Atlanta Telco To Be Fined $9 Million for Slamming, Cramming
The FCC plans to fine GPSPS, an Atlanta phone company, $9 million for allegedly switching consumers’ long-distance services without authorization, billing customers for unauthorized charges and submitting falsified evidence to regulatory officials, the agency said in a news release Friday.…
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It said the Enforcement Bureau reviewed more than 150 complaints against GPSPS filed with the commission, the FTC, the Texas Public Utility Commission and the Better Business Bureau. GPSPS submitted to regulatory bodies “fabricated” recordings purportedly of consumers authorizing service from the company, the agency said. Consumers who listened to the recordings “adamantly denied” to the bureau their voices were on the recordings, the commission said. It “will hold companies accountable who prey on consumers by switching their telephone carriers and placing charges on their telephone bills without authorization,” Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc said. The agency said it's taken nearly 30 enforcement actions for cramming or slamming and announced more than $90 million in penalties in the past five years. GPSPS didn't comment.