Slamming is a term used to describe any practice that changes a consumer's long distance carrier without the customer's knowledge or consent. The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) enforces policies and rules that prohibit slamming. The most recent update of anti-slamming rules was in June 1995, when the FCC responded to thousands of complaints it received and the tens of thousands of complaints filed annually by local exchange carriers and state regulatory bodies.
This year, separate legislative proposals have been advanced to further protect consumers from slamming schemes and to address new, related issues brought on by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The first such bill was introduced in August by Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois. The Durbin Slamming Protection Act of 1997 would create three new obstacles to telephone slamming, including allowing consumers to sue the long-distance carrier in state or federal court, providing state attorneys general with the right to bring suit against slammers on behalf of citizens and creating criminal fines and jail time for repeat and willful slammers.
Another approach to addressing the slamming problem has been introduced by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado. The Interstate Slamming Prevention Act of 1997 would increase requirements on the FCC to respond by imposing greater fines and penalties on companies that participate in the unauthorized switching of a customers' preferred communications carrier.
The hearing which Grassley will conduct with Durbin is scheduled to begin at two o'clock on Monday, November 3, in Dirksen 226. Grassley serves as chairman and Durbin as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts. A list of the witnesses follows.
Panel I
William Smith
Chief, Bureau of Rate and Safety Evaluation, Iowa Utility Board -- Ankeny, Iowa
Geryl Kramer
Kramer Associates, Inc. -- Chicago, Illinois
Linda Golodner
President, National Consumers League -- Washington, D.C.
Panel II
Wayne Huyard
President, MCI Mass Markets, MCI Communications Corporation -- Washington, D.C.
Robert Spangler
Acting Chief, Enforcement Division, Common Carrier Bureau, FCC -- Washington, D.C.
Susan Lichtenstein
Associate General Counsel, Ameritech -- Washington, D.C.
James M. Smith
Vice President, Law and Public Policy, Excel Communications, Inc. -- Washington, D.C.