Administrative Rules of Montana › Department 38 - PUBLIC SERVICE REGULATION › Chapter 38.5 - UTILITY DIVISION › Subchapter 38.5.38 - Unauthorized Change of Provider › Rule 38.5.3802 - LETTER OF AGENCY FORM AND CONTENT

Current through Register Vol. 13, July 5, 2024
(1) A
				telecommunications carrier initiating a change in a subscriber's primary
				interexchange carrier or local exchange carrier shall obtain any necessary
				written or electronically signed authorization from a subscriber by using a
				letter of agency as specified in this rule. Any letter of agency that does not
				conform with this rule is invalid.
(2) The letter of agency shall be a separate
				document (or an easily separable document) or located on a separate screen or
				webpage containing only the authorizing language described in (5), the sole
				purpose of which is to authorize a telecommunications carrier to initiate a
				primary interexchange carrier or local exchange carrier change. The letter of
				agency must be signed and dated by the subscriber to the telephone line(s)
				requesting the change in carrier.
(3) The letter of agency shall not be
				combined on the same document screen or webpage with inducements of any
				kind.
(4) Notwithstanding (2) and
				(3) of this rule, the letter of agency may be combined with checks that contain
				only the required letter of agency language prescribed in (5) of this rule 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-face type on the
				front of the check, a notice that the consumer is authorizing a primary
				interexchange carrier change or local exchange carrier change by signing the
				check. The letter of agency language also shall be placed near the signature
				line on the back of the check.
(5)
				At a minimum, the letter of agency must be printed with a readable type of
				sufficient size to be clearly legible and must contain clear and unambiguous
				language that confirms:
(a) the subscriber's
				billing name and address and each telephone number to be covered by the change
				order;
(b) the decision to change
				the primary interexchange carrier or local exchange carrier from the current
				interexchange carrier or local carrier to the prospective carrier;
(c) that the subscriber designates the
				carrier to act as the subscriber's agent for the primary interexchange carrier
				or local exchange carrier change;
(d) that the subscriber understands that only
				one interexchange carrier may be designated as the subscriber's primary
				interLATA interexchange carrier and that only one local exchange carrier may be
				designated as the subscriber's local telecommunication provider for any one
				telephone number. To the extent that a jurisdiction allows the selection of
				additional primary interexchange carriers (e.g., for intraLATA, intrastate or
				international calling), the letter of agency must contain separate statements
				regarding those choices. Any carrier designated as a primary interexchange
				carrier or local exchange carrier must be the carrier directly setting the
				rates for the subscriber. One carrier can be a subscriber's interLATA primary
				interexchange carrier, a subscriber's intraLATA primary interexchange carrier,
				and a subscriber's local carrier; and
(e) that the subscriber understands that any
				primary interexchange carrier selection or local exchange carrier selection the
				subscriber chooses may involve a charge to the subscriber for changing the
				subscriber's primary interexchange carrier or local exchange carrier.