Verizon: Slam WorldCom for Slamming

NEWARK, N.J. -- Verizon today asked the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to investigate complaints from hundreds of Verizon customers who say they have been "slammed," or switched without their approval, from Verizon to WorldCom and its MCI Neighborhood plan. "We have asked the board to impose punitive measures to make sure this appalling mistreatment of customers doesn't happen again," said Bruce Cohen, general counsel for Verizon New Jersey. "This is egregious conduct. WorldCom cannot ignore the rules." According to state and federal laws, customers must authorize any change in their phone company. In the past few weeks, Verizon has received 850 such complaints and that number is likely to rise as more customers receive their phone bills. Many customers only discovered the change in their phone company when they received the latest bill. Many complaints received by Verizon came from people who said they had rejected telephone solicitations from MCI trying to get them to change to the MCI Neighborhood plan. Other Verizon customers learned they were slammed when they called to complain that all their phone services were not working or, conversely, that they suddenly had services they never ordered. Verizon Communications Inc. WorldCom Inc.