FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pay Telephone Industry Self-Regulation Plan
Final Submission
Final 12/9/98
SALT LAKE CITY
PAY TELEPHONE INDUSTRY SELF-REGULATION PLAN
The pay telephone industry, represented by the Utah Payphone Association and U S WEST Communications, will institute the following procedures within Salt Lake City to address problems sometimes associated with the use of outside pay telephones, such as illegal use of pay telephones for drug trafficking and prostitution, graffiti, loitering, assaults, monopolization of payphones by certain individuals, and to identify the owners of payphones:
A. Vendor Identification and Posting of Complaint Line Number on Certain Payphones.
The name and telephone number of the responsible party providing pay telephone service shall be posted on a pay telephone placard or instruction card at each pay telephone or bank of pay telephones. The number provided must be local or toll-free. The name and address of the responsible party must be available to the City, so that the City can track who is responsible for problems at each pay telephone.
Problem pay telephone areas may be specifically identified by the City as a part of this plan. All pay telephones located is such areas of the city must be posted with a placard/sticker as identified in Exhibit A, attached hereto. This placard/sticker will be used to identify a local or toll-free number for consumers to call with complaints related to alleged illicit or illegal use of the pay telephone.
The City may add to or delete problem areas in which all pay telephones must be posted with a placard/sticker as described in (2) above.
The payphone industry shall also post a placard carrying the number of the local or toll-free complaint line at any payphone or bank of payphones about which a complaint is received on the complaint line. This posting shall occur even if the payphone is outside of the areas previously specified by the city.
The list of areas specified by the city is intended to identify the areas in which a placard/sticker carrying the local or toll-free complaint line shall be required on each payphone. All of the other provisions of this self-regulation plan shall apply throughout all areas of the city.
B. Centralized Complaint Line
The pay telephone industry will establish a local, centralized complaint line for pay telephones.
Citizen, neighbors, business owners, and others concerned with problems at a particular pay telephone or bank of pay telephones anywhere within the city may call the complaint line. It is anticipated that the city will provide the complaint line number to the community.
The complaint line will be answered by live persons, not recordings during normal business hours, and by voice messaging after normal business hours. The pay telephone industry will establish procedures to ensure that each complaint, whether received live, or by voice messaging will be assigned a control number, and that in every case, the complainant is contacted.
The complaint line will take the location, date, time, nature of the complaint, and other relevant information, and the name, address, and phone number of the complainant if the complainant chooses to reveal his or her identity.
The complaint line will assign a complaint number to the complaint and provide that number to the complainant. The complaint line will inform the complainant that an industry representative or the vendor will contact them within 8 business days to inform them what remedial action has been taken to solve the problem at that pay telephone (the "Response").
During the Response, the complaint line shall inform the complainant that if they observe that the payphone restrictions which are implemented have not helped resolve the problem, then they should contact the complaint line again. The complaint line must also advise the complainant that if the vendor’s efforts do not resolve the problem, they then have the option to request further review by the Problem Payphone Review Committee (PPRC) (see Remedial Action below).
The complaint line, and each vendor will maintain a file of all complaints through the use of a complaint form which includes a control number for each complaint along with the information set forth above, and both the complaint line and the vendor will document the action taken and resolution of each complaint on the complaint form.
The complaint line telephone number will be provided to the city so that it can be included in press releases, and sent to neighborhood groups, concerned citizens, the police department and other interested persons.
C. Remedial Action
1. Within 7 business days of receiving a complaint on the complaint line, the vendor shall take appropriate action. The action shall be consistent with the nature of the problem established, and may include any one or more of the following:
Remove, paint-over or otherwise eliminate graffiti.
Restriction of service to outgoing calls only.
Restrict service to (911) and (0) calling only.
Restriction of keypad digits, or other programming of the payphone to eliminate calls to pagers.
Remove the payphone.
Such other action as the complainant and the payphone vendor agree upon.
2. Any restrictions on the service of any payphone shall be posted at the payphone so that it is visible to the average person standing at least 6 feet away.
3. Within 8 business days of receiving the complaint at the complaint line, the vendor shall contact the complainant by phone or mail, if the complainant provided a phone number or address, and inform them what remedial action has been taken. A summary notation shall be added to the complaint form.
4. The vendor shall inform the complainant that after a period of 15 calendar days, if they are not satisfied with the remedial action taken, that they may contact the Complaint Line a second time. If needed, the Complaint Line will advise the complainant that they may refer the complaint in writing to the PPRC. The PPRC will then review the status of the complaint with the payphone vendor and the complainant, and determine if additional payphone restrictions are needed. Referrals to the PPRC must be in writing.
5. The complaint line and vendor must document the remedial action taken, and that contact with the complainant has been made within 8 business days. This documentation will be reviewed during periodic meetings with the city during the life of this plan.
6. Any remedial action communicated to any complainant shall remain in place for at least 90 days. The vendor may take additional remedial action not communicated to the complainant without subjecting that additional remedial action to the 90 day requirement.
D. Problem Payphone Review Committee
The industry shall establish a Problem Payphone Review Committee (PPRC). This Committee shall consist of at least three industry officials; one from U S WEST, one from the Utah Payphone Association, one from the City, and if possible, one from a vendor who is not a Payphone Association member.
The PPRC shall establish an address, telephone number and fax number where citizens and others can contact the Committee. The PPRC shall also identify one of its members as a single point of contact for the city. On a case by case basis, the city may provide the PPRC address, fax and telephone number and point of contact to the members of the community.
Fifteen calendar days after making a complaint through the complaint line, if the complainant or the city is not satisfied with the remedial action taken by the vendor as provided in Part (C) above, the complainant or the city may apply in writing to the PPRC for relief.
Citizens shall submit their complaints to the PPRC in writing. Complainants may submit additional testimony, exhibits, photographs or other materials to the Committee.
The Committee shall advise the payphone vendor of the complaint, and request that the vendor respond within 5 business days. The vendor may provide additional testimony, exhibits, photographs or other materials to the Committee.
The Committee may take live testimony, or conduct investigations to the extent it is deemed necessary by the Committee.
The Committee shall render a written decision within 10 business days of the date the complaint is submitted to them. The written decision shall find that the remedial action taken was either sufficient or was insufficient. The decision shall also recommend either no further action by the vendor, or that further remedial action is needed.
The Committee shall provide the complainant and the vendor with a copy of the decision.
The Committee shall inform the complainant that if he or she is dissatisfied with the action taken by the Committee, or the additional remedial action taken by the vendor 10 business days after the decision by the Committee, the complainant may register their dissatisfaction as provided below (Registration Of Unresolved Complaints).
If additional remedial action is recommended by the Committee, the vendor shall implement the remedial action within 5 business days after being notified by the Committee.
Any remedial action communicated to any complainant shall remain in place for at least 90 days. The vendor may take additional remedial action not communicated to the complainant without subjecting that additional remedial action to the 90 day requirement.
E. Registration Of Unresolved Complaints
Complainants who are not satisfied with the decision of the PPRC or the additional remedial action taken by the vendor 10 business days after the decision of the Committee, may register their unresolved complaint with the city. The city and the Committee shall review and discuss such unresolved complaints at each quarterly meeting.
The registration of unresolved complaints is solely for the purpose of collecting data to evaluate the success of this self-regulation plan. The first year of this plan is a trial period, so, the city has no duty or obligation to advocate, mediate or otherwise resolve complaints. Resolution of complaints is to be left entirely to the industry in accordance herewith.
Evaluation
The plan for industry self-regulation will commence on February 1, 1999.
The self-regulation plan will be reviewed with the city at the end of each quarter. Meetings to evaluate the plan will be held between the city and the payphone industry during the months of April, and July, and October 1999. At the conclusion of the one-year trial, industry representatives and the city will meet to determine if the trial has been successful, and whether it should continue and in what form. The time and place of these meetings is to be set by the contact persons identified below.
Evaluation of the success of the self-regulation plan will inevitably be subjective. Nevertheless, the evaluation may include, but not be limited to the following criteria:
Whether the central, local complaint line was established and operated in a reasonably efficient and customer friendly manner.
Whether the posting of payphones with the complaint line number occurred as agreed.
Whether the complaint line reasonably performed its duties of taking and documenting complaints, contacting vendors to arrange for remedial action, documenting remedial action and informing the complainants as required.
Whether the Problem Payphone Review Committee was established and operated in a reasonably efficient and customer friendly manner.
The total number of citizen complaints to the complaint line.
The number of complaints resolved through remedial action without resort to the PPRC.
The number of complaints filed with the PPRC.
The number of complaints submitted to the PPRC in which the initial remedial action taken by the vendor was not in fact reasonably sufficient.
The number of complaints submitted to the PPRC in which the vendor did not respond to the initial complaint within the agreed time (i.e., take remedial action within 7 business days and contact the complainant within 8 business days).
The number of repeat complaints, especially by different persons, involving the same payphone.
Whether the industry pursued the system of self regulation in good faith and appears intent on cooperating with the community into the foreseeable future.
Whether the remedial action taken by vendors remained in place for at least 90 days.
G. Contact Persons
Communication, meetings and other administration of this self-regulation plan as between the city and the payphone industry shall be arranged between the following individuals:
For The Payphone Industry
Mr. Randy Cromar
Utah Payphone Association
789 E. 8375
Sandy, UT 84094
Tel: (801) 567-9500
For Salt Lake City
Mr. Greg Hawkins
Assistant City Attorney
451 South State, Room 505
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Tel: (801) 535-7640
For More Information Contact:
Utah Payphone Association
789 South 8375 South, Sandy, utah 84094
Tel: 801-567-9500
FAX: 801-483-9670
Internet: Randy@publictelephone.com