ASSEMBLY, No. 1938

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED MAY 6, 1996

By Assemblywoman FARRAGHER and Assemblyman CORODEMUS

An Act concerning long-distance telecommunications service and supplementing chapter 17 of Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, rule, regulation or order to the contrary, upon receiving notice from an interexchange carrier that a subscriber has changed primary interexchange carriers, a local exchange telecommunications company shall send written notice to the subscriber of that change within five working days.

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill would require local telephone companies to send written notice to a telephone subscriber within five working days of receiving notice that the subscriber has changed primary interexchange carriers.     Although telephone subscribers select their primary interexchange carriers, which provide long-distance services, the practice known as "slamming," where telephone subscribers are tricked into authorizing a change in their long-distance carrier, is fairly common. A telephone subscriber may respond to a sweepstakes entry or endorse a check unaware that this response is authorizing a change in long-distance service. By requiring local telephone companies to send a written notice of a change in primary interexchange carriers to the subscriber, the subscriber will be made aware of any unintentional change in primary interexchange carrier and will be provided the opportunity to take action in a timely manner.

Requires local telephone companies to notify subscribers of change in long-distance carrier.