[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 97 (Friday, July 22, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                SAVE THE 800 NUMBER--COSPONSOR H.R. 4802

                                 ______


                            HON. BART GORDON

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 22, 1994

  Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, I have just introduced a bill that will 
close a regulatory loophole that has allowed misuse of 800 telephone 
numbers.
  It may come as a surprise to many of my colleagues, but 800 numbers 
are not always free for the caller. In fact, a major national problem 
is apparently developing that could cause the public to lose faith in 
800 numbers and seriously damage the multi-billion-dollar business that 
has built up around them.
  Businesses throughout the country depend on 800 numbers to bring them 
customers over the telephone lines. If we don't move to make sure that 
800 toll free numbers really are just that--free to the caller--then 
customers may grow wary of calling businesses.
  Many people may even start blocking 800 numbers, so that 800 numbers 
cannot be called from their telephones. Obviously, this would be an 
expensive disaster that would cause major losses to businesses and the 
telecommunications industry as well as inconvenience to consumers.
  My legislation simply closes a loophole left in current law by 
preventing 800 number charges from appearing on a telephone bill.
  Two years ago, after years of hard work especially by Congressmen 
Markey, Swift and Dingell, and myself, Congress passed the Telephone 
Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act, a bill that protected consumers 
from fraud and misleading practices by marketers of 900 numbers. The 
FCC and the FTC issued regulations that put the law into effect this 
year.
  One of the goals of the 1992 law was to stop scams where people were 
induced to call 800 numbers, only to be switched to a 900-type pay-per-
call number that could cost $10 or more a minute. In order to make sure 
that legitimate information providers were not shut out, we allowed for 
an exemption where credit cards or presubscription agreements were in 
place.
  But ever creative scam artists have devised a scheme that allows 
people to put their expensive calls, such as to dial-a-porn lines, on 
others' bills.
  A caller calls an 800 number advertised somewhere. The caller says 
they want to use the service. The caller is given a numerical PIN code. 
But here's the catch. The dial-a-porn or psychic line or other 
information provider will bill all future calls using that PIN code to 
the telephone used to make the first call, even if the caller is 
calling from another telephone number.
  The result is that some businesses report receiving large bills for 
calls made in this fashion, where the original call to the 800 number 
of the dial-a-porn service was made from the business' telephone.
  Another problem has arisen from young people using their parents'--or 
a friend's parents'--phone to call dial-a-porn numbers. Many parents 
have blocked 900 numbers from being called from their phones to avoid 
this kind of problem, but calls to an 800 number are much more 
difficult to block at this time. In addition, other services avoid 900 
blocking by moving off shore, to The Netherlands Antilles, for example.

  One of my constituents who wanted to block international calls was 
told it would cost her $53.
  I have just introduced a bill, H.R. 4802, that should help stop these 
problems. This bill simply bans charging for 800 calls on a telephone 
bill.
  The FCC probably could have taken care of this problem under its 
broad existing authority to regulate the telecommunications industry 
and to stop misleading practices in this industry, including the pay-
per-call industry. In addition, AT&T, Bell South and other telephone 
companies have taken steps to stop charges for calls to 800 numbers.
  But the FCC has not acted to stop this problem. Something needs to be 
done now, and this bill will do it.
  I ask my colleagues for support in trying to move this legislation 
quickly to stop the abuses and save the 800 number.

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