Verizon calling on lawmakers to less state oversight

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http://hamptonroads.com/2014/02/verizon-calling-lawmakers-less-state-oversight

Verizon calling on lawmakers to less state oversight
By Carolyn Shapiro
The Virginian-Pilot
© February 23, 2014

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Verizon’s latest effort to chip away at state oversight of its operations came this year in the form of identical bills moving through the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates. The proposals, SB584 and HB774, would eliminate most of the State Corporation Commission’s authority over a key area of Verizon’s business.

The commission has “service quality rules” that govern Verizon’s responsiveness to customer problems. Under those rules, the company must restore service to 80 percent of customers affected by outages within 48 hours and to 95 percent of them within 96 hours.

The rules also specify that Verizon customers calling the company about service repairs cannot wait for more than a minute to talk to a representative, and those calling for other reasons cannot wait more than three minutes. For customers who order new service, the company has to take care of installations within five days in most cases.

Following a 2010 investigation into customer complaints, the commission ordered Verizon to submit monthly reports, showing how it is complying with the rules.