Goto Section: 64.2400 | 64.2500 | Table of Contents
FCC 64.2401
Revised as of October 1, 2011
Goto Year:2010 |
2012
§ 64.2401 Truth-in-Billing Requirements.
(a) Bill organization. Telephone bills shall be clearly organized, and
must comply with the following requirements:
(1) The name of the service provider associated with each charge must
be clearly and conspicuously identified on the telephone bill.
(2) Where charges for two or more carriers appear on the same telephone
bill, the charges must be separated by service provider.
(3) The telephone bill must clearly and conspicuously identify any
change in service provider, including identification of charges from
any new service provider. For purpose of this subparagraph "new service
provider" means a service provider that did not bill the subscriber for
service during the service provider's last billing cycle. This
definition shall include only providers that have continuing
relationships with the subscriber that will result in periodic charges
on the subscriber's bill, unless the service is subsequently canceled.
(b) Descriptions of billed charges. Charges contained on telephone
bills must be accompanied by a brief, clear, non-misleading, plain
language description of the service or services rendered. The
description must be sufficiently clear in presentation and specific
enough in content so that customers can accurately assess that the
services for which they are billed correspond to those that they have
requested and received, and that the costs assessed for those services
conform to their understanding of the price charged.
(c) "Deniable" and "Non-Deniable" Charges. Where a bill contains
charges for basic local service, in addition to other charges, the bill
must distinguish between charges for which non-payment will result in
disconnection of basic, local service, and charges for which
non-payment will not result in such disconnection. The carrier must
explain this distinction to the customer, and must clearly and
conspicuously identify on the bill those charges for which non-payment
will not result in disconnection of basic, local service. Carriers may
also elect to devise other methods of informing consumers on the bill
that they may contest charges prior to payment.
(d) Clear and conspicuous disclosure of inquiry contacts. Telephone
bills must contain clear and conspicuous disclosure of any information
that the subscriber may need to make inquiries about, or contest,
charges on the bill. Common carriers must prominently display on each
bill a toll-free number or numbers by which subscribers may inquire or
dispute any charges on the bill. A carrier may list a toll-free number
for a billing agent, clearinghouse, or other third party, provided such
party possesses sufficient information to answer questions concerning
the subscriber's account and is fully authorized to resolve the
consumer's complaints on the carrier's behalf. Where the subscriber
does not receive a paper copy of his or her telephone bill, but instead
accesses that bill only by e-mail or internet, the carrier may comply
with this requirement by providing on the bill an e-mail or web site
address. Each carrier must make a business address available upon
request from a consumer.
(e) Definition of clear and conspicuous. For purposes of this section,
"clear and conspicuous" means notice that would be apparent to the
reasonable consumer.
Note to § 64.2401: The following provisions, for which compliance would
have been required as of April 1, 2000, have been stayed until such
time as the amendments to § 64.2401(a), (d), and (e) become effective
(following their approval by the Office of Management and Budget and
the publication by the Commission of a document in the
Federal Register announcing the effective date of these amended rules)
and will be superceded by the amended rules: (1) That portion of
§ 64.2401(a)(2) that requires that each carrier's "telephone bill must
provide clear and conspicuous notification of any change in service
provider, including notification to the customer that a new provider
has begun providing service," (2) § 64.2401(a)(2)(ii), and (3)
§ 64.2401(d).
[ 64 FR 34497 , June 25, 1999, as amended at 65 FR 43258 , July 13, 2000]
Subpart Z--Prohibition on Exclusive Telecommunications Contracts
Source: 66 FR 2334 , Jan. 11, 2001, unless otherwise noted.
Goto Section: 64.2400 | 64.2500
Goto Year: 2010 |
2012
CiteFind - See documents on FCC website that
cite this rule
Want to support this service?
Thanks!
Report errors in
this rule. Since these rules are converted to HTML by machine, it's possible errors have been made. Please
help us improve these rules by clicking the Report FCC Rule Errors link to report an error.
hallikainen.com
Helping make public information public