Consumer Affairs Branch

Limited-English-Proficient Consumer Contact Data

In Decision D.08-10-016, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) ordered its Consumer Affairs Branch (CAB) to place data on the CPUC website about contacts with consumers who communicate in languages other than English.  The CPUC uses the term “Limited-English-Proficient (LEP)” to describe this group of consumers.  This web page provides the data on contacts to CAB from LEP consumers.  You may access this information by clicking on the links below.  You will be directed to tables with data from the years 2009, 2010, and 2011.

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Explanation of LEP Data Tables

Complaints and Inquiries Made to CAB in Languages Other Than English

The data in the tables are provided by CAB, and are a compilation of consumer complaints and inquiries, which taken together are called “contacts.”  These contacts to CAB concern individual telephone companies that are regulated by the CPUC.  The tables report only the contacts that were made to CAB in languages other than English.

The data tables for 2009, 2010 and 2011 [PDF for 2009, PDF for 2010, PDF for 2011] provide a tool for comparison between telephone companies.  The companies listed in the tables are organized in descending order, starting with the company that has the highest ratio of LEP contacts, as explained by the following:

• The data in the column titled “Contacts per 100,000 Access Lines (or equivalent)” represent the relationship between the number of LEP contacts that CAB received about a telephone company and the size of the telephone company.
• The abbreviations in the column titled “Utility Type” indicate the type of telephone company.  These types are defined in the Utility Type Definition Table.
• The columns titled “Percentage of Complaints” and “Percentage of Inquiries” represent the percentages of LEP complaints and LEP inquiries, respectively, out of the total number of LEP contacts for each telephone company.

Disclaimers Required by CPUC Decision D.08-10-016 for Publishing LEP Contact Data

1. CAB contacts include both informal complaints and inquiries (questions).
2. Callers to CAB are directed to contact their telephone company before contacting CAB for assistance.
3.  Complaints to CAB may not be resolved in favor of the consumer.
4. The information reported in the tables should not be viewed as a CPUC endorsement of one telephone company over another.
5. Consumers should not rely exclusively on the data reported in the tables, and should do further research before making their decisions to purchase telecommunications products and services.

CAB welcomes your feedback and suggestions for improvement regarding these tables.