PacBell To Be Hit With $27M Fine

MImeKillEr writes: "The San Francisco Chronicle has an article that states PacBell is going to be hit with a $27 million fine for "incorrectly billing" between 30,000 and 70,000 users for DSL access they didn't request or recieve, or received but didn't work, or cancelled, tacking late fees onto disputed charges, etc."

Comments

So who gets the money?

[ShaunC]

PacBell is going to be hit with a $27 million fine for "incorrectly billing" between 30,000 and 70,000 users

Suppose it was 30K users, the fine works out to $900 per user. Suppose it was 70K users, the fine works out to $386 per user. Suppose the median is a viable figure, at 50K users the fine works out to $540 per user. So who gets all this money? According to the article,

If approved, the $27 million would go to the state's general fund.

And I'm sure the state's general fund is going to reimburse everyone who was overbilled, or outright fraudulently billed for services they never received? Yeah, right:

Pacific Bell, part of SBC Communications in San Antonio, agreed to give customers a $25 credit or one-month of free DSL service if it makes similar billing errors in the future.

Once again, the consumer takes it up the ass. PacBell has to pay $27 MILLION DOLLARS to the state, who will undoubtedly use the money for the war on drugs, purchasing unnecessary Oracle licenses, or some similar "laudable" cause; but PacBell doesn't have to pay the overbilled customers jack unless it happens again. The improperly billed customers get no legal recourse, aside from fighting PacBell for the charges on their own. Wonderful.

Color me unimpressed. Hey, California, how about standing up for your citizens instead of your own coffers?

Shaun