N.Y. Pub. Serv. Law § 92-I

Current through 2024 NY Law Chapter 553

Section 92-I - Cramming prohibited

1. For the purposes of this section, "cramming" means the inclusion and imposition of charges on the invoice or bill of a customer from a telephone corporation at the request of a third party or billing aggregator that (a) were not authorized by the customer, or (b) if authorized, were obtained through misleading or deceptive means.

2. A customer shall not be liable for charges appearing on the invoice or bill of a telephone corporation that are the result of cramming. No charges for any products or services, other than those provided by the telephone corporation, its affiliates, a third party video provider with whom a telephone corporation or its affiliate jointly market services, or otherwise permitted by law, shall be included on any bill or invoice of a customer, unless the third party requesting the payment of such charges retains and provides upon request valid proof that:

(a) the customer was provided with clear and conspicuous disclosure of all material terms and conditions of the product or service being offered, including but not limited to all initial and recurring charges and the fact that such charges shall appear on the customer's telephone bill;

(b) after receiving clear and conspicuous disclosure as provided in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the customer explicitly consented to the nature and amount of such charges; and

(c) the third party offering the product or service or an agent of such third party provided the customer with a toll-free telephone number the customer may call and an address to which the customer may write to resolve any billing dispute.

3. Any charges for third party products or services that are included on a bill or invoice by a telephone corporation without the consent of the customer having been obtained as provided in subdivision two of this section shall be void and unenforceable, and shall be removed from the bill or invoice upon notice from such customer.

4. The commission shall supervise and ensure compliance with the provisions of this section, and may promulgate any rules and regulations it deems necessary or desirable to ensure such compliance, including but not limited to any additional requirements for verification of customer orders and any additional standards that third parties or agents must meet to be authorized to receive payment through the inclusion of charges on bills or invoices of telephone corporations. Any failure by a telephone corporation to comply with the provisions of this section may be redressed as provided in subdivision three of section ninety-six of this article or as otherwise authorized by law.

N.Y. Pub. Serv. Law § 92-I

Added by New York Laws 2020, ch. 226,Sec. 2, eff. 4/5/2021.