PUC to Probe GTE Service Charges

Warning that it “will not tolerate fraud or negligence,” the California Public Utilities Commission has ordered an investigation into possible overcharging for ordering telephone service from GTE.

The amount of the alleged overcharges, which GTE denies, is believed to be in excess of $10 million a year. Although the time period for the alleged abuses remains unclear, testimony before the PUC suggests it could date to 1990 or earlier.

The commission’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates contends that GTE has overcharged as many as 18% of residential customers and 80% of business customers by imposing a $40.25 fee to send an installer to the home or business. The division says the charge is inappropriate because the installers worked on GTE’s outside wiring, not the customer’s inside wiring.

The division also claims that many of the customers did not need the services of an installer because wiring and jacks were already in place. “If the jack isn’t working, it is a 611 repair call, and customers should be charged for repair work only,” said the division’s Kelly Boyd.

The division said an unspecified number of customers who couldn’t get their phones to work after paying for an installer were charged an additional $68 for having a repair worker come out to the home or business.

GTE spokesman Larry Cox said the division is confused about the fees and that no overcharging took place. He said GTE does not charge installation fees for working on telephone company equipment and does not double-charge customers for installation problems.

“We only charge one fee or the other,” Cox said.

In directing its staff to investigate the allegations, the PUC issued a stern warning to GTE: “We will not hesitate to exact fines and penalties from the company for systematic violations and . . . we will be sure to order immediate restitution to any customers overcharged.”

The investigation was disclosed in the PUC’s Sept. 17 decision on telephone rates, but was not announced publicly.

Whatever the outcome, GTE customers will end up paying more to have installers and repair workers come to their homes and businesses. The commission approved raising the charge for having an installer come to set up phone service, known as a “premises visit,” to $42.10 for residential customers and $86.64 for businesses. The charge for having a repair worker come to a home or business to fix inside wiring, called a “visit charge,” is going up to $86.64 for residential and business customers.

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Nickels and Dimes: Lost in the hubbub over the PUC’s decision to boost basic residential phone rates two weeks ago are a raft of other pricing changes affecting consumers.

The 317-page decision touches many aspects of phone service, ranging from inside wiring to directory assistance. Here’s a brief summary of pricing changes for some widely used telephone services.

* GTE is raising the monthly charge for an unpublished number--one that is not in the phone book or available through directory assistance--to $1.50 from 60 cents. It is also creating a new non-listed service, which for $1 a month omits customers’ names from the phone book but not from directory assistance. Pacific Bell’s monthly charge for an unpublished number remains 30 cents.

* GTE is eliminating an $85 sign-up fee that was collected from existing customers ordering inside wiring maintenance service. The PUC said the fee was unreasonable. Pacific Bell has no sign-up fee.

* GTE is raising its directory assistance charge to 35 cents a call from 25 cents. Pacific Bell’s rate remains 25 cents.

* Both companies are expanding directory assistance charges beyond 411 calls to include certain long-distance directory assistance calls that are now free. For example, people in the 213 area code will be charged for calling directory assistance in the 818, 714, 909, 310 and 805 area codes.

* Calling-card rates are dropping between 15% and 60%, depending on time of day and distance the call travels.

The new rates are scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1. The date could be delayed pending results of a PUC probe into allegations that Pacific Bell employees improperly lobbied the commission’s research staff. Pacific Bell has denied the allegations.

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Whoops: Contrary to earlier predictions, GTE now says the rate changes approved by the PUC mean the typical residential customer will pay more, not less, for telephone service. Monthly bills for the average residential customer with flat-rate service will rise 7.3% to $42.69. The typical customer who pays by the call--measured-rate service--will see monthly bills jump 15.3% to $37.36.

GTE initially predicted a 3% drop in typical residential bills, said spokesman Larry Cox.

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Under a Spell: Parents wondering whether video games affect school work might want to review the directions for the Nintendo game “Rainbow Island.”

The directions discuss “usefull” hints and tell players how to find a treasure of “diamons.” Another goof we spotted: “for instants” instead of “for instance.”

Parents can at least take comfort in the game’s noble-sounding objective: saving a family from a big monster.

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No Chickening Out: A longtime customer of Louis Foods, a neighborhood grocery in Pasadena, called to tell us that customer service isn’t dead.

Unable to fill a special order for 35 pounds of chicken last weekend, Louis Foods store manager Rodney Miello sent clerks to nearby Hughes and Vons stores to buy the chicken at prices 50% above what Louis charges its customers. The neighborhood grocery lost about $14 when it resold the chicken to the customer, who planned a big barbecue.

“I was really impressed that in this day and age a store would go to all that trouble,” said customer Barry Storch of Mt. Washington.