(1) Calls placed to a company's business or repair center during regular business hours must be answered either by a live representative or an automated call answering system.

(2) Companies that use an automated answering system must comply with the following requirements:

(a) Each month, the average time until the automated system answers a call must not exceed thirty seconds; and

(b) The automated system must provide a caller with an option to speak to a live representative within the first sixty seconds of the recorded message, or it must transfer the caller to a live representative within the first sixty seconds.

(i) A company may provide the live representative option by directing the caller to take an affirmative action (e.g., select an entry on the telephone) or by default (e.g., be transferred when the caller does not select an option on the telephone).

(ii) The recorded message must clearly describe the method a caller must use to reach a live representative.

(c) Each month, the average time until a live representative answers a call must not exceed sixty seconds from the time a caller selects the appropriate option to speak to a live representative.

(3) Companies that do not use an automated answering system must answer at least ninety-nine percent of call attempts, each month, within thirty seconds.