Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel recently met with Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz in his Washington office, and urged the Chairman to support his Calling Card Consumer Protection Act. The legislation will soon be re-introduced in the 111th Congress.

“I was very pleased to hear Chairman Leibowitz not only acknowledge that he was aware of the bill, but that he fully supported it. This bill protects some of our most vulnerable citizens from being preyed upon by unscrupulous companies, and protects the companies who are conducting their business properly,” said Rep. Engel. The bill was introduced in the last Congress (H.R. 3402) but was not considered before the end of the 110th Congress.

Rep. Engel states that he was contacted in 2007 by a constituent who was continually shortchanged by a calling card. After researching the matter, he discovered companies have been falsely advertising how many minutes were being provided, and consumers were paying for minutes they never received. The hardest hit communities tended to be immigrant communities who rely heavily on the cards to communicate with family members back in their country of origin.

“Many customers who purchase these cards are poor, non-English speaking immigrants, whose knowledge of U.S. telecommunication and corporate laws are virtually non-existent. They have no real recourse when victimized by fraud,” said Rep. Engel.

The legislation would do the following:
• Outlaw the practice of advertising a certain number of minutes on a prepaid card, and then failing to provide those minutes.
• Require providers to disclose all information relating to the terms and conditions of the card. These would be clearly labeled on the card, packaging and advertising.
• Require vendors to place signs next to the card display that clearly marks all surcharges, terms and conditions.
• Require terms and conditions be disclosed in another language if the card is advertised in that language.

“I have been working closely with the honest participants in the prepaid calling card industry. By working with them and helping to rein in their disreputable competitors, we can not only make the industry better, but protect people who are being swindled out of their hard-earned money and who simply want to call their loved ones abroad,’ added Rep. Engel. “Any company actively opposing this legislation, can only be assumed to be making money by overcharging and scamming their consumers.”