North Carolina § 62-73 - 1. Complaints against providers of telephone services.

§ 62-73. 1. Complaints against providers of telephone services.

A local exchange company or competing local provider that is unable to resolve a customer complaint shall (i) provide notice to the consumer of the consumer's right to contact the Public Staff of the Commission and (ii) provide to the consumer, in writing, contact information for the Public Staff, including both a toll-free telephone number and an electronic mail address. The Public Staff shall keep a record of all complaints received pertaining to the provider, including the nature of each complaint and the resolution thereof. If the Public Staff determines that it cannot reasonably resolve the matter, the matter shall be referred to the Commission. The standard for review by both the Public Staff and the Commission shall be whether the action or inaction of the provider is reasonable and appropriate. History (2009-238, s. 5.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2009-238, s. 7, made this section effective June 30, 2009. The preamble to Session Laws 2009-238, provides: "Whereas, the technology used to provide communications services has evolved and continues to evolve at an ever-increasing pace; and "Whereas, the resulting competition between traditional telephone service providers, cable companies offering communications services, Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers, wireless communications service providers, and other communications service providers promotes and continues to promote additional consumer choices for these services; and "Whereas, traditional telephone service providers remain subject to certain antiquated statutory and regulatory restrictions that do not apply to other communications service providers; and "Whereas, this disparity may deprive consumers of traditional telephone companies of the full range of timely and competitive options and offerings that otherwise would be available to them; and "Whereas, the General Assembly finds that relaxing certain restrictions for traditional telephone companies will relieve consumers of unnecessary costs and burdens, encourage investment, and promote timely deployment of more innovative offerings at more competitive prices for customers; and "Whereas, in order to make the full range of competitive options and offerings available to consumers of communications services while maintaining inflation-based price controls for those existing customers who currently receive and wish to continue receiving only stand-alone basic residential lines from traditional telephone companies, the General Assembly hereby enacts the 'Consumer Choice and Investment Act of 2009'; Now, therefore,"