Senate Panel Hearing on Prepaid Phone Cards Concludes

On Wednesday a Senate panel hearing was conducted on the prepaid calling card business. Presentations included those by Federal Trade Commission Chairman William Kovacic, Hispanic Institute President Gus West, Senator Bill Nelson (D. Fla.), executive director of the National Consumers League Sally Greenberg, commissioner of the New York State Public Service Commission Patricia Acampora, and director of marketing for the Military Marketing, LLC, a New York-based firm that helps businesses market their products to the military Rosemary O'Brien.

While no formal decisions were made or laws enacted at this meeting, the presenters all stated their case that the prepaid calling card business has been engaged in deceptive marketing practices and that more enforcement was needed to bring these companies into line. One such proposal, is the bill S. 2998, the Prepaid Calling Card Consumer Protection Act of 2008 which would call for tougher enforcement on all prepaid calling card distributors and providers to ensure that consumers are being accurately informed of all of the charges and fees in order to make more informed purchasing decisions.

Perhaps the most compelling case was made by Hispanic Institute President Gus West, whose group conducted a long term study on prepaid calling cards back in 2007 and found that the majority of all cards in the market delivered significantly less than advertised minutes.

To find out more you can read the full transcript of the Senate hearing