Two members of the Cal. PUC offered alternatives to a staff propo...
Two members of the Cal. PUC offered alternatives to a staff proposal for a telecom consumer bill of rights. The matter is on the PUC meeting agenda for May 20. Comr. Susan Kennedy proposed largely doing away with the…
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staff proposal in favor of a simplified bill of rights aimed at ensuring consumers get the information they need to make informed decisions. She called for PUC rules that would require all telecom carriers to disclose the full range of available service options. That would include options that don’t require contract commitments, including prepaid and month-to- month plans. Kennedy’s proposal calls for mandatory 14-day trial periods, during which customers can cancel service without a termination penalty. If a carrier makes material changes to a service contract’s rates or terms, consumers would get notice and a reasonable opportunity to cancel without penalty. Other provisions would require a $25 automatic credit for missed service appointments, written confirmation of service within 7 days, and a requirement that disconnected lines remain capable of making calls to 911. An alternate proposal by Comr. Geoffrey Brown would amend the staff proposal. Brown would defer to a later docket the provisions regarding customer account privacy and drop a series of advertising-related provisions. His proposal would bar carriers from requiring rights waivers as a condition of service, require a 30-day trial period for new services when customers could cancel without penalties and a 30-day window for cancelling a contract after the provider makes material changes. Brown’s proposal would peg applicability of particular rules to a customer’s circumstances rather than a type of carrier. Carriers would have to publish their tariffs on a public Internet Web site. Brown would exempt from the bill of rights business customers with more than 20 voice-grade lines or more than one T-1 line. Both proposals would prohibit listing any fee as a tax if the money doesn’t go to a govt. agency and bar imposition of late charges on disputed bill amounts. The bill of rights became controversial after wireless carriers objected to being covered, on grounds cellular competition protects consumers.