ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, June 6, 1996 TAG: 9606060061
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
THE FCC WANTS to require long-distance companies to warn prospective callers if their rates exceed the major companies' by 15 percent.
Joseph Coiro's daughter called him twice in New York's Staten Island from a pay phone in nearby Linden, N.J., after her car broke down. The charges were reversed. A week later, Coiro got the bill: $20.20 for five minutes.
Coiro, a retired New York Telephone Co. employee, recalled thinking, ``This is ridiculous. How can they charge prices so high?''
He had never heard of Cleartel Communications, the company that carried the calls. When contacted, Cleartel said it would look into the matter and had no immediate comment.
If the same calls had been carried by Coiro's own long-distance company, AT&T, they would have cost $3.10.
Prompted by many similar reports, the Federal Communications Commission plans to propose toughening existing rules to prevent price gouging. The proposal is expected this week.
The FCC will recommend requiring long-distance companies whose rates are 15 percent above an average charged by the three biggest companies - AT&T, MCI and Sprint - to disclose price information on a voice message before calls can be connected, according to FCC attorneys speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The proposal would apply to companies that provide service to pay phones, hotel phones and other public phones. The public would have a chance to comment before the commission votes, possibly in August.
The FCC also is expected to consider whether to require all long-distance companies to disclose general price information, such as per-minute charges, before connecting calls.
The FCC's plan would not tell companies what they could charge, FCC attorneys stressed. The commission stopped overseeing rates in 1990 after Congress deregulated the pay phone industry.
But short of regulating rates, Coiro and Paula Crawley of Vienna, W.Va., who believes she was overcharged making a call from a hotel phone, said the FCC's plans should provide callers with more protection.
``I think that it would be helpful,'' said Crawley.
``In an emergency, people are going to accept the charges for anything. But at least you would know what you would be paying,'' Coiro said.
Behind each pay phone is a company responsible for its service - from carrying calls to providing operator assistance.
Hundreds of companies are in this business, including AT&T, MCI and Sprint. The smaller companies serve hundreds of thousands of phones.
Companies like Cleartel are required to file ``informational tariffs'' providing a range of long-distance rates and charges to the FCC. The FCC does not approve or disapprove the rates, and the rates go into effect immediately.
The FCC can take action against companies whose interstate rates are found to be ``unjust and unreasonable.''
In 1995, the FCC received 5,400 complaints about pay phones and hotel phones. Most involved claims of excessive charges.
LENGTH: Medium: 63 linesby CNB