Sec. 16-256i. Primary local or intrastate interexchange carrier orders. Unauthorized switching. Penalty.
Sec. 16-256i. Primary local or intrastate interexchange carrier orders. Unauthorized switching. Penalty. (a) As used in this section:
(1) "Customer" means (A) in the case of a residential customer, any adult who is
authorized by the individual in whose name the local exchange carrier has established an
account for telecommunications services to authorize a change in telecommunications
services, and (B) in the case of a business customer, any individual who is authorized
by the business to authorize a change in telecommunications services;
(2) "Telemarketer" means any individual who, by telephone, initiates the sale of
telecommunications services for a telecommunications company; and
(3) "Telemarketing" means the act of soliciting by telephone the sale of telecommunications services.
(b) A telecommunications company shall not submit a primary, local or intrastate
interexchange carrier change order to a company providing local exchange telephone
service prior to the order being confirmed in accordance with the provisions of Subpart
K of Part 64 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as from time to time amended,
and the provisions of this section, if applicable.
(c) A telecommunications company or its affiliate or authorized representative using telemarketing to initiate the sale of telecommunications services shall comply with
the following requirements for all such telemarketing calls: (1) The telemarketer shall
identify himself by name and identify the telecommunications company providing the
proposed services and the name of the business, firm, corporation, association, joint
stock association, trust, partnership, or limited liability company, if different from the
telecommunications company, for whom the call is made; (2) the telemarketer shall
state that only the customer may authorize a change in service; (3) the telemarketer shall
confirm that he is speaking to the customer; (4) the telemarketer shall clearly explain
the proposed services in detail and explain that an affirmative response will change
the customer's telecommunications carrier; (5) the telemarketer shall obtain from the
customer an affirmative response that the customer agrees to a change in his primary,
local or intrastate interexchange carrier; and (6) the primary, local or intrastate interexchange carrier change order or independent third party verification record shall identify
the individual with whom the telemarketer confirmed the authorization to change the
primary, local or intrastate interexchange carrier.
(d) (1) A telecommunications company or its affiliate or authorized representative
using telemarketing to initiate the sale of telecommunications services shall (A) prior
to submitting a change in primary, local or intrastate interexchange carriers, obtain
verbal authorization confirmed by an independent third party or written authorization of
such change from the customer, and (B) not more than four business days after obtaining
notification or confirmation that the change in carrier has been made, send by first
class mail to the customer notification that the customer's primary, local or intrastate
interexchange carrier has been changed, along with a postpaid postcard or toll-free number which the customer can use to deny authorization for the change order. If the telecommunications company receives a postcard or telephone call at the toll-free number provided in the notification denying authorization for the change, the company shall
immediately notify the customer's previous carrier and shall cause the customer's primary, local or intrastate interexchange service to be switched back to the customer's
previous carrier and shall: (i) Adjust the affected customer's bill so that the customer
pays no more than the customer would have paid had his carrier not been switched; (ii)
pay the previous carrier an amount equal to all charges paid by the customer after the
change to the new carrier; and (iii) pay the previous carrier an amount equal to all
expenses assessed by the local exchange company for switching the customer's primary,
local or intrastate interexchange service.
(2) It shall be an unfair or deceptive trade practice, in violation of chapter 735a, for
any telecommunications company to unreasonably delay or deny a request by a customer
to switch a customer's primary, local or intrastate interexchange carrier back to the
customer's previous carrier.
(e) The department shall adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of
chapter 54 to implement the provisions in this section.
(f) A telecommunications company, or its affiliate or authorized representative using telemarketing to initiate the sale of telecommunications services, which the department determines, after notice and opportunity for a hearing as provided in section 16-41, has failed to comply with the provisions of this section or section 16-256j shall pay
to the state a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars per violation.
(P.A. 95-326; P.A. 96-266, S. 1; P.A. 98-148, S. 1; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-1, S. 31.)
History: P.A. 96-266 made section applicable to "local" interexchange carrier change orders; P.A. 98-148 added new
Subsec. (a) re definitions, designated most of existing provisions as Subsec. (b) and made technical changes, added new
Subsecs. (c) to (e) re telemarketing, designated existing penalty provision as Subsec. (f) and added to Subsec. (f) references
to telemarketing and Sec. 16-256j; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-1 amended Subsec. (f) to increase maximum penalty from $5,000
to $10,000.