[Comment: For dates of references to a
section of either the United States Code or a regulation in the code of federal
regulations see rule
4901:1-6-02 of the
Administrative Code.]
(A)
Any communication by a telephone company, including but
not limited, to solicitations, offers, contract terms and conditions, or
customer agreements, as well as any other communications whether written or
oral, shall be truthful, clear, conspicuous, and accurate in:
(1)
Disclosing
applicable information, including but not limited to: material terms and
conditions, material limitations, contract length, prices, fees, features,
rates, termination fees or penalties, discretionary charges, government
mandated charges, and estimated taxes for services offered.
(2)
Identifying, in
written or printed advertising or promotional literature, any material
exclusions, reservations, limitations, modifications, or conditions, which
should be located in close proximity to the operative words in the
solicitation, offer, or marketing materials.
(B)
In the event a
NID is not in place, the LEC shall inform a customer calling to report a
service outage or service problem that the LEC is required to visit the
customer premise at no charge to diagnose whether service difficulties exist
with network wire or inside wire.
(C)
As applicable,
and in any reasonable manner, a LEC shall provide customers a description of
the NID. That description shall include: all customer options for repairing
inside wire; the function and probable location of a NID; and an explanation as
to how to use a NID to test for service problems.
(D)
Nothing in this
rule precludes the commission from finding additional acts or practices, in
addition to those identified in paragraph (A) of this rule, to constitute an
unfair or deceptive act or practice in connection with the offering or
provision of telecommunications service in this state either through rulemaking
under section 4927.03 of the Revised Code or
through an adjudication under section
4927.21 of the Revised Code. The
commission will provide notice of an adjudications pursuant to division (B) of
section 4927.07 of the Revised Code to
all telephone companies. No telephone company is liable for damages or
forfeitures for engaging in any act, practice, or omission for which it does
not have prior notice either under paragraph (B) of this rule, or through
another rulemaking under section
4927.03 of the Revised Code, or
an adjudication under section
4927.21 of the Revised Code,
that engaging in such act or practice is an unfair or deceptive act. This does
not preclude the commission, however, from ordering an appropriate customer
credit or remedy for a complainant in the context of an adjudication of an
individual complaint, if the commission determines that the company has
committed an unfair or deceptive act or practice against that complainant. In
the absence of prior notice that an act or practice is unfair or deceptive
under paragraph (A) of this rule, or through rulemaking under section
4927.03 of the Revised Code, or
an adjudication under section
4927.21 of the Revised Code, the
commission shall allow the company adequate time to implement any procedures or
practices the commission determines appropriate to remedy the
violation.
(E)
Telephone companies shall upon request of any applicant
or customer, either inform the applicant or customer of, or make available at
no charge, a copy of its credit and deposit policies.
(F)
Every customer's
bill shall include the following statements that customers with bill questions
or complaints should contact the telephone company first, as well as the
following texts:
"If your complaint is not resolved
after you have called (name of the utility), or for general utility
information, residential and business customers may contact the Public
Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) for assistance at 1-800-686-7826 (toll
free) from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays, or at
www.puco.ohio.gov
. Hearing or speech impaired customers may contact the PUCO
via 7-1-1 (Ohio Relay Service)."
In addition to PUCO information, for
residential bills only:
"The Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC)
represents residential utility customers in matters before the PUCO. The OCC
can be contacted at 1-877-742-5622 (toll free) from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
weekdays, or at
www.pickocc.org
."
Notes
Ohio Admin. Code
4901:1-6-16
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates:
9/19/2024 and
09/19/2029
Promulgated
Under: 111.15
Statutory
Authority: 4901.13,
4927.03
Rule
Amplifies: 4927.06
Prior
Effective Dates: 04/08/2003, 09/18/2007, 01/20/2011, 02/16/2012, 05/24/2018,
08/31/2023
Effective: 8/31/2023
Five Year
Review (FYR) Dates: 02/29/2024
Promulgated Under:
111.15
Statutory
Authority: 4901.13,
4927.03
Rule
Amplifies: 4927.06
