Rule 4901:1-15-16 | Notification of customer rights.
(A) Each waterworks company and/or sewage disposal system company shall provide, at the time service is initiated, to new customers and upon the request of an existing customer a summary of their rights and obligations under these rules. The notice shall include current information, be in plain language, and shall be delivered to customers separately by mail or in person. Electronic notice shall be provided, if requested by the customer. The notice shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) A description of the complaint procedures available at the waterworks company and/or sewage disposal system company and the commission. The notice shall clearly state the means by which a complaint can be made to the company, including a local or toll free telephone number. The notice shall further include the following statement:
If your complaint is not resolved after you have called (name of utility), or for general utility information, residential and business customers may contact the public utilities commission of Ohio PUCO for assistance at 1-800-686-7826 (toll free) from eight a.m. to five p.m. weekdays, or http://www.puco.ohio.gov. Hearing or speech impaired customers may contact the PUCO via 7-1-1 (Ohio relay service).
The Ohio consumers' counsel (OCC) represents residential utility customers in matters before the PUCO. The OCC can be contacted at 1-877-742-5622 (toll free) from eight a.m. to five p.m. weekdays, or at http://www.occ.ohio.gov.
(2) A listing of the rights and obligations of customers relating to the installation of service, payment of bills, disconnection of service, reconnection of service, and testing of meters and of the utility's business office and availability of customer representatives.
(3) A description of the customer's rights regarding the holding and demanding of security deposits by the company; and any other methods used by the company to establish a residential customer's creditworthiness, as set forth in the company's tariff and in Chapter 4901:1-17 of the Administrative Code.
(4) A statement that the customer has a right to see a proper company photo identification whenever company employee(s) or agent(s) seek access to the customer's premise(s).
(5) A statement that the company's rates, rules, and regulations (tariff) are available for review upon request.
(6) Customer notification of the availability of a medical certificate.
(7) A statement that the commission has adopted a comprehensive set of minimum standards for waterworks companies and/or sewage disposal system companies, as set forth in this chapter which is available from the company or from the commission for review upon request.
(B) A waterworks company and/or sewage disposal system company that initiates or changes its notification of customer rights under these rules, shall file the proposed notification with the commission for approval. If the commission does not act upon a waterworks company's and/or sewage disposal system company's proposed notification of customer rights within forty-five days, it shall become effective on the forty-sixth day after the initial filing is made with the commission. Approved notifications of customer rights shall be filed with the commission in the company's "TRF" docket.
Last updated July 13, 2023 at 2:26 PM
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