(A) An opportunity for review and comment by the franchise authority required under this section shall not imply that prior approval of the franchise authority is required. However, in the event of an error concerning the franchise authority’s information, the franchisee shall not be in compliance with notification requirements.
(B) (1) The franchisee shall send an annual written notice to all subscribers informing them that any complaints or inquiries not satisfactorily handled by the franchisee may be referred to the franchise authority. The notification shall be either:
(a) A separate document that may be included with a billing statement; or
(b) Included on the portion of the monthly bill that is to be retained by the subscriber.
(2) The franchisee’s telephone number for cable service and the telephone number for the franchise authority shall be contained in the notice. The franchise authority will provide the required telephone number to the franchisee on an annual basis by January 1, or as needed. This notice shall also fully describe the franchisee’s telephone hours and, when applicable, the lobby hours and shall include the telephone number(s) available to subscribers after the franchisee’s normal business hours through which subscribers can obtain, at a minimum, emergency referral information.
(C) The franchisee shall notify affected subscribers of any pricing changes or additional charges (excluding temporary marketing and sales discounts or offers) and/or any changes in programming services (including a scrambling or descrambling of channels, except the descrambling of a channel(s) for promotional purposes) in a manner consistent with federal law.
(D) (1) The franchisee shall provide written information to subscribers on each of the following areas at the time of installation of cable service, at least annually to all affected subscribers, at any time upon request and, for affected subscribers, at least 30 days prior to making significant changes in the information required by this section:
(a) Products and services offered;
(b) Prices and options for programming services and conditions of subscription to programming and other services and facilities;
(c) Installation and service maintenance policies including, when applicable, information regarding the subscriber’s home wiring rights and information describing ownership of internal wiring during the period cable service is provided;
(d) Instructions on how to use the cable service;
(e) Channel positions of programming offered on the system;
(f) Billing and complaint procedures, including the name, address and telephone number of the franchise authority;
(g) The availability of a parental control device;
(h) The franchisee’s practices and procedures for protecting against invasions of privacy;
(i) The address and telephone number of the franchisee’s office to which complaints may be reported; and
(j) When applicable, the franchisee’s community unit identifier as specified by the FCC.
(2) In all subscriber communications, the franchisee shall be as clear and precise as possible.
(E) Notices of changes in rates shall indicate the new rate and the amount the rate has increased or decreased from the current rate in dollars and cents and percentages. Specific words such as “increase” or “decrease” must be used to describe the changes (as opposed to less specific terms, such as “adjustment”).
(F) Notices of changes of programming and/or channel locations shall include a concise description of the new programming and/or channel locations and the specific dial location, of that programming and/or channel locations. In addition, should the dial location be affected by the introduction of new programming and/or channel locations, such information must also be included in the notice.
(G) In order that subscribers are fully apprised of the charges they may incur, the franchisee will generally be required to note that advertised rates are subject to additional taxes and fees.
(H) In order that subscribers are fully apprised of the charges they may incur, telephone communications with subscribers that quote rates, fees and/or other charges shall inform subscribers that the rates, fees and/or charges are subject to additional taxes and fees.
(I) Every notice of termination of cable service shall include all of the following information:
(1) The address of the subscriber whose account is delinquent;
(2) Current account balance;
(3) The date by which payment is required in order to avoid termination of cable service; and
(4) The telephone number of a representative of the franchisee who can provide additional information and handle complaints or initiate an investigation concerning the cable service and charges in question.
(J) For informational purposes only, a listing of the franchisee’s closings or holidays will be provided to the franchise authority annually, by no later than January 1 and by no later than every anniversary thereafter.
(Res. 98-86, passed 11-16-1998)