2. Background

In Decision (D.) 06-03-013, the Commission adopted revised General Order (GO) 168. Among other things, GO 168 included a cramming rule, which established that: (1) telephone companies may only bill subscribers for authorized charges; (2) the burden is on telephone companies to establish authorization of a disputed charge; and (3) prior to establishing this authorization, the carrier must treat a charge as if it was unauthorized and may not require the subscriber to make any payment of the disputed charge. The Commission also emphasized that carriers are the responsible party for all charges placed on their bills and for policing their bills. The decision also directed staff to hold a workshop to determine appropriate reporting requirements pursuant to Pub. Util. Code § 2889.9¹ and propose cramming-related reporting requirements. (D.06-03-013, OP 7.)

On February 22, 2008, the then-assigned Commissioner issued his Assigned Commissioner Ruling initiating a process by which the Commission would develop a record upon which to issue a final decision adopting cramming reporting requirements. The ruling provided for opening and reply comments on numerous issues.

Based on these comments and the existing rules from D.00-03-020, D.00-11-015, and D.06-03-013 (GO 168, Part 4), Commission staff prepared a standard set of rules for billing which would apply to all California telephone companies, including wireless carriers. The proposed rules covered subscriber authorization, requirements for offering billing services, dispute resolution responsibility, and reporting requirements.

On February 12, 2010, the assigned Commissioner issued a ruling seeking comment on the proposed rules. In response to the ruling, 25 comments were received and 18 reply comments were submitted. These comments and replies are summarized below.

In July 2010, CTIA - The Wireless Association, CTIA initiated a series of meetings with the Commission's Consumer Protection and Safety Division (CPSD), Commissioner offices and consumer groups to present their alternative proposal to the proposed rules. On August 7, 2010, at the request of the assigned Commissioner, CTIA filed its proposal in the form of supplemental comments. Comments on CTIA's alternative proposal were filed on August 16, 2010.

¹ All citations are to the Public Utilities Code unless otherwise indicated.