Truth-in-Billing, Remedies, and User Empowerment over Fees Act of 2018

Summary: Truth-in-Billing, Remedies, and User Empowerment over Fees Act of 2018 or the TRUE Fees Act of 2018 This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit providers of telecommunications services from:  advertising the price of services unless that price includes all related charges, providing bills electronically unless consumers are notified by email of the bill's availability and that email includes an itemized statement of charges, increasing the charges for a service unless the increase is a result of an objectively-quantifiable increase in cost to the provider, increasing the charges for a service unless the consumer is provided clear notice of the increase and the consumer is permitted to terminate the service contract without incurring an early termination fee or other penalty, increasing the charges for equipment rental unless the equipment is upgraded to increase functionality, and including in a contract a provision requiring consumers to resolve disputes through alternative dispute resolution. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Truth-in-Billing, Remedies, and User 
Empowerment over Fees Act of 2018'' or the ``TRUE Fees Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CHARGES FOR COVERED SERVICES.

    (a) In General.--Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 723. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CHARGES FOR COVERED SERVICES.

    ``(a) Transparency in Advertising.--
            ``(1) In general.--A provider of a covered service may not 
        advertise the price of such service unless the advertised price 
        is the total amount that the provider will charge for or 
        relating to the provision of such service, including any 
        related taxes, administrative fees, equipment rental fees, or 
        other charges, to a consumer who accepts the offer made in the 
        advertisement.
            ``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) does not require a provider 
        of a covered service to include in the advertised price of the 
        service any tax, fee, or other charge that--
                    ``(A) the provider is required to charge under any 
                provision of Federal law or of the law of a State or 
                political subdivision of a State; and
                    ``(B) is not uniform throughout the United States.
    ``(b) Transparency in e-billing.--A provider of a covered service 
may not provide a bill to a consumer in an electronic format unless the 
provider--
            ``(1) provides the bill, or a notification that the bill is 
        available, by email or a functional equivalent of email that 
        permits the consumer to view the bill or notification without 
        having to access an online account or the functional equivalent 
        of an online account or to take any similar additional steps; 
        and
            ``(2) includes in the bill or notification provided in 
        accordance with paragraph (1) an itemized statement that breaks 
        down the total amount charged for or relating to the provision 
        of the covered service by the amount charged for the provision 
        of the service itself and the amount of any related taxes, 
        administrative fees, equipment rental fees, or other charges, 
        in the same level of detail as would be provided in a paper 
        bill.
    ``(c) Requirements for Increases in Charges.--
            ``(1) In general.--In the case of a provider of a covered 
        service that enters into a contract with a consumer for the 
        provision of a covered service--
                    ``(A) the provider may not increase the total 
                amount charged for or relating to the provision of the 
                service under the contract, including any related 
                taxes, administrative fees, equipment rental fees, or 
                other charges, unless the increase is the result of an 
                objectively quantifiable increase in the cost to the 
                provider of providing the service, as demonstrated 
                through a change in an indicator such as a prime 
                interest rate or a tax applicable to the service;
                    ``(B) if the provider increases such total amount, 
                regardless of the amount of the increase or whether the 
                increase is in the amount charged for the provision of 
                the service itself or in any related taxes, 
                administrative fees, equipment rental fees, or other 
                charges, the provider shall--
                            ``(i) provide the consumer with clear 
                        notice of the increase not later than 21 days 
                        before the increase takes effect, in the same 
                        manner in which the provider provides to the 
                        consumer a notification that the consumer's 
                        bill is available (or, if no separate 
                        notification is provided, in the same manner as 
                        the provider provides the consumer's bill to 
                        the consumer); and
                            ``(ii) permit the consumer to terminate the 
                        contract without paying any early termination 
                        fee or other penalty; and
                    ``(C) the provider may not increase any fee or 
                other charge for equipment rental unless the equipment 
                is upgraded (whether through a hardware or software 
                upgrade) so as to provide a substantial increase in 
                functionality.
            ``(2) Exception for additional or upgraded service 
        requested by consumer.--Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph 
        (1) do not apply with respect to an increase resulting from the 
        provision, at the request of the consumer, of a service that is 
        in addition to, or an upgrade of, a service covered by the 
        contract.
    ``(d) Prohibition on Compulsory Alternative Dispute Resolution.--
            ``(1) Prohibition on contractual provision.--A provider of 
        a covered service may not include in a contract with a consumer 
        for the provision of a covered service a provision that 
        requires the consumer to resolve a covered dispute with the 
        provider through alternative dispute resolution.
            ``(2) Unenforceability of contractual provision.--Any 
        alternative dispute resolution provision included in a contract 
        in violation of paragraph (1) shall be void and unenforceable.
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Alternative dispute resolution.--The term 
        `alternative dispute resolution' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 3 of the Y2K Act (15 U.S.C. 6602).
            ``(2) Covered dispute.--The term `covered dispute' means a 
        dispute between a provider of a covered service and a consumer 
        in which the consumer alleges that--
                    ``(A) the amount charged by the provider for or 
                relating to the provision of the service (including any 
                related taxes, administrative fees, equipment rental 
                fees, or other charges)--
                            ``(i) was increased without notice being 
                        provided to the consumer as required by 
                        subsection (c)(1)(B)(i); or
                            ``(ii) during the period covered by any 
                        promotional rate or other discount that was 
                        included in the price that the consumer agreed 
                        to pay for or relating to the provision of the 
                        covered service, did not reflect the 
                        promotional rate or other discount; or
                    ``(B) the provider billed the consumer--
                            ``(i) for the provision of a service (or 
                        for any related taxes, administrative fees, or 
                        other charges) to which the consumer did not 
                        subscribe during the period covered by the 
                        bill; or
                            ``(ii) for rental of equipment (or for any 
                        related taxes, administrative fees, or other 
                        charges) that the consumer did not rent during 
                        the period covered by the bill.
            ``(3) Covered service.--The term `covered service'--
                    ``(A) means--
                            ``(i) internet access service;
                            ``(ii) voice service (as defined in section 
                        227(e)(8));
                            ``(iii) commercial mobile service (as 
                        defined in section 332);
                            ``(iv) commercial mobile data service (as 
                        defined in section 6001 of the Middle Class Tax 
                        Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 
                        1401)); and
                            ``(v) service provided by a multichannel 
                        video programming distributer (as defined in 
                        section 602), to the extent such distributor is 
                        acting as a multichannel video programming 
                        distributor; and
                    ``(B) includes any other service offered or 
                provided as part of a bundle or package with any 
                service referred to in subparagraph (A).
            ``(4) Internet access service.--The term `internet access 
        service'--
                    ``(A) means a mass-market retail service by wire or 
                radio that provides the capability to transmit data to 
                and receive data from all or substantially all internet 
                endpoints, including any capabilities that are 
                incidental to and enable the operation of the 
                communications service; and
                    ``(B) also includes any service that--
                            ``(i) the Commission finds to be providing 
                        a functional equivalent of the service 
                        described in subparagraph (A); or
                            ``(ii) is used to evade the protections set 
                        forth in this section.''.
    (b) Transitional Rule Relating to Definition of Voice Service.--
Subsection (e)(3)(A)(ii) of section 723 of the Communications Act of 
1934, as added by subsection (a) of this section, shall apply before 
the effective date of the amendment made to subsection (e)(8) of 
section 227 of such Act (47 U.S.C. 227) by subparagraph (C) of section 
503(a)(2) of division P of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 
(Public Law 115-141) as if such amendment was already in effect.
    (c) Effective Date.--Section 723 of the Communications Act of 1934, 
as added by subsection (a) of this section, shall apply beginning on 
the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
except that subsections (c) and (d) of such section 723 shall not apply 
with respect to a contract entered into, and as in effect, before the 
date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.