The Federal Trade Commission has contacted Northeast COMBAT with information on “900” numbers.

Our office has been contacted repeatedly by unsuspecting consumers who have run up their telephone bills. They either thought the 1-900 numbers were free, as the 1-800 numbers are, or they thought the cost would be minimal.

The 900 number is a new twist in telemarketing where you may pay for the sales pitch, along with the telephone call.

By dialing a 900 telephone number, you can order products, hear Santa tell a story, vote in an opinion poll, get financial tips, talk to a willing stranger, and more. To do these things, you pay a flat free for the entire call or for each minute you stay on the phone.

If you know exactly what you are getting and how much you’ll be charged, 900 numbers can be a perfectly good way to do business or get information. But the Federal Trade Commission is investigating complaints that some consumers have been charged excessively for 900-number services or have not received the services advertised.

If you’re a victim of a 900-number scam, know that the phone company generally won’t disconnect your phone for failure to pay a disputed 900-number charge. In addition, you are protected under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, if a 900-number information provider tries to collect for a 900-number charge you dispute.

Long-distance 900 numbers, as well as local 976 and long-distance 700 exchanges, are used in many ways. Your best protection against problems may be to watch out for appeals that:

(1) Fail to disclose any costs up front. Some scams entice you to call a 900 number without first telling you how much you will be charged for the call.

(2) Make it difficult to find out total costs.

Some 900-number scams may disclose a cost per minute, but not reveal — you must listen for many minutes to hear all the information. Other 900 services use announcers who speak so quickly you need to call back to understand the message. Some computer-generated calls disclose 900-number costs only at the end of long-winded promotions for “free” gifts. With these, people may hang up before realizing there’s a charge for dialing the 900 number to get their “free” gift.

(3) Entice you to call for bogus products or services. Some scams promote 900 numbers for job or housing information. Once you place, and pay for the call, you are told that the job or house is already taken. Other scams involve pitches for “gold” credit cards. With these, television, newspaper, or telephone ads promoting the scams may reveal the cost of making the 900 call. Unfortunately, only after you place the call are you told about additional charges and limitations on using the card.

(4) Pitch products or services to children and teen-agers. Some television promotions encourage children to call 900 numbers for “free” gifts or stories. Teen-agers may call 900-number “talklines” to chat with other teens — usually at a cost-per-minute charge. Children may make these calls without telling their parents or understand that the phone call costs money. Parents have received phone bills of thousands of dollars.

Be aware that 900-number scams are constantly changing. In general, you can protect yourself if you:

(1) Deal only with reputable companies. You may see well-known companies or organizations sponsor such 900-number services as opinion surveys or sports information. The costs, usually low, are stated up front. If you are interested in these services and are willing to pay for them, these are usually legitimate 900-number operations to call.

(2) Know precisely what the 900 call will cost before you make the call. Companies should state costs up front as flat rates or, if the cost is per minute, the maximum number of minutes for the call. Unfortunately, even with this information, you may still pay to hear sales pitches for bogus products or services.

(3) Think twice before calling a 900 number for “free” gifts. You may see television ads or receive postcards or phone calls urging you to call 900 numbers of “free” gifts when you make the 900-number call.

(4) Talk to your children. Make sure they understand they shouldn’t call 900 numbers without your permission.

(5) Check your phone bill carefully for any 900-number charges. This is a largely unregulated industry. Any business can get a 900-number call. Make sure any phone charges on your bill for these services are accurate.

If you have problems with charges on your phone bill for 900 (or 976- or 700-number) scams, write to your telephone company immediately. You can ask the phone company to delete the charge, although it is not legally obligated to do so. AT&T cannot disconnect your phone for failure to pay. For other carriers, call the carrier or the Federal Trade Commission.

You can also write to the phone company for the name of the 900-number company charging you and write to that company to delete the charge. The 900-number company could refuse, however, and have a debt collector contact you. In that event, you can write to the collection agency telling it not to contact you.

Under the law, once the collection agency receives your letter, it cannot contact you again except to say there will be no further contact or that same specific action will be taken (if the debt collector or creditor intends to take such action).

Because the debt, if not resolved, can remain on your credit record, you also legally are entitled to have your account of the incident included in your credit report.

In addition, you may want to contact the Federal Trade Commission at Sixth and Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. Complaints about 900-number scams help the FTC in its law enforcement efforts.

Consumer Forum is a collaborative effort of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast COMBAT. Send your questions to Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, 491 Main St., Bangor 04401. COMBAT is a membership organization with basic dues of $10 per year. For membership information and a free copy of the COMBAT newsletter, write to the above address.