PERMANENT RULES
COMMISSION
STATUTORY OR OTHER AUTHORITY: The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission takes this action under Notice No. WSR 99-07-107, filed with the code reviser on March 23, 1999. The commission brings this proceeding pursuant to RCW 80.01.040.
STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE: This proceeding complies with the Open Public Meetings Act (chapter 42.30 RCW), the Administrative Procedure Act (chapter 34.05 RCW), the State Register Act (chapter 34.08 RCW), the State Environmental Policy Act of 1971 (chapter 34.21C [43.21C] RCW), and the Regulatory Fairness Act (chapter 19.85 RCW).
DATE OF ADOPTION: The commission adopted the amended rule on May 17, 1999.
CONCISE STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND EFFECT OF THE RULE: The proposed amendment to WAC 480-120-139 would remove reference to CPNI and Privacy in section 139(5) to bring Washington state regulation of CPNI and customer privacy into consistency with federal regulations. The amended rule would provide consistency between WAC 480-120-139 and other rules by deleting provisions that have been adopted and expanded upon in WAC 480-120-144, 480-120-151, 480-120-152, 480-120-153 and 480-120-154.
REFERENCE TO AFFECTED RULES: This rule amends the following section of the Washington Administrative Code: WAC 480-120-139.
PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY AND ACTIONS THEREUNDER: The commission filed a preproposal statement of inquiry (CR-101) on November 21, 1997, at WSR 97-23-087.
ADDITIONAL NOTICE AND ACTIVITY PURSUANT TO PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT: The preproposal statement advised interested persons that the commission was considering entering a rule making on customer proprietary network information (CPNI). The earlier history of this rule making is set out in General Order No. R-459, filed at WSR 99-05-015. In that order, the commission stated its intention to amend WAC 480-120-139 as set forth herein, but the commission did not take the procedural steps necessary to accomplish the adoption.
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE MAKING: The commission filed a supplemental notice of proposed rule making (CR-102) on March 23, 1999, at WSR 99-07-107. The commission scheduled this matter for oral comment and adoption under Notice No. WSR 99-07-107 at 9:00 a.m., Wednesday, April 28, 1999, in the Commission's Hearing Room, Second Floor, Chandler Plaza Building, 1300 South Evergreen Park Drive S.W., Olympia, WA. The notice provided interested persons the opportunity to submit written comments to the commission.
COMMENTERS (WRITTEN COMMENTS): The commission received no comments regarding the commission’s proposal to amend WAC 480-120-139.
RULE-MAKING HEARING: The proposed amendment was considered for adoption, pursuant to the notice, in a rule-making hearing scheduled during the commission's regularly scheduled open public meeting on April 28, 1999, before Commission Chair Marilyn Showalter, Commissioner Richard Hemstad, and Commissioner William R. Gillis. The commission heard oral comments from Rebecca Beaton, representing commission staff. No other persons offered oral comments.
COMMISSION ACTION: After considering all of the information regarding this proposal, the commission adopted the amended rule as filed in the notice of proposed rule making.
STATEMENT OF ACTION; STATEMENT OF EFFECTIVE DATE: In reviewing the entire record, the commission determines that WAC 480-120-139 should be amended as set forth in Appendix A, as a rule of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, to take effect pursuant to RCW 34.05.380(2) on the thirty-first day after filing with the code reviser.
2. This order and the rule set out below, after being recorded in the register of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, shall be forwarded to the code reviser for filing pursuant to chapters 80.01 and 34.05 RCW and chapter 1-21 WAC.
DATED at Olympia, Washington, this 17th day of May, 1999.
WASHINGTON UTILITIES AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION
Marilyn Showalter, Chairwoman
Richard Hemstad, Commissioner
William R. Gillis, Commissioner
OTS-2946.2
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending Order R-442 and Order R-443, Docket No. UT-960942,
filed 8/29/97 and 9/29/97, effective 9/29/97 and 10/30/97)
WAC 480-120-139
Changes in local exchange and intrastate toll services.
(1) Verification of orders. A local exchange or intrastate toll carrier to whom service is being changed ("new telecommunications company") may not submit a change order for local exchange or intrastate toll service until the order is confirmed in accordance with one of the following procedures:
(a) The telecommunications company has obtained the customer's written authorization to submit the order which includes the following information from the customer:
(i)The customer billing name, billing telephone number and billing address and each telephone number to be covered by the change order;
(ii) The decision to change; and
(iii) The customer's understanding of the change fee.
(b) The new telecommunications company has obtained the customer's authorization, as described in (a) of this subsection, electronically.
Telecommunications companies electing to confirm sales electronically shall establish one or more toll free telephone numbers exclusively for that purpose.
Calls to the number(s) shall connect a customer to a voice response unit, or similar, that records the required information regarding the change, including automatically recording the originating automatic number identification (ANI).
(c) An appropriately qualified and independent third party operating in a location physically separate from the telemarketing representative has obtained the customer's oral authorization to submit the change order that confirms and includes appropriate verification data in (a) of this subsection.
(2) Implementing order changes.
(a) Telemarketing orders. Within three business days of any telemarketing order for a change, the new telecommunications company must send each new customer an information package by first class mail containing at least the following information concerning the requested change:
(i) The information is being sent to confirm a telemarketing order placed by the customer.
(ii) The name of the customer's current telecommunications company.
(iii) A description of any terms, conditions or charges that will be incurred.
(iv) The name of the newly requested telecommunications company.
(v) The name of the person ordering the change.
(vi) The name, address and telephone number of both the customer and the soliciting telecommunications company.
(vii) A postpaid postcard which the customer can use to deny, cancel or confirm a service order.
(viii) A clear statement that if the customer does not return the postcard, the customer's service will be switched fourteen days after the date the information package was mailed. If customers have cancelled their orders during the waiting period, the new telecommunications company cannot submit the customer's order.
(ix) The name, address and telephone number of a contact point at the commission for consumer complaints.
(x) The requirements in (a)(vii) and (viii) of this subsection do not apply if authorization is obtained pursuant to subsection (1) of this section.
(b) The documentation of the order shall be retained by the new telecommunications company, at a minimum, for twelve months to serve as verification of the customer's authorization to change telecommunications company. The documentation will be made available to the customer and to the commission upon request.
(3) Customer initiated orders. The new telecommunications company receiving the customer initiated request for a change of local exchange and/or intrastate toll shall keep an internal memorandum or record generated at the time of the request. Such internal record shall be maintained by the telecommunications company for a minimum of twelve months to serve as verification of the customer's authorization to change telecommunications company. The internal record will be made available to the customer and to the commission upon request. Within three business days of the order, the telecommunications company must send each new customer an information package by first class mail containing at least the following information concerning the request to change as defined in subsection (2)(a)(ii), (iii), (iv), (v) of this section.
(4) Remedies. In addition to any other penalties provided by law, a telecommunications company initiating an unauthorized change order shall receive no payment for service provided as a result of the unauthorized change and shall promptly refund any amounts collected as a result of the unauthorized change. The subscriber may be charged, after receipt of the refund, for such service at a rate no greater than what would have been charged by its authorized telecommunications company, and any such payment shall be remitted to the customer's authorized telecommunications company.
(((5) Use of customer information.
(a) A telecommunications company marketing services may not use its customer proprietary network information or the customer proprietary network information of another telecommunications company.
(b) Except to provide its own billing, collection, network operations, and as authorized by law, a telecommunications company may not disclose customer proprietary network information.
(c) A telecommunications company may not make telephone solicitation or telemarketing calls using its list of customers with nonpublished or unlisted numbers unless it has notified each such customer at least once in the past year that the company makes such calls to its customers with nonpublished or unlisted numbers and that the customer has a right to request that the company make no such calls.))
[Statutory Authority: RCW 80.01.040. 97-18-056 and 97-20-095 (Order R-442 and Order R-443, Docket No. UT-960942), § 480-120-139, filed 8/29/97 and 9/29/97, effective 9/29/97 and 10/30/97.]