278.535 Switching of telecommunications provider -- Penalty -- Administrative
regulations.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
As used in this section:
(a) "Telecommunications provider" or "provider" means a person that provides
one (1) or more telecommunications services for compensation, and its
successors in interest by way of acquisition or merger, and includes a provider
of regulated and unregulated intrastate services offered to customers for the
transmission of two-way, interactive communications. "Telecommunications
provider" or "provider" does not include a provider of commercial mobile
radio services as defined in 47 U.S.C. sec. 332(d)(1).
(b) "Letter of agency" means a written statement that authorizes a change of the
customer's telecommunications provider and bears the customer's signature.
A customer of a telecommunications provider shall not be switched to another
provider without the customer's letter of agency or the electronically recorded
authorization of the customer, indicating that the customer knowingly approved the
specific details of the switch. The requirement of a written or electronically
recorded authorization shall not apply if the customer initiates a call to the
customer's local telephone service provider to request that his long-distance
provider be changed. When a customer's service is changed, the new provider shall
maintain for one (1) year a record of nonpublic customer-specific information that
establishes that the customer authorized the change. In any dispute, the burden of
proof to show that the customer knowingly authorized the change shall be on the
provider that claims to have obtained customer authorization for the switch.
If a letter of agency is combined with an inducement, or with information on a
subject other than the change of a customer's telecommunications provider, whether
or not the letter of agency can be easily severed from the rest of the document, then
the language whereby a person authorizes service from the provider shall be printed
in a type size as large or larger than the largest type used in the document that
includes the letter of agency.
If a telecommunications provider initiates a switch of provider that the customer has
not authorized under this section, that provider, upon request by the customer, shall
reverse the change within five (5) business days.
The customer subjected to a change that is not verified consistent with this section
or administrative regulations promulgated under this section is not responsible for
any charges associated with the unauthorized change, including charges for usage
subsequent to the change that are in excess of the amount the customer would have
paid had the service not been changed, if the customer contacts the customer's local
exchange carrier, the customer's previous provider of intrastate service, or the
telecommunications provider that initiated an unauthorized change in service within
one hundred eighty (180) days after receipt of the customer's first bill containing
charges by the telecommunications provider that initiated the unauthorized change.
A telecommunications provider that has initiated an unauthorized customer change
shall:
(a)
(6)
(7)
Pay all charges associated with returning the customer to the customer's
original telecommunications provider;
(b) Return to the customer any amount paid to the provider by the customer or on
the customer's behalf in excess of the amount the customer would have paid
had the service not been changed; and
(c) Upon request, provide all billing records to the original provider from which
the customer was changed to enable the original provider to comply with this
section.
The telecommunications provider that initiated the unauthorized change is
responsible for any payment to access providers or to an underlying carrier where
applicable. Failure of the customer to provide timely notice will relieve the
telecommunications provider that initiated the unauthorized change of any
obligations under this subsection.
If the commission finds that a provider has willfully or repeatedly violated this
section or an administrative regulation promulgated under it, the commission shall
order the provider to take corrective action as necessary. The commission may
impose a penalty on the violator as specified in KRS 278.990(1), except that the
maximum civil penalty to be assessed for each violation of this section shall be ten
thousand dollars (,000). The commission also may, if consistent with the public
interest, suspend, restrict, or revoke any certificate or registration of the
telecommunications provider, thereby denying the provider the authorization to
provide telecommunications service in the Commonwealth.
The commission shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with
KRS Chapter 13A to implement the policies of this section.
Effective: July 15, 1998
History: Created 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 523, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1998.
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