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S07042 Actions:

BILL NOS07042
 
05/17/2023REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION
01/03/2024REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION
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S07042 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          7042
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                      May 17, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by Sen. HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- read twice and ordered printed, and
          when printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection
 
        AN ACT to amend the general business law and the public service law,  in
          relation to customer service access
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
     2  391-w to read as follows:
     3    § 391-w. Customer service access. 1. Businesses that provide  products
     4  or  services in New York, regardless of the geographical location of the
     5  point of communication between  the  organization  or  third  party  and
     6  customer,  that are targeted to residents of New York, have at least one
     7  hundred  employees,  and  whose  annual  revenue  exceed  fifty  million
     8  dollars, shall provide a free, efficient, universally accessible, inclu-
     9  sive,  nondiscriminatory  and  evaluable customer service telephone line
    10  which must be able to provide the following, including but  not  limited
    11  to:
    12    (a)  allowing a customer to connect with a human representative within
    13  five minutes of beginning a call;
    14    (b) allowing a customer to present complaints,  claims,  incidents  or
    15  queries  and  receive communication with regard to any complaint, claim,
    16  incident or query;
    17    (c) have proof of complaints, claims, incidents or queries to  custom-
    18  ers  by providing an identification key and a written record on a medium
    19  of the customer's choice that includes proof of content, date, and  time
    20  of receipt by the company;
    21    (d)  when  appropriate,  provide  a refund of the price of the good or
    22  service, in whole or in part, and other legally applicable  compensation
    23  in the event of non-compliance or defective compliance with the contract
    24  or commercial offer; and
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11413-01-3

        S. 7042                             2
 
     1    (e)  provide truthful, effective, comprehensive, transparent and up to
     2  date information on any incident that arises around the normal provision
     3  of services.
     4    2.  The  use of answering machines or other similar means as an exclu-
     5  sive means of customer service is prohibited.
     6    3. Instructions to access a customer service communication line estab-
     7  lished by each business pursuant to this  section  must  appear  in  any
     8  contract  with  the  consumer,  on  any  invoices the business issues to
     9  customers, and on the website of the business, in an easy  to  identify,
    10  separate  section,  and in the case of the web pages on the home page of
    11  such website.
    12    4. Any business that knowingly fails to comply with  the  requirements
    13  of  this section shall be assessed a civil penalty for such violation by
    14  the attorney general not to exceed fifty thousand dollars per day.  Each
    15  day  such  offense shall continue shall constitute a separate additional
    16  violation. In determination of any such violation the  attorney  general
    17  shall  be  authorized to take proof and make a determination of relevant
    18  facts and to issue subpoenas in accordance with the civil  practice  law
    19  and rules.
    20    § 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 66-w to
    21  read as follows:
    22    § 66-w. Customer service access. 1. For purposes of this section:
    23    (a)  "call-answer  rate"  means the metric the department shall use to
    24  examine the percent of customers who request to speak  with  a  customer
    25  service  representative  and  are answered within thirty seconds by such
    26  customer service representative; and
    27    (b) "corporation"  means  a  gas  corporation,  electric  corporation,
    28  and/or combination gas and electric corporation.
    29    2.  (a) Notwithstanding any law, rule, regulation, order, or tariff to
    30  the contrary, the department shall require every corporation  to  estab-
    31  lish  an  annual  customer  service  call-answer rate of at least ninety
    32  percent.
    33    (b) The department shall have  the  authority  to  establish  negative
    34  revenue adjustments for each corporation that fails to satisfy the annu-
    35  al customer service call-answer rate of at least ninety percent.
    36    (i)  The  department  shall  set the negative revenue adjustments at a
    37  rate proportional to the corporation's failure to achieve  the  mandated
    38  call-answer rate.
    39    (ii)  The department shall apply sur-credits to the corporation's rate
    40  base when negative revenue adjustments are issued  for  a  corporation's
    41  failure  to  achieve  the  mandated  call-answer rate. The company shall
    42  clearly indicate the sur-credit on the customer's  bill  and  include  a
    43  brief description of the reason for the sur-credit.
    44    (c)  Every corporation shall file an annual report with the department
    45  that indicates what their call-answer rate was for  the  prior  calendar
    46  year.  If  a  corporation fails to meet the target call-answer rate, the
    47  report shall, at a minimum, include an explanation of such and the steps
    48  the corporation is taking to improve its performance in the next  calen-
    49  dar  year.  A  copy of the reports will be shared by the department with
    50  the assembly, senate, and the governor on an annual basis.  The  reports
    51  shall  also be published publicly online on every gas corporation, elec-
    52  tric corporation, and combination gas and electric corporation's  public
    53  facing website.
    54    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    55  it shall have become a law.
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