PacBell Improperly Charging for Inside Wiring, Two Consumer Groups Charge

Pacific Bell is improperly charging San Diego consumers for service calls on inside-wiring problems with their telephones, two consumer advocate organizations said Monday.

The Utility Consumers Action Network and the Center for Public Interest Law alleged that Pacific Bell is “ripping off” customers by violating telephone inside wiring deregulation rules enacted in 1987 by the Federal Communications Commission.

Pacific Bell denied the allegations.

According to a UCAN survey of 650 San Diegans in June:

* More than 50% of San Diegans do not know they own their inside phone wiring and must pay for its repair.

* Nearly 60% of San Diegans would automatically call Pacific Bell, which offers the highest-priced repairs, for any telephone problem.

* The elderly, minorities, renters and low-income households are the most likely to pay the highest-priced repair charges.

* Pacific Bell is improperly charging a $35 fee for service calls to a customer’s home to determine whether the inside or outside wiring is faulty.

“At first we thought it was only that people didn’t know” they own the inside wiring and have several options to fix it, said Michael Shames, UCAN executive director. “But then we found it was a combination of ignorance and a Pacific Bell scam.”

The California Public Utilities Commission prohibits phone companies from charging to identify a wiring problem, Shames said.

Pacific Bell spokesman Tom McNaghten disputed UCAN’s claims, saying Pacific Bell complies with all state and federal regulations.

Pacific Bell responds to wiring repair calls by checking the wires at its maintenance center and then telling the customer there is a $35 fee for a service call to determine whether the problem is outside or inside the home, McNaghten said.

If the inside wiring is faulty, Pacific Bell tells the customer that he or she may fix it, call an independent repairman, pay Pacific Bell’s $65 flat repair fee or enroll in Pacific Bell’s inside wiring maintenance plan for 50 cents a month.

Before the FCC ruling in 1987, only Pacific Bell could make repairs.

“Whatever repair option they choose, they’ve been told that our service call is $35,” McNaghten said. “That’s required” by federal and state regulations.

“We like to think people prefer doing business with Pacific Bell” because of its quality services and guaranteed repairs, McNaghten added.

Spokesmen for the PUC could not be reached for comment.

Telephone inside wiring starts at a residence’s connector box where the phone company connects its outside wires to the inside wiring. Inside wiring includes all wires that run inside a home, including the phone jack.

Shames said UCAN began investigating the alleged scam when Pacific Bell charged UCAN offices and a board member a $35 service fee to determine whether a wiring problem was inside or outside.

UCAN and the Center for Public Interest Law also announced the start of a consumer education drive to alert San Diegans about inside-outside telephone wiring and repair options.