State Regulators To Probe Us West Service Investigation Linked To Complaints Received During Recent Strike Against Phone Giant
Washington regulators Wednesday authorized an investigation to determine whether US West Communications Inc. has violated service and consumer protection requirements.
The probe had been recommended by the staff of the Utilities and Transportation Commission, which said hundreds of consumer complaints were received during last month’s strike against the company by the Communications Workers of America.
Also, the company was not alerting consumers about potential compensation for service delays, including $50 payments and use of cellular phones.
But commission spokeswoman Marilyn Meehan said the strike just underscored service problems that have festered since a US West restructuring early in the decade that led to hundreds of layoffs.
There were 2,600 consumer complaints against US West in 1997, she said, a disproportionate number, even taking into consideration the fact US West serves 2.2 million telephone lines, or 70 percent of the total lines in Washington.
“The strike exacerbated some of these complaints,” Meehan said.
She said US West apparently wanted some of the commission’s service requirements relaxed during the 15-day strike, but never approached regulators about possible relief.
And the company had said before the strike that it was prepared to maintain a normal level of service, she said.
The staff recommendation said US West rebuffed suggestions the company make public assurances that service guarantees would be honored during the strike.
Meehan said the commission set no time line for completing the investigation, and members have not decided whether to hold public hearings.
Potential penalties range up to $1,000 per violation for each day the problem is not resolved.
US West spokeswoman Lynn Espinoza said the company did not apply for easing of commission service requirements during the strike because officials felt management time would be better spent trying to keep up with consumer requests for service.
“We kept our managers on customer service lines because it was the right thing to do,” she said, and the company thought the commission would understand the situation.
Espinoza said the commission was unfairly using the strike to justify an investigation. “It feels like a slap in the face,” she said.
Meanwhile, in Oregon, US West and state regulators reached a settlement that avoided potential litigation over service delays.
US West agreed to provide a $100 credit plus other services to customers whose orders for primary service were delayed by the strike.
The company also agreed to provide free call forwarding or voice mail service to eligible customers.
The company agreed to let users in the Portland and Salem areas apply the credit to US West PCS cellular services at reduced rates.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.