PHONE BILL WOES

The next time you get your phone bill in the mail, you may want to give it a second glance. Amy Clemons of Ozark contacted WDHN, saying her bill skyrocketed from 49 dollars to 327-dollars in one month, and she had no idea why. Ms. Clemons says she lives paycheck to paycheck, and an unexplained large bill can make a big diference in her lifestyle. She said when she received her bill Saturday, she was shocked..it said she had changed long distance carriers, and she knew she had not. She was contacted by Centurytel on September 14th, and offered caller ID as well as a 100 minute phone card, which she accepted, however, she did not tell the telemarketing vendor to change long distance carriers...why would she change from 5 cents a minute to 17 cents a minute? Switching long distance carriers on phone bills without ones consent is defined by the FCC as slamming...Clemons says it probably goes on a lot more than expected, and wants everyone to be aware. News 18 spoke to Jennifer Doherty, an official with Centurytel to hear their side of the story. She says after researching Clemons account, indeed she did not request Centurytel as her long distance carrier. An error occured as data transferred, and the error would be resolved immediately. Centurytel has credited Clemons bill as well as restored her original long distance carrier...moral to the story, pay attention to your mail...intentional overcharging as well as other mistakes can be costly if you aren`t attentive. Centurytel did apologize for the mistake and they want us to tell you about a form called the "Preferred Carrier Selection Freeze"...it allows you to designate your preferred carrier, and it`ll be kept on file so situdations like this won`t happen to you.