Source: http://www.fcc.gov/print/node/42005
Timestamp: 2014-09-20 17:46:53
Document Index: 179883568

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 258', '§ 64', '§ 64', '§ 64', '§ 64', '§ 64']

Word Document [1]PDF Document [2]Text Document [3]	Released: August 30, 2012
In accordance with Section 258, Section 64.1120(a) of the Commission’s rules provides that no carrier “shall submit a change on the behalf of a subscriber . . . prior to obtaining: (i) Authorization from the subscriber, and (ii) Verification of that authorization in accordance with the procedures prescribed in this section.”15 Specifically, a carrier must: (1) obtain the subscriber’s written or electronically signed authorization in a format that meets the requirements of Section 64.1130; (2) obtain confirmation from the subscriber via a toll-free number provided exclusively for the purpose of confirming orders electronically; or (3) utilize an independent third party to verify the subscriber’s order.16
For third party verification, the Commission’s rules require that the verification method confirm the following: the identity of the subscriber; that the person on the call is authorized to make the carrier change; that the person on the call wants to make the change; the names of the carriers affected by the change; the telephone numbers to be switched; and the types of service involved.17 In addition, Section 64.1120(c)(3)(iii) of the Commission’s rules prohibits the third party verification from including any “misleading description of the transaction . . . .”18 This rule specifically states that the third party verification must elicit, among other things, “confirmation that the person on the call understands that a carrier change, not an upgrade to existing service, bill consolidation, or any other misleading description of the transaction, is being authorized.”19 Carriers must keep audio records of the verification for a minimum of two years.20 7.
Each of the 27 consumers who filed the complaints that form the basis of this NAL contends that LDC changed their preferred carriers or charged them for service without authorization.21
In response to the Bureau’s LOI,22 LDC provided three third party verification (TPV) recordings purportedly showing that those three complainants had authorized service with LDC.23 We have reviewed the three TPVs and find that LDC’s verifier did not confirm that the consumer wanted to 13 47 U.S.C. § 258(a).14 Id.15 47 C.F.R. § 64.1120(a)(1)(i), (ii).16 See 47 C.F.R. § 64.1120(c).17 47 C.F.R. § 64.1120(c)(3)(iii).18 See 47 C.F.R. § 64.1120(c)(3)(iii).19 Id.20 47 C.F.R. § 64.1120(c)(3)(iv).21 Some complainants mischaracterize the potential violation as a “cram.” The evidence before us, however, which includes copies of many complainants’ telephone bills, shows that complainants’ preferred carrier selections had been switched to LDC; therefore, the violation at issue is slamming, not cramming. 22 See LOI supra note 10.23 See TPVs provided with Second Supplemental Response. LDC also provided a fourth TPV for a consumer whose complaint is outside the one-year statute of limitations. We note that the fact that LDC eventually provided these TPVs in response to the Bureau’s LOI does not absolve it of its obligation to have responded timely to CGB’s Notices of Informal Complaint.
switch carriers and did not confirm the telephone number that the consumers wanted to switch as required by our rules; rather LDC’s verifier simply told the consumers that they would be “receiving one bill from [their] local phone company[ies] being billed on behalf of LDC Telecom as [their] long distance billing service provider.”24
The requirement to confirm that a consumer wishes to make a carrier change is crucial to ensure that there is no confusion or ambiguity about the fact that the consumer is changing carriers, particularly in the instant case where consumers contend they did not intend to change carriers at all. LDC’s verifier stated that the call was being recorded “for accuracy and quality assurance” and suggested that LDC was going to be the complainants