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Show Panguitch Family Gets Refund In Telephone Overcharge Case A Panguitch family was among several throughout Utah receiving refunds from Mountain Bell after the telephone company agreed that had, erred in overcharging some customers for extending its service ' to them, primarily those in rural areas. Earl Henrie, who lives approximately five miles northeast of Panguitch, was refunded $2,473 which represented overcharges and interest from the time of installation of his telephone. The amount refunded the Henries was on the lower end of the scale of amotints refunded under a-detishnr made when Mountain Bell representatives met informally with officials from the Division of Public Utilities and the Public Service Commission of Utah. The Committee of Consumer Services had charged Mountain Bell with failure to follow its own construction tariffs. The committee had found that some people who applied for telephone service and who were asked to pay-large construction - " charges had been overcharged by Mountain Bell. In some instances, the committee charged, Mountain Bell had asked customers to pay hundreds and even thousands of dollars construction charges as a requirement for telephone service. The committee found some of the charges to be inappropriate and not in compliance with its own tariffs. Following committee investigatoin and the informal meeting, Mountain (See PHONE Page 3) Telephone (Continued from Page 1) i Bell agreed to refund any ovef-charges. The Henries had sought since 1971 to have a telephone installed at their residence, but each time they called Mountain Bell, Mrs. Henrie said, quotes for installation increased and they felt they could not afford cost. Finally, in 1979 when Mr. Henrie suffered a serious injury and a telephone was needed to check on his well being, they went ahead with installation despite the high cost. Several months later they contacted the PSCU and it was to the charge of installation at the Henries and other similar situations throughout Utah that the Committee of Consumer Service addressed its overall investigation. The committee had, a spokesman said, been looking into the situation since 1977. The committee reported that a number of families in Morgan County were quoted from $10,000 to $25,000- for construction services when, the committee claimed, no such charges were allowed under the company's construction tariffs. In another case, a group of 14 families west of St. George was quoted construction charges of $42,000. Following the committee's investigation, Mountain Bell acknowledged that the quote was in error and agreed to install telephone facilities without construction charges. Investigation for the committee was conducted largely by Menzies Benson, the committee's expert. The committee is a state agency whose six members serve by appointment to five-year terms. It is concerned with natural gas, electricity, and telephone utilities as they relate to residential, small business and agricultural consumers. A spokesman for the committee stated that investigation of Mountain Bell's construction charges had been ongoing since 1977. After agreeing to refund construction charges to customers who overpaid for telephone service, Mountain Bell also agreed to reexamine situations where customers were quoted large construction charges who did not pay and are still without telephone service. |