Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 3, 1994                   TAG: 9408030057
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: C6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                 LENGTH: Medium

FCC PLANS TO PUT AN END TO FALSE 800-NUMBER BILLS

The Federal Communications Commission unveiled a plan to stem abuses after receiving 2,000 complaints in the first six months of this year involving charges largely for adult-oriented services carried on 800 numbers, said Richard Metzger, deputy chief of the FCC's Common Carrier Bureau.

The problem involves only a small portion of the information services industry - companies that use 800 numbers to deliver services such as sports scores and psychic readings and charge for the call.

The vast majority of information services are over 900 numbers. And virtually all 800 numbers are toll-free - unless the company, taking advantage of an exception in a 1992 law, got the caller's permission through some sort of unspecified arrangement.

That is where the problem has cropped up, regulators said. In many instances, the caller, who may have agreed to the charge, was not the one getting billed. Rather, the home or establishment from where the call was made got stuck with the charges because the local telephone company sent the bill there.

Under the FCC's new plan, local telephone companies have to make sure they are billing the caller. They must verify that a written contract has been entered between the caller and the information service company before they bill for 800-number calls.

The plan also would require the local phone company to break out charges for these calls from long-distance charges. The phone company also would have to list the name, address and number of the information service provider, the type of service offered, and the date, time and duration of the call.

Plagued by customer complaints over 800-number charges, Bell Atlantic Corp. in June stopped billing for these calls, said spokesman Michel Daley.

Metzger said many of the FCC's complaints are from hotels, colleges and universities, and parents - all of whom were billed for calls they did not make.

FCC attorney Robert Spangler said people routinely end up paying for the calls for fear of losing their telephone service, a ploy some information service companies use to get people to pay, he said.

The FCC's plan is open to comment by industry groups and could be modified further. The ultimate plan is subject to another commission vote before becoming final.

Regulators said the plan, if adopted, will mean more work for local telephone companies, which are responsible for handling billing from information service companies.

One practice that appears to be on the rise could thwart any verification process, Daley said.

Some information service calls are showing up as a regular 10-digit long-distance number, rather than an 800 number through which the service is actually provided. Local phone companies cannot tell that those charges need to be verified.