Customer Information
Working with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and in compliance with the Commission's Substantive Rule 23.57, SWTTC is providing this notice to advise you of your rights concerning your customer-specific Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI).
SWTTC maintains certain information about your account in the normal course of providing your telephone service. This information, when matched to your name, address, and calling or originating billing telephone number, is known as your customer-specific "Customer Proprietary Network Information," or CPNI. Examples of your CPNI include the type of line you have, technical characteristics (like touch tone or rotary service), class of service (business or residential), current telephone charges, long distance and local service billing records, directory assistance charges, usage data, and calling patterns.
The PUC has adopted a rule which states that, upon your request, we may not use your customer-specific CPNI to market certain telephone services or features to you. In other words, if you request that your CPNI be considered "restricted," SWTTC would be prohibited from using your CPNI to market to you certain telephone services or features that may be available to you from other sources. The only exception to the above prohibition is if you, the customer, initiate contact with us and inquire about these services or features.
It is important to note that restricting your customer-specific CPNI will not eliminate all of our marketing communications with you. We may continue to use your customer-specific CPNI to contact you regarding telephone services and features we offer that are not available to you from another source. We may also continue our marketing contacts that are not based on your customer-specific CPNI.
If you wish to have your customer-specific CPNI considered "restricted," please contact our business office. Simply tell us that you wish to restrict the use of your customer-specific CPNI. There will be no charge for restricting your customer information and the restriction will remain in effect until you notify us otherwise.
Do Not Call Lists
The Federal Trade Commission has established a National Do Not Call Registry for residential consumers who do not wish to receive commercial solicitation over their telephone. The National Registry will stop telephone solicitations made for commercial purposes only, but will allow solicitations made by political organizations, charities, telephone surveyors, or companies with whom customers have established a business relationship (within 18 months of registration).
You may register your residential telephone number(s) or cell phone number(s) by calling (888) 382-1222 toll free, (866) 290-4236 for TTY access, or visiting the Registry Web site. This registration is free of charge. It will be effective three months after you register and will remain effective for five years.
Texas residential phone customers may now get on the Texas No Call List to reduce unwanted telemarketing calls. Inclusion on the do-not-call list is not intended to stop all telemarketing calls. Charities, nonprofit groups, and debt collectors are excluded from the law. Companies with a prior business relationship with the customer may continue to call in addition to telemarketers holding a state license, such as insurance agents, real estate agents, and stockbrokers. However, a state licensee must close any sale or payment with a face-to-face meeting.
You may register your residential telephone number(s) or cell phone number(s) by using one of these three methods:
- OnLine. Visit the Texas No Call Lists Web site. There is no charge for this service.
- Telephone. Call the automated registration number at (866) 896-6225. There is a charge of $2.25 per telephone number registered which may be paid by Mastercard or Visa.
- Mail. Request a registration form by calling the automated registration number at (866) 896-6225 or by downloading the registration form from the Web site. Mail the form to Texas No Call, PO Box 313, East Walpole, MA 02032-0313. There is a charge of $2.25 per telephone number registered which may be paid by check, money order, Mastercard, or Visa.
Your registered telephone number(s) will remain on the list for three years.
Please also see the Solicitation section.
Number Identification
Your telephone number may be transmitted to the company you have called and may be available to that company's service representative before your call is answered when an 800, 888, or other toll-free or 900 services number is dialed from your telephone. You may use Per-call Blocking if you wish to block your number in this situation.
Recording Calls
One of the following conditions must exist for your telephone conversation to be legally recorded:
- All parties being recorded must hear a beep or distinctive recorder tone approximately every fifteen seconds.
- All parties to the telephone conversation must give their prior consent to the recording of the conversation. The prior consent must be obtained in writing or be part of, and obtained at the start of, the recording.
- In lieu of the above condition, the recording party can give verbal notification in a clear, unambiguous manner, which is recorded at the beginning and as a part of the call.
Under certain restrictions, exemptions to these provisions exist for commercial licensees, emergency reporting systems, and law enforcement authorities.
Solicitation
Texas law provides certain protections for a person who receives a telephone solicitation at a residence. A telephone solicitor must:
- Identify Himself or Herself by Name
- Identify the Business on Whose Behalf He or She is Calling
- Identify the Purpose of the Call
A telephone solicitor may not call a residence before 9:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. on a weekday or Saturday or before noon or after 9:00 p.m. on Sunday. An automatic dialing/announcing device must disconnect from your line within 30 seconds after termination of the call. These requirements do not apply to telephone solicitations made at your request, or solicitations made in connection with an existing debt or contract, or calls from a telephone solicitor with whom you have a prior or existing business relationship.
The seller must comply with these rules if you use a credit card to purchase a good or service from a telephone solicitor other than a public charity (an organization exempt from federal income tax under IRS Code §501(c)(3)):
- Offer a full refund for the return of undamaged and unused goods within seven days after you receive the goods or services (the seller must process the refund within 30 days after you return the merchandise or cancel your order of undelivered goods or services).
- Provide you with a written contract fully describing the goods or services being offered, the total price charged, the name, address, and business telephone of the seller, and any terms and conditions affecting the sale.
The Texas Attorney General investigates complaints relating to a violation of this law, which is found at the Business and Commerce Code Chapter 37. If you have a complaint about a telephone solicitor who you believe has violated this law, contact:
| Office of the Attorney General | (512) 463-2185 or (800) 621-0508 tel |
| Consumer Protection Division | (512) 473-8301 tel |
| PO Box 12548 | |
| Austin TX 78711-2548 | http://www.oag.state.tx.us/consumer/complain.shtml |
Texas Civil Statutes Article 1446c, §119 and §120, requires a telephone solicitor to make every effort not to call a consumer who asks not to be called again. Complaints relating to a violation of this law are investigated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Contact the Public Utility Commission of Texas if you have a complaint about repeated solicitation from a telephone solicitor you have asked not to call you again.
Please also see the Do Not Call Lists section.
Approved Interconnection Agreements
Click the links below to view agreements by company.