ConsumerWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ― It is the kind of thing that's persistent, and annoying, and seems like it should be simple to fix: an extra charge on your phone bill for a service you may have never heard of. The charges are called "cramming," and many consumers complain about it. So why hasn't the problem been eliminated?

Gloria Miller said the first thing she noticed was a charge for $8.95 on her phone bill from AT&T. But she said the phone company told her she would have to call the company listed next to the charge, called ILD Teleservices.

"They said, 'It's for a voicemail service,'" said Miller, a resident of Walnut Creek. "I said, 'But what do I need a voicemail service because I have a message service through the phone company? Why would I order another one?'"

Adaline Rogers faced numerous charges on her bill: five listed charges for $14.95 each, from something called Enhanced Services Billing Incorporated, or ESBI. When she called AT&T, she said the company told her she must have made a purchase.

But her alleged purchase was also for a voicemail service Rogers said she hadn't wanted or ordered.

Consumer advocates say many Bay Area residents face problems with resolving cramming issues.

"There's a presumption that if you're a consumer and there's an unauthorized charge on your phone bill, that if you call the phone company they should take it off the bill," said Bill Nusbaum, who works for an advocacy group called The Utility Reform Network or TURN.

An AT&T representative told CBS 5 Investigates the company "erases" charges from the bills of customers who complain, but the customers must follow up with the "third-party" company that billed them in the first place. But Nusbaum said removing those charges can be difficult.

"As a consumer you're basically fighting every, every instance, as a new instance, well is this legitimate or is this not legitimate," he said.

Miller said she has been fighting unwanted charges off and on for three years.

"I have to check my bill every month to make sure I'm not being charged for something I have not ordered," she complained.

CBS 5 Investigates asked the California Public Utilities Commission for an on-camera interview about enforcement of cramming regulations, but representatives from the CPUC did not respond to our inquiries.

The CPUC also did not provide requested data about complaints.

"The real problem is enforcement…no one's enforcing this particular law," said Nusbaum, the consumer advocate. "The California Public Utilities Commission, which is the agency that's really responsible for this, doesn't appear to be enforcing this law."

CPUC Board President Michael Peevey did tell CBS 5 Investigates he believes the commission's "vigilance" has resulted in fewer problems with cramming. But Peevey could not provide exact complaint numbers.

Meanwhile, Adaline Rogers is still fighting the charges; a new charge of $14.95 appeared on her August phone bill.

AT&T does not have call blocking in California. The company's representative told CBS 5 the company believes their system for resolving complaints works well.

However, the company promises to eliminate charges for customers who complain.

ILD Teleservices told CBS 5 Miller's charges resulted from a charge by a company called Employee Notification Services; a representative there told CBS 5 that Miller filled out online forms requesting their services.

After Miller complained, however, the company refunded two months' worth of charges.

ILD provided three links for consumers seeking more information.

From ILD Teleservices:

"If any of your viewers have a complaint, please ask them to call ILD at 1-800-637-4009 between 7 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. Central Standard Time Monday through Friday or between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, and an ILD associate would be happy to research the telephone bill to investigate charges and if necessary, correct them. Consumers can also process investigations 24 hours a day through ILD's Self Help customer service application on the web at www.ildteleservices.com."

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)