GTE Sprint agreed to pay $500,000 in penalties.

The company was fined for enrolling customers for long-distance telephone service without authorization and then refusing to stop sending bills. San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Allan J. Bollwoffer signed the agreement after it was reached by prosecutors and GTE-Sprint officials. GTE Sprint Communications didn’t admit wrongdoing or liability in the settlement. However, the company agreed to train its employees to better handle customer inquiries, to improve its billing procedures and to install a toll-free phone number to handle customer complaints.