A. Introduction
This section describes rules included in D.P.U. 18448, which directly apply to Verizon’s wireline phone service and may apply to other companies offering regulated wireline service in Massachusetts.15
B. Personal Emergency (Rule 5.17)
A company covered by D.P.U. 18448 cannot terminate service if a customer can demonstrate that he or she is unable to pay the bill and that a personal emergency exists. (D.P.U. 18448, Rule 5.17). If these conditions exist and the service has already been terminated, the company must restore service. Situations involving domestic violence and a wide range of other problems should qualify as a personal emergency, because the customer or someone in the customer’s household may need to be able to call 911, the police, a doctor, members of a support network, social service agencies, etc. In order to get this protection from termination of service, the customer simply has to write the company a letter explaining the nature of the emergency and why he or she cannot pay the bill. If the company refuses to provide this protection, the customer should contact the Department of Telecommunications and Cable (DTC) for assistance at (617) 305-3531 or (800) 392-6066. The protection is only valid for 30 days.
C. Serious Illness (Rules 5.15–5.16)
A company covered by D.P.U. 18448 cannot disconnect residential telephone service if someone in the household is seriously ill, needs the telephone service because of the illness, and cannot pay the bill due to financial hardship. If phone service has been terminated and these circumstances exist, the company must restore service. A customer in this situation should ask his or her physician to call the local phone company’s business office and explain that a serious illness exists. The doctor’s phone certification of the illness by telephone is initially sufficient to protect the phone service for 7 days.
To keep phone service on for longer than a week, the customer will need to provide a letter from the physician stating that a serious illness exists. The company is only required to accept the letter as proof of illness for 30 days. In order to keep service on longer than that, a new doctor’s letter must be provided every 30 days. The protection may not be renewed more than twice. This restriction means that the maximum allowable period of protection is 90 days, i.e., the initial 30-day period plus two additional 30-day renewals.
Since the protection lasts 90 days at most, the customer at some point will have to fully catch up with any unpaid bills, or work out a payment arrangement with the company. (D.P.U. 18448, Rule 5.19). If the telephone company refuses to agree to a reasonable payment plan, the customer should call the DTC consumer complaint line at (617) 305-3531 or (800) 392-6066 and ask for assistance.
D. Households in Which Adult Is 65 or Older (Rules 8.1–8.4)
If every adult living in a household is 65 or older, a company covered by D.P.U. 18448 cannot terminate service without the permission of the DTC. The DTC will not give this permission unless the company can show that it provided proper notice to the household, that it has made an attempt to secure payment “by reasonable means other than discontinuance,” and that it has not refused to accept any payment plan that is “just and equitable.” If the company refuses to accept an equitable payment plan, you or your client should call DTC for assistance because your client has the right to appeal to the DTC.
15 Voice telephone service through VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) is not subject to state regulation and would not be subject to the D.P.U. 18448 rules, unless the company voluntarily chooses to follow those rules.