Complaints from people who unwittingly signed up for new long-distance phone plans they didn't want are on the rise, according to the Better Business Bureau in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Some long-distance service providers are changing people's current plans without them knowing, said Lisa Riggs, the bureau's executive director.

In the telephone business it's called getting "slammed," and it involves rival long-distance providers calling up customers of long-established phone companies.

The customer thinks it's just a chat, but before they know it, their long-distance service has been switched.

"Just because something looks good on the surface, don't take it at face value," Riggs said.

Brenda Reid, a spokesperson with Aliant, Atlantic Canada's largest telecommunications company, said while those affected say they never authorized the switch, there's nothing her company can do to prevent it from happening.

"We have to accept that order and process it because when they send it, we are under the understanding they have the authorization from the customer," she said. "There's no verification process when we get that file to call out to a customer and say, 'We've got a request here from another service provider. Is that okay with you?' "

A company called Yak Communications Inc., a subsidiary of Toronto-based Globalive Communications Corp., was recently accused of slamming customers in the province. Yak couldn't be reached by CBC News for comment.

Charles Pender, the mayor of Corner Brook, N.L., said the company signed him to its long-distance plan without his knowledge last month.

"I was very surprised to see in the mail a letter from Yak, addressed to my daughter who was 11 at the time, telling her that her long-distance service would be changed in three to five business days."

Pender said when he called to complain, a company contact apologized and said no changes to his service would occur.

Earlier this week, he received a bill from his regular phone company, Aliant, and noticed one of the long-distance calls was more expensive than he would normally pay. Aliant then told him Yak was his new long-distance service provider.

Pender said Yak has promised to send him a form to fill out to request a transcription of the authorization call.

Slamming has been a problem for unsuspecting phone customers across the country.
 
The federal regulatory body, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, advises people whose plans have been changed without their permission to report the unauthorized transfer to their original long-distance service provider immediately and ask to be switched back.

Other steps the CRTC suggests:

• File a complaint with the company that slammed you.
• Pay only the rate you would have paid through your original phone company.
• If you're not satisfied with the way your complaint is handled, contact the CRTC at its toll-free number, 1-877-249-2782, or by email.