11. Resolution of Consumer Complaints
Responsibility for resolving a consumer dispute with a telecommunications provider first rests with the provider at issue. We agree with the Wireless Carriers that consumers who have a complaint regarding their telecommunications provider should first contact their provider directly before seeking Commission assistance.269 Often carriers are able to resolve consumers' issues without any Commission intervention, and we expect carriers to make good faith efforts to promptly respond to and resolve consumer complaints
There are instances, however, when a consumer is not satisfied with the carrier's response to a complaint. In those cases, a consumer may request assistance or relief from this Commission. These consumer requests may come in the form of informal or formal complaints.
CAB, which is part of the Consumer Service and Information Division ("CSID"), receives informal requests for assistance in person or by telephone calls, letters, or e-mails. CAB investigates informal complaints and take appropriate actions to resolve the complaints. Many consumer complaints are resolved at this level, through informal cooperation between the carriers and CAB staff.
Consumers who are unsatisfied with the results of CAB's informal resolution also may bring a formal complaint to the Commission. A formal complaint is an allegation by a person, business, or government entity that a utility has violated the P.U. Code; a Commission decision or regulation; or has failed to meet a requirement imposed by the Commission.
Consumer contact through the Commission's complaint resolution efforts is very important to the Commission's operations. Knowledge gained from consumers serves to keep us informed about telecommunications providers' activities, and helps us target and resolve problems quickly and effectively. In this Part we review how we respond to and address consumer complaints and consider ways in which we can further improve our complaint resolution practices.
11.1 Coordination with Carriers on Individual Dispute Resolution
Our individual dispute resolution efforts are supported by cooperation and communication between the Commission and carriers. Working with carriers allows us to provide expeditious relief to consumers and reduces the potential for protracted and costly litigation.270 We agree with TURN that these important informal resolution efforts "should be happening today as a matter of course."271
We recognize that, as an early intervention process, CPSD currently alerts telecommunications entities whose slamming numbers exceed the industry average of potential violations. We encourage CPSD to provide similar notices to telecommunications entities that have high volumes of cramming complaints. We expect any carrier receiving such notices to immediately examine its practices and promptly communicate back to the Commission's staff the specific measures it is taking to prevent any further potential violations.
To further improve our coordination with carriers, we direct the CSID director to work with telecommunications carriers to develop specific protocols and processes that ensure prompt attention to and timely conclusions of informal complaints. Our expectation is that these efforts will occur through a collaborative process, culminating in a voluntary agreement between CSID and the telecommunications carriers of how informal complaints will be handled expeditiously.
Additionally we direct CSID to work with our state's larger telecommunications carriers to establish company-specific senior management personnel contacts for each company, so that particularly troublesome complaints can receive prompt action from a senior-level carrier official with greater authority than the lower-level staff. While we do not expect that we will work with senior management personnel on most cases, having this contact in place likely will prove useful if CAB staff has difficulty in attaining an appropriate resolution with carriers' lower-level staff.
Finally we direct CSID to explore the practicality and feasibility of developing the ability for real time, three-way conversations with CAB staff, the affected utility, and the consumer. Our goal should be the immediate resolution of the complaint in most cases. CSID shall report back to the Commission within 180 days regarding steps it is taking to assess the feasibility of such a process. Such a system may allow the Commission to resolve complaints in a more timely fashion and conserve the resources of the Commission, the carrier, and, most importantly, the consumer.
In addition to collaborating when seeking to resolve individual disputes, it is important that Commission staff and carriers work together when identifying trends in complaints. The Wireless Carriers rightly point out that trend identification is essential to ensuring that "appropriate corrective measures can be taken quickly and effectively."272
As noted by the Wireless Carriers, the Commission already has a template for this interaction: The Regulatory Complaint Resolution Forum ("RCR Forum").273 In the late 1990s, the Commission's Consumer Services Division ("CSD"), the predecessor division to CSID, created the RCR Forum to improve the processing and resolution of consumer inquiries and complaints by providing a forum for the exchange of information between the utilities, the Commission, and consumers. Meeting on an almost monthly basis, the RCR Forum was chaired by the CSD Director and consisted of various members of the Commission staff and consumer affairs managers of major utilities.
RCR Forum participants were charged with improving overall customer service. Specifically the Forum had the following goals:
· Improve and evaluate communications and responsiveness to consumer service concerns and issues.
· Review and share best practices.
· Reduce formal complaints by promoting and facilitating effective processing and resolution of consumer inquiries.
· Explore expansion and utilization of alternative dispute resolution options.
· Promote education regarding current events or emerging issues that would impact service to consumers.
· Improve utilization of resources and overall responsiveness to consumers.274
These objectives have increased significance for practices in the modern telecommunications marketplace.
Although it since lapsed under different Commission leadership, we recognize that the RCR Forum had great value when it was in place. Frank exchange between Commission staff and carriers fostered a number of benefits, including improved processing of complaints at the Commission. Based on this past experience, we believe this informal group can enhance our complaint resolution processes greatly.
We, therefore, direct the CSID Director to reinstitute the RCR Forum. The CSID Director shall report back to the Commission within 120 days regarding the progress it has made in reestablishing the Forum. The CSID Director also should update the goals of the RCR Forum in order to take in consideration changes in the marketplace and concerns of the Commission as expressed in this decision. We will designate a commissioner to lead the RCR Forum activities.
We direct CSID to host a workshop to learn about other jurisdictions' best practices with respect to handling consumer complaints involving telecommunications carriers. A number of parties should be consulted. CSID should seek information regarding other states' best practices from the National Association of Regulated Utility Commissioners ("NARUC") and the National Regulatory Research Institute ("NRRI"), both of whom the Commission supports financially. Also we should consult with our government colleagues that have notable complaint resolution practices. The Wireless Carriers have already stated that they support our efforts to consult the best practices of other states and use those states as models for improving our own complaint resolution efforts.275 Since many of the telecommunications carriers in California do business in other states, we ask that they share with us best practices from other jurisdictions too. Finally CSID should solicit input from carriers and any other interested parties that have knowledge and expertise with complaint resolution in other states.
11.4 Enhancement of Call Center staffing and Resources
We sometimes lack adequate information on which to base our enforcement activity. This lack of information is largely due to an antiquated complaint database and insufficient personnel devoted to consumer contact and problem solving. We recognize that we need to make additional resources available to CAB to permit accurate gathering of complaint data, more timely intervention in disputes, and prompt action against companies that abuse or deceive their customers.
We currently are seeking to augment our budget for fiscal year 2006-2007 in order to improve our CAB call center's ability to respond to consumer complaints. Specifically we are requesting funds for updating our antiquated complaints database system and hiring a significant number of new CAB call center personnel.276 If we receive this funding, we will double the operating hours of our CAB call center from our current hours of 10 A.M. to 3 P.M. to extended hours of 8 A.M. to 6 P.M,., Monday through Friday. Additionally we will greatly enhance database functionality, so that we can more specifically identify the nature of a call, resolution time frame, and add data fields as new products and services are offered. We agree with Greenlining that CAB also should begin documenting when complaints are made in a language other than English; these complaints then may be compared against those made by individuals whose first language is English.277
Furthermore we especially want to ensure that our call center is responsive to consumers for whom English is not their primary language. We agree with LIF that Commission staff "who will be the first line of communication for consumers . . . must have facility in the languages of California's most vulnerable consumers."278 So of the new call center staffing positions called for in our budget request, we have designated the majority of these positions to be filled by bilingual personnel.279 We also will continue to use a third-party translation service to communicate with additional non-English speaking populations.
To support these bilingual recruitment efforts, we direct the Executive Director to work with the Department of Personnel Administration ("DPA") on obtaining bilingual CAB personnel. Presently the Commission is not allowed to test for foreign language proficiency in civil service and hiring exams. Given our specialized needs, we hope that we will be able to work with DPA to create new civil service classifications that recognize bilingual language. We also will explore the creation of similar bilingual positions in our Consumer Protection and Safety Division ("CPSD"), since CPSD is responsible for interviewing consumers in preparation for enforcement cases.
11.5 Greater Utilization of Community-Based Organizations
We recognize that a number of consumers contact local CBOs for assistance in resolving their complaints with telecommunications providers. We have found that CBOs provide a unique form of innovative, practical, and effective consumer protection that is targeted at individual communities. These organizations often are contacted, in particular, by consumers with limited English proficiency. CBOs help resolve complaints that the consumers might have difficulty addressing on their own. Difficulties in individual complaint resolution may stem from a language barrier, or a reluctance to contact a governmental agency due to immigration status.
We believe that we can improve our complaint resolution efforts by working more with CBOs, which possess unique insights into problems faced by specific communities. CBOs have knowledge about the telecommunications markets and communities they serve, have earned the trust of their constituencies, and show a passion for helping consumers. Some CBOs also track complaints that they help resolve, and Greenlining recommends that we join these CBOs in developing "a solid infrastructure for tracking and analyzing complaints."280
To build upon mutual interests, we direct the CSID Director and Telecommunications Division Director to develop an action plan designed to facilitate our partnering with CBOs ("CBO Action Plan"). The CBO Action Plan shall be prepared within 180 days of this decision. The Plan will identify ways in which we can improve CBOs' access to Commission personnel and carriers' complaint representatives. It should consider creating procedures for and dedicating special CAB contacts to interacting with CBOs. We also direct CSID's director to keep statistics on complaints resolved in partnership with CBOs, and to report any successes or shortcomings with respect to our interactions with CBOs
11.6 Examination of Formal Complaint Procedures
Consumers filing a formal complaint must meet a number of procedural requirements. When filing a formal complaint, consumers must state their case and provide proof of their allegations. Consumers then present evidence before an ALJ, who listens to both parties and issues a decision on the complaint.
If a consumer does not want to go through the regular formal complaint process, the consumer may request an expedited review of his complaint if the amount in controversy is less than $5,000. Under the expedited procedure, a hearing is held within thirty days after the utility files its answer to the complaint, and neither the utility nor the consumer is represented by an attorney.
The Commission's Public Advisor plays a key role in all forms of formal complaint resolution. The Public Advisor assists consumers in navigating through various Commission practices and procedures.
Although at this time we do not see any reason to change our formal complaint procedures, we recognize that a consumer faces a number of burdens when drafting and presenting evidence regarding a formal complaint. We, therefore, direct the ALJ Division and CSID to review the formal complaint process and our public information and report back to us in 180 days to identify any areas for improvement to make it more "consumer friendly." We want the Commission to be as accessible as possible, given constraints imposed by due process and administrative practicality.
269 Wireless Carriers Opening Comments, p. 11.
270 Id. at 11.
271 Consumer Groups Reply Comments, p. 5.
272 Id. at 11..
273 See generally id. at 11-12 (providing a lengthy description of the RCR Forum).
274 Id. at 12.
275 Id. at 13-14.
276 Specifically, in our currently budget change proposal ("BCP"), we currently are requesting twenty new call center personnel, thirteen of whom we have designated as bilingual speakers. This BCP is currently under review by the Administration and Legislature.
277 Comments of the Greenlining Institute on the Alternate Proposed Decision of Commission Grueneich, p. 6 (Feb. 14, 2006) ("Greenlining Grueneich Alternate Comments").
278 LIF Opening Comments, p. 6.
279 The Commission hopes to recruit at least seven Spanish speakers, three Chinese (Cantonese or Mandarin) speakers, two Korean speakers, and one Vietnamese speaker.
280 Greenlining Grueneich Alternate Comments, p. 7.
