(A) The Council/franchising authority both recognizes and determines that as a matter of consumer protection, a subscriber should be charged only for those services that such subscriber has affirmatively and specifically requested. Therefore, an MCS provider may not bill or invoice any subscriber for any multi-channel service that is not affirmatively requested by the subscriber by name.
(B) For purposes of this section, a subscriber's affirmative request need not be in writing, but an MCS provider relying on an oral request must keep an accurate, precise, and exact record of the date, and time the request was made and the CSR or service technician to whom the request was made.
(C) For purposes of this section, a subscribers shall be deemed to have affirmatively requested a multi-channel service if:
(1) The subscriber voluntarily makes payment for the multi-channel service after an initial free trial period; and
(2) There was included in the notice or advertising material describing the service a statement clearly advising the subscriber that such subscriber has incurred no obligation to pay for such service, and that such subscriber need not take any action to avoid incurring any such obligation.
(D) Moreover, an MCS provider may not automatically enroll a subscriber into a different class or tier of multi-channel service without first informing, at least 30 days in advance, such subscriber of any and all costs associated with such a different call or tier of multi-channel service.
(E) Additionally, an MCS provider may not invoice a subscriber for disconnecting or downgrading from a negatively promoted or automatically enrolled class or tier or multi-channel service.
(F) Should a subscriber be charged for a multi-channel service in violation of this section, then the MCS provider shall provide a subscriber with an adjustment or billing credit on the next available billing statement. Moreover, in such case, an MCS provider shall not consider a subscriber delinquent for failure to pay a charge for a non-affirmatively requested multi-channel service.
(G) This provision, however, shall not preclude the addition or deletion of a specific program from a service offering, the addition or deletion of specific channels from an existing tier of service, or the restructuring or division of existing tiers of service that do not result in a fundamental change in the nature of an existing service or tier of service, provided that such change is otherwise consistent with applicable regulations.
(Ord. 4-1994-20, passed 4-12-94) Penalty, see § 112.999