News from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission

Jim Palmer, Director of Information

Phone: (405) 522-2100, FAX: (405) 522-1623, www.occ.state.ok.us

June 7, 2002

COMMISSION FILES 27 SLAMMING COMPLAINTS AGAINST SEVEN LONG DISTANCE PHONE COMPANIES

Complaints from all areas of the state

AT&T, MCI WORLDCOM, SOUTHWESTERN BELL AND OTHERS CITED FOR A TOTAL OF 27 COUNTS OF UNAUTHORIZED SWITCHING OF LONG DISTANCE SERVICE

(Oklahoma City) – The Director of the Corporation Commission’s Consumer Services Division has filed 27 complaints of telephone slamming against seven long distance companies. Slamming is the switching of a customer’s long distance service provider without the knowing consent of the customer. The companies have ten days to answer the complaints and show cause as to why they should not be punished for contempt. The firms must also appear before an administrative law judge at the Commission on dates set in August and September.

The companies named in the slamming complaints include MCI WorldCom, AT&T Communications of the Southwest, Southwestern Bell Long Distance, Qwest Communications, Lightyear Communications, Excel Telecommunications and Coast International.

All of the contempt citations fall under the new state law against slamming which carries a maximum fine of $10,000 per occurrence and the complete restoration of the consumer’s service at no charge.

The greatest number of complaints against any one company in this filing is 12 counts against MCI WorldCom.

-OCC-

All OCC news releases are available for review and / or downloading from the OCC web site at www.occ.state.ok.us