Section 64.6140 - [Effective on indefinitely delayed date ] Alternate Pricing Plans(a)General Parameters.(1) A Provider offering IPCS via an Alternate Pricing Plan must comply with this section as well as § 64.710 and this subpart FF.(2) Enrollment in an Alternate Pricing Plan must be optional for the Consumer.(3) A service period for an Alternate Pricing Plan shall be no longer than one month.(4) When determining the format of an Alternate Pricing Plan, Providers must consider: (i) Any limits on the number of and length of calls or communications imposed by the Correctional Facility;(ii) The availability of correctional staff to manage the use of IPCS at the Correctional Facility; and(iii) Equipment availability for the calls or communications at the Correctional Facility.(b)Alternate Pricing Plan Rates.(1) An Alternate Pricing Plan must be offered at a rate such that the Breakeven Point is at or below the applicable rate cap(s).(i) A consumer complaint about an IPCS Provider's Alternate Pricing Plan rates will not be entertained under the rules in this section unless the consumer's usage meets or exceeds the Breakeven Point(s) for the Alternate Pricing Plan.(2) If a Consumer believes that the rates under an Alternate Pricing Plan exceed the applicable per-minute rates for that Correctional Facility, the Consumer must show that their usage meets or exceeds the Breakeven Point for the Alternate Pricing Plan. It is the Provider's burden to demonstrate that the rate charged to that Consumer under its Alternate Pricing Plan is less than or equal to the applicable rate cap.(3) After a Consumer uses all of the minutes, calls, or communications available during a service period of an Alternate Pricing Plan, the charge for subsequent minutes, calls, or communications during the remaining part of the service period shall not exceed the Provider's per-minute rate for the corresponding service.(c)Consumer Disclosures.(1) A Provider offering an Alternate Pricing Plan must comply with the consumer disclosure requirements in § 64.6110 as well as the requirements in this section.(2) Before a Consumer enrolls in an Alternate Pricing Plan; upon request, at any time after Alternate Pricing Plan enrollment; with a Billing Statement or Statement of Account, and any related communications; and at the beginning of each call or communication, the Provider also must make disclosures that include the following information for each Alternate Pricing Plan offered by the Provider: (i) The rates and any added Mandatory Taxes or Mandatory Fees, a detailed explanation of the Mandatory Taxes and Mandatory Fees, total charge, quantity of minutes, calls or communications included in the Plan, the service period, and the beginning and end dates of the service period;(ii) Terms and conditions, including those concerning dropped calls and communications in paragraph (d) of this section, automatic renewals in paragraph (e) of this section and cancellations in paragraph (f) of this section;(iii) An explanation that per-minute rates are always available as an option to an Alternate Pricing Plan and that per-minute rates apply if the Consumer exceeds the calls/communications allotted in the Plan;(iv) The Breakeven Point indicating at the amount of Alternate Pricing Plan usage above which the Consumer will save money compared to the Provider's applicable per-minute rate for the same type and amount of service at the Correctional Facility; and(v) The ability to obtain prior usage and billing data, upon request, for each of the most recent three service periods (where feasible), including total usage and total charges including taxes and fees.(3) The Provider must make the disclosures for Alternate Pricing Plans pursuant to this paragraph (c) of this section available: to the public on the Provider's website; on the Provider's online or mobile application, if Consumers use the application to enroll in the Plan; via paper upon request; and via the methods for general IPCS disclosures pursuant to § 64.6110 before, during, and after a Consumer's enrollment in a Plan.(4) In every communication between the Provider and a Consumer (or the Incarcerated Person, if they are not the Consumer) concerning the Alternate Pricing Plan, the Provider must either include the disclosures for Alternate Pricing Plans pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section, or provide clear, easy to follow, instructions for how the consumer (or Incarcerated Person, if not the Consumer) may immediately obtain access to those disclosures.(5) Before a Consumer enrolls in a Plan, and at any time upon Consumer request, the Provider must also provide to the Consumer: (i) The rates, Breakeven Point, and total cost including any Mandatory Taxes or Mandatory Fees associated with the Plan; and(ii) An explanation that the Consumer's prior usage and billing data is available upon request through a readily accessible means and must include:(A) For the Provider's most recent three service periods (where feasible): the minutes of use for each of the calls or communications made by the Consumer and the applicable per-minute rate that was charged; the total number of minutes; and the totals charged for each service period including the details of any Mandatory Taxes and Mandatory Fees; and(B) This prior usage and billing data must be made available to the Consumer via the Provider's website or online or mobile application or via paper upon request of the Consumer.(6) After the Consumer enrolls in a Plan, the Provider must provide Billing Statements and Statements of Account for the Plan via the same method the Consumer used to sign up for the Plan, and via paper upon Consumer request. The Billing Statements and Statements of Account must include information specific to the Alternate Pricing Plan for the service period but the Consumer must be able to receive, upon request, information for the past three service periods (where feasible). The Billing Statement or Statement of Account must include for each service period:(i) Call details, including the duration of each call made, and the total minutes used for that service period, and the total charge including Mandatory Taxes and Mandatory Fees, with explanations of each Mandatory Tax or Mandatory Fee;(ii) The charges that would have been assessed for each call using the Provider's per-minute rate, and the total of those charges;(iii) The calculated per-minute rate for the service period under the Alternate Pricing Plan, calculated as the charge for the service period divided by the total minutes used by that Consumer, with an explanation of that rate;(iv) The Breakeven Point with an explanation of the Breakeven Point; and(v) Information about deposits made to the Consumer's IPCS Account and the IPCS Account balance.(7) The Provider must make available the number of minutes, calls, or communications remaining under a Consumer's Alternate Pricing Plan for the service period without the Consumer having to initiate a call or communication that would count toward a fixed allotment of minutes, calls, or communications in an Alternate Pricing Plan.(d)Dropped Calls or Communications and Related Consumer Disclosures.(1) A Provider offering an Alternate Pricing Plan must explain its policies regarding dropped calls or communications in plain language in its consumer disclosures.(2) The consumer disclosures must include:(i) The types of dropped calls and communications that a Consumer can seek a credit or refund for;(ii) How the Provider will calculate a credit or refund for a dropped call or communication; and(iii) The method the Consumer must use to request a credit or refund for a dropped call or communication, and that method must be easy for the Consumer to complete.(e)Automatic Renewals and Related Consumer Disclosures.(1) If a Provider of an Alternate Pricing Plan offers automatic renewals, the automatic renewals must be optional to the Consumer.(2) A Provider offering an Alternate Pricing Plan must explain the terms and conditions of the automatic renewal in plain language in its consumer disclosures when it initially offers the automatic renewal option and before any automatic renewal is about to occur by whatever method the Provider has established for consumer notifications to the Consumer.(3) The consumer disclosures must include an explanation that if a Consumer who requested automatic renewals does not later want the Alternate Pricing Plan to be renewed, the Consumer may cancel their participation in the Alternate Pricing Plan.(4) The Provider must give notice of an upcoming renewal for an Alternative Pricing Plan directly to the Consumer no later than three business days prior to the renewal date. Along with providing the notice, the Provider must explain, in plain language, the terms and conditions of the automatic renewal using, at a minimum, the method of communication the Consumer agreed to at the time they enrolled in the Alternate Pricing Plan.(f)Cancellation by the Consumer and Related Consumer Disclosures.(1) A Provider must allow a Consumer using an Alternate Pricing Plan to cancel their participation in the Alternate Pricing Plan at any time during the relevant service period and revert to per-minute pricing. The Consumer may end their participation in the Alternate Pricing Plan on the date of their choosing. The process for cancelling an Alternate Pricing Plan must be readily accessible to the Consumer and must include the method that the Consumer used to enroll in the Alternate Pricing Plan.(2) A Provider must issue a refund for the remaining balance on an Alternate Pricing Plan if: (i) The Incarcerated Person is released;(ii) The Incarcerated Person is transferred to another Correctional Facility; or(iii) The Incarcerated Person is not permitted to make calls or communications for a substantial portion of the subscription period.(3) The refund amount provided to the Consumer upon the Consumer's cancellation of an Alternate Pricing Plan for the special circumstances provided in paragraph (f)(2) of this section must be at least the pro-rated amount that corresponds to the unused portion of the service period.(4) Consumer disclosures related to Consumer cancellation of an Alternate Pricing Plan must include: (i) An explanation that a Consumer enrolled in an Alternate Pricing Plan may cancel at any time and where applicable, the Provider will begin billing the Consumer at the Provider's per-minute rates by the first day after the termination date;(ii) An explanation of the process for requesting cancellation of the Alternate Pricing Plan;(iii) An explanation that the Consumer can end the Alternate Pricing Plan on a specific termination date of their choosing; and(iv) The special circumstances for which a Consumer who has cancelled their enrollment shall receive a refund and how that refund will be calculated.(g)Application to Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) and Related Communications Services. A Provider that offers an Alternate Pricing Plan shall make TRS and related communications services available via the Alternate Pricing Plan, pursuant to § 64.6040 of this chapter. 89 FR 77368 , 11/19/2024; 89 FR 77368 , effective date to be determined