Telephone Related Topics

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*Toll charges may apply to calls connected outside your service area.  Local call completion may not be available in all areas.

Questions? Please call TBTC at 585-2700 or toll free at 1-877-972-8282.

To address consumer concerns about unwelcome telemarketing calls, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have established a national Do-Not-Call Registry.  The registry applies to all telemarketers (with the exception of certain non-profit and political organizations) and covers both interstate and intrastate telemarketing calls.  Commercial telemarketers are not allowed to call you if your number is listed on the registry.

You can register your phone number for free, and it will remain on the national Do-Not-Call Registry for five years.  You may re-enter your number onto the list when the five years have passed, and you may remove your name from the list at any time.  The Do-Not-Call Registry will not prevent all unwanted calls. It does not cover the following:

• Calls from organizations with which you have established a business relationship;
• Call for which you have given prior written consent;
• Calls which are not commercial or do not include unsolicited advertisements'
• Call by or on behalf of tax-exempt non-profit organizations

Consumers may register their residential telephone number, including wireless numbers, on the national Do-Not-Call Registry at no cost, by telephone or on the Internet.  To register by telephone, consumers may call 1888-382-1222.  For TTY call 1-866-290-4236.  You must call from the phone number you wish to register.  You may also register by Internet at www.donotcall.gov.  Inclusion of your telephone number on the national Do-Not_Call Registry will be effective the next day.  Telemarketers have up to 31 days to get your phone number and remove it from their call lists.

Do you think you have been Slammed or Crammed?

Have you heard the words "Slammed" and "Crammed," and wondered exactly what they meant? These are terms that relate to your telephone bill, and we want to take this opportunity to tell you what they mean, and, more importantly, what you can do about them.

Slamming

Slamming involves changes in your long distance company that you have not authorized - or of which you may not even be aware.

Cramming

Cramming is charges that show up on your telephone bill for products or services you did not order and that are not related to your basic local service.

Here is what you should do if you think you have been Slammed or Crammed!

1. Call your local phone company (their telephone number is on your bill), and tell them about the unauthorized change in your long distance company, or charges for services you did not order.
2. If you need more help after speaking with your local phone company, call, write, or visit the Consumer Rekations Division of the New Mexico Public Regulatory Commission. Let them know what is on your bill. You can call them, toll free, at 1-800-663-9782.
3. Have your bill with you and be ready to tell the Consumer Relations representative:
1. About any unauthorized charges, or changes in provider, including the dollar amount you are questioning.
2. What you have done so far to solve the disputed charges, or unauthorized change in provider.
3. The name and telephone number of the provider, or providers, you have already contacted and the approximate dates on which you talked with them.

Other things you should know:

1. Your phone service will not be disconnected for not paying those disputed charges while the Consumer Relations Division is checking on your claim. However, you must pay the rest of your telephone charges.
2. You will not have to pay for charges for service, or long distance company changes, if the Public Relations Commission determines that you did not approve them. In those cases, you are not responsible for those charges during the first 90 days after they first appeared on your bill.

Federal Universal Service Charge (FUSC)

A recent Federal Communication Commission (FCC) order changed the way telephone companies can recover their federal universal service fund contributions. Because of this ruling, you may see a change in the Federal Universal Service Charge (FUSC) amount on your bill effective April 1, 2003. The new FUSC amount is calculated by mutiplying the FCC's prescribed universal service contribution factor times your interstate service charge and other ISDN port charges. (The FCC is currently discussing a 9.1% FUSC factor to be assessed, i.e. $6.00 Federal Access Line Charge x 0.091 = $0.54 FUSC charge.) Remember, the FUSC charge is based on the Federal Access Line Charge assessed in your TBTC statement. Federal Access Line charges vary from $6.00 for residential and single line business customers to $9.20 for multiline business customers. In addition, the FUSC factor will be assessed on the ISDN line port charges. Less than ten customers receive ISDN services. The federal universal service fund program is designed to help keep local telephone service rates affordable for all customers, in all areas of the United States.

The FUSC rate change becomes effective April 1, 2003; however, you will not see the change until your May 1, 2003 TBTC statement.

Should you have any questions, please contact our Customer Service Department at 585-2700, 648-2700 or, should you be calling from outside our local calling area, call toll free, 1-800-972-8282.