Verizon collecting omitted taxes, fees
By Frank Cho
Advertiser Staff Writer
Verizon Hawai'i last month billed residential customers for thousands of dollars in taxes and fees it failed to collect from consumers early last year.
Verizon, the state's largest telephone company, is trying to recoup between $52,000 and $264,000 in state and federal fees it mistakenly omitted from some consumers' bills between March and August of 2002.
The charges, which started appearing on the bills of more than 50,000 consumers last month, range from $1 to as much as $5 per customer and cover unpaid fees for the Federal Universal Service Charge, Service Provider Number Portability fee, Telecommunications Relay Service fee and the 911 service fee.
"We regret that an error occurred that omitted some fees and surcharges to customers who subscribed to the service bundle between March and August of last year," said Anne Nishida, a spokeswoman for Verizon Hawai'i.
The problem arose when Verizon launched a new bundle of services in March after receiving approval from the state Public Utilities Commission, but failed to properly code the new services so its billing system could recognize the charges.
"It is standard practice for Verizon Hawai'i, and within the telecommunications industry, to correct billings when we have underbilled or overbilled," Nishida said. "These corrections ensure that customers fairly pay for services they subscribe to and protect both the customer and the company."
The company caught its mistake in September and started billing customers for the unpaid fees in December, Nishida said.
State regulators said Verizon is expected to make a filing and brief the commission on exactly how many consumers were billed and how much they paid. No time frame for the filing has been set.
"We are just going to monitor the situation to ensure that they are following our rules and regulations," said Chris Nakagawa, chief legal counsel for the commission, which regulates Verizon's local phone services at the state level.
The state's office of consumer advocacy also said it is tracking Verizon's collection effort.
Reach Frank Cho at 525-8088, or at fcho@honoluluadvertiser.com.
