FairPoint Service Problems May Lead To Hefty Fines

CLARKE CANFIELD

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — FairPoint Communications Inc. has been suffering lost revenue, lost customers and a tarnished image because of ongoing customer service problems the last couple of months. It also faces the prospect of hefty fines down the road.

State regulators in northern New England can hit FairPoint in the wallet with penalties totaling millions of dollars if it fails to improve customer service.

Regulators say their primary focus now is to fix the problems that have plagued FairPoint since it switched to its own computer systems about two months ago, 10 months after buying Verizon's landline telephone and Internet network in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

But the problems will also be part of the record when the three states perform their annual reviews of FairPoint's performance and decide what penalties the company should pay.

"Yes, we have the means to impose penalties and what have you," said David O'Brien, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Service. "But what's more important is whether this company can right this ship. That's what matters most to us."