1. Look at a phone bill for the same service over several months. How does the service provider price this service? Do you see any suspicious charges, such as any of those listed by the FCC at www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/products/ pro18.shtm? Suggest ways to price this service that will make it easier for customers to understand but also allow the company to make a reasonable profit.
2. How can a third-party vendor place a charge on a phone bill, authorized or unauthorized? Do phone companies benefit from allowing third-party vendor billing? Research this issue and discuss whether or not this should be allowed.
Have you ever tried to figure out what all those charges are on a phone bill? Not all of them are from your phone service provider. A study by a Congressional committee reported that $2 billion a year in "mystery fees" appear on consumers' landline phone bills-a practice called "cramming." It is illegal for a phone company or a third party to tack unauthorized fees onto landline phone bills, but it is still happening. That prompted the Federal Communications Commission to propose new rules requiring companies to disclose charges more clearly so consumers can spot them. The agency would like to see the fees listed in a separate section of customers' bills that will also include the FCC's contact information for filing complaints. The problem is creeping into wireless phone bills as well, and the agency also proposed that companies should provide alerts to wireless customers when they are approaching their monthly voice and data limits. Do you remember what happened the first time you exceeded your texting limit. If you don't, and if your parents paid the bill, they do remember!