Montana Title 69. Public Utilities and Carriers § 69-3-1309. Liability for unauthorized charges on telephone bill--penalty for violation

(1) If, after a hearing held pursuant to the Montana Administrative Procedure Act, the commission finds that any entity has initiated unauthorized charges to be placed on a customer's telephone bill for services or products not provided or authorized or that a billing aggregator has caused unauthorized charges to be forwarded to a billing agent for placement on a telephone bill, the commission may impose a civil fine not to exceed $1,000 for each violation. The fines must be deposited in the state general fund.

(2) If, after a hearing held pursuant to the Montana Administrative Procedure Act, the commission finds that a carrier or service provider has, with a frequency to indicate a general business practice, initiated unauthorized charges to be placed on a customer's telephone bill for services or products not provided or authorized or that a billing aggregator has caused unauthorized charges to be forwarded to a billing agent for placement on a telephone bill, the commission may take any of the following actions:

(3) The commission shall provide adequate time for a billing agent that is prohibited from billing on behalf of a service provider under this section to terminate contractual agreements with that service provider.

(4) The remedies provided by this section are in addition to any other remedies, including injunctive relief, available by law.

(5) A carrier or service provider that purposely or knowingly initiates unauthorized charges to be placed on a customer's telephone bill for services or products not provided to or authorized by the customer or a billing aggregator that causes unauthorized charges to be forwarded to a billing agent for placement on a telephone bill is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished as provided in 46-18-212.