FairPoint probe takes turn

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Regulators in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine are looking into an allegation that FairPoint Communications faked its readiness to take over the region's dominant phone network from Verizon during a review by a consultant to the states, officials said Monday.

FairPoint has been hit with unprecedented numbers of consumer complaints ranging from billing errors and service order delays to long waits on call-in complaint lines since it took over Verizon's phone networks in the three states Feb. 1.

Now state regulators are reviewing an anonymous e-mail from someone believed to be a FairPoint insider who charges that during tests leading up to the Feb. 1 "cutover," FairPoint created a computer program "to deceive the audience into believing they were watching a real demonstration" of its readiness.

Two messages seeking comment from FairPoint on Monday were not immediately returned. A woman who answered the phone at the headquarters of the consulting firm, Liberty Consulting of Quentin, Penn., said the company would have no comment.

The Vermont Public Service Board, which regulates telephone and other utilities in the state, said it had requested that FairPoint respond to the allegations raised in the e-mail by next Monday, Aug. 31.

State consumer advocate offices in New Hampshire and Maine said they had asked their commissions to investigate the matter.

"We're extremely concerned about this," said Wayne Jortner, senior counsel to the public advocate in Maine. "It's consistent with other things we've heard from other persons who've come forward anonymously. ... We don't presume the truth of the allegations, but we would like to know what the answer is."

FairPoint, based in Charlotte, N.C., has faced a litany of problems getting ready for and then taking over the $2.3 billion phone network acquisition it made from Verizon last year. Earlier this month, the Vermont board opened a probe into whether to revoke FairPoint's right to do business in the state.

Regulators from all three states are planning a joint hearing in New Hampshire on Sept. 9 on problems plaguing the company and its customers.