I Don't Care and It Doesn't Matter [telefraud through naming :-]

Date: Tue, 23 Jul 96 09:06:52 EDT

From: Nina Eppes 23-Jul-1996 0909 <eppes@bookie.ENET.dec.com>



From: COOKIE::BARRETT "Dan Barrett -- DTN 522-3247 22-Jul-1996 1611" 22-JUL-1996 18:16:18.20

Subj: Why didn't MCI think of this??



by Greg Hassell,

Houston Chronicle,

Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News



Jul. 12--When an operator asks you to choose a long-distance company for a

collect call, answering ``I don't care,'' doesn't mean what you probably

think it means.



It does not mean, ``It doesn't matter to me. Please put me through with the

biggest or cheapest company.''



Your answer actually means, ``Please hook me up with a little-known long-

distance company called I Don't Care. I am willing to pay $7.64 for a three-

minute call from Houston to Dallas, even though AT&T charges $4.63 for the

same call.''



I Don't Care has two sister companies. One is called I Don't Know. The

other is It Doesn't Matter. All three charge 65 percent more than AT&T for

the Houston-to-Dallas call.



Although this may sound like a modern-day Abbott and Costello routine, it's

actually the latest wrinkle in telephone deregulation.



I Don't Care, I Don't Know and It Doesn't Matter are subsidiaries of a Fort

Worth company called KT&T Communications, one of 850 long distance

companies registered with the state of Texas.



KT&T -- which sounds amazingly like its bigger rival, AT&T -- is run by

Dennis Dees, a 38-year-old Texan who has run small long-distance companies

since 1984. Last year, Dees and his business partner sat down and tried to

figure out some innovative names for their business.



A little research showed about 3 percent of the people who make collect

calls don't specify a long-distance carrier. They tell the operator ``I

don't care'' or ``It doesn't matter.'' Only a few people ever say ``I don't

know,'' but Dees also registered that name, just in case a rival tried to

cut in on his name game. He registered all three names with the Texas

Public Utility Commission in September.



``We tried to do it sooner, but Southwestern Bell held us up because the

names are so unusual,'' Dees said from his office in Fort Worth. ``They

tried to come up with a reason not to let us use these names, but they

couldn't think of anything.''



I Don't Care, I Don't Know and It Doesn't Matter only do business in Texas,

but Dees is looking to expand into California and Florida.



Dees steadfastly denies there is anything dishonest or misleading about his

business practices.



``Anyone who tells an operator, 'I don't care,' we make it very clear who

we are and what we are doing,'' Dees said.



A collect call made to Dallas appeared to verify his claim.



``I do have a carrier called I Don't Care,'' an AT&T operator warned. ``Is

that the company you want?''



After being told that I Don't Care would do just fine, she patched the call

through.



``I Don't Care!'' another operator answered chirpily. ``What number are you

calling?''



After placing the call, the operator signed off: ``Thanks for using I Don't

Care.''



Dees defended his company's rates, saying they are not the highest charged

in Texas. There is a company called DNSI that charges $9.70 for the same

Houston-to-Dallas operator assisted call.



KT&T charges more than AT&T, he said, because the little Texas company uses

human operators instead of automatic computers. Also, the little company

has higher expenses per call because of its size.



Customers who complain about the higher charges are given a rebate, Dees

said.



Not everyone is convinced that I Don't Care, I Don't Know and It Doesn't

Matter are shooting straight with consumers. The Fort Worth chapter of the

Better Business Bureau has opened an inquiry into the company and its

practices.



I Don't Care, I Don't Know and It Doesn't Matter should tell consumers up

front they charge more than A T&T, said John Riggins, president of the

BBB's chapter in Fort Worth. But Riggins admitted his office has received

no complaints about Dees and his companies.



Likewise, the Texas PUC has received no complaints about the long-distance

carriers. The PUC does not regulate long-distance rates, so the best it can

do is warn Texans to be careful.



``It's real important for people to monitor their charges,'' said PUC

spokeswoman Ann Roussos. ``In the age of competition, it's extremely

important for customers to find out about the products and services they're

using.''

