State Seeks Fines For 'Steady Decline In Verizon's Repair Performance'

TAMPA - Florida's attorney general is calling for steep fines of Verizon Communications Inc. and an investigation into what he calls a failure to comply with state telephone repair rules and a "steady decline in Verizon's repair performance since 2002."

The attorney general's office will call on state telephone regulators to issue up to a $6.5 million fine for "repeated violations of service rules during 2007," such as Verizon taking too long to restore landline phone service to customers who lost it.

Verizon officials could not immediately be reached for comment early this afternoon. This action does not apply to Verizon Wireless, a separate corporate entity that handles cellular phones.

A Tribune investigation this spring showed a variety of repair and customer service issues at Verizon, including billing problems and long waits for telephone repair.

Verizon's telephone outages were not by accident, says the office of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum. Rather, "Verizon willfully violated the Florida Public Service quality rules in 262 cases during 2007."

The call for action came in the form of a petition at the Public Service Commission, filed today by McCollum's office and AARP.

Verizon officials have acknowledged hiccups in repair service amid strong demand for its Fios fiber optic phone, Internet and cable TV service. In some cases, customers who lost telephone service waited a week or more before it was restored, said officials with Verizon's largest labor union of repair workers.

Florida tightly regulates phone company service, in part to ensure that residents have basic communications and can call 911 in an emergency.

"Our request that Verizon be fined $6.5 million for failure to comply with the [Public Service Commission] repair rules should deliver a message to all Florida telecommunications companies that Florida consumers believe that service is important and that compliance with the PSC rules is essential," said Florida Public Counsel J.R. Kelly, whose agency represents Florida utility customers. "Telecommunication companies should deliver the quality of service that consumers pay for or face the consequences."

"Reliable and available telephone service can be critical to consumers during emergencies," said Mike Twomey, attorney for AARP. "Verizon's failure to fully comply with the PSC's repair rules necessarily extended some of its customers' service outages, making their service less reliable and less available. Verizon should obey the rules or be penalized for its failure to comply."

The petition also asks for the PSC to open an investigation into Verizon service quality. Verizon in 2001 agreed to a $2 million settlement over service quality.

To read the entire 15-page petition (in PDF form), filed jointly by the office of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and the AARP, go to http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/MRAY-7ENJF5/$file/VerizonPetitionAARP.pdf.