CenturyLink fined for leaving WA customers on hold too long

“Excessive” call wait times and disclosure violations led to $133,000 in fines for CenturyLink, according to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.

CenturyLink, also branded as Lumen Technologies or Lumen, was dinged for nine violations of failing to connect customers to a live representative within 60 seconds of them asking to speak with someone, as required by state law.

The company is Washington’s largest local telephone company, as well as a major internet service provider.

Under state law, the automated phone system for a business or repair center “must provide a caller with an option to speak to a live representative within the first sixty seconds of the recorded message, or it must transfer the caller to a live representative within the first sixty seconds.”

The commission found an additional 169 infractions for failing to properly disclose business records to the commission as required by a 2017 law. The violations were recorded from March 2022 to November 2022, as well as March 2023 to February 2024, according to a news release.

Each violation carries a $750 penalty that must be paid by Dec. 30.

A spokesperson for Lumen Technologies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is not CenturyLink’s first run-in with the commission tasked with regulating rates and services of utility companies.

In July 2023, the company was fined almost $1 million for violating Gov. Jay Inslee’s proclamation prohibiting telephone companies from disconnecting service due to nonpayment during the COVID-19 pandemic.