NEWS Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: May 12, 2010 David Fiske: (202) 418-0513 Email: david.fiske@fcc.gov FCC PROPOSES $1.48 MILLION FORFEITURE AGAINST SILV COMMUNICATION FOR “SLAMMING” VIOLATIONS Today, in response to an Enforcement Bureau investigation, the FCC proposed a forfeiture of $1.48 million against Silv Communication for “slamming” violations -- changing consumers’ telecom carriers without proper authorization. The Enforcement Bureau launched an investigation of the company based on information received from a whistleblower. In today’s order, the Commission finds that Silv committed 25 slamming violations, and concludes that the volume of complaints against Silv reflects a systemic problem meriting a substantial penalty. The Commission found that many of the violations were particularly egregious because they involved intentional and misleading marketing practices. In particular, the Enforcement Bureau’s investigation determined that Silv failed to take timely action when it learned that its telemarketer was misrepresenting its identity to consumers – in a dozen cases stating that it was calling on behalf of their current carrier to offer lower rates or simply to verify account information. In those instances involving deceptive practices, the Commission doubled the usual forfeiture for slamming from $40,000 to $80,000. A detailed fact sheet on slamming, which includes information on how to file a complaint, is available on the Commission’s website at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/slamming.html. The full text of the Notice of Apparently Liability for Forfeiture is available on the FCC’s website, www.fcc.gov. --FCC--