Bill Text: NY A02426 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Prohibits the imposition of any charge or fee on the telephone bill of a consumer when such fee or charge is imposed by a third party, unless the consumer explicitly agrees to the nature and amount of such fee or charge; makes the unauthorized imposition of such a fee void and unenforceable; directs the public service commission to enforce such provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-02-27 - REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS [A02426 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A02426-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         2426--A
                                                                Cal. No. 188
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 20, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. SKARTADOS, WEPRIN, OTIS -- read once and referred
          to  the  Committee  on Consumer Affairs and Protection -- ordered to a
          third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its  place  on
          the order of third reading
        AN  ACT to amend the public service law and the general business law, in
          relation to consumer protections against cramming
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The opening paragraph of section 92-d of the public service
     2  law,  as separately amended by chapters 546 and 547 of the laws of 2000,
     3  is amended to read as follows:
     4    Each local exchange telephone company shall inform  its  customers  of
     5  the  provisions  of section ninety-two-i of this article, sections three
     6  hundred ninety-nine-p  [and],  three  hundred  ninety-nine-z  and  three
     7  hundred ninety-nine-pp of the general business law, and article ten-B of
     8  the  personal  property  law, as such provisions relate to the rights of
     9  consumers with respect to cramming, telemarketers, sellers, the no tele-
    10  marketing sales call statewide registry and automatic dialing-announcing
    11  devices, by means of:
    12    § 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 92-i to
    13  read as follows:
    14    § 92-i.  Cramming prohibited. 1. For the  purposes  of  this  section,
    15  "cramming"  means the inclusion and imposition of charges on the invoice
    16  or bill of a customer from a telephone corporation at the request  of  a
    17  third  party  or  billing aggregator that (a) were not authorized by the
    18  customer, or (b) if authorized,  were  obtained  through  misleading  or
    19  deceptive means.
    20    2. A customer shall not be liable for charges appearing on the invoice
    21  or  bill  of a telephone corporation that are the result of cramming. No
    22  charges for any products or services, other than those provided  by  the
    23  telephone corporation, its affiliates, a third party video provider with
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01558-04-8
        A. 2426--A                          2
     1  whom  a  telephone corporation or its affiliate jointly market services,
     2  or otherwise permitted by law, shall be included on any bill or  invoice
     3  of  a  customer,  unless  the third party requesting the payment of such
     4  charges retains and provides upon request valid proof that:
     5    (a) the customer was provided with clear and conspicuous disclosure of
     6  all  material  terms  and  conditions  of  the  product or service being
     7  offered, including but not limited to all initial and recurring  charges
     8  and  the fact that such charges shall appear on the customer's telephone
     9  bill;
    10    (b) after receiving clear and conspicuous disclosure  as  provided  in
    11  paragraph  (a) of this subdivision, the customer explicitly consented to
    12  the nature and amount of such charges; and
    13    (c) the third party offering the product or service  or  an  agent  of
    14  such third party provided the customer with a toll-free telephone number
    15  the  customer may call and an address to which the customer may write to
    16  resolve any billing dispute.
    17    3. Any charges for third party products or services that are  included
    18  on  a  bill or invoice by a telephone corporation without the consent of
    19  the customer having been obtained as provided in subdivision two of this
    20  section shall be void and unenforceable, and shall be removed  from  the
    21  bill or invoice upon notice from such customer.
    22    4.  The  commission  shall  supervise  and  ensure compliance with the
    23  provisions of this section, and may promulgate any rules and regulations
    24  it deems necessary or desirable to ensure such compliance, including but
    25  not limited to any additional requirements for verification of  customer
    26  orders  and  any  additional standards that third parties or agents must
    27  meet to be authorized to receive payment through the inclusion of charg-
    28  es on bills or invoices of telephone  corporations.  Any  failure  by  a
    29  telephone  corporation to comply with the provisions of this section may
    30  be redressed as provided in subdivision three of section  ninety-six  of
    31  this article or as otherwise authorized by law.
    32    §  3. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 390-
    33  bb to read as follows:
    34    § 390-bb. Cramming prohibited. 1. For the purposes  of  this  section,
    35  "cramming"  means the inclusion and imposition of charges on the invoice
    36  or bill for telephone service to a  customer  from  a  cable  television
    37  company,  as defined in section two hundred twelve of the public service
    38  law, that provides telephone service to customers in New  York,  at  the
    39  request of a third party or billing aggregator that (a) were not author-
    40  ized  by  the  customer,  or  (b)  if  authorized, were obtained through
    41  misleading or deceptive means.
    42    2. A customer shall not be liable for charges appearing on the invoice
    43  or bill of a cable television company for telephone service that are the
    44  result of cramming. No charges for any products or services, other  than
    45  those  provided by the cable television company, its affiliates, a third
    46  party video provider with whom a cable television company or its  affil-
    47  iate  jointly  market  services, or otherwise permitted by law, shall be
    48  included on any bill or invoice for telephone service, unless the  third
    49  party  requesting  the payment of such charges retains and provides upon
    50  request valid proof that:
    51    (a) the customer was provided with clear and conspicuous disclosure of
    52  all material terms and  conditions  of  the  product  or  service  being
    53  offered,  including but not limited to all initial and recurring charges
    54  and the fact that such charges shall appear on the customer's  telephone
    55  service bill;
        A. 2426--A                          3
     1    (b)  after  receiving  clear and conspicuous disclosure as provided in
     2  paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the customer explicitly consented  to
     3  the nature and amount of such charges; and
     4    (c)  the  third  party  offering the product or service or an agent of
     5  such third party provided the customer with a toll-free telephone number
     6  the customer may call and an address to which the customer may write  to
     7  resolve any billing dispute.
     8    3.  Any charges for third party products or services that are included
     9  on a bill or invoice for telephone service by a cable television company
    10  without the consent of the customer having been obtained as provided  in
    11  subdivision  two  of  this  section shall be void and unenforceable, and
    12  shall be removed from the bill or invoice upon notice from such  custom-
    13  er.
    14    §  4.  Subdivision  1  of  section 227-a of the public service law, as
    15  added by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
    16    1. Every cable  television  company,  and  all  officers,  agents  and
    17  employees of any cable television company shall obey, observe and comply
    18  with every order, direction or requirement made by the commission, under
    19  authority  of  this  article, so long as the same shall be and remain in
    20  force. Except as provided in subdivision two of this section, any  cable
    21  television  company which shall violate any provision of this article or
    22  section three hundred ninety-bb of the general business  law,  or  which
    23  fails,  omits  or  neglects to obey, observe or comply with any order or
    24  any direction or requirement of the commission,  shall  forfeit  to  the
    25  people of the state of New York a sum to be set by the commission not to
    26  exceed  one thousand dollars for each and every offense; every violation
    27  of any such order or direction or requirement, or  of  this  article  or
    28  section  three hundred ninety-bb of the general business law, shall be a
    29  separate and distinct offense, and, in case of a  continuing  violation,
    30  every  day's  continuance  thereof  shall  be  a  separate  and distinct
    31  offense.
    32    § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    33  it shall have become a law.