Why get a PIC Freeze?
PIC, or pre-subscribed inter exchange carrier, is the telecom industry's term for a long distance company. By "freezing" your PIC, you are asking your local phone company to ensure that your long distance carrier is never changed without your permission. It's easy to do and can save you a lot of time, money and headaches in the future.
How do I get a PIC Freeze?
To implement a PIC Freeze just call customer service at 888-508-2946. When requesting a PIC freeze, it will apply to all your long distance services including intraLATA/interstate, interLATA/intrastate, and interLATA/interstate service.
What if I want to change my long distance carrier?
Again, call customer service and ask to have your PIC Freeze lifted so that your new long distance carrier has authorization to switch you. Once your new long distance carrier has switched you, call WIN back to reinstate your PIC Freeze.
Help! I've Been Slammed!
Has this happened to you?
You open your phone bill and give it a quick once-over before pulling out the checkbook and grabbing your pen. Wait a second - what catches your eye, under the list of normal phone charges? That's not your usual long distance carrier. Someone has switched your long distance carrier without your permission. What happened?
You've been slammed. Your "new" carrier has illegally switched you from your usual long distance provider to their own service, without your permission! If it's any consolation, you're not alone. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), slamming is the single largest source of complaints filed, and it has been on the rise in recent years.
What is being done about it?
"Slamming," or switching a consumer's telephone carrier without his or her knowledge or consent, is prohibited by the FCC's rules. The Commission enforces these rules by investigating individual complaints and patterns of slamming practices and punishes those who slam.
The FCC has recently strengthened the rules designed to combat slamming. In cases where the consumer has not yet paid the slammer, the consumer does not have to pay for service for up to 30 days. If you have paid, the slamming long distance carrier is required to forward the payment to your authorized carrier, which will issue you a refund or credit for any amount you overpaid. Additionally, an offending long distance carrier can be fined up to $40,000 per incident of slamming. One well-known carrier was recently fined over $4 million by the FCC for slamming consumers. With these new FCC rules, carriers that slam are harshly punished, and authorized long distance providers now have incentive to go after the offending carrier. In addition, consumers usually receive compensation for being slammed.
What can you do to prevent being slammed?
The best way to avoid being a slam victim is to implement a PIC Freeze. Know who your current long distance carrier is and be sure that their name, and not another long distance carrier's name, is listed each month on your bill.
A second thing you can do is exercise caution when entering contests or responding to offers for "free" merchandise. Some unscrupulous long distance companies hide the fact that you are authorizing them to switch your long distance carrier by signing your name on the entry form.
What do you do if you are a victim of slamming?
If you are a victim, there are several things you should do. First, call your local phone company to let them know you have been slammed and ask that they return you to your original long distance carrier.
Second, call your original carrier and let them know that you have been slammed. Ask them to reconnect you to your original plan. You should not be charged for the reconnection.
Next, call the long distance company that slammed you. Demand that all charges within 30 days of the slamming be removed from your bill. If the carrier is unwilling to waive the charges, contact the FCC.
Finally, file a complaint with the FCC, who can then deal with the offending carrier, possibly prosecuting them under federal and state laws. You can file a complaint electronically at: http://www.fcc.gov/cib/ccformpage.html.
The most secure way to prevent slamming is to implement a PIC Freeze and get your Long Distance from Western Iowa Networks.