F. No Disconnection of Basic Telephone
Service for Nonpayment of
Non-communications Charges

Billing telephone companies that provide basic local exchange service may not disconnect or suspend a subscriber's basic service for failure to pay any non-communications charge on the subscriber's telephone bill.

[Comment: See § 779.2. Note that this rule applies only if the billing telephone company provides basic service.]

(1) When discussing non-payment of charges with subscribers, billing telephone companies must inform them of this rule in a clear and conspicuous manner.

(2) Billing telephone companies and their agents, as well as billing agents, vendors, and their agents, including assignees of accounts receivables, may not tell subscribers or lead them to believe that subscribers' basic local exchange service may be disconnected for failure to pay for non-communications charges.

(3) Unless otherwise directed by the subscriber at the time the payment is made, billing telephone companies shall credit partial payment amounts in the following order: (1) local exchange telephone service and associated mandatory fees and taxes; (2) other communications-related charges; (3) other charges.