Sen. David Koehler

Filed: 4/17/2012

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5211

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5211 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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.

 

 

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1    "Telecommunications carrier" has the same meaning as
2defined in Section 13-202 of the Public Utilities Act.
3    (b) A third-party vendor shall not bill, directly or
4through an intermediary, a consumer for goods or services that
5will appear as a charge on a consumer's telephone bill.
6    (c) A billing agent, on behalf of a third-party vendor,
7shall not submit, directly or through an intermediary, a charge
8to a telecommunications carrier for goods or services that will
9appear as a charge on a consumer's telephone bill.
10    (d) Any person who violates this Section commits an
11unlawful practice within the meaning of this Act.
12    (e) This Section does not apply to:
13        (1) services or goods provided by a telecommunications
14    carrier subject to the provisions of Section 13-903 of the
15    Public Utilities Act;
16        (2) services or goods sold by any affiliate of the
17    telecommunications carrier issuing the bill to the
18    consumer;
19        (3) services or goods sold by any third-party vendor
20    that has a direct contractual arrangement for the joint or
21    cooperative sale of such services or goods with the
22    telecommunications carrier issuing the bill to the
23    consumer; provided however, that the telecommunications
24    carrier issuing the bill to the consumer shall be
25    responsible for assuring that such services or goods are
26    not sold without the informed authorization of the

 

 

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1    consumer;
2        (4) wireless services, as described in Section 13-804
3    of the Public Utilities Act and any other services or goods
4    billed by or through a provider of wireless services;
5        (5) message telecommunications services that are
6    initiated by dialing 1+, 0+, 0-, or 1010XXX and calls that
7    are subject to the Pay-Per-Call Services Consumer
8    Protection Act; or
9        (6) contributions to any charitable organization
10    subject to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
11    "Billing agent" means any entity that submits charges to
12the billing carrier on behalf of itself or any service
13provider.
14    "Billing carrier" means any telecommunications carrier, as
15defined in Section 13-202 of the Public Utilities Act, that
16issues a bill directly to a customer for any product or service
17not provided by a telecommunications carrier.
18    "Service provider" means any entity that offers a product
19or service to a consumer and that directly or indirectly
20charges to or collects from a consumer's bill received from a
21billing carrier an amount for the product or service.
22    (b) This Section does not apply to the provision of
23services and products by a telecommunications carrier subject
24to the provisions of Section 13-903 of the Public Utilities
25Act, by a telecommunications carrier's affiliates, or an
26affiliated cable or video provider, as that term is defined in

 

 

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1Section 22-501 of the Public Utilities Act, or by a provider of
2public mobile services, as defined in Section 13-214 of the
3Public Utilities Act.
4    (c) Requirements for submitting charges.
5        (1) A service provider or billing agent may submit
6    charges for a product or service to be billed on a
7    consumer's telephone bill on or after the effective date of
8    this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly only if:
9            (A) the service provider offering the product or
10        service has clearly and conspicuously disclosed all
11        material terms and conditions of the product or service
12        being offered, including, but not limited to, all
13        charges; and the fact that the charges for the product
14        or service shall appear on the consumer's telephone
15        bill;
16            (B) after the clear and conspicuous disclosure of
17        all material terms and conditions as described in
18        paragraph (A) of this item (1), the consumer has
19        expressly consented to obtain the product or service
20        offered and to have the charges appear on the
21        consumer's telephone bill and the consent has been
22        verified as provided in item (2) of this subsection
23        (c);
24            (C) the service provider offering the product or
25        service or any billing agent for the service provider
26        has provided the consumer with a toll-free telephone

 

 

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1        number the consumer may call and an address to which
2        the consumer may write to resolve any billing dispute
3        and to answer questions; and
4            (D) the service provider offering the product or
5        service or the billing agent has taken effective steps
6        to determine that the consumer who purportedly
7        consented to obtain the product or service offered is
8        authorized to incur charges for the telephone number to
9        be billed.
10        (2) The consumer consent required by item (1) of this
11    subsection (c) must be verified by the service provider
12    offering the product or service before any charges are
13    submitted for billing on a consumer's telephone bill. A
14    record of the consumer consent and verification must be
15    maintained by the service provider offering the product or
16    service for a period of at least 24 months immediately
17    after the consent and verification have been obtained. The
18    method of obtaining consumer consent and verification must
19    include one or more of the following:
20            (A) A writing signed and dated by the consumer to
21        be billed that clearly and conspicuously discloses the
22        material terms and conditions of the product or service
23        being offered in accordance with paragraph (A) of item
24        (1) of this subsection (c) and clearly and
25        conspicuously states that the consumer expressly
26        consents to be billed in accordance with paragraph (B)

 

 

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1        of item (1) of this subsection (c) as follows:
2                (i) if the writing is in electronic form, then
3            it shall contain the consumer disclosures required
4            by Section 101(c) of the federal Electronic
5            Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act;
6            and
7                (ii) the writing shall be a separate document
8            or easily separable document or located on a
9            separate screen or webpage containing only the
10            disclosures and consent described in item (1) of
11            this subsection (c).
12            (B) Third party verification by an independent
13        third party that:
14                (i) clearly and conspicuously discloses to the
15            consumer to be billed all of the information
16            required by paragraph (A) of item (1) of this
17            subsection (c);
18                (ii) operates from a facility physically
19            separate from that of the service provider
20            offering the product or service;
21                (iii) is not directly or indirectly managed,
22            controlled, directed, or owned wholly or in part by
23            the service provider offering the product or
24            service;
25                (iv) does not derive commissions or
26            compensation based upon the number of sales

 

 

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1            confirmed;
2                (v) tape records the entire verification
3            process, with prior consent of the consumer to be
4            billed; and
5                (vi) obtains confirmation from the consumer to
6            be billed that he or she authorized the purchase of
7            the offered good or service.
8            (C) All verifications must be conducted in the same
9        language that was used in the underlying sales
10        transaction.
11        (3) Unless verification is required by federal law or
12    rules implementing federal law, item (2) of this subsection
13    (c) does not apply to customer-initiated transactions with
14    a certificated telecommunications carrier for which the
15    service provider has the appropriate documentation.
16        (4) This Section does not apply to message
17    telecommunications service charges that are initiated by
18    dialing 1+, 0+, 0-, 1010XXX, or collect calls and charges
19    for video services if the service provider has the
20    necessary records to establish the billing for the call or
21    service.
22    (d) Records of disputed charges.
23        (1) Every service provider or billing agent shall
24    maintain records of every disputed charge for a product or
25    service placed on a consumer's bill.
26        (2) The record required under this subsection (d) shall

 

 

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1    contain for every disputed charge all of the following:
2            (A) any affected telephone numbers and, if
3        available, addresses;
4            (B) the date the consumer requested that the
5        disputed charge be removed from the consumer's bill;
6            (C) the date the disputed charge was removed from
7        the consumer's telephone bill; and
8            (D) the date action was taken to refund or credit
9        to the consumer any money that the consumer paid for
10        the disputed charges.
11        (3) The record required by this subsection (d) shall be
12    maintained for at least 24 months.
13    (e) Billing agents shall take reasonable steps designed to
14ensure that service providers on whose behalf they submit
15charges to a billing carrier comply with the requirements of
16this Section.
17    (f) Any service provider or billing agent who violates this
18Section commits an unlawful practice within the meaning of this
19Act.
20(Source: P.A. 96-827, eff. 11-30-09.)
 
21    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
221, 2013.".