W. Va. Code R. § 150-21-12

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 150-21-12 - Functional Standards

12.1. Enforcement/Complaint Process.

12.1.a. Mandatory. Service providers shall establish procedures regarding complaints, inquiries and comments regarding TRS services and personnel. The applicant shall provide an outline of the major points included in the complaint, comment and inquiry procedures.

12.1.b. Required.

12.1.b.1. The TRS shall take complaints by mail and telephone during normal business hours. Complainants shall not be required to put complaints in writing.

12.1.b.2. The provider shall ensure that any caller to the relay center having a complaint will be able to reach a supervisor or administrator while still on the line during a relay call during normal business hours.

12.1.b.3. All complaints received by supervisors or in writing shall be documented, including their resolution, and kept on file for a period of 12 months. These records shall be made available to the PSC Staff on request. All complaint forms shall be drafted in plain language, with full instructions for completing and filing the form, and large print copies available for visually impaired.

12.1.b.4. The TRS shall investigate and resolve all complaints promptly. The TRS shall inform the complainant in a timely manner regarding the resolution of a complaint.

12.1.b.5. In the event that the TRS is not able to resolve a complaint to the complainant's satisfaction, the TRS shall report the matter promptly to the PSC's Utilities Division.

12.1.b.6. The TRS shall cooperate fully with PSC Staff regarding complaint investigations, quality of service, compliance, and performance audits.

12.1.b.7. The TRS provider shall provide monthly summary reports to the PSC Staff regarding numbers of complaints received and subject areas of the complaints.

12.2. Public access to information.

12.2.a. Mandatory. The applicant must provide an outline of the initial and ongoing program features it proposes to satisfy this standard.

12.2.a.1. The TRS shall be capable of rerouting calls to other relay centers in a manner that is transparent to TRS users. Traffic rerouting shall occur whenever the Relay Center is unable to provide satisfactory service and shall continue until the Relay Center is able to provide satisfactory service.

12.2.a.2. Recorded announcements as appropriate shall be provided if a system failure occurs within the relay switch or on outbound circuits. Voice and TT messages shall be provided. Intercept messages on inbound circuits may or may not be under the control of the service provider.

12.2.a.3. Disaster Recovery Plan. The provider shall create a complete Disaster Recovery Plan for dealing with all types of natural and man-made problems. A primary requirement of that plan is to notify the PSC Staff immediately if a major problem occurs. The plan should also detail the levels of escalation that will be employed to deal with the problem and restore service.

As an augmentation to the requirements for a disaster recovery plan, applicants should provide details of plans to cope with specific disasters. Details may include alternate switching of calls including network diagrams identifying where traffic will be rerouted if vulnerable circuits become inoperable; the provision of up to fifty percent redundant circuits to geographic areas where users are concentrated; a contingency plan for how disasters will be handled that are not part of the network but that may affect the network (e.g., a fire in the Central Office that serves the TRS); or other areas that the applicant considers important to include in a disaster recovery plan.

Included in this description should be the suggested language, to be approved by the Commission, describing the West Virginia TRS for inclusion in all telephone directories.

12.2.b. Required.

12.2.b.1. Consumer Input: The telephone users shall have input on the quality of the delivery of service. Applicants shall develop a plan to include the users of the system in any evaluation of the TRS. An outline of this plan shall be included in the application. The plan should explain methods for obtaining consumer input and how the recommendations from these evaluations will be incorporated into the policies of the relay center. The evaluations shall not come from those directly or indirectly involved in operating the relay center or its corporate associates. This does not preclude the provider from conducting additional internal evaluations that include relay staff.

12.2.b.2. The provider shall report annually the results of the user evaluations to the PSC Staff.

12.2.c. Enhancement

12.2.c.1. Community Outreach: The TRS provider is responsible for an outreach and education program that meets or exceeds the minimum FCC requirements. The TRS provider must describe the proposed outreach and education program.

W. Va. Code R. § 150-21-12