TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: State OK's a Late Fee for Verizon/But Reilly Calls Levy Exorbitant

State OK's a Late Fee for Verizon/But Reilly Calls Levy Exorbitant

Monty Solomon (monty@roscom.com)
Sun, 25 Jun 2006 01:22:22 -0400

State OK's a late fee for Verizon
But Reilly calls levy exorbitant and vows battle with regulator

By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff | June 22, 2006

Over the strong objections of Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly ,
state regulators have given Verizon Corp. the green light to assess a
1.5 percent late fee on consumers who pay their monthly bills more
than 30 days late.

Officials at the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and
Energy said they approved the late fee after persuading Verizon to
exempt customers with Lifeline service, which is available to
consumers receiving public assistance.

Reilly said Verizon's fee is exorbitant (19.56 percent on an annual
basis), higher than what business customers are charged, and
tantamount to double billing, because the phone giant's rates already
include an allowance for the cost of customers paying late.

Reilly's aides said they plan to fight the late fee in another
proceeding that's pending before the DTE.

The attorney general had urged the DTE to bar Verizon from imposing a
late fee, just as state law currently prohibits electric, natural gas,
and water utilities from assessing late fees.

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2006/06/22/state_oks_a_late_fee_for_verizon/

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