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Touch calling is
optional, Verizon says

Question: Verizon continues to charge a monthly fee for touch call ($1.65 + tax). Isn't this a holdover from the old rotary telephone days? In the 21st-century digital world, it appears as another way for this corporate entity to line their own pockets at the expense of consumers -- or does it really cost them more for touch-call telephone service?

Answer: Whether it costs more or not, Verizon says touch-call service is optional, so you can opt for a rotary phone if you want to.

Two years ago, two Maui residents filed a lawsuit against Verizon Hawaii, alleging you could actually get this "optional" service without paying for it but that thousands of customers continue to needlessly pay for it every month.

The lawsuit said the touch-call charges total more than $17 million annually.

Verizon's motion for a summary judgment against the lawsuit was granted, but the plaintiffs are appealing, said Verizon Hawaii spokeswoman Ann Nishida. The lawsuit is now before the Hawaii Supreme Court.

"That means it can be quite some time" before it is resolved, said James Krueger, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs. "Nothing is scheduled any time soon, and Verizon can continue charging" the fee.

"Because of this and as with any ongoing litigation, we cannot comment further on this issue except to say the touch-call fee is part of Verizon's tariff and therefore must be charged to customers who subscribe to this service," Nishida said.

Q: The Star-Bulletin reported that people could recycle their cans and bottles at the University of Hawaii-Manoa Sundays and Mondays for two months, beginning Sunday through March, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. I went there at 2 p.m. Sunday, and no one was there. There was only a sign saying to go to the city refuse department, which doesn't say much for recycling. What happened?

A: Unfortunately, by the time you went, the recyclers left because hardly anyone showed up, said UH spokesman Jim Manke. The lack of response was attributed to the Super Bowl.

The sign you saw was left over from the time UH was used as a recycling site for Christmas trees, Manke said. Someone forgot to take it down.

The attraction of the UH recycling site is not only is it open on a Sunday, it also offers six reverse vending machines on a mobile redemption truck operated by RRR Recycling Services. Cans and bottles are deposited into the machines, and recyclers receive a receipt to be turned in for cash.

Manke says the project is meant more as a community service than as a moneymaker, since UH will receive only 0.2 cents per can or bottle.

The truck will be in the Music Department parking lot at Dole Street and University Avenue, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sundays; and on Mondays, 11 a.m.-noon at Andrews Amphitheatre, 12:30-2:30 p.m. at Hale Aloha Lehua lower campus and 3-4 p.m. in the Zone 6 parking lot next to the Center for Korean Studies.

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