Phone company Net One International could be fined...

Phone company Net One International could be fined $1.6 million for allegedly billing consumers for unauthorized charges and late fees even though the customers had already closed their accounts and paid their final bills, the FCC said in a news release (http://fcc.us/Wfpa0n) Tuesday. The FCC issued a notice of apparent liability (NAL) to the company (http://bit.ly/1wrdoL4). “Shaking down consumers by billing them for unwanted charges on closed accounts is intolerable,” said Enforcement Bureau Acting Chief Travis LeBlanc. “When a consumer says ‘I am done, cancel my account,’ they mean it. Period.” Based on its review of over 100 consumer complaints, the FCC found that over several years, Net One repeatedly billed consumers long after the consumers had canceled service, paid their final bills, and switched to other carriers, the release said. In some instances, the company still tried to negotiate additional fees and charges after customers paid final bills, and Net One threatened customers with debt collection if consumers failed to pay charges they had not authorized, the FCC said. The conduct was “egregious,” the FCC said. In January, the Enforcement Bureau affirmed a $25,000 fine issued to Net One in 2011 for failing to fully respond to the bureau’s inquiries about cramming allegations, according to the release. Monday, the FCC issued a $7.2 million NAL to Optic Internet Protocol over allegations similar to what Net One faces (CD July 15 p13). A phone call and an email to Net One were not immediately returned.