HB5211 EngrossedLRB097 18755 JLS 63990 b

1    AN ACT concerning business.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business
5Practices Act is amended by changing Section 2HHH as follows:
 
6    (815 ILCS 505/2HHH)
7    Sec. 2HHH. Product Authorization and verification for
8product and service charges to be billed on a telephone bill
9prohibited.
10    (a) Definitions. For purposes of this Section:
11    "Billing agent" means a person that submits charges for
12services or goods to a telecommunications carrier on behalf of
13a third-party vendor.
14    "Third-party vendor" means an entity not affiliated with a
15telecommunications carrier that sells services or goods to a
16consumer.
17    "Telecommunications carrier" has the same meaning as
18defined in Section 13-202 of the Public Utilities Act.
19    (b) A third-party vendor shall not bill, directly or
20through an intermediary, a consumer for goods or services that
21will appear as a charge on a consumer's telephone bill.
22    (c) A billing agent, on behalf of a third-party vendor,
23shall not submit, directly or through an intermediary, a charge

 

 

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1to a telecommunications carrier for goods or services that will
2appear as a charge on a consumer's telephone bill.
3    (d) Any person who violates this Section commits an
4unlawful practice within the meaning of this Act.
5    (e) This Section does not apply to:
6        (1) services or goods provided by a telecommunications
7    carrier subject to the provisions of Section 13-903 of the
8    Public Utilities Act;
9        (2) services or goods sold by any affiliate of the
10    telecommunications carrier issuing the bill to the
11    consumer;
12        (3) services or goods sold by any third-party vendor
13    that has a direct contractual arrangement for the joint or
14    cooperative sale of such services or goods with the
15    telecommunications carrier issuing the bill to the
16    consumer; provided however, that the telecommunications
17    carrier issuing the bill to the consumer shall be
18    responsible for assuring that such services or goods are
19    not sold without the informed authorization of the
20    consumer;
21        (4) wireless services, as described in Section 13-804
22    of the Public Utilities Act and any other services or goods
23    billed by or through a provider of wireless services;
24        (5) message telecommunications services that are
25    initiated by dialing 1+, 0+, 0-, or 1010XXX; or
26        (6) contributions to any charitable organization

 

 

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1    subject to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
2    "Billing agent" means any entity that submits charges to
3the billing carrier on behalf of itself or any service
4provider.
5    "Billing carrier" means any telecommunications carrier, as
6defined in Section 13-202 of the Public Utilities Act, that
7issues a bill directly to a customer for any product or service
8not provided by a telecommunications carrier.
9    "Service provider" means any entity that offers a product
10or service to a consumer and that directly or indirectly
11charges to or collects from a consumer's bill received from a
12billing carrier an amount for the product or service.
13    (b) This Section does not apply to the provision of
14services and products by a telecommunications carrier subject
15to the provisions of Section 13-903 of the Public Utilities
16Act, by a telecommunications carrier's affiliates, or an
17affiliated cable or video provider, as that term is defined in
18Section 22-501 of the Public Utilities Act, or by a provider of
19public mobile services, as defined in Section 13-214 of the
20Public Utilities Act.
21    (c) Requirements for submitting charges.
22        (1) A service provider or billing agent may submit
23    charges for a product or service to be billed on a
24    consumer's telephone bill on or after the effective date of
25    this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly only if:
26            (A) the service provider offering the product or

 

 

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1        service has clearly and conspicuously disclosed all
2        material terms and conditions of the product or service
3        being offered, including, but not limited to, all
4        charges; and the fact that the charges for the product
5        or service shall appear on the consumer's telephone
6        bill;
7            (B) after the clear and conspicuous disclosure of
8        all material terms and conditions as described in
9        paragraph (A) of this item (1), the consumer has
10        expressly consented to obtain the product or service
11        offered and to have the charges appear on the
12        consumer's telephone bill and the consent has been
13        verified as provided in item (2) of this subsection
14        (c);
15            (C) the service provider offering the product or
16        service or any billing agent for the service provider
17        has provided the consumer with a toll-free telephone
18        number the consumer may call and an address to which
19        the consumer may write to resolve any billing dispute
20        and to answer questions; and
21            (D) the service provider offering the product or
22        service or the billing agent has taken effective steps
23        to determine that the consumer who purportedly
24        consented to obtain the product or service offered is
25        authorized to incur charges for the telephone number to
26        be billed.

 

 

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1        (2) The consumer consent required by item (1) of this
2    subsection (c) must be verified by the service provider
3    offering the product or service before any charges are
4    submitted for billing on a consumer's telephone bill. A
5    record of the consumer consent and verification must be
6    maintained by the service provider offering the product or
7    service for a period of at least 24 months immediately
8    after the consent and verification have been obtained. The
9    method of obtaining consumer consent and verification must
10    include one or more of the following:
11            (A) A writing signed and dated by the consumer to
12        be billed that clearly and conspicuously discloses the
13        material terms and conditions of the product or service
14        being offered in accordance with paragraph (A) of item
15        (1) of this subsection (c) and clearly and
16        conspicuously states that the consumer expressly
17        consents to be billed in accordance with paragraph (B)
18        of item (1) of this subsection (c) as follows:
19                (i) if the writing is in electronic form, then
20            it shall contain the consumer disclosures required
21            by Section 101(c) of the federal Electronic
22            Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act;
23            and
24                (ii) the writing shall be a separate document
25            or easily separable document or located on a
26            separate screen or webpage containing only the

 

 

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1            disclosures and consent described in item (1) of
2            this subsection (c).
3            (B) Third party verification by an independent
4        third party that:
5                (i) clearly and conspicuously discloses to the
6            consumer to be billed all of the information
7            required by paragraph (A) of item (1) of this
8            subsection (c);
9                (ii) operates from a facility physically
10            separate from that of the service provider
11            offering the product or service;
12                (iii) is not directly or indirectly managed,
13            controlled, directed, or owned wholly or in part by
14            the service provider offering the product or
15            service;
16                (iv) does not derive commissions or
17            compensation based upon the number of sales
18            confirmed;
19                (v) tape records the entire verification
20            process, with prior consent of the consumer to be
21            billed; and
22                (vi) obtains confirmation from the consumer to
23            be billed that he or she authorized the purchase of
24            the offered good or service.
25            (C) All verifications must be conducted in the same
26        language that was used in the underlying sales

 

 

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1        transaction.
2        (3) Unless verification is required by federal law or
3    rules implementing federal law, item (2) of this subsection
4    (c) does not apply to customer-initiated transactions with
5    a certificated telecommunications carrier for which the
6    service provider has the appropriate documentation.
7        (4) This Section does not apply to message
8    telecommunications service charges that are initiated by
9    dialing 1+, 0+, 0-, 1010XXX, or collect calls and charges
10    for video services if the service provider has the
11    necessary records to establish the billing for the call or
12    service.
13    (d) Records of disputed charges.
14        (1) Every service provider or billing agent shall
15    maintain records of every disputed charge for a product or
16    service placed on a consumer's bill.
17        (2) The record required under this subsection (d) shall
18    contain for every disputed charge all of the following:
19            (A) any affected telephone numbers and, if
20        available, addresses;
21            (B) the date the consumer requested that the
22        disputed charge be removed from the consumer's bill;
23            (C) the date the disputed charge was removed from
24        the consumer's telephone bill; and
25            (D) the date action was taken to refund or credit
26        to the consumer any money that the consumer paid for

 

 

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1        the disputed charges.
2        (3) The record required by this subsection (d) shall be
3    maintained for at least 24 months.
4    (e) Billing agents shall take reasonable steps designed to
5ensure that service providers on whose behalf they submit
6charges to a billing carrier comply with the requirements of
7this Section.
8    (f) Any service provider or billing agent who violates this
9Section commits an unlawful practice within the meaning of this
10Act.
11(Source: P.A. 96-827, eff. 11-30-09.)
 
12    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
131, 2013.