GAO Calls ‘Slamming’ Rules Inadequate

The General Accounting Office, the investigative branch of Congress, concludes in a report on the illegal practice of “slamming”--the unauthorized switching of a person’s long-distance telephone company--that neither federal anti-slamming regulations administered by the Federal Communications Commission nor state rules are effective. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) ordered the report, which was a focal point of a hearing Thursday in the Senate permanent subcommittee on investigations, which Collins chairs. The FCC, which the GAO report said takes “an inordinate amount of time” to identify companies that are slamming and take corrective action, is expected to adopt tougher anti-slamming rules in a few weeks. The report also said the FCC wasn’t doing enough to try to prevent unscrupulous individuals from getting into the long-distance business.