Connecticut Attorney General's Office

Press Release

Attorney General Wins Agreement From AT&T To Block All Third Party Charges At Consumer Request

July 23, 2009

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today announced that AT&T has agreed to his request that it allow Connecticut consumers to block all third party charges on their phone bills.

Blumenthal earlier this month asked AT&T to give state consumers the option to block all third party fees on their phone bills to prevent unauthorized charges. He asked for the block because his office is receiving growing numbers of complaints about fees put on phone bills without consumers' consent. His office is investigating the practice, which is called "cramming."

"This major victory for consumers slams the crammers, nipping fraud in the bud," Blumenthal said. "I am pleased that AT&T listened to my concerns and agreed to let Connecticut customers block all non-AT&T charges. This block is a powerful fraud fighter, scuttling scammer access to consumer bills.

"My office is vigorously and aggressively investigating alleged fraudulent charges on phone bills. If questionable fees appear on your bill, insist the phone company remove the charge and contact my office. I will fight to assure that consumers pay only for services that they want and request."

Third party charges are typically for various services such as for pay web sites or travel services. The service providers hire so-called "aggregators" who contract with AT&T to put their clients' charges on AT&T bills.

Scammers use a variety of methods to get their charges on phone bills, including deceptive web ads to trick consumers into signing up.

Consumers with unauthorized charges on their phone bills should call the Attorney General's Office at (860) 808-5420.

Consumers will be able to request a full block by late September.