Communications Regulation and Digital Hub Development Agency (Amendment) Act 2023

Customer charters

38. (1) The Commission may require providers of internet access services or publicly available interpersonal communications services to prepare, publish and keep updated a document to be entitled, and referred to in this Act as, a “customer charter”.

(2) The Commission may specify—

(a) the form of a customer charter and the information required to be included in a charter, including minimum quality-of-service standards under section 37 ,

(b) the manner (including frequency) of updates required to a customer charter,

(c) the classes of end-users that a charter is required to address, and

(d) the manner (including frequency) in which a customer charter is required to be published and notified to customers.

(3) The Commission may, where no minimum levels of quality of service are offered by a provider, require the provider to publish a statement to this effect in the customer charter or in such other form or manner as the Commission considers appropriate.

(4) The Commission shall require a provider referred to in subsection (1) to measure its performance against the standards set out in its customer charter and to report to the Commission on such performance in such form and manner as the Commission specifies.

(5) The Commission may arrange, or require a provider referred to in subsection (1) to arrange, an independent audit or review paid for by the provider of the performance of the provider measured against the standards set out in its customer charter.

(6) The Commission may publish details of a provider’s performance measured against the standards set out in its customer charter in such manner as the Commission considers appropriate.

(7) The Commission may, where it considers that a provider is not complying with subsection (1), (2) or (3), serve a direction on the provider specifying the measures required to be taken to comply with the relevant provision.

(8) A provider of internet access services or publicly available interpersonal communications services who fails to comply with—

(a) a requirement under subsections (1), (3) and (5), or

(b) a direction of the Commission under subsection (7).

commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a class A fine.