Texas firm accused of ‘slamming’

Wednesday, May 5, 1999 | 10:45 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The state Attorney General's office said it filed a civil suit against a Texas company accused of "slamming" telephone customers.

Slamming refers to the practice of switching consumers' long-distance telephone companies without their permission.

Deputy Attorney General Marshall Smith said Tuesday the office received about 20 complaints from residents in Northern Nevada against Excel Telecommunications Inc. of Dallas.

The suit said Excel failed to tell customers it would be taking over their long-distance service and it never informed the local telephone companies it didn't have the authorization from the consumers.

The amounts of money in these individual cases are not large, Smith said. It may cost consumers anywhere from $5 to $15 to have the long-distance company changed. And there could be a difference in rates.

But the injury to the consumer is frustration, he said. For instance, he said, in one case the husband of a woman who had gone to the hospital for emergency treatment tried unsuccessfully to telephone his out-of-state children on the credit card of his telephone company, only to learn he had been switched to another long-distance firm without his permission.

What happens in these cases, Smith said, is that the "slamming" company notifies the local telephone company that an individual is changing long-distance services. The local business doesn't have the time to check the thousands of switches that are made. So the long-distance service is switched to a company the customer may never have heard of.

In other cases, a customer may prefer a long-distance carrier that awards frequent-flier miles in exchange for long-distance telephone calls. The consumer, whose line is switched, loses this benefit without ever knowing it.

Smith said Excel will be allowed to operate in Nevada unless and until the Attorney General's office secures a court order against the firm.

The complaint seeks an order prohibiting Excel from engaging in these "slamming" practices and asking for a fine up to $2,500 for each violation.

Excel issued a statement today about the allegations

"We had not been aware of any investigation by the Nevada Attorney General's office," said Jim Smith, vice president of law and public policy for Excel.

"We believe Excel has some of the best anti-slamming practices and customer safeguards in the industry, which have been praised by other regulatory agencies as setting an industry standard," he said. "When slamming cases are brought to our attention, we will work closely with regulatory agencies and the consumer to reach a resolution."

For more information on how to prevent slamming, call the Attorney General's office at (775) 684-1100.

"We believe Excel has some of the best anti-slamming practices and customer safeguards in the industry."Jim SmithEXCEL EXECUTIVE