1. (a) Application. The provisions of this section apply to residential-customer bills issued by all certificated telecommunications utilities (CTUs). CTUs shall comply with the changes required by this section within six months of the effective date of the section.
2. (b) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to specify a user-friendly, simplified format for residential customer bills that include charges for local exchange telephone service.
3. (c) Frequency of bills and billing detail. Bills of CTUs shall be issued monthly for any amount unless the bill covers service that is for less than one month, or unless through mutual agreement between the company and the customer a less frequent or more frequent billing interval is established. Through mutual agreement with the CTU, a customer may request and receive a bill with more detailed or less detailed information than otherwise would be required by the provisions of this section if the CTU also will provide the customer with detailed information on request.

4. (d) Billing information.

   1. (1) All residential customers shall receive their bills via the United States mail, unless the customer agrees with the CTU to receive a bill through different means, such as electronically via the Internet.
   2. (2) Customer billing sent through the United States mail shall be sent in an envelope or by any other method that ensures the confidentiality of the customer's telephone number and/or account number.
   3. (3) A CTU shall maintain by billing cycle the billing records for each of its accounts for at least two years after the date the bill is mailed. The billing records shall contain sufficient data to reconstruct a customer's billing for a given month. A copy of a customer's billing records may be obtained by the customer on request.

5. (e) Bill content requirements. The following requirements apply to bills sent via the U.S. mail. Bills rendered via the Internet shall provide the information specified in this subsection in a readily discernible manner.

   1. (1) The first page of each residential customer's bill containing charges for local exchange telephone service shall include the following information, clearly and conspicuously displayed:

      1. (A) the grand total amount due for all services being billed;
      2. (B) the payment due date; and
      3. (C) a notification of any change in service provider, including the identity of the new service provider and notification to the customer that a new provider has begun providing service. The notification should describe the nature of the relationship with the customer, including the description of whether the new service provider is the presubscribed local exchange or interexchange carrier. For purposes of this subparagraph, "new service provider" means a service provider that did not bill the customer for services during the service provider's last billing cycle. This definition shall include only providers that have continuing relationships with the customer that will result in periodic charges on the customer's bill, unless the service is subsequently canceled.
      4. (D) If possible, the first page of the bill shall list each applicable telephone number or account number for which charges are being summarized on the bill. If such inclusion is not possible, the first page shall show the main telephone number or account number, and subsequent pages shall clearly identify the additional numbers.

   2. (2) Each residential customer's bill shall include the following information, clearly and conspicuously displayed, on the first page or in a subsequent section dealing with local exchange telephone service:

      1. (A) the total amount being charged for basic local telecommunications service, including any charges for mandatory extended/expanded calling scope services and, consistent with paragraph (8) of this subsection, any applicable fees or surcharges authorized by a governmental or regulatory entity;
      2. (B) the service description and total amount being charged for any optional local services provided by the billing CTU, including charges for any optional extended/expanded calling scope services and, consistent with paragraph (8) of this subsection, any applicable fees or surcharges authorized by a governmental or regulatory entity; and
      3. (C) the total amount being charged for taxes related to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph.

   3. (3) Each residential customer's bill also shall include the following information, clearly and conspicuously displayed:

      1. (A) the service descriptions and charges, including any applicable fees or surcharges authorized by a governmental or regulatory entity, for non-local services provided by the billing CTU. In addition, the charges for such non-local services may be displayed as a subtotal in a manner that is consistent with paragraph (8) of this subsection;
      2. (B) the service description, service provider's name, and charges, including any applicable fees or surcharges authorized by a governmental or regulatory entity, for any services provided by parties other than the billing CTU, with a separate line for each different provider. In addition, the charges for services provided by other parties may be displayed as a subtotal or subtotals in a manner that is consistent with paragraph (8) of this subsection;
      3. (C) taxes associated with the charges required by subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph, stated separately or as a combined charge if such combination is stated;
      4. (D) the billing period or billing end date; and
      5. (E) an identification of those charges for which non-payment will not result in disconnection of basic local telecommunications service, along with an explicit statement that failure to pay these charges will not result in the loss of basic local service; or an identification of those charges that must be paid to retain basic local telecommunications service, along with an explicit statement that failure to pay these charges will result in the loss of basic local service.
   4. (4) Charges must be accompanied by a brief, clear, non-misleading, plain-language description of the service being rendered. The description must be sufficiently clear in presentation and specific enough in content to enable customers to accurately assess the services for which they are being billed. Additionally, explanations shall be provided for any non-obvious abbreviations, symbols, or acronyms used to identify specific charges.
   5. (5) Charges for bundled-service packages that include basic local telecommunications service are not required to be separated pursuant to paragraph (2)(A)-(B) of this subsection; however, a brief, clear, non-misleading, plain-language description of the services included in a bundled-service package is required to be provided either in the description or as a footnote.
   6. (6) Non-recurring local charges, such as service-installation charges and per-use charges, may be included in the totals required by paragraph (2)(A)-(B) of this subsection; alternatively, such charges may be displayed as a separate category(ies) in the section dealing with local exchange telephone service. If the totals required by paragraph (2)(A)-(B) of this subsection include such charges, the CTU shall so state and identify the charges in a more detailed itemization elsewhere in the section dealing with local exchange telephone service.
   7. (7) Each customer's bill shall include specific per-call detail for time-sensitive charges, itemized by service provider and by telephone or account number (if the customer's bill is for more than one such number). Each customer's bill shall include the rate and specific number of billing occurrences for per-use services, itemized by service provider and by telephone or account number. Additionally, time-sensitive charges and per-use charges may be displayed as subtotals in summary sections of the bill.
   8. (8) Flat monthly fees or surcharges, including the 911 service fee, the Federal Communications Commission's subscriber-line charge, and the number-portability charge, related to governmental or regulatory actions shall be included in the amount for basic local telecommunications service described in paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection; the portion of the Texas Universal Service Fund (TUSF) assessment and other percentage-of-revenue-based assessments related to local exchange telephone service may be included in the amount for basic local telecommunications service or may be allocated to basic local telecommunications services and optional local services on a proportionate basis. The portion of the TUSF assessment and other percentage-of-revenue-based assessments related to non-local services shall not be included in either subtotal for local service. Each subtotal for local service, and any subtotal for non-local services, must clearly indicate by an asterisk, footnote, or other conspicuous statement any such assessments included in the subtotal. Similarly, if federal law or regulation requires that a charge be separately stated, using standardized labels, that requirement may be satisfied by use of an asterisk or footnote reference, or other conspicuous statement. If the specific amount of each assessment is not shown on the bill, the CTU must clearly indicate on the bill a toll-free method, including a toll-free telephone number, by which the customer may obtain information regarding such amount and its method of calculation.
   9. (9) Bills shall provide a toll-free number that a customer can call to resolve disputes and obtain information from the CTU. If the CTU is billing the customer for any services from another service provider, the bill shall identify the name of the service provider and provide a toll-free number that the customer can call to resolve disputes or obtain information from that service provider.
6. (f) Compliance review of bills. Within 45 days of the effective date of this section, CTUs may seek review from the commission of sample bills that are intended to comply with the requirements of this section.

Source Note:The provisions of this §26.25 adopted to be effective August 15, 2000, 25 TexReg 7665.