A TCILD charge on your phone bill or card statement is a billing descriptor for TCI Long Distance, a trade name used by OPEX Communications, Inc. to bill for intercity and long-distance telephone service. The abbreviation is simply “TCI L(ong) D(istance),” shortened because billing systems limit how many characters a merchant name can occupy. If you or someone on your account signed up for a long-distance plan, the charge may be legitimate. If no one did, it may be an unauthorized third-party charge, a practice regulators call cramming, and you can dispute it.
Who Actually Bills as TCILD
TCI Long Distance is a “doing business as” name registered to OPEX Communications, Inc., an Illinois corporation with offices in Los Angeles. OPEX filed a Certificate of Assumed Name for “TCI Long Distance” with the Kentucky Secretary of State in January 2010, and in June 2010 filed a Notice of Intent to Transact Business with the Kentucky Public Service Commission to provide intercity telecommunications services under K.P.S.C. Tariff No. 1.1Kentucky Public Service Commission. OPEX Communications Inc. DBA TCI Long Distance – Notice of Intent to Transact Business Those filings list the CEO as Mark Leafstedt at 707 Wilshire Boulevard, 12th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90017, with a compliance number of (213) 995-9700.
One note on the name: TCILD is not connected to Tele-Communications, Inc., the former cable company AT&T acquired in 1999.2TechLawJournal. AT&T and Tele-Communications Inc. Merger Press Release Different company, different industry.
Why the Charge Might Be Appearing
Long-distance carriers commonly bill through a customer’s existing phone account instead of issuing a separate invoice. If anyone on your account switched long-distance providers, enrolled in a calling plan through a reseller, or accepted a telemarketing offer for phone service, TCILD could be the result.
The other possibility is cramming. The Federal Communications Commission defines cramming as the placement of unauthorized, misleading, or deceptive charges on a consumer’s telephone bill, including charges for services never ordered or received.3Federal Communications Commission. Cramming The Federal Trade Commission calls mobile cramming “a modern version of a long-time scam in which consumers’ phone bills are used as a vehicle for unauthorized charges placed by third parties.”4Federal Trade Commission. Mobile Cramming
How to Check Whether You Authorized It
Ask everyone on the account whether they signed up for a long-distance calling plan or responded to a phone-service offer around the time the charge first appeared. Look through old confirmation emails and paper mail. If the charge is on a credit card, check with any authorized users on the card as well.5Discover. What Is This Charge on My Credit Card
If nobody recognizes it, call OPEX Communications at (213) 995-9700 and ask for documentation of when and how the service was authorized.1Kentucky Public Service Commission. OPEX Communications Inc. DBA TCI Long Distance – Notice of Intent to Transact Business A legitimate provider should be able to produce a signed authorization or a recording of your consent. If they cannot, you’re likely looking at cramming.
Disputing a TCILD Charge on Your Phone Bill
Call your phone carrier and tell them you want to dispute a third-party charge. Carriers bear responsibility for the billing platforms they let third-party vendors use, and in some states, including California, wireless carriers are required to investigate complaints of unauthorized charges and issue refunds. Ask the carrier to block all third-party charges on your account going forward. If your carrier tries to send you to the third-party vendor to seek the refund yourself, push back; regulators have identified that hand-off as a barrier to redress.6GovInfo. Senate Hearing on Cramming
You can also file a complaint with the FCC, which has authority over telephone billing practices under Section 201(b) of the Communications Act.3Federal Communications Commission. Cramming The FTC accepts fraud reports separately at reportfraud.ftc.gov.4Federal Trade Commission. Mobile Cramming
Disputing a TCILD Charge on a Credit Card
The Fair Credit Billing Act gives you the right to dispute billing errors, including unauthorized charges, on credit card accounts. To preserve your full legal protections, send a written dispute to your card issuer at the address designated for billing inquiries, not the payment address, within 60 days of the statement date.7Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges8Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Do I Dispute a Charge on My Credit Card Bill Include your name, account number, the dollar amount of the charge, the date it appeared, and a short explanation of why it’s incorrect. Certified mail with a return receipt gives you proof of delivery.9Federal Trade Commission. Disputing Credit Card Charges
After receiving your written notice, the issuer must acknowledge the dispute within 30 days and resolve it within 90 days.7Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges While the investigation is open, the issuer can’t collect the disputed amount, charge interest on it, or report you as delinquent. Federal law caps your liability for unauthorized charges at $50, and many issuers waive even that with zero-liability policies.10Federal Trade Commission. Fair Credit Billing Act
Stopping a Recurring TCILD Charge on a Debit Card
If TCILD is hitting a debit card on a recurring basis, contact your bank and revoke authorization for the merchant at least three business days before the next scheduled transaction. Give the bank the merchant’s name, your account number with the merchant, and the dates and amounts of recent charges. If you make the request by phone, the bank may require written confirmation within 14 days; without that follow-up, the oral stop-payment order can lapse.11Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Unauthorized Recurring Charges Revoking authorization at the bank stops the debit, but you should also contact the merchant in writing to cancel the underlying service.
If It Looks Like Identity Theft
An unrecognized charge is sometimes the first visible sign of a broader problem. If you suspect fraud beyond this single item, you can place a fraud alert or credit freeze on your credit reports. A fraud alert requires contacting only one of the three major credit bureaus, which then must notify the other two; it lasts one year and requires businesses to verify your identity before extending new credit. A credit freeze goes further, blocking new accounts from being opened in your name until you lift it.12Federal Trade Commission. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts Both are free. For confirmed identity theft, filing a report at IdentityTheft.gov produces an official record that qualifies you for an extended seven-year fraud alert.