V. Assignment of Proceeding
Carl W. Wood is the Assigned Commissioner and ALJ Christine M. Walwyn is the Presiding Officer in this proceeding.
1. On September 18, 2001, the Commission issued D.01-09-038 granting Miko a CPCN to operate as an interexchange carrier within California. Miko began operations in California by May 2002.
2. Miko failed to notify the Commission, within 12 months of being granted its authority, that it had begun operations. Miko's CPCN was revoked on March 12, 2003, due to this failure.
3. On April 23, 2003, Miko filed another application for authority and was granted a CPCN on September 4, 2003.
4. From March 12, 2003 to September 4, 2003, Miko operated without a CPCN.
5. The records of Miko's billing agent show that Miko conducted business as an interexchange carrier in California from approximately May 2002 to August 2003 and that Miko billed California consumers $844,575 in 2002 and $2,750,127 in 2003. The fees and surcharges owed to the Commission from these billings are $27,383 for 2002 and $54,019 for 2003. Miko failed to pay any of the fees and surcharges owed to the Commission.
6. Respondent Margaret Currie provided false information to the Commission's Telecommunications Division in response to a March 3, 2003 data request when she stated that Miko did not begin operations in California until January 2003, when in fact Miko began operating in California in May 2002.
7. During 2002, the Commission's Consumer Affairs Branch received 11 slamming complaints against Miko, rising to 176 slamming complaints in 2003. In addition, SBC Communications Inc. reports 1,702 PIC disputes against Miko in 2002, rising to 2,869 in 2003.
8. In 2002, of the $844,575 Miko billed to consumers, $166,736 was refunded to consumers. In 2003, of the $2,750,127 Miko billed to consumers, $826,493 was refunded to customers. The number of complaints and disputes, the volume of refunds, and the failure of Miko to contest the charges of the OII, demonstrate that Miko has engaged in extensive slamming substantially as charged in the OII.
9. On April 16, 2004, a response to the Commission's OII was filed by Miko's counsel of record requesting that Miko's authorization and carrier code be canceled because Miko is insolvent, no longer in business, and will not resume business now or at any time in the future.
1. Respondents violated Section 405 by failing to pay surcharges and fees required by D.01-09-038.
2. Respondents violated Section 702 by failing to pay surcharges and fees required by a Commission decision, and by violating a Commission order by continuing to operate without valid operating authority.
3. Respondents should pay to the Commission $81,402 in surcharges and fees, and pursuant to Section 405 should pay a related penalty of $20,035 to the State of California General Fund.
4. Respondents violated Section 1013(a) by operating without a certificate of public convenience and necessity.
5. Respondents violated Section 2889.5(a) by failing on numerous occasions to establish whether a subscriber intends to make any change to the subscriber's telephone service and to explain any charges associated with that change.
6. Respondents violated Rule 1 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure by providing false information to the Commission.
7. Section 2107 requires the Commission to order a monetary penalty when a public utility violates or fails to comply with any statute or Commission decision, or requirement where a penalty has not otherwise been provided.
8. Based on the criteria established in D.98-12-075, a penalty of $25,000 is reasonable for violations under Sections 2107 and 2108 and should be adopted. Respondents' CPCN should be permanently revoked.
9. Should Miko or Margaret Currie make any future applications for a CPCN, they should address the allegations made in this case and indicate whether they have complied with this decision by fully paying the fines and sanctions imposed herein.
10. This order should be effective immediately.
11. Telecommunications Division should timely notify all local exchange carriers and billing agents when an interexchange carrier's operating authority has been revoked and remind the local exchange carriers and billing agents to regularly check Telecommunications Division's publicly accessible carrier database to ensure that companies with which they do business have valid operating authority.
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. The Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) issued to Miko Telephone Communications, Inc. (Miko) and in effect when this investigation began is permanently revoked.
2. Neither Miko nor its President Margaret Currie shall be granted a future CPCN unless they have paid all surcharges, fees, and penalties assessed here and have complied with all sanctions.
3. Telecommunications Division shall immediately inform all local exchange carriers and billing agents that Miko's operating authority has been revoked and remind them to regularly check Telecommunications Division's publicly accessible carrier database to ensure that companies with which the local exchange carriers and billing agents do business have valid operating authority.
4. Respondents shall immediately pay to the Commission $81,402 in overdue surcharges and fees.
5. Respondents shall pay penalties of $45,350 to the State of California's General Fund within 45 days after the date this decision is mailed to the service list. Proof of payment shall be filed and served on the service list and shall be provided to the Executive Director within five days of payment.
6. This proceeding is closed.
This order is effective today.
Dated , at San Francisco, California.
