(a) The grantee shall maintain a local business office or a toll-free telephone listing for the purpose of receiving inquiries, complaints and requests for repairs or adjustments from its customers and the general public. Said office or listing shall be so operated that complaints and requests for repairs or adjustments may be received and processed with a minimum delay. Provision shall also be made for telephonically receiving service interruption calls on a twenty-four hour basis. Confirmation of a service request received by a recorder shall be made the next business day.
(b) The grantee shall maintain a repair and maintenance crew capable of responding to subscriber complaints or requests for service within a normal service interval. No charge shall be made to the subscriber for this service.
(c) Any verbal, telephonic, or written complaint relating to the quality or continuity of service shall be attended to within a normal service interval. In the event that such complaints are not responded to or service is not restored to the levels required by the FCC or by the terms of this chapter during said normal service interval, the subscriber shall be entitled to a rebate of one- fifteenth of his or her monthly service charge for each day or part thereof between the end of the normal service interval and the time service is restored to said standards. This provision shall not apply if such delay is occasioned because of an act of God, strike, national emergency, or any other circumstance beyond the control of the grantee. Similarly, this provision shall not apply to service requests or complaints pertaining to television set malfunction or other breakdowns not related to the operation of the cable television system. The Village Complaint Officer, provided for in subsection (d) hereof, shall be responsible for invoking said penalty upon receiving a written subscriber complaint. The Complaint Officer shall hold a hearing on such complaint to be conducted in the manner prescribed in and otherwise governed by paragraph (d)(2) hereof.
(d) (1) The grantee shall establish procedures for receiving, acting upon and resolving subscriber complaints. The grantee shall furnish a notice of such procedures to each subscriber at the time of initial subscription to the system. In addition, the grantee shall maintain a written record, or “log,” listing the date and time of customer complaints, identifying the subscriber, and describing the nature of the complaints and when and what action was taken by the grantee in response thereto. Such records shall be kept at the grantee's local office reflecting the operations to date and shall be available for inspection during regular business hours.
(2) The Mayor shall designate a member of the Administration as the Village Complaint Officer, who shall have primary responsibility for the continuing administration of complaint procedures hereunder. Any subscriber, user, programmer, or other interested person who has a complaint regarding the quality of cable television service, equipment malfunctions, billings, or any other matter, which remains unresolved for thirty days after it has been brought to the grantee's attention, may file a complaint, in writing, with the Complaint Officer. Upon the filing of such a complaint, said Complaint Officer shall notify the grantee and make an investigation to determine whether or not there is probable cause to credit the allegations. If he or she determines after such investigation that there is probable cause to credit the allegations of the complaint, he or she shall so notify the grantee and the complainant and promptly endeavor to resolve the matter by conciliation and persuasion. In the event that the Complaint Officer is unable to obtain conciliation within a reasonable time, he or she shall promptly set the matter for a hearing where all parties may give evidence and the merits of the dispute will be decided. The Complaint Officer shall make public his or her decision, along with a statement reciting the basis therefor. Within thirty days thereafter, either the grantee or the complainant may appeal to the Council, in writing, the decision rendered by the Complaint Officer. At the appeal hearing, the aggrieved party may contest the findings of fact or interpretation of controlling law, at which time the Council may affirm, reject or modify the decision of the Complaint Officer. The affirmance, rejection or modification of said decision by the Council shall be final.
(e) (1) Where there have been similar complaints made, or when there exists other evidence which, in the judgment of the Complaint Officer, casts doubt on the reliability or quality of cable service, the Complaint Officer shall have the right and authority to compel the grantee to test, analyze, and report on the performance of the system. Such report shall be delivered to the Complaint Officer no later than fourteen days after said Officer formally notifies the grantee and shall include the following information: the nature of the complaints which precipitated the special tests; what system component(s) were tested, the equipment used and the procedure employed in said testing; the results of such tests; the method in which said complaints were resolved, if applicable; and any and all additional information deemed relevant by the Complaint Officer.
(2) Said tests and analyses shall be supervised by a registered professional engineer not on the permanent staff of the grantee and selected by the Village. The aforesaid engineer shall sign all records of special tests and forward to the Complaint Officer such records interpreting the results of the test and recommending action to be taken by the Village.
(f) The grantee shall notify each subscriber at the time of initial installation of the name and address of the Village Complaint Officer and of the procedures contained in this section.
(Ord. 16-80. Passed 5-20-80.)