Bill Allowing Suits Over Late Deliveries Advances

SACRAMENTO —  Almost every Californian knows the feeling: You take time off from work to wait for an appliance to be delivered or the cable television company to connect its service. The appliance never arrives. The cable is never installed. You lose.

Now, you might be able to win if legislation moving its way to the governor’s desk becomes law.

The bill, by Sen. Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward), would require retailers with 25 or more employees to specify a four-hour period during which they would deliver their merchandise to the customer. If they failed to do so, the customer could sue in small claims court for up to $500 in lost wages, expenses or damages.

Cable companies and utilities would also be subject to the law, and they would be required to notify their subscribers by mail three times a year of their right to request connection or repair service within a four-hour period.

“This is something people are very grumpy about,” Lockyer said in an interview after the Assembly passed his bill on a 44-28 vote and returned it to the Senate for concurrence in Assembly amendments.

Lockyer said he introduced the bill after being flooded with complaints from constituents upset by delays in home deliveries and service calls. He cited one woman who stayed home from work for five days waiting for cable television installers.

Lockyer said he expects the bill to win final approval in the Senate and be signed by Gov. George Deukmejian. The governor has not taken a position on the bill, but business groups such as the Chamber of Commerce, which are close to the Republican chief executive, have not opposed the measure.

Harry M. Snyder, director of Consumers Union’s California office, said his organization considers the bill “the most important consumer measure” with a chance to pass this year. Snyder also predicted that the governor will sign the bill.

“Deukmejian has a populist streak in him, and this is the kind of bill he understands,” Snyder said. “It’s the kind of bill that will help the people he meets in the barbershop.”