ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2924
(By Delegates Capito, Rowe, Hutchins,
Mahan, Smirl and Webb)
[Passed March 12, 1999; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend chapter twenty-four of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article two-e, relating to
regulating transfers of intrastate phone service; limiting
transfer of phone services by telephone public utilities;
establishing disclosure requirements for telephone public
utilities for transfer of phone services; providing for third
party conformation of transfers; establishing criteria for
third party verification companies and conformation procedures
for service transfers; prohibiting disclosure of subscriber
information for marketing purposes; creating civil remedy for
prohibited release; excepting certain transactions from this
section; providing liability to prior phone service provider
and subscribers for unauthorized charges; providing that this
section does not limit any other remedies; providing conformity with federal requirements; and providing that
public service commission has certain rulemaking and
enforcement authority.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter twenty-four of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding
thereto a new article, designated article two-e, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 2E. REQUIREMENTS FOR PHONE SERVICE SALES.
§24-2E-1. Transfer of phone service providers.
(a) No telephone public utility may submit a change on behalf
of a subscriber in the subscriber's selection of a provider of
telephone service, except in accordance with the requirements of
this section and the rules adopted by the public service
commission.
(1) The telephone public utility, its representatives or
agents shall thoroughly inform the subscriber of the nature and
extent of the service being offered.
(2) The telephone public utility, its representatives or
agents shall specifically establish whether the subscriber intends
to make any change in his or her telephone service provider, and
explain any charges associated with that change. The public service
commission may by rule establish additional requirements for
disclosure of services or fees and any additional appropriate requirements relating to disclosure or cancellation of services, as
the commission deems appropriate.
(3) Except as provided in subsection (b), the subscriber's
decision to change his or her telephone service provider may be
confirmed by an independent third-party verification company. For
purposes of this provision, the confirmation by a third-party
verification company shall be made as follows:
(A) The third-party verification company shall meet each of
the following criteria:
i) Not be directly or indirectly managed, controlled, or
directed, or owned, wholly or in part, by the telephone public
utility or its marketing agent;
(ii) Operate from facilities physically separate from those of
the telephone public utility that seeks to provide the subscriber's
new service; and
(iii) Not derive commissions or compensation based upon the
number of sales confirmed.
(B) The telephone public utility seeking to verify the sale
shall do so by connecting the subscriber by telephone to the
third-party verification company or by arranging for the
third-party verification company to call the subscriber to confirm
the sale.
(b) As an alternative to third party verification, the
telephone public utility may authenticate the transaction by one of the following methods:
(i) Verifying the subscriber's change in his or her telephone
service provider by obtaining the subscriber's signature on a
document fully explaining the nature and extent of the action. The
document shall be a separate document whose sole purpose is to
explain the nature and extent of the action; or
(ii) Obtaining the subscriber's authorization through an
electronic means that takes the information, including the calling
number, and confirms the change to which the subscriber has given
his or her consent; or
(iii) Obtaining the subscriber's oral confirmation regarding
the change, and shall record that confirmation by obtaining
appropriate verification data.
The verification record shall be available to the subscriber
upon request. Information obtained from the subscriber through
confirmation shall not be used for marketing purposes. Any
unauthorized release of this information is grounds for a civil
suit by the aggrieved subscriber against the person or persons
responsible for the violation.
(4) Where the telephone public utility obtains a written order
for service, the document shall thoroughly inform the subscriber of
the nature and extent of the action in accordance with this section
and the rules adopted by the public service commission.
(5) The telephone public utility shall retain a record of the verification of the sale for at least two years. These records
shall be made available to the subscriber, the Attorney General, or
the commission upon request.
(c) Any telephone public utility that violates the provisions
of this section shall be liable to the telephone public utility
previously selected by the subscriber. The violating telephone
public utility shall refund to the properly authorized telephone
public utility all charges collected by the violating telephone
public utility. The properly authorized telephone public utility
shall then refund any overcharges due the subscriber. The public
service commission shall adopt regulations to govern credits to
subscribers pursuant to subsection (f) of this section.
(d) The remedies provided by this section are in addition to
any other remedies available by law. Violations of this section
shall be subject to orders and other actions consistent with the
public service commission's authority as provided in this chapter.
This section is intended to supplement and be in addition to
federal laws and regulations regulating phone transactions.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose any
obligation or liability on a local exchange telephone public
utility that executes, in good faith, an order for a change in a
subscriber's telephone service provider submitted to it by the
subscriber or by another telephone public utility.
(f) The public service commission shall promulgate rules consistent with and necessary to effectuate the purposes of this
section.