N.J. Assemblyman Anthony Impreveduto (D-Hudson) said he would int...

allow nation’s largest interexchange carriers to charge exorbitant rates for calls billed to telephone credit cards. He said current regulations capped surcharges by alternative operator service (AOS) providers, interexchange resellers who handle only collect, 3rd party and credit card calls. Caps are $2.75 for automated service and $5.25 for live operator service. But lawmaker said facilities-based carriers such as AT&T, Sprint and WorldCom weren’t included in the caps because state regulators assumed their rates would continue indefinitely to be cost based. N.J. Deputy Ratepayer Advocate Heikki Leesment, whose office supports Impreveduto’s idea, said situation changed last May when AT&T raised surcharge on automated credit card calls to $4.99 from $2.71 and other major carriers quickly followed suit. Result, she said, is consumers finding themselves billed $6 or more for payphone calls that would have been under $1 if paid with coins. Verizon is trying out special calling card that allows unlimited number of intraLATA/local calls to home phone number for flat $3.25 monthly, but customers would have to call Verizon’s 800 access number. If they dialed widely advertised access numbers of major interexchange carriers and gave their Verizon card number, they would be billed extra charge, up to $4.99, for handling competitor’s calling card. Leesment said consumers had no ready way to determine toll-call costs at payphones or from room phones provided by hospitals and hotels, other than calling carrier and requesting rate quote. Customers have been complaining to state officials that they used to look for phones served by big national carriers, but now those companies’ surcharges are reaching levels that used to be seen only from AOS companies.