Telephone Frustrations? PUC Says, ‘Let’s Talk’

Got a phone gripe? OK, OK. Of course you do, because nearly everyone with a telephone has a beef these days.

California regulators want to hear all about your phone troubles and how they can help. Yup, really.

Tonight, the state Public Utilities Commission is hosting a public meeting in Santa Monica that will bring together state officials and phone company representatives to listen to--and maybe even solve--phone customer problems covering everything from billing errors to confusing long-distance charges.

The meeting is one of 12 public hearings being held through August throughout the state to discuss a proposed Telephone Consumer Bill of Rights drafted by PUC Commissioner Carl Wood.

Wood’s proposed consumer protection rules would grant customers the right to select the services they want from the companies they choose; know in advance what they are signing up for and how much it will cost; have their telephone records kept private; be billed accurately and know where they can go when there’s a problem; be informed of their rights; and have a say in setting the rules.

Those basic guidelines will ultimately include specific requirements for phone companies (including wireless carriers) that will be voted on by the full PUC. Wood recently pledged to give Californians the most stringent phone customer protections in the nation. The newly constituted PUC did respond to the area code uproar and ultimately took action to conserve phone numbers and slow the onslaught of new codes in California.

The Santa Monica meeting is from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Santa Monica Public Library (main and consultation rooms), 1343 6th St. PUC officials and phone company representatives will help with individual billing problems beginning at 6 p.m. at the same location.

For tonight’s meeting, the PUC will provide Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese language interpreters and closed-captioned service for the hard of hearing.

The next public hearings on the subject:

* San Diego, 1-3 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Monday at the Scottish Rite Center, 1895 Camino Del Rio South.

* Long Beach, 1-3 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Long Beach Convention Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd.

* Montebello, 1-3 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Aug. 10 at the City Hall council chambers, 1600 Beverly Blvd.

* Fullerton, 1-3 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Aug. 15 at the Fullerton College Auditorium, 321 E. Chapman Ave.

Individual customer billing matters will be addressed by the PUC and phone companies one hour before each public hearing. Spanish language translation and handicapped access are provided at each location. Other interpretation services can be provided with advance notice.

Speaking of Area Codes: The PUC last week extended a series of phone-number conservation measures to other regions of the state where new area codes are being planned. The numbering restrictions were previously in effect only in the 310 area, which serves West Los Angeles and the South Bay region.

State officials also postponed plans for new area codes in the regions now served by area code 760 in northern San Diego County and by area code 707 in Napa and Sonoma counties. Plans for new codes in those communities will be delayed pending number usage studies.

And at the national level, 15 states were granted permission last week from the Federal Communications Commission to enact various number conservation measures. Many of the requests had been pending before the FCC since last year. Similar authority was granted to California and nine other states by the FCC in September and November 1999.

The FCC has delayed ruling on requests from California and several other states for permission to create service-specific or technology-specific area codes, which could provide numbers for wireless carriers, fax machines and other services.

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Elizabeth Douglass can be reached at [email protected].