FCC fines prepaid calling card firm $5 million

The enforcement arm of the Federal Communications Commission proposed that prepaid calling card provider NobelTel LLC pay $5 million for marketing prepaid calling cards to consumers deceptively. The FCC said NobelTel's cards did not provide the calling minutes advertised and that fee disclosures lacked clarity.

The FCC's Enforcement Bureau said a NobelTel calling card that cost $2 and offered 400 calling minutes to Mexico could be exhausted after one 10-minute call, with the rest of the minutes drained by "daily" and "hang-up" fees assessed after the call was completed. Additionally, fee disclosures contained in the card advertising appeared in small type and were unclear about when fees would apply, according to the FCC.

"The only possible way consumers might be able to make calls of 400 minutes was if they made a single call of that length – almost seven hours," the FCC said.

The federal communications regulator reported that, including the enforcement action against NobelTel, the agency had fined six prepaid calling card operators in the last year and levied a total of $30 million in fines against them. In each case, the providers targeted immigrant communities in the United States, falsely advertised the number of calling minutes available via the cards and assessed fees that were not clearly and conspicuously disclosed, the FCC said.

"Millions of Americans depend on prepaid calling cards to connect with family and friends around the world, and the FCC will not tolerate predatory schemes that include unfair or unclear fees," the agency added.

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