ARCHIVED - Telecom Order CRTC 96-695
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Telecom Order |
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Ottawa, 4 July 1996
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Telecom Order CRTC 96-695
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IN THE MATTER OF an application by Bell Canada (Bell) under Tariff Notice 5712 dated 1 March 1996, for revisions to the company's General Tariff Item 25, Payment of Charges, regarding the application of a late-payment charge (LPC).
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WHEREAS Bell proposed to reduce the period after which an unpaid bill will incur an LPC from 42 to 31 days;
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WHEREAS Bell submitted that its proposal is consistent with the general trend to place the responsibility for the timely payment of indebtedness on the consumer, and is similar to or better than the number of days allowed by the various Stentor telephone companies for the application of an LPC;
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WHEREAS Unitel Communications Company (Unitel) and ACC Long Distance Inc. (ACC) provided comments regarding the application;
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WHEREAS ACC indicated that charges appearing on Bell's invoice are prebilled for services that are to be utilized the following month and that it is unjust for Bell to implement late payment charges on services yet to be consumed;
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WHEREAS Bell noted several examples of instances where goods or services must be paid for before they are used and noted further that it provisions facilities well in advance of receiving any revenues from those facilities;
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WHEREAS Unitel and ACC submitted that they only receive bills within eleven to fifteen days and approximately two weeks, respectively, of the billing date;
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WHEREAS the Commission notes Bell's submission that "nearly all bills should be delivered within eight business days, and this interval may vary slightly for more complex billing arrangements for a few business customers";
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WHEREAS Unitel and ACC submitted that, as large customers of the telephone company, their bill arrangements are more complex than average, that Bell's proposal does not leave sufficient time to audit bills, verify charges, and remit payments to the telephone company, and that until Bell can improve on its bill delivery date to large customers, it should not be permitted to change the time for the imposition of the LPC;
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WHEREAS Bell submitted that Article 19.2 of its Terms of Service provides adequate protection to all customers for charges that were billed in error;
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WHEREAS the Commission is of the view that notwithstanding Article 19.2 of the Terms of Service, customers should be allowed adequate time to review their bills; and
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WHEREAS, given Bell's current delivery intervals for customers with complex billing arrangements, the Commission is of the view that the company's proposal would not provide such customers with sufficient time to review their bills prior to the LPC becoming applicable -
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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
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Tariff Notice 5712 is denied.
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Allan J. Darling
Secretary General |
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- Date modified: