Pacific Bell was accused of abusive marketing.

The state Public Utilities Commission’s consumer staff has accused Pacific Bell of “abusive marketing,” including pressuring telephone customers into buying expensive features and not telling them that cheaper service is available. In a report made public, the staff said Pacific Bell had deliberately violated state regulations and recommended a penalty of a $49.5-million rate cut, or three times the revenue needed to pay the salaries of the company’s marketing managers. “We’ve recognized there’s a problem, and we’re going to do something about it,” a company spokesman said.