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COM/MP1/jt2 Date of Issuance 10/6/2008
Decision 08-10-016 October 2, 2008
BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Order Instituting Rulemaking to Address the Needs of Telecommunications Customers Who Have Limited English Proficiency. |
Rulemaking 07-01-021 (Filed January 11, 2007) |
PHASE II DECISION ADDRESSING IN-LANGUAGE MARKET TRIALS, FRAUD NOTIFICATION AND REPORTING, AND CONSUMER COMPLAINT AND LANGUAGE PREFERENCE TRACKING FOR LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONSUMERS
PHASE II DECISION ADDRESSING IN-LANGUAGE MARKET TRIALS, FRAUD NOTIFICATION AND REPORTING, AND CONSUMER
COMPLAINT AND LANGUAGE PREFERENCE TRACKING FOR LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONSUMERS 11
3. Phase II-A Issues - In-Language Market Trials 1111
3.2. Should In-Language Market Trials Be Permitted? 1111
3.3. How Should In-Language Market Trial Be Defined? 2222
3.4. If In-Language Market Trials are Authorized, What Conditions or Other Requirements, If Any, Should Be Imposed on Carriers Conducting In-Language Market Trials? 2525
3.4.1. Should Carriers Conducting In-Language Market Trials
be Required to Submit Reports or Other Information to the Commission at The Conclusion of an In-Language Market
Trial? If So, What Kind of Information Should be Provided
and Why? If Not, Why Not? 3535
3.4.2. Limitations on The Geographic Scope of In-Language
Market Trials 4040
3.4.3. Limitations On The Duration Of In-Language Market Trials 4545
3.4.4. Limitations on Pricing of Services to In-Language Market
Trial Participants, and Reduction or Waiver of Early Termination Fees or Other Rates/Charges During
In-Language Market Trials 5151
3.4.5. Notice and Other Information Carriers Should Be Required
to Make Available to In-Language Market Trial Participants 5757
3.4.6. What Services, If Any, Should Carriers be Required to Make Available During an In-Language Market Trial 6868
3.4.7. Other Requirements for In-Language Market Trials 7474
4. Phase II-B Issues - Fraud Notification and Reporting, and Consumer Complaint by Language and Language Preference Tracking 7676
4.1. Consumer Complaint by Language and Language Preference
Tracking 78784.2. Fraud Notification and Reporting 9595
4.3. Alternatives Identified During the Tracking Workshop 113113
4.3.1. Rely on Census Data for Information on LEP Populations 113113
4.3.2. Use of the Commission's Consumer Information
Management System for Assessing Whether LEP
Consumers are Facing Unique Challenges and to
Identify Those Challenges 113113
4.3.3. Conduct Customer Surveys to Gauge Whether LEP
Consumers Are Facing Unique Challenges Relative to the General Population, or Whether Subgroups of LEP
Consumers Have Unique Challenges 114114
4.3.4. Service Quality Enhancement and Other Internal Processes 115115
4.4.1. Compliance Reports 119119
4.4.2. Tracking LEP Consumer Complaints and Language
Preference 121121
4.4.3. Customer Satisfaction Surveys 128128
4.4.4. Publicly Available CAB Data 150150
4.4.5. Regulatory Complaint Resolution Forum 157157
4.4.6. Including CBOs in the Commission's Education, Complaint Resolution and Outreach Efforts 160160
4.4.7. LEP Demographic Information 162162
4.4.8. Definition of Complaint 163163
4.4.9. Modify CAB Procedures 167167
4.4.10. Revise On-Line Complaint Forms 169169
4.4.11. Consumer Education Program 170170
5. Request to File Under Seal 190190
6. Comments on Proposed Decision 191191
7. Assignment of Proceeding 191191
Appendix A - Rules Applicable to In-Language Market Trials
Appendix B - Revisions to Rule for In-Language Support to Limited English Proficient (LEP) Telecommunications Consumers
Appendix C - Revised Rules for In-Language Support to Limited English Proficient (LEP) Telecommunications Consumers
PHASE II DECISION ADDRESSING IN-LANGUAGE MARKET TRIALS,
FRAUD NOTIFICATION AND REPORTING, AND CONSUMER COMPLAINT AND LANGUAGE PREFERENCE TRACKING FOR LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONSUMERS
Decision (D.) 07-07-043 adopted rules to ensure that customers with limited English proficiency have just, adequate and reasonable access to the information and assistance they need to obtain and maintain telecommunications services, and help limited English proficient (LEP) customers protect themselves from fraud or abuse (In-Language Marketing Rules). Today's decision (Decision) further develops the In-Language Marketing Rules by resolving issues concerning: (1) tracking and reporting LEP consumer complaints and language preference; (2) fraud notification to LEP consumers and fraud reporting to the Commission; and (3) market trials in non-English languages.
The Decision finds that in-language market trials should be permitted with conditions, unless a carrier already markets non-exempt telecommunications services in the target language. The Decision:
· Defines an in-language market trial as, "the marketing of one or more non-exempt services for a limited duration in a non-English language;
· Authorizes carriers to conduct in-language market trials for a period not to exceed 180 days. A carrier that continues to market in a non-English language after the conclusion of a 180-day in-language market trial period must comply with all of the In-Language Marketing Rules adopted in D.07-07-043;
· Requires a two-year cooling off period before an in-language market trial in the same language may be repeated to ensure that carriers do not conduct serial market trials as a way to avoid compliance with the In-Language Marketing Rules;
· Determines that pre-approval of in-language market trials is unnecessary. However, the Decision requires notice to the Commission of the market trial start date and target language to provide a way for the Commission to determine that a carrier is complying with limits on the duration of in-language market trials;
· Requires carriers conducting in-language market trials to comply with Rule V of the In-Language Marketing Rules by providing, in the market trial target language during normal business hours, access to live, person-to-person customer service over the telephone using either a customer service representative fluent in the market trial target language, or through a third-party interpreter service, such as Language Line;
· Requires carriers to inform participants in the target language at the start of their participation in an in-language market trial that participants may contact the Commission's Consumer Affairs Branch (CAB) to file an informal complaint, and to provide CAB's telephone number web address and online complaint entry Uniform Resource Locator (URL) to participants. The Decision permits carriers to use any of the methods specified in Rule V of the In-Language Marketing Rules to provide this information;
· Requires the terms of an in-language market trial to include the condition that participation is entirely voluntary and revocable by participants if a carrier discontinues support in the market trial target language, and requires carriers to provide notice to in-language market trial participants 30 days before discontinuing access to customer service in the target language of the market trial;
· Requires carriers to, at a minimum, provide in-language market trial participants an English language confirmation summary of the customer's transaction, and to provide instructions in the target language on how to access target language customer service support for assistance with the translation and/or interpretation of the confirmation summaries, billing questions, and Commission-mandated notices and disclosures; and
· Finds that the Commission should not (but carriers may) limit in-language market trials to a specific geographic area, that there should be no restrictions on the pricing of services to in-language market trial participants, and that carriers should not be required to submit reports or other information to the Commission at the conclusion of an in-language market trial.
The In-Language Market Trial Rules adopted by this Decision are separate from, and do not modify, the In-Language Marketing Rules.
The Decision also finds that carriers should not be required to provide fraud notification to LEP consumers or fraud reports to the Commission, or to track or report LEP consumer complaints and language preference. The Decision concludes that we should first assess the effectiveness of those efforts already underway and try other alternatives before requiring carriers to establish LEP complaint and language preference tracking and reporting systems or establishing fraud notice and reporting requirements. Therefore, we adopt a combination of proposals which:
· Require carriers that market in a non-English language to submit a compliance report to the Commission within 60 days of initiating in-language marketing;
· Rely on Consumer Information Management System (CIMS) for data on LEP consumer complaints;
· Require posting of CIMS data on the Commission's website, including carrier information;
· Require that a carrier-funded consumer satisfaction survey of LEP consumers be conducted to help the Commission obtain information on how LEP customers are treated by carriers and to identify the needs of LEP consumers who may not file complaints;
· Use the Regulatory Complaint Resolution Forum for identifying and resolving LEP consumer issues, including separate venues for open meetings where all carriers and community-based organizations may address general issues, and special meetings limited to selected participants to address specific issues;
· Direct Commission staff to recommend revisions to the Commission's on-line complaint forms; and
· Require carriers which market in-language to provide their customers with a notice in the language(s) in which the carrier markets on how to reach to the CalPhoneInfo website.
The Decision defers a review of the In-Language Marketing Rules until after a written report on the consumer satisfaction survey has been issued, CIMS data has been compiled and reported for one year, and the Telecommunications Education and Assistance in Multiple-languages Program has published at least one annual report.