I have never used any service except GTE Hawaiian Telephone since I came to Hawaii in 1962. Out of the blue, I got a letter saying "Welcome to MCI," including some telephone cards with my unlisted number, which I never requested or authorized. On my next Hawaiian Tel bill a $8.78 charge was added -- $4.39 for Intralata change charge and $4.39 for Interlata change charge. I called MCI customer service four times in January. Each time, I was told they would check my complaint and get back to me. To this day, I have not heard from them. On my last bill of Feb. 10, I was still being charged $8.78. I am an elderly person in my late 70s using the phone only for emergencies. Can you please help? Phone charges cleared
for unwanted carrier shiftMCI could not provide any documentation with your signature verifying you had chosen its service, "so GTE Hawaiian Tel will reflect a credit refund for $8.78," said HawTel spokesman Keith Kamisugi.
You officially are cleared of having chosen MCI for long-distance service, he said.
MCI maintains you did agree to become a member, but because of the confusion and your contention, it will not pursue a balance of $9 and has dropped your name from its files, said spokeswoman Amy Hoseth.
She said she double-checked your account, which showed that "we received a letter of authorization" from you dated Dec. 16, 1997.
When you joined, you should have received a coupon to cover the routine switching fee, she said.
Meanwhile, Kamisugi said HawTel was able to resolve your problem because MCI is using HawTel to bill customers. If that were not the case -- if the carrier bills you directly -- then "there would be a limited amount of help we could offer," he said.
My husband was beaten by four young men about 4:30 a.m. Feb. 24 outside the BHP Gas Express in Mililani. He usually gets coffee there before going to work. Police haven't caught the thugs, but we're also upset at BHP. Employees just stood there until my husband stumbled in and told them to call 911. The manager later said the policy was for employees not to get involved but that they should call 911. What bugs us is that BHP has shown absolutely no feelings in this, and no one has gotten back to us. Can you get a response for us?
"We are sorry and apologize" if you were waiting to hear from the area supervisor, said BHP spokesman Stafford Kiguchi.
There must have been some miscommunication because the station manager who had spoken to you "mentioned that if (you) needed to discuss the matter further with anyone, to contact the supervisor, whose pager number was provided," Kiguchi said. The supervisor did not hear from you, so he thought the situation had been resolved. "Our station manager did have several casual conversations" with you, he said.
According to the reports BHP received, "the situation involved two young men and an older man (your husband)," Kiguchi said.
"The cashier who spotted the three men arguing and fighting recognized all three as customers," he said. "Although our policy calls for employees to call 911 and not involve themselves for personal safety reasons, our cashier felt she could stop the fight, which she did. She did phone 911 afterward. None of the three stayed to be interviewed by police."
Kiguchi said "we certainly regret that the incident occurred" but was "grateful that no one was seriously injured."
To the entire staff and starter at the new Ewa public golf course. The facilities are top flight and the personnel friendly and most helpful. They make a day there a delight. -- Michael D. Brown Mahalo
