KRS 278.535: Switching of telecommunications provider -- Penalty -- Administrative

regulations.

(1) As used in this section:

(a) "Telecommunications provider" or "provider" means a person that provides

one (1) or more telecommunications services for compensation, and its

successors in interest by way of acquisition or merger, and includes a provider

of regulated and unregulated intrastate services offered to customers for the

transmission of two -way, interactive communications. "Telecommunications

provider" or "pro vider" does not include a provider of commercial mobile

radio services as defined in 47 U.S.C. sec. 332(d)(1).

(b) "Letter of agency" means a written statement that authorizes a change of the

customer's telecommunications provider and bears the customer's signature.

(2) A customer of a telecommunications provider shall not be switched to another

provider without the customer's letter of agency or the electronically recorded

authorization of the customer, indicating that the customer knowingly approved the

specific details of the switch. The requirement of a written or electronically

recorded authorization shall not apply if the customer initiates a call to the

customer's local telephone service provider to request that his long -distance

provider be changed. When a customer's service is changed, the new provider shall

maintain for one (1) year a record of nonpublic customer -specific information that

establishes that the customer authorized the change. In any dispute, the burden of

proof to show that the custom er knowingly authorized the change shall be on the

provider that claims to have obtained customer authorization for the switch.

(3) If a letter of agency is combined with an inducement, or with information on a

subject other than the change of a customer's telecommunications provider, whether

or not the letter of agency can be easily severed from the rest of the document, then

the language whereby a person authorizes service from the provider shall be printed

in a type size as large or larger than the large st type used in the document that

includes the letter of agency.

(4) If a telecommunications provider initiates a switch of provider that the customer has

not authorized under this section, that provider, upon request by the customer, shall

reverse the change within five (5) business days.

(5) The customer subjected to a change that is not verified consistent with this section

or administrative regulations promulgated under this section is not responsible for

any charges associated with the unauthorized cha nge, including charges for usage

subsequent to the change that are in excess of the amount the customer would have

paid had the service not been changed, if the customer contacts the customer's local

exchange carrier, the customer's previous provider of in trastate service, or the

telecommunications provider that initiated an unauthorized change in service within

one hundred eighty (180) days after receipt of the customer's first bill containing

charges by the telecommunications provider that initiated the u nauthorized change.

A telecommunications provider that has initiated an unauthorized customer change

shall:

(a) Pay all charges associated with returning the customer to the customer's

original telecommunications provider;

(b) Return to the customer any amount paid to the provider by the customer or on

the customer's behalf in excess of the amount the customer would have paid

had the service not been changed; and

(c) Upon request, provide all billing records to the original provider from which

the customer was changed to enable the original provider to comply with this

section.

The telecommunications provider that initiated the unauthorized change is

responsible for any payment to access providers or to an underlying carrier where

applicable. Failure of the customer to provide timely notice will relieve the

telecommunications provider that initiated the unauthorized change of any

obligations under this subsection.

(6) If the commission finds that a provider has willfully or repeatedly violated this

section or an administrative regulation promulgated under it, the commission shall

order the provider to take corrective action as necessary. The commission may

impose a penalty on the violator as specified in KRS 278.990(1), except that the

maximum civil penalty t o be assessed for each violation of this section shall be ten

thousand dollars ($10,000). The commission also may, if consistent with the public

interest, suspend, restrict, or revoke any certificate or registration of the

telecommunications provider, ther eby denying the provider the authorization to

provide telecommunications service in the Commonwealth.

(7) The commission shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with

KRS Chapter 13A to implement the policies of this section.