Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a)
Restrictions on billing
1) Consumers shall be
billed within one year after the date the service was provided.
2) The operator service provider (or its billing
agent) shall be identified on the consumer's bill. Where technically feasible, the
operator service provider shall be listed in lieu of, or in addition to, the billing
agent.
3) Incorrect billing
A) Refunds for Completed Calls. In the event that
a consumer is billed incorrectly for a completed call by the operator service
provider due to an error either in charging more than the published rate, in
measuring the quantity or volume of the service provided, or in charging for the
incorrect class of service, the operator service provider shall refund the
overcharge upon discovery or upon request.
B) Refunds for uncompleted calls. No operator
service provider shall knowingly charge for uncompleted calls. All operator service
providers shall make refunds for any paid uncompleted calls upon request.
C) Rate of interest. If the consumer has paid the
bill in subsection (a)(3)(A) or (a)(3)(B) above, and the billing is later found to
be incorrect, then the refund will be made with interest from the date of
overpayment by the consumer. The rate of interest shall be the rate as established
by the Commission to be paid on deposits in 83 Ill. Adm. Code
735.120(h)(1).
The refund shall be accomplished by a credit on a subsequent bill for telephone
service, or by check if so requested by the consumer.
b) Restriction on charges. A provider
of operator services shall:
1) not bill for
unanswered telephone calls in areas where equal access is available;
2) not knowingly bill for unanswered telephone
calls where equal access is not available;
3) not bill for a call in a manner that does not
reflect the location of the origination of the call, except as provided in
subsection (b)(4) of this Section;
4)
not engage in call splashing, as defined in Section
770.10, unless the
consumer requests to be transferred to another provider of operator services, the
consumer is informed prior to incurring any charges that the rates for the call may
not reflect the rates from the actual originating location of the call, and the
consumer then consents to be transferred.
c) Each provider of intrastate operator services
shall comply with the following requirements:
1)
The maximum rates and charges to be charged by an operator service provider for
usage charges shall not exceed the following rates:
Rate Mileage
|
Initial 1 Minute
|
Each Additional Minute
|
1-10
|
$.2125
|
$.1875
|
11-22
|
$.2250
|
$.2125
|
23-55
|
$.2375
|
$.2250
|
56-124
|
$.2625
|
$.2500
|
125-292
|
$.2875
|
$.2750
|
293+
|
$.3000
|
$.2875
|
2) The
maximum rates and charges for operator surcharges shall not exceed the following
rates:
A) Operator Station (consumer dialed 0+)
collect, billed to third number, coin call, or billed to a calling card:
$2.50;
B) Operator Station (operator
dialed 0-) collect, billed to third number, coin call, or billed to a calling card:
$3.75;
C) Person-to-Person (consumer
dialed 0+ and operator dialed 0-) billed to a calling card: $4.50;
D) Person-to-person (consumer dialed 0+) collect,
billed to third number, or coin call: $4.50; and
E) Person-to-person (operator dialed 0-) collect,
billed to third number, or coin call: $5.75.
d) All charges shall be included in the amounts
authorized by subsection (c) above.
e)
The amounts authorized in subsection (c) shall be escalated annually by the
percentage change in the GDP Implicit Price Deflator with the first adjustment to be
effective January 1, 1995. In December of each year the Commission shall announce
the rate of inflation and the new maximum price levels for the next year.