dhk@teletech.uucp (Don H Kemp) (03/15/90)
AT&T's back in court again....
FOR RELEASE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 1990
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. -- AT&T today said it is suing National
Telephone Services Inc. (NTS) and International Telecharge Inc.
(ITI). The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of
New Jersey, charges that NTS and ITI have switched public telephones
from AT&T to NTS and ITI without the knowledge or consent of the
owners of the premises where the phones are located.
AT&T charged NTS and ITI with a number of deceptive practices
including: deceiving business owners into believing that there is an
association between NTS, ITI and the local telephone companies;
claiming that AT&T is no longer providing long-distance service for a
business owner's public phones; or indicating that NTS or ITI has been
designated the new long-distance operator services company for public
pay phones on the business owner's premises.
NTS is headquartered in Rockville, Md. ITI is headquartered in
Dallas.
AT&T said the deceptive practices have resulted in
considerable confusion and inconvenience for business owners
with public phones and may have cost AT&T millions of dollars
in lost revenue.
"Business owners with public telephones deserve the right to
choose their long-distance company without concern for deceptive and
fraudulent business practices," said Merrill Tutton, vice president,
AT&T Consumer Services.
The lawsuit against NTS and ITI asks the court to order NTS and
ITI to stop making false, misleading or deceptive representations, and
to stop switching AT&T long-distance business customers to NTS or ITI
without authorization by the customer. In addition, it asks the court
to declare void any contracts between NTS or ITI and AT&T's business
customers that were entered into through NTS' or ITI's deceptive
actions. AT&T has asked to be awarded damages it has suffered as a
consequence of NTS' and ITI's wrongful conduct.
AT&T said it believes that thousands of business owners with
public telephones who have been switched from AT&T had either never
been contacted by NTS or ITI, had declined to switch when they were
contacted, or didn't realize they were being asked to authorize the
switch. Many business owners were initially unaware that they had
been switched to another long-distance company. AT&T also said these
practices have created confusion for people who make calls from public
phones.
In a related action on Jan. 10, 1990, AT&T sued MCI and its
telemarketing agent, Pioneer Teletechnologies, for deceptive
telemarketing practices that misled consumers and for widespread
switching of long-distance customers without their consent. The case
is still in the early stages of litigation.
Business owners who chose AT&T long-distance for the public
telephones on their properties and think their service may have been
switched without their consent can contact their local AT&T account
executive or call 1-800-KEEP ATT (1-800-533-7288).
# # #
Don H Kemp "Always listen to experts. They'll
B B & K Associates, Inc. tell you what can't be done, and
Rutland, VT why. Then do it."
uunet!uvm-gen!teletech!dhk Lazarus Long