65- 407 C.M.R. ch. 297, § 2

Current through 2024-25, June 19, 2024

Section 407-297-2 - CHARGES FOR GOODS AND SERVICES APPEARING ON A CUSTOMER'S TELEPHONE BILL

A. Customer Authorization. No service provider shall bill a customer for goods or services that will appear as a charge on the customer's local telephone bill without first obtaining the customer's express authorization.

B. Authorization Methods. Any service provider billing a customer for goods or services other than those described in Section 2(C) that will appear on the customer's local telephone bill must verify the customer's authorization pursuant to one of the following procedures:

1. Letter of Agency (LOA). If the service provider obtains the customer's written authorization in the form of an LOA, the LOA must conform to this section.

a. Form. The LOA shall:

i. Be a separate or easily separable document containing the authorizing language consistent with this section, whose sole purpose is to authorize a bill for goods or services to appear as a charge on the customer's local telephone bill, and shall not include any advertising or promotional material, or inducements of any kind. The LOA must be signed and dated by the customer, as defined in Section 1(B), to the telephone line(s) that are the subject of the bills;

ii. Notwithstanding paragraph (i) of this section, the letter of agency may be combined with a check that contains only the required letter of agency language described in this section and the necessary information to make the check a negotiable instrument. The letter of agency check shall not contain any promotional language or material. The letter of agency check shall contain, in easily readable bold-faced type on the front of the check, a notice that the consumer is authorizing to be billed for goods or services that will appear as a charge on the customer' s local telephone bill by signing the check. The letter of agency language also shall be placed near the signature line on the back of the check.

b. Content. The LOA must be printed with a type of sufficient size to be clearly legible and must contain clear and unambiguous language that:

i. Confirms the decision to be billed for goods or services that will appear as a charge on the customer' s local telephone bill by signing the check or LOA;

ii. Confirms the customer's billing name, address, and telephone number; and

iii. Contains separate statements for separate goods and/or services for which the customer is agreeing to be billed, where such billing will appear as charges on the customer' s local telephone bill.

c. Language. If any portion of an LOA is translated into another language, then all portions of the LOA must be translated in0to that language. Every LOA must also be translated into the same language as any promotional materials, oral descriptions or instructions provided with the LOA.

2. Oral Authorization with Third Party Verification. A service provider may accept a customer's oral authorization to be billed for goods or services that will appear as a charge on the customer's local telephone bill, provided the service provider verifies the customer's oral authorization with an independent third party.

a. The independent third party must be qualified and independent, must obtain the customer's oral authorization to be billed for goods or services that will appear as a charge on the customer's local telephone bill, and must obtain appropriate verification data to ensure the identity of the customer (e.g. the customer's date of birth or social security number). This method of verification is valid only if:

i. The data are maintained and stored by the independent third party or the service provider for a minimum of two years;

ii. The independent third party informs the customer that he/she is agreeing to be billed for goods or services that will appear as a charge on the customer's local telephone bill;

iii. The independent third party is not owned, managed, controlled, or directed by the service provider; and

iv. The independent third party has no financial incentive to confirm such billing arrangements for the service provider or the provider's marketing agent; and the independent third party operates in a location physically separate from the service provider or the provider's marketing agent.

C. Customer-Initiated Service Calls. For direct-dialed calls where the call itself represents the service for which a charge is placed on a customer's local telephone bill, e.g. "900 number" services and "dial around" services, evidence that the call was placed from the number that is subject to the phone bill shall be considered sufficient evidence of authorization for that call.

65- 407 C.M.R. ch. 297, § 2