A.
Authorization for Change
A submitting carrier may not submit a change in a customer's
preferred telecommunications carrier without authorization from the customer
pursuant to section
3(B) of this
Chapter.
B.
Verification for Carrier-Initiated Preferred Carrier
Changes
A submitting carrier may not submit a change in a customer's
preferred carrier selection unless the change is verified with a letter of
agency, electronic authorization, third party verification, or any other
verification method adopted by the FCC after the effective date of this
rule.
1.
Letter of Agency
(LOA). If the submitting carrier obtains the customer's written
authorization in the form of an LOA, the LOA must conform to this section.
a.
Form. The LOA
shall:
i. be a separate or easily separable
document containing only the authorizing language consistent with this section,
whose sole purpose is to authorize a preferred carrier change, and shall not
include any advertising or promotional material, or inducements of any kind.
The LOA must be signed and dated by the subscriber to the telephone line(s)
that are the subject of the carrier change request;
ii. notwithstanding paragraph (i) of this
section, the letter of agency may be combined a check that contains only the
required letter of agency language described in this section and the necessary
information to make the check a negotiable instrument. The letter of agency
check shall not contain any promotional language or material. The letter of
agency check shall contain, in easily readable bold-faced type on the front of
the check, a notice that the consumer is authorizing a preferred carrier change
by signing the check. The letter of agency language also shall be placed near
the signature line on the back of the check.
b.
Content. The LOA
must be printed with a type of sufficient size to be clearly legible and must
contain clear and unambiguous language that:
i. confirms the decision to change the
preferred carrier from the current telecommunications carrier to the submitting
telecommunications carrier;
ii.
confirms the customer's billing name, address, and telephone number to be
covered by the preferred carrier change;
iii. informs the customer that only one
telecommunications carrier may be designated as the preferred carrier for
interstate or intrastate service for any one telephone number;
iv. contains separate statements regarding
preferred carrier choices for each service being changed (e.g. local exchange,
intrastate toll, interstate toll, or international toll);
v. confirms that the customer designates the
submitting carrier to act as the customer's agent for the preferred carrier
change; and
vi. confirms that a
charge may be assessed to the customer for the preferred carrier
change.
c. Any carrier
designated in an LOA as a preferred carrier must be the carrier directly
setting the rates for the subscriber.
d. If any portion of an LOA is translated
into another language, then all portions of the LOA must be translated into
that language.
e. Every LOA must be
translated into the same language as any promotional materials, oral
descriptions or instructions provided with the LOA.
2.
Electronic
Authorization. If the submitting carrier has obtained the
customer's electronic authorization, the call must be placed from the telephone
number(s) on which the preferred carrier is to be changed. The authorization
shall include the information described in section
3(B)(1)(b) of this
rule. Carriers electing to confirm sales electronically shall establish one or
more toll-free telephone numbers exclusively for that purpose. A call to the
number will connect a customer to a voice response unit, or similar mechanism,
that records the required information regarding the preferred carrier change,
including automatically recording the customer's automatic number
identification (ANI). The recording must be maintained and stored by the
submitting carrier for a minimum of two years.
3.
Third Party
Verification. If the submitting carrier uses a third party to
verify preferred carrier changes, the third party must be qualified and
independent, and must obtain the customer's oral authorization to submit the
preferred carrier change that includes appropriate verification data (e.g. the
customer's date of birth or social security number). This method of
verification is valid only if:
a. the data are
maintained and stored by the independent third party or the submitting carrier
for a minimum of two years;
b. the
independent third party informs the customer that he/she is authorizing a
change in telecommunication carriers and provides the identity of the new
telecommunications carrier;
c. the
independent third party is not owned, managed, controlled, or directed by the
new carrier or the carrier's marketing agent;
d. the independent third party has no
financial incentive to confirm preferred carrier change orders for the new
carrier or the carrier's marketing agent; and
e. the independent third party operates in a
location physically separate from the new telecommunications carrier or the new
carrier's marketing agent.
C.
Responsibility of Executing
Carrier
An executing carrier shall not verify the submission of a
change order for a preferred carrier change received from a submitting carrier.
For an executing carrier, compliance with this section shall be defined as
prompt execution, without unreasonable delay, of changes that have been
submitted to the executing carrier by the submitting carrier.
D.
Verification for Changing
Multiple Telecommunications Services
Where a submitting carrier is selling more than one type of
telecommunications service (e.g. local exchange, intrastate toll, interstate
toll, international toll), that carrier must obtain separate authorization from
the customer for each service sold, although the authorizations may be made
within the same solicitation. Each authorization must be verified separately
from any other authorizations obtained in the same solicitation. Each
authorization must be verified in accordance with the verification procedures
prescribed in this section.
E.
Verification Method for
Customer-Initiated Requests for Preferred Carrier Changes
A new submitting carrier receiving a customer-initiated
request for a preferred carrier change shall maintain a record of the request
for a minimum of two years after the request was made as verification of the
customer's authorization to change preferred carriers. If the request is made
orally, the submitting carrier shall verify the request in accordance with one
of the verification methods specified in section
3(B) of this rule.
The submitting carrier shall make the record available to the customer, as well
as the Commission, upon request.
