Ill. Admin. Code tit. 83, § 735.100 - Applicants for Service
a) Where a company's
tariff provides for various types of service in an exchange, the applicant shall be
advised of the one-party service with the lowest basic monthly service charge and
lowest monthly charge for leased equipment or the lowest purchase price for
company-marketed equipment for the type of service (business or residential)
requested.
b) As a part of the first
bill rendered for utility service to a new residential or single-line business
customer, a company shall provide the customer with a listing of all services and
leased telephone equipment which shall be provided to that customer, with an
itemization of the monthly charges applicable thereto. The first bill shall also
show the lowest basic local service charge available for the type of service
supplied. If the customer notifies the company within 20 days after receiving
his/her first bill that the customer does not desire to receive certain services or
equipment, the company will delete such services or equipment from the customer's
account. The customer shall be responsible for all monthly usage and installation
charges incurred for the use of such service and equipment. No company, however,
shall charge a record keeping or service ordering charge for such deletion or
change.
c) A company shall establish a
written procedure governing requirements for establishment of credit.
d) A company shall provide a listing of acceptable
credit information, pursuant to its tariffs, to each applicant for service who is
required to furnish credit information. This listing shall indicate the order of
preference of this information, if any, and shall indicate what information that
particular applicant must furnish in order to obtain service.
e) Credit information
1) If an applicant for service is unable to
provide satisfactory credit information, the company may refuse to provide service
unless the applicant furnished a deposit, pursuant to Section
735.120.
2) For residential applicants for service,
satisfactory credit shall be based upon the following standards:
A) If the applicant has verifiable previous
service with any telephone company for at least twelve months and the payment record
on the account was satisfactory, the applicant would obtain service without a
deposit.
B) If the applicant had not
paid for the previous service, or the previous service had been disconnected for
nonpayment within the past twelve months, the company may require a deposit prior to
the connection of telephone service.
C)
If the applicant does not have verifiable service, or if the applicant had previous
service for less than one year, the applicant would be requested to provide further
credit information. The applicant would be requested to provide proof of:
i) home ownership;
ii) employment of two years or more with the
current employer;
iii) major oil company
credit card;
iv) major credit
card;
v) checking account;
vi) savings account;
vii) age of 50 years or more.
3) If the applicant is unable to
provide affirmative responses to two of these credit criteria in subsection (e)(2)
above, the company may request the applicant to furnish a deposit prior to the
connection of telephone service.
4) For
business customers, each company shall submit to the Commission a credit evaluation
plan. In evaluating the company's credit evaluation plan the Commission will take
into consideration whether the plan establishes reasonable criteria in relation to
the risks the company might expect to experience from business customers, whether
the criteria can be determined by objective, rather than subjective standards, and
whether the criteria do not unreasonably discriminate against any class or group of
commercial customers.
f) If a
company finds that the applicant for service has failed to pay for past due
telephone service of the same class provided by any telephone company, the company
may refuse to provide service unless the applicant, at the option of the company,
pays any past due bill and/or furnishes a deposit pursuant to Section 735.120. For
purposes of this subsection, a company may refuse to provide service if the
applicant is liable for a past due bill for telephone service pursuant to Section 15
of the Rights of Married Persons Act [750 ILCS 65/15 ], unless the
applicant, at the option of the company, pays any past due bill and/or provides a
deposit pursuant to Section
735.120 and/or enters into a
deferred payment agreement pursuant to Section
735.80.
g) If verification of the applicant's credit is
required, the company shall provide service if the applicant furnishes advance
payment of both the applicable charges for connecting service and the estimated
charges for the first 30 days of service. If the verification of credit provides
unsatisfactory credit information, the applicant will be informed of the reason or
reasons, after which the company may refuse to provide or continue service until the
customer provides a deposit or guarantor, pursuant to Section 735.120. If the
applicant so requests, the company shall provide these reasons in writing to the
applicant.
h) When the company takes
applications by telephone from third parties or users who will not be the customers
of the service, and the company does not verify the third party or user application
with the customer, the company shall not be entitled to collect from the customer of
the service if the customer disclaims any responsibility for requesting the service
within 20 days from the date of mailing of the first bill; provided, however, that
users will be responsible for paying for any message unit or toll charges which
accrue to the account.
Notes
Amended at 18 Ill. Reg. 17981, effective December 15, 1994
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