We hear from thousands of consumers here at www.hearusnow.org and the two subjects they bring up the most – by far – are indecipherable bills and misleading marketing tactics.

With that in mind, Consumers Union – the publisher of this blog – has teamed up with six other public interest groups to encourage the Federal Communications Commission to protect consumers from misleading, confusing and harmful advertising and billing practices by phone, cable and wireless providers.

In comments sent to the FCC this week, the groups highlighted some of the most egregious of these practices such as poorly-explained introductory rates, hidden monthly fees and surcharges that conceal the true quality and cost of telecom services.

"Today, a consumer needs an accounting degree to navigate the terms of service and understand what they’re actually paying for," said Joel Kelsey, Policy Analyst with Consumers Union. "Otherwise, it seems like your phone and cable bill can change month to month."

The groups wrote that consumers of all communications services – including wireline, wireless, and Internet access services – are routinely subjected to a barrage of confusing and misleading information, from the initial phases of service provider selection through billing and ongoing service management.

“Consumers are left out of the loop on a wide range of service aspects, including typical service prices, usage limits and fees, actual performance and active imposed limitations, and other contract terms,” the groups wrote.

“Furthermore, voluntary guidelines are not proving nearly sufficient as a substitute for rules, as service providers routinely fail to disclose meaningful information and hide the information they do disclose in fine print below misleading “base rates” and “advertised speeds,” the groups wrote. “Consequently, consumers experience confusion and frustration when choosing a service provider and plan, when using limited or low quality services, and when receiving higher-than-expected bills.”

As you might imagine, wireless, phone and cable companies are telling the FCC that current rules are more than sufficient. And, as you might imagine, we are rolling our eyes in disbelief.

CTIA-The Wireless Association, told Communications Daily voluntary industry codes are the most effective way to ensure consumer protection and that expansion of the federal role would disrupt “equilibrium, innovation and competition.”

The other public interest groups signing the comments were Free Press, Media Access Project, Public Knowledge, Consumer Federation of America, and New America Foundation.

You can read the full comments from the groups at http://www.freepress.net/files/Truth_In_Billing.pdf