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             California Public Utilities Commission
505 Van Ness Avenue, Room 5301            San Francisco, CA 94102
CONTACT: Armando Rendon           April 15, 1996         CPUC-036
         415-703-1366                                (I96-04-024)

     CPUC WILL INVESTIGATE HEARTLINE/TNT ON SLAMMING CHARGES

     The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today
served notice on Heartline Communications, Inc., (Heartline) and
Total National Telecommunications, Inc., (TNT) that they are
under investigation for illegal business practices in the state,
including operating without CPUC authority, using a scheme to
avoid CPUC regulation while providing long distance toll service,
and "slamming," the unauthorized switching of a phone service
provider.
     The CPUC believes these companies are now one entity under
single control but, even if not, they must respond to the
investigation individually or jointly.
     A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, April 23, at 9 a.m. at
the State Office Building, 505 Van Ness Avenue, in San Francisco,
to allow the companies to show why their being prohibited by the
Commission from switching consumers' long distance service
providers to Heartline/TNT is not warranted.
     Heartline has refused to respond to CPUC staff requests for
information about its operations and its ties with TNT.  As a
long distance provider, Heartline cannot offer intrastate service
of any kind without CPUC approval.  However, it seems to have
done just that through arrangements with other long distance
carriers.
     Heartline, a Houston-based corporation, filed for a permit
in September 1994 to resell long distance service in California,
but withdrew its application this January.  TNT, also a Houston-
based firm, provides service under the name Total World Telecom.
It applied for a permit to provide intrastate toll service in
June 1995, and was granted this authority last September.
     When preliminary review of Heartline's application began,
                             -more-
CPUC staff discovered numerous slamming complaints against
Heartline.  Further, although the company did not have
appropriate authority, it was apparently offering intrastate toll
service without CPUC approval.
     Since mid-November, Pacific Bell (Pacific) has reported
receiving 10,561 slamming complaints against TNT.  In February
alone, according to Pacific, 39 percent of the consumers switched
to TNT informed Pacific that they had not authorized the switch.
TNT is also apparently targeting Spanish language consumers: 57
percent of the 10,561 complaints  were Spanish language
consumers.
     Because Heartline/TNT resells other long distance carriers'
service, consumers often first thought they had been slammed by
another carrier.  When consumers finally determined Heartline was
the company that switched them, Heartline would say it had a
written and signed letter authorizing the switch.
     The authorization document Heartline has provided turns out
to be a copy of a raffle ticket or sweepstakes entry form that
the consumer might have filled out at a laundromat, oil change
shop, or restaurant, typically offering a free trip to Hawaii or
a free car.
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