900 Numbers
1991-04-05T15:44:13-05:00https://ximage.c-spanvideo.org/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwaWN0dXJlcy5jLXNwYW52aWRlby5vcmciLCJrZXkiOiJGaWxlc1wvMzAwXC8xOTkxMDQwNTE1NDU0MzAwMV9oZC5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsiZml0IjoiY292ZXIiLCJoZWlnaHQiOjUwNn19fQ==The subcommittee heard testimony on H.R. 328, the Telephone Consumer Assistance Act, which would regulate the use of pay-per-minute “900” telephone numbers by U.S. companies. A “900” number, the use of which has grown considerably in the past few years, allows a company to charge a per-minute fee, charged to the caller’s phone bill but received by the company, for access to a particular phone line. Prominent uses for “900” numbers include sports scores and party lines. Companies have been accused of abusing the “900” number format by failing to provide valuable, unique information for the more expensive charge or for failing to provide services promised in the phone message. Rep. Gordon, a sponsor of the bill, argued in favor of the “900” number regulation by giving examples of “900” number abuse both by customers and businesses. Unauthorized use of the service by minors has resulted in thousands of dollars in bills being charged to the unsuspecting parents after the calls were made.
The subcommittee heard testimony on H.R. 328, the Telephone Consumer Assistance Act, which would regulate the use of pay-per-minute “900” te… read more
The subcommittee heard testimony on H.R. 328, the Telephone Consumer Assistance Act, which would regulate the use of pay-per-minute “900” telephone numbers by U.S. companies. A “900” number, the use of which has grown considerably in the past few years, allows a company to charge a per-minute fee, charged to the caller’s phone bill but received by the company, for access to a particular phone line. Prominent uses for “900” numbers include sports scores and party lines. Companies have been accused of abusing the “900” number format by failing to provide valuable, unique information for the more expensive charge or for failing to provide services promised in the phone message. Rep. Gordon, a sponsor of the bill, argued in favor of the “900” number regulation by giving examples of “900” number abuse both by customers and businesses. Unauthorized use of the service by minors has resulted in thousands of dollars in bills being charged to the unsuspecting parents after the calls were made. close
People in this video
- Joselle Albracht Assistant Attorney General Texas->Consumer Protection
- John Barker Senior Associate National Consumers League
- Bruce Fogel Chairman Phone Programs, Inc.
- Lawrence Goldberg Consumer
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- James Herold Director Pacific Bell->Information Access Services
- Howard Levin Executive Vice President Interactive Telemedia
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- Thomas Pace Chairman Information Industry Association->Board of Directors
- Irwin "Sunny" Popowsky Consumer Advocate Pennsylvania
- George Vinall Director Telesphere->Regulatory Affairs
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