California Disaster Relief Guidelines
There are times that due to natural disasters or other catastrophic events, the Federal government or the State of California will declare a state of emergency. When such states of emergency are declared, and in effect, Wave may implement certain consumer protection measures to ease the burden of these unfortunate events, and help impacted telephone customers communicate with friends and family.
When is Disaster Relief an Option?
Consumer protection measures will be implemented when either the State of California or the Federal Government declare a state of emergency, and a Wave service area is impacted by the catastrophic event, to the point that telephone services have been disrupted and degraded.
What relief options are available and for how long are they available?
There are several points of relief available for our California telephone customers including the following:
- Waiver of one-time activation fee for establishing remote call forwarding, remote access to call forwarding, call forwarding features and messaging services;
- Waiver of the monthly rate for one month for remote call forwarding, remote access to call forwarding, call forwarding, call forwarding features, and messaging services;
- Waiver of the service charge for installation of service at the temporary or new permanent location of the customer and again when the customer moves back to the premises;
- Waiver of the fee for one jack and associated wiring at the temporary location regardless of whether the customer has an Inside Wire Plan;
- Waiver of the fee for up to five free jacks and associated wiring for Inside Wiring Plan for customer upon their return to their permanent location; and
- Waiver of the fee for one jack and associated wiring for non-Plan customers upon their return to their permanent location.
The above listed consumer relief measures will be available for twelve (12) months, or such time that the Offices of Emergency Services for the state of California determines an appropriate amount of time has passed.
**ADDITIONAL COVID 19 TEMPORARY RELIEF PROVISION IS IN EFFECT**
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, for California residential and small business telephone services customers facing financial hardship which contact Wave and certify same, Wave will temporarily suspend assessment of late fees and disconnection of telephone services due to non-payment for residential and small business telephone services. This provision will be in effect until further guidance is provided by the California Public Utilities Commission.
If you are facing financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are here to help and our goal is to ensure our customers continue to receive the services they need; please contact our care center for more information.
Once this temporary provision expires, we will notify our customers of the change. We will work with our customers to make monthly payments as easy and affordable as possible. We know how difficult this year has been for so many and we sincerely want to help find a solution that works. Please keep an eye out for additional communication in the future.
How do I know when disaster relief is an option?
If disaster relief measures are implemented in California, Wave will communicate to impacted customers letting them know that disaster relief may be available to them. Methods of communication may include, but are not limited to notification emails to a preferred email address on file, Wave website messaging, social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and radio. You can always call our care center in the event that you have questions, at 1-866-928-3123.
How will this impact my account?
In the event the event of an emergency declaration, please call our call center to verify your location, and inform Wave of the consumer protection measures you’re in need of assistance with.
How do I use the call forwarding feature?
Customers impacted by the disaster relief will automatically be able to use the call forwarding feature. Using your home phone, dial *72, wait for the confirming beeps and then enter the phone number you would like calls forwarded to. You will get a courtesy call at the phone number where calls will be forwarded. To cancel, dial *73.
Additionally, in the event that a customer needs to enable this feature remotely, customers can do this through the Wave Phone Portal at mywavephone.com. For a complete guide on how to use the Wave Phone Portal, please visit wavehome.com/phoneportalguide.
For the information above in additional languages, please click the correct link below:
Spanish / Español
Cantonese / 廣東話
Mandarin / 中文 (普通話)
Tagalog / Tagalog
Vietnamese / Tiếng Việt
Korean / 한국어
Russian / Русский
Still have questions?
Contact our care center today
1-866-928-3123
