Question: I received an e-mail warning about a company called Sure Connection LD charging people for services they didn't know about as part of Hawaiian Telcom bills.

(The e-mailer) said he discovered that they had been paying $19.95 a month “;for the last year and a half for something that we've never subscribed to. It shows up under 'Miscellaneous Other Carrier Billed Charges' on the Hawaiian Telcom bill, so is easy to miss. If this same charge is showing up on your phone bill, look at the end of your bill and the 'Other Carrier Charges-Misc' will show up in greater detail there. If these charges show up as Unlimited Long Distance from a company called Sure Connection LD, chances are likely that you did not sign up for this service and you are getting scammed!”;

The e-mailer then said he called Hawaiian Telcom and was informed that under federal law, third-party vendors can add charges to your phone bill and Hawaiian Telcom can do nothing about it.

He suggested every customer, even ones who haven't received the charge, call Hawaiian Telcom and tell them to put a block on all third-party vendor billing (521-2722). He said this was a free service, but we had to request the feature. He then said to call Sure Connection LD to cancel this subscription and demand a refund. He said to forward his e-mail to as many people as possible. Is this true?

Answer: Hawaiian Telcom has received “;a few inquiries about the situation described ... but not many,”; said spokeswoman Ann Nishida Fry.

She said the company does not bill for third-party “;enhanced services,”; such as voice mail or data services, but does so for long-distance charges and long-distance plans. Only those charges will show up under “;Misc. Other Carrier Services,”; she said.

However, “;in order to bill for these long-distance charges and plans, customer authorization is required,”; Nishida Fry said.

But the catch is that the authorization is supposed to be between the customer and the third-party vendor. Hawaiian Telcom does not confirm authorization—it simply accepts the charge and places it on the bills. This is another reason why consumers need to check any bill to make sure there are no unknown charges.

“;In a number of cases, customers either forgot or unknowingly authorized charges by clicking on a pop-up when online,”; Nishida said about the third-party charges.

As the e-mailer said, Hawaiian Telcom customers can request a block—available for free upon request—that prevents any carrier from adding charges to their Hawaiian Telcom bill.

Call the company's Consumer Sales & Solutions Center at 643-3456.

“;We also advise our customers to be cautious about sharing sensitive information, such as their telephone numbers, and to ensure that the sources they provide it to are legitimate before signing up for services or entering contests online,”; Nishida Fry said.

An Internet search of Sure Connection LD (also doing business as USBI and Universal Call Plan) shows numerous people slamming the company, based in Memphis, Tenn., for allegedly unauthorized charges.

However, it appears that many people might have signed up for the service—obviously unknowingly—by filling in a survey.

The Better Business Bureau has given Sure Connection a rating of F, based on 15 complaints received during the past three years. Of those, four were not resolved, and there was no response to three complaints. See hsblinks.com/2cp for more information.

We called the number listed for Sure Connection and were told there was no one to speak to at that call center. We were directed to e-mail our questions. However, no one responded to two e-mails requesting to speak to someone or for a response to the allegations.

Write to ”;Kokua Line”; at Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).