Legislation would take aim at cell phone 'bill shock' by requiring warnings

[babylonsister]

http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/121957-legislation-would-take-aim-at-cell-phone-qbill-shockq


Legislation would take aim at cell phone 'bill shock' by requiring warnings
By Gautham Nagesh - 09/30/10 04:29 PM ET


Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) unveiled a bill on Thursday that would attempt to limit cell phone "bill shock" by requiring carriers to notify customers when they are close to exceeding their monthly allotment of calls and messages.

The Cell Phone Bill Shock Act of 2010 would require mobile phone companies to notify customers by e-mail or text message when they have used 80 percent of their monthly limit for voice minutes, text messages or data usage. Wireless companies would also have to obtain customers' consent before charging them for services not covered by their monthly service plan.

“Many Americans have been hit hard by ‘bill shock’ and I am pleased to introduce legislation that provides additional consumer protections,” Udall said in a statement. “The texting and Internet capabilities that make today’s cell phones more useful than ever should be applied to help customers avoid bill shock. Sending an automatic text or e-mail notification to a person’s phone is a simple, cost-effective solution that should not place a burden on cell phone companies and will go a long way toward reducing the pain of bill shock by customers.”

A survey from the Federal Communications Commission cited by Udall notes that 30 million Americans, or one in six adult cell phone users, have experienced "bill shock," with 84 percent saying their cell carrier did not contact them when they were about to exceed their monthly limits. Roughly 25 percent of the time, users reported increases on their monthly bill of $100 or more.

Bill shock often takes place when a customer unwittingly exceeds his monthly limit for voice calls or messages but continues to use his phone, often paying significantly higher rates per minute or message. Examples cited by Udall include a Navy ROTC midshipman who left his phone's roaming function on while abroad and returned home to a bill of almost $1,300. Similarly, Udall pointed to two reports of teenagers whose mobile data use resulted in bills of $18,000 and $22,000 for their parents.

[customerserviceguy]

1. Sorry, this looks like trying to use government to be a nanny

I have a 500 minute a month plan, and I always leave about 100-200 minutes on the table every month. And $18-22K for texting is simply the sign of an addiction, nanny warnings are going to be as effective as surgeon general warnings on cigarette packs.

[babylonsister]

2. And maybe some people who exceed their minutes would

like a reminder before getting hit with a huge bill. Making the companies more responsible isn't a bad thing imo.

[City Lights]

5. I agree.

I've been "shocked" by my bill a couple of times due to my son's text messaging. We made him pay the difference between the plan we signed up for and the number of texts he sent. Then we upped his texting plan. We repeated the process the next month (:spank:) and then opted for unlimited texts. It never occurred to me to blame the cell phone company for not warning me. We could have checked his status online or called the company anytime to see if he was nearing his limit. It's not their responsibility to make sure we're not exceeding the plan we signed up for. :eyes:

[TBF]

6. Interesting choice of words ...

I don't know if it should be mandatory, but I could see how an option to let you know if you're going to hit your limit would be helpful (pop up on the phone & also email). I'd like to know, for example, if my kids get ahold of the phone & start calling Antarctica or something...

I never use all my minutes, and don't text, but I can see how such a feature could be helpful to some.

[customerserviceguy]

7. There are already things to let you know how many minutes you have

The people who are addicted to cell phone use don't use them, either.

[KharmaTrain]

3. $22,000 Is Far More Than Unwitting...

Was he wired to that thing 24/7? Calling Abu Dhabi? Launching missiles? $2 a minute date lines? That's more than "unwitting"...that's abuse. If someone is spending that much time and money, methinks they have a lot of other problems.

Generally I'm against these kind of laws as one would hope that they would understand these terms on their contract...but I'm more cynical of our "come and get it" corporate world who love to lure in customers and soon the rates and bills start to rise. With little to no regulation on pricing and consumer protection I'm fully in favor of this legislation.

[hobbit709]

4. My phone is used to make and receive calls ONLY.

It is capable of texting/etc. but I have no use for that. It's prepaid and costs me about $100 a year. 90% of the time it's not even turned on and only about 8 people know the number. My attitude is when i go out the door I don't want to be bothered unless it's a legitimate emergency.
I know several idiots who run up bills every month because they use their phone constantly, even at home with their landline phone sitting right next to them.