Full Text of HB0728 96th General Assembly
HB0728ham001 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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Consumer Protection Committee
Filed: 3/10/2009
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| AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 728
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| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 728 by replacing | 3 |
| everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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| "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 |
| Calling Card Consumer Protection Act. | 6 |
| Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that: | 7 |
| (1) the prepaid telephone calling card industry in the | 8 |
| United States is plagued by fraudulent and deceptive business | 9 |
| practices; and | 10 |
| (2) the necessary protections relating to prepaid | 11 |
| telephone calling cards must ensure that all advertising is | 12 |
| truthful, accurate, and reasonably discloses the terms and | 13 |
| conditions of prepaid telephone calling cards and prepaid | 14 |
| telephone calling services. | 15 |
| Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: |
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| "Prepaid telephone calling service provider" means any | 2 |
| entity, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, | 3 |
| or person providing prepaid telephone calling service to the | 4 |
| public using its own, or a resold telecommunications network or | 5 |
| voice over Internet technology. | 6 |
| "Prepaid telephone calling service" or "service" means any | 7 |
| prepaid telecommunications service that allows consumers to | 8 |
| originate calls through a local, long distance, or toll-free | 9 |
| access number and authorization code, whether manually or | 10 |
| electronically dialed. "Prepaid telephone calling service" or | 11 |
| "service" does not include any service that provides access to | 12 |
| a wireless telecommunications service account wherein the | 13 |
| purchaser has a pre-existing relationship with the wireless | 14 |
| service provider or establishes a carrier-customer | 15 |
| relationship via the purchase of the object. | 16 |
| "Prepaid telephone calling card" or "card" means any right | 17 |
| of use purchased for a sum certain that contains an access | 18 |
| number and authorization code that enables a consumer to use a | 19 |
| prepaid telephone calling service. The rights of use may be | 20 |
| embodied on a card or other physical object or may be purchased | 21 |
| by an electronic or telephonic means through which the | 22 |
| purchaser obtains access numbers and authorization codes that | 23 |
| are not physically located on a card, its packaging, an | 24 |
| Internet website, or other promotional materials. "Prepaid | 25 |
| telephone calling card" or "card" does not include cards or | 26 |
| other rights of use that provide access to any of the |
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| following: | 2 |
| (1) a telecommunications service wherein the card or | 3 |
| other rights of use and telecommunications service are | 4 |
| provided for free or at no additional charge as a | 5 |
| promotional item accompanying a product or service | 6 |
| purchased by a consumer; or | 7 |
| (2) a wireless telecommunications service account | 8 |
| wherein the purchaser has a pre-existing relationship with | 9 |
| the wireless service provider or establishes a | 10 |
| carrier-customer relationship via the purchase of the | 11 |
| object. | 12 |
| "Prepaid telephone calling card distributor" means any | 13 |
| entity, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, | 14 |
| or person that purchases prepaid telephone calling cards from a | 15 |
| prepaid telephone calling card provider or distributor and | 16 |
| sells, re-sells, issues, or distributes cards to one or more | 17 |
| distributors of such cards or to one or more retail sellers of | 18 |
| cards. "Prepaid telephone calling card distributor" does not | 19 |
| include any retail merchants or sellers of prepaid telephone | 20 |
| calling cards exclusively engaged in point-of-sale | 21 |
| transactions with end-user customers.
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| Section 15. Required disclosures of prepaid telephone | 23 |
| calling cards or services. | 24 |
| (a) Any prepaid telephone calling service provider or | 25 |
| prepaid telephone calling card distributors shall disclose all |
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| of the following information relating to the terms and | 2 |
| conditions of the prepaid telephone calling card or service: | 3 |
| (1) The total value in dollars or the number of calling | 4 |
| minutes available of the prepaid telephone calling card or | 5 |
| service at the time of purchase. | 6 |
| (2) The total value in dollars or the number of calling | 7 |
| minutes charged or deducted specifically for the use of the | 8 |
| card on a payphone. The prepaid telephone calling service | 9 |
| provider or prepaid telephone calling service distributor | 10 |
| shall separately state the total value in dollars or the | 11 |
| number of calling minutes charged or deducted for any of | 12 |
| the following: | 13 |
| (A) for the amount of money paid by the prepaid | 14 |
| calling service provider to the payphone service | 15 |
| provider for the use of the payphone; and | 16 |
| (B) by the prepaid telephone calling service | 17 |
| provider in addition to those in provision (A) of this | 18 |
| item (2) for the use of the card on the payphone. | 19 |
| (3) The name of the prepaid telephone calling service | 20 |
| provider. | 21 |
| (4) The prepaid telephone calling service provider's | 22 |
| customer service telephone number and hours of service. | 23 |
| (b) The location of the disclosure and language requirement | 24 |
| shall be as follows: | 25 |
| (1) In the case of a prepaid telephone calling card, | 26 |
| the disclosures required under subsection (a) of this |
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| Section shall be printed in plain English language in a | 2 |
| clear and conspicuous location on the prepaid telephone | 3 |
| calling card or its packaging. If the card is enclosed in | 4 |
| opaque packaging, the disclosures shall be printed on the | 5 |
| outside packaging of the card.
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| (2) In the case of a prepaid telephone calling service | 7 |
| that consumers access and purchase via the Internet, the | 8 |
| disclosures required under subsection (a) of this Section | 9 |
| shall be displayed in plain English language in a clear and | 10 |
| conspicuous location on the Internet site that the consumer | 11 |
| must access prior to purchasing the service. | 12 |
| (3) The disclosures required under subsection (a) of | 13 |
| this Section shall also be printed on any advertising for | 14 |
| the prepaid telephone calling card or service, including on | 15 |
| any signs for display by retail merchants, any promotional | 16 |
| emails, any Internet site used to promote the card or | 17 |
| service, and on any other promotional material. | 18 |
| (4) If a language other than English is predominantly | 19 |
| used on a prepaid telephone calling card, its packaging, or | 20 |
| in point of sale advertising, or promotional material of a | 21 |
| prepaid telephone calling card or prepaid telephone | 22 |
| calling service, then the disclosures required by this | 23 |
| Section shall be disclosed in that language on the card, | 24 |
| packaging, advertisement, or promotional material. | 25 |
| Section 20. Unlawful conduct related to prepaid telephone |
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| calling cards. | 2 |
| (a) It shall be a violation of the Consumer Fraud and | 3 |
| Deceptive Business Practices Act for any prepaid telephone | 4 |
| calling service provider or prepaid telephone calling card | 5 |
| distributor to assess any fee associated with the prepaid | 6 |
| telephone calling card or prepaid telephone calling service, or | 7 |
| impose any charge for any permitted use of the prepaid | 8 |
| telephone calling card or prepaid telephone calling service if | 9 |
| the fee or charge is not disclosed as required under Section 15 | 10 |
| of this Act. | 11 |
| (b) It shall be a violation of the Consumer Fraud and | 12 |
| Deceptive Business Practices Act for any prepaid telephone | 13 |
| calling service provider to provide fewer minutes than the | 14 |
| number of minutes promoted or advertised on any prepaid | 15 |
| telephone calling card, any point of sale material relating to | 16 |
| the card or the other advertising related to any prepaid | 17 |
| telephone calling card or service. Any limitation on the period | 18 |
| of time for which the displayed, promoted, or advertised | 19 |
| minutes will be available to the customer shall be | 20 |
| conspicuously displayed on the card, packaging, and | 21 |
| promotional material that lists the minutes, consistent with | 22 |
| Section 15 of this Act. | 23 |
| (c) It shall be a violation of the Consumer Fraud and | 24 |
| Deceptive Business Practices Act for any prepaid telephone | 25 |
| calling card distributor to distribute any prepaid telephone | 26 |
| calling card that the distributor knows that the prepaid |
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| telephone calling card provides fewer minutes than the number | 2 |
| of minutes promoted or advertised on any prepaid telephone | 3 |
| calling card, any point of sale material relating to such card, | 4 |
| any voice prompt indicating the number of minutes available, or | 5 |
| other advertising relating to any prepaid telephone calling | 6 |
| card or service. Any limitations on the period of time for | 7 |
| which the displayed, promoted, or advertised minutes will be | 8 |
| available to the customer shall be conspicuously displayed on | 9 |
| the card, packaging, and promotional material that lists the | 10 |
| minutes, consistent with Section 15 of this Act. | 11 |
| (d) It shall be a violation of the Consumer Fraud and | 12 |
| Deceptive Business Practices Act for any prepaid telephone | 13 |
| calling service provider to provide fewer minutes than the | 14 |
| number of minutes promoted or advertised through any voice | 15 |
| prompt given to a customer at the time the customer places a | 16 |
| call to a dialed destination with the prepaid telephone calling | 17 |
| card or service. | 18 |
| (e) It shall be a violation of the Consumer Fraud and | 19 |
| Deceptive Business Practices Act for any prepaid telephone | 20 |
| calling card distributor to distribute prepaid telephone | 21 |
| calling cards that it knows provide fewer minutes than the | 22 |
| number of minutes promoted or advertised through any voice | 23 |
| prompt given to a customer at the time the customer places a | 24 |
| call to a dialed destination with the prepaid telephone calling | 25 |
| card or service. | 26 |
| (f) Unless a different expiration date is clearly disclosed |
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| pursuant to the disclosure requirements under Section 15 of | 2 |
| this Act, it shall be unlawful for any prepaid telephone | 3 |
| calling service provider or prepaid telephone calling card | 4 |
| distributor to provide, issue, resell, or distribute a prepaid | 5 |
| telephone calling card or service that expires (i) less than 1 | 6 |
| year from the date on which the card or service is first used; | 7 |
| or
(ii) in the case of a prepaid telephone calling card or | 8 |
| service that permits the consumer to purchase additional usage | 9 |
| minutes or add additional value to the card or service, less | 10 |
| than 1 year from the date on which the consumer last purchased | 11 |
| additional usage minutes or added additional value to the card | 12 |
| or service. | 13 |
| (g) It shall be a violation of the Consumer Fraud and | 14 |
| Deceptive Business Practices Act for any prepaid telephone | 15 |
| calling service provider or service to assess any fee or charge | 16 |
| for any unconnected telephone call. For purposes of this | 17 |
| subsection (g), a telephone call shall not be considered | 18 |
| connected if the person placing the call receives a busy signal | 19 |
| or if the call is unanswered. | 20 |
| (h) Liability under this Section may not be avoided by | 21 |
| stating that the displayed, promoted, or advertised minutes are | 22 |
| subject to fees or charges, or by utilizing other disclaimers | 23 |
| or limitations. | 24 |
| (i) A violation of this Section is an unlawful practice | 25 |
| within the meaning of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business | 26 |
| Practices Act. |
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| Section 90. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business | 2 |
| Practices Act is amended by changing Sections 2Z and 2TT as | 3 |
| follows:
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| (815 ILCS 505/2Z) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 262Z)
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| Sec. 2Z. Violations of other Acts. Any person who knowingly | 6 |
| violates
the Automotive Repair Act, the Automotive Collision | 7 |
| Repair Act,
the Home Repair and Remodeling Act,
the Dance | 8 |
| Studio Act,
the Physical Fitness Services Act,
the Hearing | 9 |
| Instrument Consumer Protection Act,
the Illinois Union Label | 10 |
| Act,
the Job Referral and Job Listing Services Consumer | 11 |
| Protection Act,
the Travel Promotion Consumer Protection Act,
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| the Credit Services Organizations Act,
the Automatic Telephone | 13 |
| Dialers Act,
the Pay-Per-Call Services Consumer Protection | 14 |
| Act,
the Telephone Solicitations Act,
the Illinois Funeral or | 15 |
| Burial Funds Act,
the Cemetery Care Act,
the Safe and Hygienic | 16 |
| Bed Act,
the Pre-Need Cemetery Sales Act,
the High Risk Home | 17 |
| Loan Act, the Payday Loan Reform Act, the Mortgage Rescue Fraud | 18 |
| Act, subsection (a) or (b) of Section 3-10 of the
Cigarette Tax | 19 |
| Act, the Payday Loan Reform Act, subsection
(a) or (b) of | 20 |
| Section 3-10 of the Cigarette Use Tax Act, the Electronic
Mail | 21 |
| Act, the Internet Caller Identification Act, paragraph (6)
of
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| subsection (k) of Section 6-305 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, | 23 |
| Section 18d-115, 18d-120, 18d-125, 18d-135, or 18d-150 of the | 24 |
| Illinois Vehicle Code, Article 3 of the Residential Real |
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| Property Disclosure Act, the Automatic Contract Renewal Act, | 2 |
| the Calling Card Consumer Protection Act, or the Personal | 3 |
| Information Protection Act commits an unlawful practice within | 4 |
| the meaning of this Act.
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| (Source: P.A. 94-13, eff. 12-6-05; 94-36, eff. 1-1-06; 94-280, | 6 |
| eff. 1-1-06; 94-292, eff. 1-1-06; 94-822, eff. 1-1-07; 95-413, | 7 |
| eff. 1-1-08; 95-562, eff. 7-1-08; 95-876, eff. 8-21-08.)
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| (815 ILCS 505/2TT)
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| Sec. 2TT. Prepaid calling service. | 10 |
| (a) For purposes of this Section, the terms "Prepaid | 11 |
| Calling Service", "Prepaid Calling Service Provider", "Prepaid | 12 |
| Calling Service Retailer", and "Prepaid Calling Service | 13 |
| Reseller" shall have the same definitions as those in Sections | 14 |
| 13-230, 13-231, 13-232, and 13-233, respectively, of the Public | 15 |
| Utilities Act. | 16 |
| For the purposes of this Section, "international preferred | 17 |
| destination" means a prepaid calling service that advertises a | 18 |
| specific international destination either on the card, the | 19 |
| packaging material accompanying the card, or through an | 20 |
| offering of sale of the service.
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| (b) On and after July 1, 2005, it is an unlawful practice | 22 |
| under this Act for any prepaid calling service provider or | 23 |
| prepaid calling service reseller to sell or offer to sell | 24 |
| prepaid calling service to any prepaid calling service retailer | 25 |
| unless the prepaid calling service provider has applied for and |
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| received a Certificate of Prepaid Calling Service Provider | 2 |
| Authority from the Illinois Commerce Commission pursuant to the | 3 |
| Public Utilities Act and the prepaid calling service provider | 4 |
| or prepaid calling service reseller shows proof of the prepaid | 5 |
| calling service provider's Certificate of Prepaid Calling | 6 |
| Service Provider Authority to the prepaid calling service | 7 |
| retailer. | 8 |
| (c) On and after July 1, 2005, it is an unlawful practice | 9 |
| under this Act for any prepaid calling service retailer to sell | 10 |
| or offer to sell prepaid calling service to any consumer unless | 11 |
| the prepaid calling service retailer retains proof of | 12 |
| certification of the prepaid calling service provider by the | 13 |
| Illinois Commerce Commission pursuant to the Public Utilities | 14 |
| Act. The prepaid calling service retailer must retain proof of | 15 |
| certification for one year or the duration of the contract with | 16 |
| the reseller, whichever is longer. A prepaid calling service | 17 |
| retailer with multiple locations selling prepaid calling cards | 18 |
| under contract with a prepaid calling service provider may keep | 19 |
| the certification at a central location provided, however, that | 20 |
| the prepaid calling service retailer make a copy of the | 21 |
| certification available upon reasonable request within 48 | 22 |
| hours. | 23 |
| (d) On and after July 1, 2005, no prepaid calling service | 24 |
| provider or prepaid calling service reseller shall sell or | 25 |
| offer to sell prepaid calling service, as those terms are | 26 |
| defined in Article XIII of the Public Utilities Act, to any |
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| Illinois consumer, either directly or through a prepaid calling | 2 |
| service retailer, unless the following disclosures are made | 3 |
| clearly and conspicuously: | 4 |
| (1) At a minimum, the following terms and conditions | 5 |
| shall be disclosed clearly and conspicuously on the prepaid | 6 |
| calling card, if applicable: | 7 |
| (A) the full name of the Prepaid Calling Service | 8 |
| Provider as certificated by the Illinois Commerce | 9 |
| Commission; | 10 |
| (B) the toll-free customer service number , and if | 11 |
| such service is not provided 24 hours per day, 7 days | 12 |
| per week, then the hours of service ; | 13 |
| (C) an access number that is toll-free or a number | 14 |
| local to the prepaid calling retailer; and | 15 |
| (D) the refund policy or a statement that the | 16 |
| refund policy is located on the packaging materials. | 17 |
| (2) At a minimum, all the material terms and conditions | 18 |
| pertaining to the specific prepaid calling card shall be | 19 |
| disclosed in plain English clearly and conspicuously on the | 20 |
| prepaid calling card, on the packaging materials | 21 |
| accompanying the prepaid calling card , or visibly | 22 |
| displayed at the point of sale, including, but not limited | 23 |
| to, the following, if applicable: | 24 |
| (A) the value of the card in minutes or the | 25 |
| domestic rate per minute of the card; | 26 |
| (B) all surcharges , limitations on the use of |
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| minutes available, and fees applicable to the use of | 2 |
| the domestic prepaid calling service; | 3 |
| (C) all applicable rates for international | 4 |
| preferred destinations; | 5 |
| (D) all applicable surcharges and fees for | 6 |
| international preferred destinations;
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| (E) a disclosure statement indicating that all | 8 |
| rates, surcharges, and fees applicable to | 9 |
| international calls are available through the | 10 |
| toll-free customer service number and a statement | 11 |
| disclosing if international rates vary from domestic | 12 |
| rates; and
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| (F) the expiration policy ; and .
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| (G) applicable policies relating to refund, | 15 |
| recharge, decrement, and expiration.
If the card is | 16 |
| enclosed in opaque packaging, then the disclosures | 17 |
| shall be printed on the outside of the packing of the | 18 |
| card. | 19 |
| (3) At a minimum, the following information shall be | 20 |
| disclosed clearly and conspicuously and accurately through | 21 |
| the toll-free customer service telephone number through | 22 |
| which the customer is able to speak with a live customer | 23 |
| service representative: | 24 |
| (A) the Illinois Commerce Commission certificate | 25 |
| number of the Prepaid Calling Service Provider; | 26 |
| (B) all applicable rates, terms, surcharges, and |
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| fees for domestic and international calls; | 2 |
| (C) all information necessary to determine the | 3 |
| cost of a given call;
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| (D) the balance of use in the consumer's account; | 5 |
| and | 6 |
| (E) the applicable expiration date or period. | 7 |
| (4) In the case of a prepaid calling service that | 8 |
| consumers access and purchase via the Internet, the | 9 |
| disclosures required under this subsection (d)
shall be | 10 |
| displayed in plain English language in a clear and | 11 |
| conspicuous location, including conspicuous instructions | 12 |
| and directions to any link to such disclosures, on the | 13 |
| Internet site that the consumer must access prior to | 14 |
| purchasing service. | 15 |
| (5) With respect to prepaid calling service, the | 16 |
| disclosures required in this subsection (d) shall also be | 17 |
| printed on any signs for display by retail merchants and on | 18 |
| any other promotional material used at the point of sale | 19 |
| that is prepared by, or at the direction of, a prepaid | 20 |
| calling service provider, prepaid calling service | 21 |
| reseller, or prepaid calling service retailer. | 22 |
| (6) If a language other than English is predominately | 23 |
| used on a prepaid telephone calling card or its packaging | 24 |
| or in point of sale advertising or promotional material of | 25 |
| a prepaid calling service provider, prepaid calling | 26 |
| service reseller, or prepaid calling service retailer, |
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| then the disclosures required by this Section shall be | 2 |
| disclosed in that language on the card, packaging, | 3 |
| advertisement, or promotional material. | 4 |
| (e) It shall be a violation of this Act for any prepaid | 5 |
| calling service provider, prepaid calling service reseller, or | 6 |
| prepaid calling service retailer to assess any fee associated | 7 |
| with the prepaid telephone calling card or prepaid telephone | 8 |
| calling service, or impose any charge for any permitted use of | 9 |
| the prepaid telephone calling card or prepaid telephone calling | 10 |
| service if the fee or charge is not disclosed as required under | 11 |
| subsection (d) of this Section. | 12 |
| (f) Except with regard to lawful charges or deductions that | 13 |
| are fully disclosed prior to purchase, it shall be a violation | 14 |
| of this Act for any prepaid calling service provider, prepaid | 15 |
| calling service reseller, or prepaid calling service retailer | 16 |
| to provide fewer minutes than the number of minutes promoted or | 17 |
| advertised on any prepaid telephone calling card, any point of | 18 |
| sale material relating to the card, or the other advertising | 19 |
| related to any prepaid telephone calling card or service. Any | 20 |
| limitation on the period of time for which the displayed, | 21 |
| promoted, or advertised minutes will be available to the | 22 |
| customer shall be conspicuously displayed on the card, | 23 |
| packaging, and promotional material that lists the minutes, and | 24 |
| be consistent with subsection (d) of this Section. | 25 |
| (g) It shall be a violation of this Act for any prepaid | 26 |
| telephone prepaid calling service provider, prepaid calling |
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| service reseller, or prepaid calling service retailer to | 2 |
| distribute any prepaid telephone calling card that the prepaid | 3 |
| calling service provider, prepaid calling service reseller, or | 4 |
| prepaid calling service retailer knows provides fewer minutes | 5 |
| than the number of minutes promoted or advertised on any | 6 |
| prepaid telephone calling card, any point of sale material | 7 |
| relating to such card, any voice prompt indicating the number | 8 |
| of minutes available, or other advertising relating to any | 9 |
| prepaid telephone calling card or service. Any limitations on | 10 |
| the period of time for which the displayed, promoted, or | 11 |
| advertised minutes will be available to the customer shall be | 12 |
| conspicuously displayed on the card, packaging, and | 13 |
| promotional material that lists the minutes, and be consistent | 14 |
| with subsection (d) of this Section. | 15 |
| (h) It shall be a violation of this Act for any prepaid | 16 |
| calling service provider to provide fewer minutes than the | 17 |
| number of minutes promoted or advertised through any voice | 18 |
| prompt given to a customer at the time the customer places a | 19 |
| call to a dialed destination with the prepaid telephone calling | 20 |
| card or service. | 21 |
| (i) It shall be a violation of this Act for any prepaid | 22 |
| calling service reseller or prepaid calling service retailer to | 23 |
| distribute prepaid telephone calling cards that it knows | 24 |
| provide fewer minutes than the number of minutes promoted or | 25 |
| advertised through any voice prompt given to a customer at the | 26 |
| time the customer places a call to a dialed destination with |
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| the prepaid telephone calling card or service. | 2 |
| (j) Unless a different expiration date is clearly disclosed | 3 |
| pursuant to the disclosure requirements under subsection (d) of | 4 |
| this Section, it shall be unlawful for any prepaid calling | 5 |
| service provider, prepaid calling service reseller, or prepaid | 6 |
| calling service retailer to provide, issue, resell, or | 7 |
| distribute a prepaid telephone calling card or service that | 8 |
| expires (i) less than one year after the date on which the card | 9 |
| or service is first used or (ii) in the case of a prepaid | 10 |
| telephone calling card or service that permits the consumer to | 11 |
| purchase additional usage minutes or add additional value to | 12 |
| the card or service, less than one year from the date on which | 13 |
| the consumer last purchased additional usage minutes or added | 14 |
| additional value to the card or service. | 15 |
| (k) It shall be a violation of this Act for any prepaid | 16 |
| telephone calling service provider to assess any fee or charge | 17 |
| for any unconnected telephone call. For purposes of this | 18 |
| subsection (k), a telephone call shall not be considered | 19 |
| connected if the person placing the call receives a busy signal | 20 |
| or if the call is unanswered. | 21 |
| (l) Liability under this Section may not be avoided by | 22 |
| simply stating that the displayed, promoted, or advertised | 23 |
| minutes are subject to fees or charges. A prepaid calling | 24 |
| service provider, prepaid calling service reseller, or prepaid | 25 |
| calling service retailer shall not be liable for lawful fees, | 26 |
| charges, and limitations, including lawful conditions of use, |
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| that are disclosed. | 2 |
| The disclosures required under this subsection (d) do not | 3 |
| apply to the recharging of dollars or minutes to a previously | 4 |
| purchased card allowing prepaid calling service.
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| (Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 7 |
| becoming law.".
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