This letter floored me really. The only reasonable explanation I can think of is that someone (Resnick, Standen, Taylor?) lied about street cable failures and the 2-pair buried drop that runs from my house to the street, and they wanted to continue to cover it up and to discredit me. You see, I had finally complained to the PUC about the situation behind my poor service and five days after getting the PUC's response that they were investigating the matter, I received the letter below from Pac Bell. I had not personally had contact with Pacific Bell management since mid-March. By the way, the compensation offer made to me by Resnick a few months earlier seems to have been quietly rescinded by this time, without another word about it.

My answers to the points it contains:

1: No missed appointments? Ms. Standen admitted it took several days for them to get a technician over to repair my lines in September. On Friday, 7-29-96. according to my notes, I was told by 611 Supervisor Mark (Employee #503) that someone would be there by 6 pm that day and I waited. This was on my business line, for which I was being charged extra for priority, four-hour service. No one came. Mark apologized when I called at 6:15, but had trouble finding a repair person. No one came until Monday, and she was not qualified to make the repair. The line was not repaired until 8-3-96. Pac Bell told the PUC that a repair person was at my house on 7-27-96, but nobody from the phone company was at my house on that day.

2: Again, they say it was up to me to dig a trench to repair their own buried line! Despite the fact that they are willing, whenever it suits them, to dig up my lawn, my driveway, or wherever they want, to "maintain [their] facilities in top-notch condition and provide [their] customers with the most up-to-date- communications services..." Ha! That's a laugh! (See tag left on my door not long after this.)

3. I was never asked by anyone to cease and desist from anything. If Resnik wanted me to cease and desist, why did he ask me on March 17 to call him back? I had no contact with Pacific Bell since mid-March, and suddenly this letter arrives.

4. I never threatened anyone with any kind of harm. In fact, I tried to keep my cool in the face of lies and a very frustrating lack of service. I had good rapport with the employees who came to my house to repair the lines from time to time. If I had threatened someone with bodily harm, Pacific Bell would certainly have followed legal procedure and called the police, and I would have been arrested! I did tell Resnick I felt like going to the media with my story... Think that has anything to do with this? (I later noted a conversation with someone at the PUC in which I was told they heard this sort of statement often from Pacific Bell.)

I did complain to the PUC about this letter too, for all the good that did. Pacific Bell lied to them too, and the PUC just left it at that. I did have a phone conversation with a person who called from the PUC and he told me the PUC heard this sort of statement from Pacific Bell often, accusing people of threatening bodily harm!