Thursday, April 9, 1998 | 9:37 a.m.
Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., plans to put an end to slamming -- otherwise known as the unauthorized switching of a consumer's telephone service.
At a forum Wednesday at Sprint headquarters, 330 S. Valley View Blvd., Bryan explained that he has co-sponsored legislation that would end the practice of slamming. The bill would prohibit a telephone company from changing a consumer's telephone service unless the company obtains a verbal, written or electronic consent to the change from the consumer.
The anti-slamming bill, co-sponsored by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., would impose a $40,000 penalty for the first slamming offense and $150,000 for repeated offenses.
"The FCC received over 20,000 complaints last year from consumers who have been slammed," Bryan said. "The practice of slamming is indefensible. No consumer should have his telephone choice made for him. Consumers often have to spend weeks if not months getting the fraudulent change corrected."
Bryan noted that one out of 12 telephone consumers throughout the nation have been slammed, and it cost them $100 million last year. In Southern Nevada, Bryan said, 1,500 people complain about being slammed each month.
"Slamming takes the choice away from the consumer," said Bryan, who added that he also has a personal interest in the anti-slamming bill he co-sponsored.
"We got slammed," Bryan said. "I suppose that means this bill resonates in a more personal and direct way than some of the legislation that's been introduced in Congress."
Two others who have slammed also spoke at the forum.
Stephen Anderly, a 32-year-old Las Vegas fitness product representative, said he was slammed last fall by TransNational Communications, a small long-distance provider based in Boston.
Anderly said despite the fact that he has a "pick freeze" on his long-distance service, which is a requirement that a provider must communicate directly with him before making a change, TransNational Communications switched the service after a brief telephone conversation with Anderly's wife.
"Neither of us ever authorized them to do anything," Anderly said. "All of a sudden, we started getting TransNational bills. The cost amounted to only about $16, but it was the hassle of getting it changed back that aggravated me."
Teri Kellerer, a Las Vegas realtor, said she was slammed in August 1997 by Corporate Services, another small long-distance carrier.
"When I got the bill, I felt like someone was trying to take advantage of me, and I did not enjoy it," Kellerer said.
Rick Hackman of the consumer complaint resolution division of the Public Utilities Commission, explained that slamming started to occur not long after de-regulation of the telecommunications industry began in the mid 1980s, and has increased greatly in recent years.
"In the wake of the break-up of AT&T, the FCC wanted to make it easier for people to change their long-distance service," Hackman said, "and the expectation was that all the players would be above board."
Hackman explained that PUC officials are very interested in the fight against telecommunications slamming because of the pending de-regulation of Nevada's utility industry.
"We have a legislative mandate to look for ways to safeguard the utility consumer from slamming," Hackman said.
Also present at the forum were officials from Sprint and AT&T.
Because Sprint, as the local service provider, owns practically all of the telephone lines and transfer stations throughout Southern Nevada, competitors must lease portions of the network to offer service to local customers. Likewise, AT&T, which owns most of the long-distance lines in the nation, leases this equipment to competitors.
Officials from both companies, which offer long-distance service, said they have stepped up efforts in recent years to prevent service representatives from slamming customers.
"We as a company have among the lowest numbers of complaints of this practice," said Sprint spokesman Vince Alberta. "We have stepped up policies at Sprint to make sure slamming doesn't occur."
Sprint representatives must secure third-party verification on all new long- distance customers, Alberta said.
Lou Emmert, vice president and general manager of Sprint, said the company considers slamming to be "a serious issue" as well as "very bad public relations" for the entire telecommunications industry.
Kathy Hodge, regulator officer for Sprint, said she has spent a great deal of time in recent years responding to complaints from local consumers about being slammed from representatives of various long-distance providers.
"Slamming has become my life," Hodge said. "In 19 years of work in this industry I don't recall as passionate an issue as this one."
James Endres, assistant vice president of the Nevada branch of AT&T, explained that AT&T has stopped paying representatives commissions for securing long- distance customers, and is considering fining subcontractors $1,000 for each instance of slamming.
"In most instances, services hire telemarketers who work in boiler rooms, and that's how slamming occurs," Endres said.
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