Your right to refunds
You may be entitled to receive refunds when there are problems with your phone service, billing errors, or directory errors.
Refunds for service problems
You have the right to a refund for the period in which you experienced any technical problems with your telephone services, as long as they are not related to your wiring or equipment. To be eligible for a refund, you must inform the phone company of the service problem. In general, you don't have to ask for a refund if the problem lasts for 24 hours or more. However, to ensure a timely refund, you should specifically request it from your phone company.
Refunds for billing errors
You should inform your phone company if you notice that your telephone bill includes a charge that should not have been billed or that was overbilled. You have the right to receive a refund for any billing error as long as you report it within a set period of time. Billing errors for recurring charges, such as monthly local telephone service, must be disputed within one year, while billing errors for non-recurring charges, such as directory assistance charges, must be disputed within 150 days of the date of the bill. Any refund that you receive for a billing error should also be credited with interest.
Refunds for directory errors
If there is an error in your telephone directory listing or your listing has been omitted, you may be able to receive a refund if you have paid any charges for the listing. If the error relates to your phone number, you have the right to have your incoming phone calls referred to your correct telephone number free of charge. This service will be provided until an updated directory is made available. Number referral service will also generally be provided if the phone company changes your telephone number for whatever reason, for a limited period of time.
* The rights summarized in this guide are for informational purposes only and do not represent a complete list of your rights. The information contained in this guide may also be subject to change. This guide does not change or add to any existing rules or laws. In the event of any inconsistencies between this guide and any existing rule or law, the existing rule or law will prevail.
Date Modified: 2006-12-21