Bill Text: NY S03202 | 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 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-04-23 - PRINT NUMBER 3202A [S03202 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S03202-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         3202--A
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 20, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced by Sen. ALCANTARA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed  to  be  committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommuni-
          cations -- recommitted to the Committee  on  Energy  and  Telecommuni-
          cations  in  accordance  with  Senate  Rule  6,  sec.  8  -- committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee
        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
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08566-02-8
        S. 3202--A                          2
     1  charges  for  any products or services, other than those provided by the
     2  telephone corporation, its affiliates, a third party video provider with
     3  whom a telephone corporation or its affiliate jointly  market  services,
     4  or  otherwise permitted by law, shall be included on any bill or invoice
     5  of a customer, unless the third party requesting  the  payment  of  such
     6  charges retains and provides upon request valid proof that:
     7    (a) the customer was provided with clear and conspicuous disclosure of
     8  all  material  terms  and  conditions  of  the  product or service being
     9  offered, including but not limited to all initial and recurring  charges
    10  and  the fact that such charges shall appear on the customer's telephone
    11  bill;
    12    (b) after receiving clear and conspicuous disclosure  as  provided  in
    13  paragraph  (a) of this subdivision, the customer explicitly consented to
    14  the nature and amount of such charges; and
    15    (c) the third party offering the product or service  or  an  agent  of
    16  such third party provided the customer with a toll-free telephone number
    17  the  customer may call and an address to which the customer may write to
    18  resolve any billing dispute.
    19    3. Any charges for third party products or services that are  included
    20  on  a  bill or invoice by a telephone corporation without the consent of
    21  the customer having been obtained as provided in subdivision two of this
    22  section shall be void and unenforceable, and shall be removed  from  the
    23  bill or invoice upon notice from such customer.
    24    4.  The  commission  shall  supervise  and  ensure compliance with the
    25  provisions of this section, and may promulgate any rules and regulations
    26  it deems necessary or desirable to ensure such compliance, including but
    27  not limited to any additional requirements for verification of  customer
    28  orders  and  any  additional standards that third parties or agents must
    29  meet to be authorized to receive payment through the inclusion of charg-
    30  es on bills or invoices of telephone  corporations.  Any  failure  by  a
    31  telephone  corporation to comply with the provisions of this section may
    32  be redressed as provided in subdivision three of section  ninety-six  of
    33  this article or as otherwise authorized by law.
    34    §  3. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 390-
    35  bb to read as follows:
    36    § 390-bb. Cramming prohibited. 1. For the purposes  of  this  section,
    37  "cramming"  means the inclusion and imposition of charges on the invoice
    38  or bill for telephone service to a  customer  from  a  cable  television
    39  company,  as defined in section two hundred twelve of the public service
    40  law, that provides telephone service to customers in New  York,  at  the
    41  request of a third party or billing aggregator that (a) were not author-
    42  ized  by  the  customer,  or  (b)  if  authorized, were obtained through
    43  misleading or deceptive means.
    44    2. A customer shall not be liable for charges appearing on the invoice
    45  or bill of a cable television company for telephone service that are the
    46  result of cramming. No charges for any products or services, other  than
    47  those  provided by the cable television company, its affiliates, a third
    48  party video provider with whom a cable television company or its  affil-
    49  iate  jointly  market  services, or otherwise permitted by law, shall be
    50  included on any bill or invoice for telephone service, unless the  third
    51  party  requesting  the payment of such charges retains and provides upon
    52  request valid proof that:
    53    (a) the customer was provided with clear and conspicuous disclosure of
    54  all material terms and  conditions  of  the  product  or  service  being
    55  offered,  including but not limited to all initial and recurring charges
        S. 3202--A                          3
     1  and the fact that such charges shall appear on the customer's for  tele-
     2  phone service bill;
     3    (b)  after  receiving  clear and conspicuous disclosure as provided in
     4  paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the customer explicitly consented  to
     5  the nature and amount of such charges; and
     6    (c)  the  third  party  offering the product or service or an agent of
     7  such third party provided the customer with a toll-free telephone number
     8  the customer may call and an address to which the customer may write  to
     9  resolve any billing dispute.
    10    3.  Any charges for third party products or services that are included
    11  on a bill or invoice for telephone service by a cable television company
    12  without the consent of the customer having been obtained as provided  in
    13  subdivision  two  of  this  section shall be void and unenforceable, and
    14  shall be removed from the bill or invoice upon notice from such  custom-
    15  er.
    16    §  4.  Subdivision  1  of  section 227-a of the public service law, as
    17  added by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
    18    1. Every cable  television  company,  and  all  officers,  agents  and
    19  employees of any cable television company shall obey, observe and comply
    20  with every order, direction or requirement made by the commission, under
    21  authority  of  this  article, so long as the same shall be and remain in
    22  force. Except as provided in subdivision two of this section, any  cable
    23  television  company which shall violate any provision of this article or
    24  section three hundred ninety-bb of the general business  law,  or  which
    25  fails,  omits  or  neglects to obey, observe or comply with any order or
    26  any direction or requirement of the commission,  shall  forfeit  to  the
    27  people of the state of New York a sum to be set by the commission not to
    28  exceed  one thousand dollars for each and every offense; every violation
    29  of any such order or direction or requirement, or  of  this  article  or
    30  section  three hundred ninety-bb of the general business law, shall be a
    31  separate and distinct offense, and, in case of a  continuing  violation,
    32  every  day's  continuance  thereof  shall  be  a  separate  and distinct
    33  offense.
    34    § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    35  it shall have become a law.  Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
    36  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
    37  tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be  made  and
    38  completed on or before such effective date.