Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 7109 – Unlawful telephone charges
Current as of: 2023 | Check for updates
|
Other versions
1. Unauthorized and duplicative line-item charges prohibited. A telephone utility may not charge a customer for, or include as a separate line-item charge on the customer’s bill, any charge unless that charge represents:
A. An actual service or fee authorized by the customer; or [PL 2009, c. 36, §2 (NEW).]
B. An actual tax, fee or charge authorized or required by federal or state law or by a federal or state agency rule or order. [PL 2009, c. 36, §2 (NEW).]
A telephone utility may not include in a line-item charge on a customer’s bill any element of the telephone utility’s costs that is charged for elsewhere on the customer’s bill.
[PL 2009, c. 36, §2 (NEW).]
Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 7109
- Commission: means the Public Utilities Commission. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Customer: includes any person, government or governmental division which has applied for, been accepted and is currently receiving service from a public utility. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102
- Line-item charge: means a discrete charge identified separately on a customer's telephone bill. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 7102
- Telephone utility: includes every person, its lessees, trustees, receivers or trustees appointed by any court, that provides telephone service for compensation inside this State. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102
2. Description of line-item charges required. A telephone utility shall provide on the customer’s bill a brief, clear, nonmisleading, plain language description of each line-item charge included on the bill and the authorized service, tax or fee represented by that line-item charge.
[PL 2009, c. 36, §2 (NEW).]
3. Enforcement. In addition to any authority the commission may have pursuant to other law, the commission may impose an administrative penalty upon a telephone utility for violation of this section. The amount of any administrative penalty imposed under this subsection may not exceed $1,000 per violator for violations arising out of the same incident or complaint and must be based on:
A. The severity of the violation, including the intent of the violator and the nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of any prohibited acts; [PL 2009, c. 36, §2 (NEW).]
B. The history of previous violations by the violator; [PL 2009, c. 36, §2 (NEW).]
C. The amount necessary to deter future violations; [PL 2009, c. 36, §2 (NEW).]
D. Good faith attempts to comply after notification of a violation; and [PL 2009, c. 36, §2 (NEW).]
E. Such other matters as justice requires. [PL 2009, c. 36, §2 (NEW).]
The commission shall provide a simple process for a customer of a telephone utility to report to the commission a line-item charge that the customer believes may violate this section.
This subsection is not intended to limit any enforcement action or penalty pursued by the Attorney General for violations of Title 5, chapter 10 where applicable.
[PL 2009, c. 36, §2 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2009, c. 36, §2 (NEW).