AARP Hearing Center
Background
Telecommunications companies sometimes use aggressive marketing practices. In some cases, these have resulted in unnecessary consumer costs or even outright fraud (see also Scams and Fraud). For example, some companies have marketed inside-wire maintenance programs to apartment dwellers, who have no authority or responsibility for the upkeep of inside wire. Telecommunications companies also sometimes attempt to upsell services through deceptive tactics. This can lead consumers to buy services that they do not want or need. Companies also sometimes misrepresent the speed of their high-speed internet services, with the result that consumers pay high-speed prices for slow service.
DECEPTIVE MARKETING IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Policy
DECEPTIVE MARKETING IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Policy
Protections against deceptive marketing
Policymakers should prohibit telecommunications service providers from engaging in unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts and practices. This includes fraudulent or misleading marketing. They should conduct oversight and enforcement, imposing meaningful penalties for fraud or deception.
Policymakers should also:
- require telecommunications companies to inform consumers about the least expensive services that meet their needs,
- restrict the marketing or upselling of optional services when a consumer calls to inquire about essential service,
- prohibit telephone companies from changing a monthly billing cycle to another billing period without written customer consent,
- ensure that service providers clearly and conspicuously present inside-wire maintenance as an optional add-on to basic service, and
- ensure that service providers accurately represent the speed of their high-speed internet access.