WGEM.com: Quincy News, Weather, Sports, and RadioAre there unauthorized charges on your cell phone bill?

QUINCY, Ill. (WGEM) --You could be paying an additional hundred dollars on your cell phone bill and not even realize it. The technical term is called "cramming." That is when a third party company charges you a fee without your permission.

"We had charges on our phone I couldn't even tell you what they were for, but we tried to go through our cell phone provider to get it taken care of," said cramming victim Dana Tipton.

Tipton caught the unauthorized charges on her monthly bill.

"It was pretty minimal maybe like $5.95 something in that range but still I shouldn't be paying for something that I don't want," said Tipton.

And those fees can add up into the hundreds of dollars.

A local cell phone expert says two or three customers a week come in looking for help with the problem.

"We'll look over their bill and make sure that is not happening, we will also call in to the carrier and block those charges so it won't happen again because we have seen bills that will range 100 to 150 dollars more than what they should be," said store manager of Cell Tech in Quincy, Kyle Niesen.

Experts say their best advice is to scan your bill carefully.

"I have heard that they can stick something in there like on page 6 or page 12 of your bill so I am going to go over it with a fine tooth comb and if I do see anything I will call about it and get it taken off," said Vicki Hiland, who is concerned about cramming.

The first sign of a cramming fee is when a 1-800 number is listed with a small charge.

And you inadvertently sign up for the unwanted fees because of information you entered on a website, like a dating service or just taking an online quiz.

A yearlong congressional investigation found phone companies place about 300 million third-party charges on phone bills yearly.

Lawmakers and some state attorneys general want congress to enact legislation that would put a stop to cramming