TITLE 48

MONOPOLIES AND TRADE PRACTICES

CHAPTER 11

IDAHO PAY-PER-TELEPHONE CALL ACT

48-1103.  Preamble message. (1) An information provider that offers pay-per-telephone call services in this state shall include at the beginning of its service a preamble message. No preamble message shall be required for pay-per-telephone call service for which the total charge for such service is two dollars ($2.00) or less.

(2)  The preamble message shall be clearly understandable and audible and state the cost of the call. The preamble must disclose all per-call charges. If the call is billed on a usage sensitive basis, the preamble must state all rates, by minute or other unit of time, any minimum charges and the total cost for calls to that service if the duration of the service can be determined.

(3)  The preamble must state the name of the information provider and accurately describe the information, product, or service that the caller will receive for the fee.

(4)  The preamble must inform the caller that billing will begin only after a specific identified event following the disclosure message, such as a signal tone, and must provide a reasonable opportunity for the caller to disconnect before that event.

(5)  Any preamble message associated with a pay-per-telephone call service that is aimed at or likely to be of interest to children under the age of eighteen (18) must contain a statement that the caller should hang up unless he has parental permission.

(6)  A caller may be provided the means to bypass the preamble message on subsequent calls, provided that the caller has sole control of that capability, except that any bypass device shall be disabled for a period of thirty (30) days following the effective date of a price increase for the service. Instructions on how to bypass must either be at the end of the preamble message or at the end of the service.

(7)  If the pay-per-telephone call service originates and terminates within local exchange areas served by the same telephone corporation within the state of Idaho, the information provider may apply to the Idaho attorney general for permission to modify the preamble message. The attorney general may grant such permission if the attorney general is satisfied that the modified message will adequately disclose sufficient material facts which will safeguard the public against deceit and financial hardship. Such decision shall be final and nonappealable.

History:

[48-1103, added 1992, ch. 29, sec. 1, p. 91.]