumer products. If you feel that a company's advertisement was false or misleading, you should call your regional FTC office or write to: Federal Trade Commission

Correspondence Branch

Washington, D.C. 20580

While the FTC does not resolve individual disputes, your comments help in its law enforcement efforts. Additionally, you may wish to contact your state's consumer protection office, the consumer-protection division of your state's Attorney-General's office, or the office of your local District Attorney. You also may wish to contact the National Fraud Information Center at 1-800-876-7060. The National Fraud Information Center is a private, non-profit national consumer organization that will report your complaints to the appropriate federal or state governmental agency. Consumers can protect against unauthorized access by minors to international information services by instructing children to refrain from making calls to International Dial-a-Porn or other information services that encourage long, expensive telephone calls. At present there is no way selectively to block the use of your telephone from being used to call international information services. You can, however, request your presubscribed long distance telephone company to block your telephone line so that it cannot be used to make calls directly to any international telephone number. Your presubscribed long distance company should generally make blocking of international calls available at no charge, but you should be aware that such a block will affect only international calls made using that presubscribed long distance company. It is possible for you or someone using your telephone to evade a blanket international call block by dialing the access code for one of the U.S. international long distance telephone companies and then using that company to dial the international telephone number. The FCC cannot prevent unauthorized use of a subscriber's telephone.It is the responsibility of telephone subscribers to control access to their own telephones. The FCC, however, has taken actions to deal with abuses by providers of international information services. As a result of the recent increase in complaints about abuses by international information providers, the FCC is taking several steps to protect telephone subscribers who have been billed for international calls they did not authorize. First, the FCC is working with local, long distance and foreign telephone companies to put in place procedures to resolve consumer billing disputes promptly and fairly. The FCC also has adopted rules to ensure that telephone companies comply with federal law in this area and will vigorously enforce them. Second, the FCC is writing to foreign countries that attract the highest number of calls from the United States to ask for assistance in addressing abuses committed by providers located within their countries. Third,the FCC is educating consumers about international Dial-a-Porn and other information services so that they can take steps to prevent unauthorized use of their telephones by minors or others to gain access to such services. The FCC has also asked U.S. local and long distance telephone companies to do the same for their customers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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I should note that my long distance company was MCI and I am still fighting to get this off my bill. They said they would remove all charges and then after they lied and didn't keep their word, I cancelled my account with them and went back to AT&T....I haven't had any problem with AT&T...So beware who you do business with!

MCI has also turned this over to a collection agency and added on $70.00 to the bill, for what I have no idea...But I refuse to pay a bill that contributes to fraud and if MCI had any sense they would put the charges back at the business that committed a Federal crime instead of the innocent citizens of the U.S.A!

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