Released: February 24, 2019

Help Desk FAQ

My long distance company was changed without my consent. What can I do?

 Unauthorized switching of your long distance company to a different carrier is known as "slamming." You can prevent long distance slamming by requesting a "PIC Freeze" from your local phone company. (PIC stands for a "Primary Interexchange Carrier," which simply means long distance company.) If you have a PIC freeze, your long distance company can be switched only if you write to your local phone company requesting it.

Take the following steps if you are slammed:

• Call your local phone company. Ask to be returned to your original long distance company and not be charged for this change.
• Call your long distance company and tell them that you were slammed by another company and want to be returned to their service.
• Call the long distance company listed on your phone bill (the company that slammed you). Tell them that you did not give permission to be switched and that you have requested that the local phone company return you to your original carrier. Ask the slamming company to recalculate the charges for your calls according to your original company's rates. You should pay no more than what your original long distance company would have charged you. If you cannot reach the offending company by phone, send them a certified letter with the same request.
• Send a written complaint to:

  Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
  Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau
  Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
  445 12th Street, SW
  Washington, D.C. 20554
  1-888-225-5322
   

  In California:

  California Public Utilities Commission
  320 West 4th Street, Ste. 500
  Los Angeles, CA 90013
  (800) 649-7570
  (213) 897-0426 (TTY)

  California Public Utilities Commission
  505 Van Ness Avenue, Room 2003
  San Francisco, CA 94102
  (800) 649-7570
  (213) 897-0426 (TTY)

  In other states: Search at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.

Learn more about slamming and what to do about it at the FCC's website.