65-407 C.M.R. ch. 296, § 5 - Liability and Reimbursement Procedures for an Unauthorized Change

A. Carrier Liability

In addition to other penalties provided by law, a submitting telecommunications carrier who initiates an unauthorized change shall be liable to the customer's authorized carrier in an amount equal to charges paid to the unauthorized telecommunications carrier by such customer after such violation, as well as for additional amounts as prescribed in this section. The unauthorized carrier shall also be liable to the customer for any charge required to return the customer to his or her authorized carrier.

B. Customer Liability

1. Charges Incurred Within 30 Days Of Unauthorized Change Where the Customer Has Not Paid Charges to the Unauthorized Carrier. Any customer whose preferred telecommunications carrier is changed without authorization verified in accordance with section 3(B)is absolved of liability for charges imposed by the unauthorized carrier for service provided during the first 30 days after the unauthorized change if the customer has not already paid charges to the authorized carrier. Upon being informed by a customer that an unauthorized change has occurred, the authorized carrier, the unauthorized carrier, and the executing carrier shall inform the customer of this 30-day absolution period.

2. Charges Incurred Beyond 30 Days Of Unauthorized Change Where the Customer Has Not Paid Charges to the Unauthorized Carrier. Any charges imposed by the unauthorized carrier on the customer after this 30-day period shall be paid by the customer to the authorized carrier at the rates the customer was paying to the authorized carrier at the time of the unauthorized change. Upon the customer's return to the authorized carrier, the customer shall forward to the authorized carrier a copy of any bill that contains charges imposed by the unauthorized carrier after the 30-day period of absolution. The authorized carrier may re-rate charges incurred subsequent to the 30-day absolution period to reflect its own rates and the customer shall be liable for paying such re-rated charges to the authorized carrier. The authorized carrier may also absolve the customer of the entire bill if in the authorized carrier's judgment the revenue to be recovered from the customer is less than the cost of re-rating the charges.

3. Customer Has Paid Charges to Unauthorized Carrier. If the customer has already paid charges to the unauthorized carrier, and the authorized carrier recovers such charges as provided in section 5(A), the authorized carrier shall refund or credit to the customer any charges recovered from the unauthorized carrier in excess of what the customer would have paid the authorized carrier for the same service had the unauthorized change not occurred, in accordance with the procedures set forth in this section.

C. Reimbursement Procedures

1. Customer has Paid Charges to the Unauthorized Carrier

Where a customer has paid charges to the unauthorized carrier, the authorized carrier (i.e. in this context the carrier to which the customer was presubscribed immediately prior to the allegedly unauthorized change) and the unauthorized carrier must follow the following procedures.

a. Verification Process. Upon receiving notification from the customer or a carrier that a customer has been subjected to an unauthorized change and that the customer has paid charges to an allegedly unauthorized carrier, the properly authorized carrier must, within 30 days, request from the allegedly unauthorized carrier proof of verification of the customer's authorization to change carriers. Within ten days of receiving such a request, the allegedly unauthorized carrier shall forward to the authorized carrier proof of verification of the subscriber's authorization to change carriers or payment as described in section 5(C)(1)(b).

b. Payment by the Unauthorized Carrier to the Authorized Carrier. Alleged unauthorized carriers that do not forward proof of verification to an authorized carrier as described in section 5(C)(1)(a) shall provide to the authorized carrier the following:

i. an amount equal to all charges paid by the customer to the unauthorized carrier;

ii. an amount equal to any charge required to return the customer to his or her properly authorized carrier, if applicable; and

iii. copies of any telephone bill(s) issued from the unauthorized carrier to the customer.

c. Billing and Collection Expenses. If an authorized carrier incurs any billing and collection expenses in collecting charges from the unauthorized carrier, the unauthorized carrier shall reimburse the authorized carrier for reasonable expenses.

d. Authorized Carrier Notification. Where a customer notifies the unauthorized carrier, rather than the authorized carrier, of an unauthorized carrier change, the unauthorized carrier must immediately notify the authorized carrier. Where a customer notifies the LEC, rather than the authorized carrier, of an unauthorized carrier change, the LEC shall either notify the authorized carrier of the unauthorized change or refer the customer to the authorized carrier.

e. Customer Refunds or Credits. Upon receipt from the unauthorized carrier of the amount described in section 5(C)(1)(b), the authorized carrier shall provide a refund or credit to the customer for all charges paid in excess of what the authorized carrier would have charged the customer absent the unauthorized change.

f. Restoration of Premiums. Where possible, the authorized carrier must reinstate the customer in any premium program in which that customer was enrolled prior to the unauthorized change, if that customer's participation in the premium program was terminated because of the unauthorized change. The properly authorized carrier shall also provide or restore to the customer any premiums to which the customer would have been entitled had the unauthorized change not occurred. The authorized carrier must comply with the requirements of this subsection regardless of whether it is able to recover from the unauthorized carrier any charges that were paid by the customer.

2. Customer has Not Paid Charges to the Unauthorized Carrier. Where a customer has not paid charges to the unauthorized carrier, the authorized carrier (i.e. in this context the carrier to which the customer was presubscribed immediately prior to the allegedly unauthorized change) and the unauthorized carrier must follow the following procedures.

a. Customer Absolved of Liability for Charges. The unauthorized carrier shall remove from the customer's bill all charges that were incurred for service provided during the first 30 days after the unauthorized change has occurred.

b. Dispute of Alleged Unauthorized Change. The unauthorized carrier may, within 30 days of the customer's return to the authorized carrier, submit to the authorized carrier a claim that the customer was not subjected to an unauthorized change along with a request for the amount of charges for which the customer was credited pursuant to section 5(C)(2)(a) and proof that the change to the customer's telecommunications carrier selection was made with authorization verified in accordance with the verification procedures specified in section 3(B) of this rule.

c. Investigation of Alleged Unauthorized Change. The authorized carrier shall conduct a reasonable and neutral investigation of the claim, including, where appropriate, contacting the customer and the carrier making the claim.

d. Decision. Within 60 days after the receipt of the claim and proof of verification, the authorized carrier shall issue a decision on the claim to the customer and the carrier making the claim.

i. If the authorized carrier decides that the customer was not subjected to an unauthorized change, the authorized carrier shall place on the customer's bill a charge equal to the amount of charges for which the customer was previously credited pursuant to section 5(C)(2)(a). Upon receiving this amount, the authorized carrier shall forward this amount to the carrier making the claim.

ii. If the authorized carrier decides that the customer was subjected to an unauthorized change, the customer shall not be required to pay the charges for which he or she was previously absolved.

Notes

65-407 C.M.R. ch. 296, § 5