Brazoria2023Telco

CUSTOMER INFORMATION

Telephone Abuse Annoyance Calls

Customer Owned Phone Trouble Call 798-4102

Section 42.07 of the Texas Penal Code provides that a per son commits an offense if he intentionally communicates by telephone in a vulgar, profane, obscene or indecent language, in a coarse and offensive manner or threatening language and by this action intentionally, knowingly or reck lessly annoys or alarms or intends to alarm the recipient; or places one or more telephone calls anonymously, at an unreasonable hour, in an offensive and repetitious manner, or without legitimate purpose and by this action intention ally, knowingly or recklessly annoys or alarms the recipient or intends to do so. A person places a telephone call as soon as he dials a complete telephone number, whether or not a conversation ensues. Violation of this law is punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 and/or confinement in jail for a term not to exceed 180 days. Wiretapping State and federal law prohibit unlawful wiretapping. A line may only be intercepted under court orders by authorized law enforce ment. Violation under federal law is punishable by a $10,000 fine and/or 2 to 20 years imprisonment . 8 1 1

If You Are Using Customer Owned Equipment, Please Read The Following Information Before Calling The Repair Department. If a BTEL repairman has to visit a subscriber’s premises to check on reported trouble, and the repairman has determined the trouble is caused by Customer Owned Equipment and not by BTEL facilities, a restoration charge may apply. Checking Customer Owned Equipment Modular telephones can be easily checked by unplugging the tele phone set with which you are expecting trouble and plugging a sec ond telephone (if available) into the same jack to determine if a prob lem still exists. This is a simple test to determine whether the problem is in the customer’s equipment. In most cases, you may also test the inside wiring in your house by plugging in your telephone at the connector box. If you have determined the trouble to be in Customer Owned Equipment, please follow the warranty instructions or return the set to the place of purchase. If you are unable to determine if the problem is in Customer Owned Equipment, inside wiring or in the telephone company’s network, please call BTEL Repair Department, and we will be happy to help you pin-point the problem. BTEL is responsible for providing local service, dial tone and transmis sion facilities. Repair of local service, as well as repair of any equip ment you lease from BTEL, will be handled by the Repair Department. Lease Phone Trouble Call 798-4102

Fraudulent Calls Texas Law states that it is unlawful to intentionally avoid payment for services, or for calls made by deception. Upon conviction this offense is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 and 20 years imprisonment. Privacy When Using 800-900 and Per-Line or Per-Call Blocking The Public Utilities Commission’s Substantive Rule 26.12 (d) requires that BTEL inform their customers of the following: “Per-line or per-call blocking does not prevent transmission of your telephone number when you call a company using an 800, 888 or 900 number. Therefore, your number may be avail able to that company’s service representative before your call is answered.”

Don’t make an expensive mistake! Buried telephone cable or conduit could be in the area where you plan to dig. Before you dig on private property or public lands, call Lone Star Notification Center at 811 for a free utility line locate. Make the call at least 48 hours before you excavate. You could save yourself the cost of a major line repair and prevent serious inconvenience to yourself and your neighbors.

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