§ 3956. Termination of certain consumer contracts

1,537 words·~7 min read·/usc/title-50/section-3956

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(a)Termination by servicemember or dependent of a servicemember

(1)Termination A servicemember may terminate a contract described in subsection

(b)at any time after—

(A)the date the servicemember receives military orders to relocate for a period of not less than 90 days to a location that does not support the contract; or

(B)the date the servicemember, while in military service, receives military orders for a permanent change of station, thereafter enters into the contract, and then receives a stop movement order issued by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Homeland Security in response to a local, national, or global emergency, effective for an indefinite period or for a period of not less than 30 days, that prevents the servicemember from using the services provided under the contract.

(2)Notice In the case that a servicemember terminates a contract as described in paragraph (1), the service provider under the contract shall provide such servicemember with written or electronic notice of the servicemember’s rights under such paragraph.

(3)Manner of termination Termination of a contract under paragraph

(1)shall be made by delivery of a written or electronic notice of such termination and a copy of the servicemember’s military orders to the service provider, delivered in accordance with industry standards for notification of terminations, together with the date on which the service is to be terminated.

(4)Additional individuals covered For purposes of this section, the following individuals shall be treated as a servicemember covered by paragraph (1):

(A)A spouse or dependent of a servicemember who dies while in military service or a spouse or dependent of a member of the reserve components who dies while performing duty described in subparagraph (C).

(B)A spouse or dependent of a servicemember who incurs a catastrophic injury or illness (as that term is defined in section 439(g) of title 37), if the servicemember incurs the catastrophic injury or illness while in military service or performing duty described in subparagraph (C).

(C)A member of the reserve components performing military service or performing full-time National Guard duty, active Guard and Reserve duty, or inactive-duty training (as such terms are defined in section 101(d) of title 10).

(D)The spouse or dependent of a servicemember, described in paragraph (1)(B), who accompanies such servicemember during the period of relocation.

(b)Covered contracts A contract described in this subsection is a contract—

(1)for—

(A)commercial mobile service;

(B)telephone exchange service;

(C)internet access service;

(D)multichannel video programming service;

(E)a gym membership or fitness program; or

(F)home security services; and

(2)entered into by a servicemember before receiving the military orders referred to in subsection (a)(1).

(c)Retention of telephone number In the case of a contract for commercial mobile service or telephone exchange service terminated under subsection

(a)by a servicemember whose period of relocation is for a period of three years or less, the service provider under the contract shall, notwithstanding any other provision of law, allow the servicemember to keep the telephone number the servicemember has under the contract if the servicemember re-subscribes to the service during the 90-day period beginning on the last day of such period of relocation.

(d)Family plans In the case of a contract for commercial mobile service entered into by any individual in which a servicemember is a designated beneficiary of the contract, the individual who entered into the contract may terminate the contract—

(1)with respect to the servicemember if the servicemember is eligible to terminate contracts pursuant to subsection (a); and

(2)with respect to all of the designated beneficiaries of such contract if all such beneficiaries accompany the servicemember during the servicemember’s period of relocation.

(e)Other obligations and liabilities

(1)In general For any contract terminated under this section, the service provider under the contract may not impose an early termination charge, but any tax or any other obligation or liability of the servicemember that, in accordance with the terms of the contract, is due and unpaid or unperformed at the time of termination of the contract shall be paid or performed by the servicemember.

(2)Reinstatement of service If the servicemember re-subscribes to the service provided under a covered contract during the 90-day period beginning on the last day of the servicemember’s period of relocation, the service provider may not impose a charge for reinstating service, other than the usual and customary charges for the installation or acquisition of customer equipment imposed on any other subscriber.

(3)Return of provider-owned equipment If a servicemember terminates a contract under subsection (a), the servicemember shall return any provider-owned consumer premises equipment to the service provider not later than 10 days after the date on which service is disconnected.

(f)Return of advance payments Not later than 60 days after the effective date of the termination of a contract under this section, the service provider under the contract shall refund to the servicemember any fee or other amount to the extent paid for a period extending until after such date, except for the remainder of the monthly or similar billing period in which the termination occurs.

(g)Definitions For purposes of this section:

(1)The term “commercial mobile service” has the meaning given that term in section 332(d) of title 47.

(2)The terms “military orders” and “permanent change of station” have the meanings given such terms in section 3955 of this title.

(3)The term “multichannel video programming service” means a subscription video service offered by a multichannel video programming distributor, as that term is defined in section 522 of title 47, over a system the distributor owns or controls.

(4)The term “provider-owned consumer premises equipment” means any equipment that a provider of internet access service or multichannel video programming service rents or loans to a customer during the provision of that service, including gateways, routers, cable modems, voice-capable modems, CableCARDs, converters, digital adapters, remote controls, and any other equipment provided.

(5)The term “telephone exchange service” has the meaning given that term under section 153 of title 47.

(Oct. 17, 1940, ch. 888, title III, § 305A, as added Pub. L. 110–389, title VIII, § 805(a), Oct. 10, 2008, 122 Stat. 4188; amended Pub. L. 111–275, title III, § 302(a), Oct. 13, 2010, 124 Stat. 2875; Pub. L. 115–407, title III, § 304(a), Dec. 31, 2018, 132 Stat. 5374; Pub. L. 116–285, § 2, Jan. 5, 2021, 134 Stat. 4878; Pub. L. 117–333, § 17(a), Jan. 5, 2023, 136 Stat. 6136.)

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