Administrative Rules of Montana
Department 38 - PUBLIC SERVICE REGULATION
Chapter 38.5 - UTILITY DIVISION
Subchapter 38.5.33 - Telecommunications Service Standards
Rule 38.5.3332 - CUSTOMER BILLING
Current through Register Vol. 6, March 22, 2024
(1) Carriers and billing aggregators are required to bill in accordance with the following procedures:
(2) If telecommunications service has been underbilled because of the carrier's error, omission, or negligence and the amount owed exceeds $25, the carrier must offer the customer a reasonable payment arrangement. If telecommunications service has been overbilled, the carrier must credit the customer's future bills for the amounts overbilled, unless the customer requests a cash refund of the credit balance. In either case (underbilling or overbilling), the carrier shall abide by the applicable statute of limitations, and 69-3-221, MCA.
(3) If a customer's service is interrupted for any reason other than the customer's negligence or willful act and service remains out for more than 24 hours after being reported, appropriate adjustments shall be made to the customer's bill upon determination of the outage. For the purpose of administering this rule, every month is considered to have 30 days.
(4) The carrier may require the customer to pay the undisputed portion of the bill to avoid discontinuance of service for nonpayment. The carrier must investigate the dispute and report the result to the customer. If the billing dispute is not resolved, the carrier must advise the customer that the commission is available for review and disposition of the matter.
(5) Local exchange service cannot be denied or terminated because of nonpayment of unregulated services, toll services, or services provided by other carriers, except when a local exchange carrier's local, toll, or unregulated services are combined into one service package at a single rate. A carrier's bill to its customer shall clearly distinguish between regulated and unregulated service.
(6) Undesignated partial payments of a bill shall be applied first to local exchange carrier regulated local exchange services and then to service other than local exchange carrier regulated local exchange services in such percentage as each other service provider's charges represent of the total charges. When a local exchange carrier's local, toll, or unregulated services are combined into one service package at a single rate, undesignated partial payments shall be applied first to the service package, then to other services as described above.
(7) If a carrier bills a customer for a service more than 60 days after the service is provided and the customer contacts the carrier (or its billing agent) to question or dispute the late-billed charges, the carrier (or its billing agent) must offer the customer a payment plan that allows an equal period of time to pay the late-billed charges as it took the carrier to bill the customer. During this period, late payment charges must not be assessed on the late-billed service charges, and the carrier is prohibited from taking any collection actions against the customer other than monthly notice by mail of the unpaid charges. Any such monthly notice must not threaten any further collection action, and must inform the customer that the carrier will arrange a payment plan in accordance with this rule upon customer request.
(8) All carriers are prohibited from charging any amount for unanswered calls.
69-3-103, MCA; IMP, 69-3-102, 69-3-201, 69-3-221, MCA;