5.60.370 Customer service standards – Notices and billing.
A. Identification of Employees and Work.
1. Each grantee shall require any person working on its behalf to wear a picture identification badge indicating that they are working on behalf of grantee. This badge shall be clearly visible to the public. All company vehicles shall prominently display the name under which the grantee is doing business, and logo, if any, in a manner clearly visible to the public. Contractor vehicles shall prominently display the contractor name, contractor license number, if applicable, and prominently display the grantee’s name. There must be a listed telephone number for the names displayed.
2. The telephone number listed and posted must be a local or toll-free number. The phone must connect to persons trained to receive, and respond to, calls regarding employees; construction and problems (including repair problems) associated with construction.
B. General Subscriber Notices. A grantee will provide each subscriber at the time service is installed, at least once annually thereafter, and at any time upon request, clear and accurate written information regarding:
1. How to use cable communications system service;
2. How to place a service call, file a complaint, or check a web site regarding subscriber information;
3. The telephone number of the City office responsible for administering the cable franchise;
4. A schedule of rates and charges, channel positions, services provided, a copy of the service contract, delinquent subscriber disconnect and reconnect procedures; notifying subscribers of the availability of parental control devices, and the conditions under which they will be provided and the cost (if any) charged;
5. Any discounts offered (other than discounts offered under bulk contracts), and description of conditions that must be met to qualify for discounts;
6. Where and how payments can be made, and description of late charge practices;
7. Any other grantee policies in connection with its subscribers, including but not limited to its privacy policies; and
8. A description of any services or specialized equipment available to subscribers with disabilities; explaining how to obtain and use them.
C. Notices in Bills.
1. Each bill shall prominently display the telephone number to be called for billing and for other complaints, and for refunds and rebates, and must identify the address to which bills should be mailed and a reference to further information for locations where payments can be made in person.
2. Each bill shall prominently display the name of the City office responsible for regulating cable on the bill. The information shall be placed and described so as to clearly distinguish it from information regarding the grantee.
D. Each grantee will provide the City and its subscribers at least thirty (30) days’ written notice of any material changes in the information required to be provided under subsection B of this section. Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, a cable operator shall not be required to provide prior notice of any rate change that is the result of a regulatory fee, franchise fee, or any other fee, tax, assessment, or charge of any kind imposed by any federal, state or local authority.
E. A grantee shall notify the franchise manager if a planned service interruption is going to affect fifty or more subscribers for a time period greater than three (3) hours. The franchise manager may establish appropriate methods for the notification required herein, including any procedures for notification after normal business hours.
F. Upon request, a grantee shall provide the City with copies of all notices provided to its subscribers. A grantee must take appropriate steps to ensure that all written grantee promotional materials, announcements, and advertising of cable communications service to subscribers and the general public, where price information is listed in any manner, clearly and accurately discloses price terms. In the case of telephone orders, a grantee will take appropriate steps to ensure that price terms are clearly and accurately disclosed to potential customers in advance of taking the order.
G. Each grantee will maintain a file in the local service region that is available for public inspection during normal business hours at its office containing all information required under FCC regulations.
H. Billing Credits.
1. All first billing statements after a new installation or service change will be prorated as appropriate and will reflect any security deposit.
2. All billing statements must be clear, concise, and understandable; must itemize each category of service and equipment provided to the subscriber; and must state clearly the charges therefor.
I. A grantee shall allow at least a commercially reasonable number of days from the beginning date of the applicable service period for payment of a customer’s service bill for that period.
J. A late fee or administrative fee (collectively referred to below as a “late fee”) may not be imposed for payments earlier than thirty (30) days after the due date specified in the bill unless directed by law.
K. A grantee must provide subscribers the ability to remit payment by mail or in person at the grantee’s customer service location(s) in the City. Subscribers may not be charged a late fee or otherwise penalized for any failure by a grantee, including failure to timely or correctly bill the subscriber, or failure to properly credit the subscriber for a payment timely made.
L. Credit for Service Impairment.
1. At a minimum, a subscriber’s account will be credited for one day of service credit upon request if a subscriber is without service or if service is substantially impaired for any reason that is not the fault of the subscriber or due to force majeure for a period equal to or exceeding three (3) hours during any twenty-four (24) hour period; or automatically if the loss of service or impairment is due to a planned outage for twelve (12) hours or longer.
2. A subscriber shall be deemed to be entitled to a credit where the subscriber requests a credit or experienced the planned outage for twelve (12) hours or longer.
3. A grantee need not credit subscriber where it establishes that a subscriber would obtain a credit for a loss of service or impairment caused by the subscriber or by subscriber-owned equipment (not including, for purposes of this section, in-home wiring installed by the grantee). The grantee bears the burden of proving that the subscriber caused the service loss or impairment.
4. Refunds and/or credits for service will be issued no later than the next billing cycle of the customer following the determination that a credit is warranted. (Ord. 2546 § 2 (part), 2010: Ord. 2174 § 1 (part), 2003).