(a) General standards. Bills shall be clear, concise, and understandable. Bills shall fully itemize cable services, equipment, and any other items for which a franchisee charges a subscriber, including basic and premium service charges and equipment charges. Bills shall clearly delineate all activity during the billing period, including optional charges, rebates, and credits.
(b) Refunds. Refund checks to subscribers shall be issued promptly, but no later than:
(1) the earlier of the subscriber's next available billing cycle or 30 days following resolution of the refund request; or
(2) the return of all equipment supplied by the franchisee if cable service is terminated.
(c) Credits. Credits for cable service shall be issued no later than the subscriber's next billing cycle following the determination that a credit is warranted.
(d) Prorated cable service. A franchisee's first billing statement after a new installation or cable service change shall be prorated as appropriate and shall reflect any security deposit.
(e) Payment information; late fees. A franchisee's billing statement shall show a specific payment due date not earlier than the midpoint of the period for which the cable service being billed is rendered. If a balance due is not received by seven days after the end of the period for which the cable service being billed is rendered, the franchisee may assess a late fee in accordance with State and local law and judicial decisions. Any late fee shall appear on the following month's billing statement.
(f) Right to remit payment in person. A franchisee shall inform the subscriber of the right to remit payment in person at the franchisee's local office or other bill payment locations, of the address of such locations, and of the hours when such locations are open for business.
(g) Limitation on late fees or penalties. Subscribers may not be charged a late fee or otherwise penalized for any billing error of a franchisee, including a failure to timely or correctly bill the subscriber or a failure to properly credit the subscriber for a payment timely made.
(h) Credit for cable service outages.
(1) The provisions of this subsection do not apply if it can be documented that a subscriber seeks a refund for an outage or impairment that the subscriber caused or for a planned outage that occurred between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. of which the subscriber had proper prior notice.
(2) Upon the reasonably prompt request of a subscriber or without a subscriber's request if the franchisee can identify the affected subscribers, the account of a subscriber shall be credited a prorated share of the monthly charge for cable service if the subscriber is without cable service for a period that exceeds 12 hours during any 24-hour period, or cable service is substantially impaired for any reason for a period that exceeds 12 hours during any 24-hour period.
(i) Written response to billing complaints. A franchisee shall respond in writing to a written billing complaint from a subscriber within 30 days of receipt if the subscriber requests a written response.
(Bill No. 54-06)