ARCHIVED - Order CRTC 2000-582

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Order CRTC 2000-582

Ottawa, 20 June 2000
TELUS Communications Inc.
Tariff Notice 218

Winback promotion

1. The Commission grants conditional approval subject to the following modifications to TELUS Communications Inc.'s (TCI) request to introduce a Business Winback Service Charge Waiver Promotion. TCI is directed to obtain prior customer authorization acknowledging that the customer is aware that the customer must retain the company as provider of both local and long distance services for a minimum six month period in order to be eligible for the promotion. The acknowledgement is to be evidenced by a signed contract or by one of the following methods: a) accepting a signed document as end-customer confirmation; b) oral confirmation verified by an independent third party; c) electronic confirmation through the use of a toll-free number; or d) electronic confirmation via the Internet. The Commission also shortens the enrolment period to 31 August 2000.
2. Under the proposed Business Winback Service Charge Waiver Promotion, TCI would waive the service charges applicable to the provision of business exchange service for business customers who return from a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) and an alternate provider of long distance services (APLDS). TCI proposed that the promotion commence on 15 May 2000 and end on 15 November 2000.
3. TCI stated that unlike the One Month Free Business Exchange Winback Promotion, Item 610 of its General Tariff, which is targeted at all business customers who are obtaining only local service from a CLEC, the proposed promotion is targeting only small business customers (maximum four lines) who are obtaining both their local and long distance services from a CLEC and an APLDS.
4. The Commission notes that the One Month Free Business Exchange Winback Promotion to which TCI referred was approved in Telecom Order CRTC 99-961, dated 5 October 1999, and commenced on 5 October 1999 and ended 31 March 2000. The promotion was extended to 31 August 2000 in Order CRTC 2000-234, dated 28 March 2000.
5. The Commission considers that the proposed promotion is not substantially different from the current One Month Free Business Exchange Winback Promotion. In view of this, the Commission considers that a shortened promotion period for the proposed promotion would allow both promotions to be completed at the same time, without the need for an imputation test.
6. In addition, the Commission notes that one of the conditions of service for the promotion states that, if customers switch either their business exchange service or their long distance services to another provider(s) within six months following subscription, the tariffed rate for the applicable service charges will be assessed. The Commission is of the view that, absent a signed contract, TCI should be required to obtain prior customer authorization that the customer must retain the company as provider of both local and long distance services for a minimum six month period in order to be eligible for the promotion.
7. TCI is directed to issue forthwith tariff pages forthwith incorporating the methods described above for obtaining prior authorization and the shortened enrolment period.
8. TCI filed the application on 14 April 2000 to revise General Tariff Item 775.
Secretary General
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