Action 9

Woman, 83, blames phone company for medical scare

GASTONIA, N.C. — An 83-year-old Gastonia woman said she had a medical emergency and ran into even bigger problems because of a phone company.

Peggy Hardin said a phone company, Tele Circuit, called her and asked her to switch carriers. She said she refused, but that it switched her anyway and that the company must have done something to her line because she said it stopped working.

"I had no telephone. Period," she said.

And that meant the medical alert system she had-- which was linked to her phone-- wasn't working either. Then, a few days later, she fell. "I fell and broke my arm in two places," she said. So she says she crawled on the floor to a cell phone her son had given her and called for help. "It makes me mad, it really does, to think somebody would do you like that," she said. "Basically, it's trickery."

She wants to warn others.

When a phone company switches you without your permission, it's called "slamming" and it's illegal. Better Business Bureau President Tom Bartholomy said no matter what company you use, always check your bill closely to see if you got switched without knowing.

"You really have to dig into that bill and see exactly who you're paying, who it's connected to," he said. "It should say a service of whatever carrier you're with. And, if it doesn't say that, then you've been, you've been tricked."

A major phone company offers this advice to prevent slamming:

If you doubt the identity of the caller, hang up.

  • When a caller offers to switch your phone service to a new provider or requests sensitive information, ask questions. Verify the identity of the company, what it offers and at what price, and get contact information for the service representative. If you intend to switch only one service, such as long distance service, confirm that it is the only service to be affected.
  • Read telephone bills carefully. Make sure that you thoroughly understand the charges on your phone bill and that you only receive charges from the provider that you've chosen. If your local service has been changed, you will receive a final bill from the old provider and a notice of service disconnection.

If you've been slammed:

  • Consumers should contest any charges imposed by the company that slammed them. According to the Federal Communications Commission, customers don't have to pay for services resulting from slamming for up to 30 days.
  • To file a slamming complaint, contact your state public utilities commission or the FCC at (888) 225-5322 (CALL FCC) or visit the FCCs complaints website.

Action 9 looked into Tele Circuit and found:

  • The Federal Communications Commission reprimanded the company in 2014 for slamming.
  • The N.C. Attorney General says it's received four complaints against the business involving slamming.
  • The N.C. Utilities Commission said it has received eight complaints against the company for slamming.
  • The BBB gave Tele Circuit an "F" rating and has an alert for the business. One reason for the alert: It said the company's email bounced back and a company representative refused to provide updated contact information.

Tele Circuit didn't respond to Action 9's questions.