Consumer Rights

Telecommunications Division staff would have the Commission recognize the following single set of telecommunications consumer rights to be enforced across the industry within the scope of its jurisdiction. These rights would then become the foundation upon which the Commission would construct consumer protection rules for the regulated telecommunications industry as a whole.¹

1. Disclosure: Consumers have a right to receive clear and complete terms and conditions for service agreements and disclosure of prices for goods and services, and to affirmatively accept all terms and conditions before being charged for services.

2. Choice: Consumers have a right to select their service vendors, and to have that choice respected by industry.

3. Privacy: Consumers have a right to personal privacy, to protection from unauthorized use of their records and personal information, and to reject intrusive communications and technology.

4. Public Participation: Consumers have a right to participate in public policy proceedings and shall be informed of means to participate.

5. Oversight and Enforcement: Consumers have a right to be informed of their rights and what agency enforces those rights. Consumers have a right to address how well state and federal regulators monitor and implement consumer protections on their behalf.

6. Accurate Bills and Redress: Consumers have a right to be accurately billed for services they authorize and the opportunity of redress for problems they encounter. Vendors of telecommunications services shall provide clear information explaining how and where consumers can complain. Consumers shall have their complaints addressed without harassment.

The concept of first establishing telecommunications consumers' rights and then crafting a set of measures to secure them is one we find very appealing. In addition to communicating to the public what it is the Commission sees as its charge, those rights once defined will help focus stakeholders on finding solutions that work. When participants see shortcomings in particular consumer protection rules that others propose, their responsibility will be clear to propose alternative measures to the same end lest the right at issue be lost.

This, then, is the first topic on which we seek input. Recognizing that a telecommunications consumer bill of rights is the first step toward crafting consumer protection rules, are the rights proposed by the Report the appropriate ones, and are they correctly defined?