(1) Upon receipt of a complaint alleging an
unauthorized charge for a product or service being placed on a customer's
telephone bill, either orally or in writing, from the customer, the customer's
local exchange company, or from the commission or its staff on behalf of a
customer or applicant, the telecommunications carrier or other entity that
initiated placement of the charge for the product or service on the customer's
telephone bill shall make a suitable and documented investigation and advise
the party requesting the investigation of the results. The results of the
investigation need not be in writing, unless otherwise directed by the
commission or requested by a customer. When advising the customer or party
requesting the investigation of the results, the carrier or other entity that
initiated the placement of the charge for the product or service on the
customer's telephone bill shall provide documentation in accordance with ARM
38.5.3901 and 38.5.3904 that confirms the customer's valid authorization for
placement of the charge for the product or service on the telephone bill. The
burden is on the carrier or other entity that initiated the placement of the
charge for the product or service on the customer's telephone bill to produce
documentation that valid authorization was obtained from the customer. If a
carrier or other entity fails to provide the documentation, all charges for the
products or services that the customer did not authorize or that were not
provided to the customer will be deemed invalid. A telecommunications carrier
or other entity, upon receipt of a complaint alleging unauthorized placement of
charges for products or service on a customer's telephone bill, shall issue an
initial response within five working days.
(2) The carrier or other entity shall
maintain and preserve records of complaints for a minimum period of two years after
receipt of the complaint. Records of complaints must include the complaint,
documentation of the investigation of the complaint, and documentation of the
response or responses to the complaint. Records of complaints must include the
customer's name, address, and telephone number, the date of the complaint, a
summary of the complaint, the date the complaint was resolved, and the
resolution reached. Records of complaints must be provided to the commission
within 20 days of request by the commission.