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 authority 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 authority 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; P.A. 13-5, S. 18, 19.)

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; P.A. 13-5 amended Subsecs. (e) and (f) to replace “department” with “authority”, effective May 8, 2013.