USA: Cell phone customers are getting nickled-and-dimed by telecoms, as T-Mobile, AT&T Wireless and others charge customers directly for Federal fees. Congress intended the telecoms to pay the fees themselves. Clever accountants realized that by passing the fees through to customers, the fees would count as revenue. This practice makes a wireless phone bill long and difficult to read. “The explosion of line items has made it all but impossible for consumers to compare rates and shop around,” FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps said in March. “You need a lawyer and an accountant — preferably both — to root out what you’re being charged for and why.” FCC docket number 04–208 would require telecoms to build the fees directly into their rates, so that wireless consumers know exactly what they will be charged for their plans.
Comments on this entry are closed.