(A) Bills must be itemized, in accordance with service or services purchased by subscribers and related equipment charges as provided by law and regulations. If, on bills, the franchisee chooses to itemize as a separate line item franchise fees and/or other governmentally imposed fees attributable to the total bill, the fees must be shown in accordance with any applicable law concerning the franchisee’s ability to itemize the fees.
(B) Every residential subscriber sending payment directly to the franchisee shall have at least five business days from the postmarked date of the initial bill for the delinquent amount for cable service to pay the listed charges prior to disconnect for non-payment.
(C) A specific due date shall be indicated on every subscriber bill that is current. This provision applies only to active, current accounts not those accounts pending disconnect with delinquent balances.
(D) Any subscriber who, in good faith, disputes all or part of any bill has the option of withholding the disputed amount without disconnection until the franchisee has investigated the dispute and has made a determination that the amount is owed; provided that:
(1) The subscriber pays all undisputed charges;
(2) The subscriber provides written notification of the dispute to the franchisee in a timely manner and includes identifying information; and
(3) The subscriber cooperates in determining the appropriateness of the charges in dispute.
(E) Subscriber bills from the franchisee shall include the name, address and telephone number of the franchise authority. The franchise authority will provide the required information to the franchisee on an annual basis by January 1, or as needed.
(F) The franchisee shall forward, on a monthly basis, a sample bill for the current billing period to the franchise authority.
(G) The franchisee shall forward all regulatory billing inserts and copies of all other mailings required by governmental authorities to subscribers to the franchise authority at the time that they are provided to subscribers. (Copies of notices to subscribers must be forwarded to the franchise authority pursuant to this section.)
(Res. 98-86, passed 11-16-1998)