News from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission

Jim Palmer, Director of Information

August 6, 1999

As more Oklahomans try to save money through the use of the popular "10-10" long distance codes advertised on TV and in home mailings, the more complaints surface in the Consumer Services Division of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC).

As a result, Consumer Services has implemented the tracking of "10-10" complaints that will alert the OCC to any future need for action. Consumer Services Director Bill Burnett said "statistics supplied by this tracking procedure will also enhance the OCC’s ability to educate the consumer to avoid future problems."

"Ten-ten" long distance customers who have contacted Consumer Services said they used the "10-10" codes because they wanted to enjoy the savings touted in the ads and commercials. Some expressed a desire to avoid paying certain minimum fees many companies now charge.

"Ten-ten" calling can save on costs depending on the circumstances. But consumers need to be conscious of the terms or the nightmares will continue. For example, a caller expected to pay $4 for four calls of 20-minutes but instead was faced with a long distance bill of $128, plus appropriate taxes and fees, plus regular monthly phone charges. This created an unexpected hardship on a social security income of $500 per month.

Case investigations reveal special dialing and switching is involved in using "10-10" codes and errors do occur. When a call is not dialed correctly or a switch not properly executed, a call goes astray on the network and whatever company is available becomes the carrier. This company does not recognize the caller as a customer and any non-customer is billed at what the industry calls random or casual rates.

An average random bill is about a $1.50 per minute with many carriers adding a "user fee" of up to $2.50 just for accepting the call. That 20-minutes for 99 cents call experienced by one caller computed to $1.50 times 20-minutes plus $2.50 or more than $32 which is some 32 times what the caller expected to pay. Another caller expecting to pay 8 cents per minute for a 10-minute call, ended up paying $17.50 instead of 80 cents.

Burnett said "consumers might believe this situation is rare but complaints have been received where none of the attempts to access a particular code were successful. There is no way for the OCC to prove a number was dialed properly or if there was a switching problem." He said we have all heard the term "buyer beware" but the lesson learned appears to be "caller beware."

Commission Chairman Bob Anthony emphasized that most "10-10" companies provide the services as advertised.

"However, problems can occur in any system," Anthony said. "As the new competitive marketplace makes more companies and more services available, consumer education becomes increasingly important."

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