A. Operating Policies. As Subscribers are connected or reconnected to the Cable System, and at least annually, and at any time upon request by the County, the Grantee shall provide each Subscriber with written information concerning products and services offered (including channel blocking devices), prices and options for programming services, conditions of subscription to programming and other services, installation and service maintenance policies, instructions on how to use the cable services, channel positions of programming carried on the System, the procedures for billing and making inquiries or complaints and also furnish information concerning the Grantee’s office responsible for administration of the Franchise with the name and telephone number of the office. The notice shall also indicate the Grantee’s business hours, legal holidays and procedures for responding to inquiries after Normal Business Hours.
The Grantee shall provide all Subscribers and the County written notice no less than 30 days prior to any proposed change in these policies.
B. Rates, Programming Service and Channel Positions. The Grantee shall provide all Subscribers and the County with notice of any change in rates, programming services or channel positions at least 30 days prior to the change(s) through announcements on the Cable System and in writing to the County and Subscribers and placement of a public notice in the Northwest Herald.
C. Copies to the County. Copies of all notices provided to Subscribers shall be filed concurrently with the County.
D. Billing. Bills shall be issued monthly and must be clear, concise and understandable and shall include the Grantee’s toll free or collect telephone number. Bills must be fully itemized, with itemizations including, but not limited to, basic and premium service charges and equipment charges. Bills will also clearly delineate all activity during the billing period, including optional charges, rebates and credits. In the event of a billing dispute, the Grantee must respond to a written complaint from a Subscriber within 10 days. The Grantee shall maintain records demonstrating the date and place of mailing all bills and shall certify to the County, upon request, the date of mailing any bill. The Grantee shall not disconnect any Subscriber for failure to pay charges which are the subject of a billing dispute until the billing dispute is resolved.
E. Equipment Damage. If any Grantee-owned equipment is destroyed or damaged by fire or other disaster such that the Subscriber’s premises are rendered uninhabitable, the Grantee shall not charge the Subscriber for any replacement and shall promptly return any relevant security deposit.
F. Late Payment/Administrative Fee. Each bill shall explicitly state when each payment is due and shall contain a warning that if payment is received after the date specified, an administrative fee or late payment charge will be assessed. Further, the bill must conspicuously identify the amount of such late payment charge. No such administrative or late payment fee shall be assessed less than 30 days after the date the bill was due and shall not exceed an amount reasonably incurred by the Grantee in collecting such bill.
G. Refund Checks. Refund checks will be issued promptly, no later than either the Subscriber’s next billing cycle following resolution of the termination request or the return of the equipment supplied by the Grantee. Credits for service shall be issued no later than the Subscriber’s next billing cycle following the determination that a credit is warranted.
H. Charges Prohibited. The Grantee shall not charge any Subscriber for any service which was not explicitly ordered by the Subscriber.
I. Subscriber Refunds.
1. A Grantee shall apply credits against the next bill generated after any Service Interruption. The bill shall indicate that such credit is being made to the Subscriber pursuant to this Ordinance and how the amount of such credit was arrived at.
2. a. Notwithstanding the above, a Subscriber may request credit or a refund from Grantee by submitting to Grantee, via first class mail, postage prepaid, the form (the “Subscriber Refund Form”) set forth herein below, completed and signed by the Subscriber. A Grantee shall have Subscriber Refund Forms available for distribution to any Subscriber, for no charge, upon request by such Subscriber.
TO: Grantee The undersigned Subscriber hereby requests a credit or refund (strike out the inapplicable item) in the amount of $ based on the loss of service for hours/days (strike out the inapplicable interval). Signed: Name (Print): Address: Customer Account No. For service interruptions, the Subscriber is entitled to a credit of 1/10th of one month’s fees for affected services for each 24-hour period in which service is interrupted for four or more hours, up to seven days, for any single Subscriber, with the exception of Subscribers disconnected because of non-payment or excessive signal leakage. Subscribers who experience service interruptions in excess of seven days are entitled to further credits or refunds. |
b. If a Subscriber requests a Subscriber Refund Form from a Grantee, Grantee shall deliver same to the requesting Subscriber by depositing same via first-class, prepaid postage in the U.S. mail within two business days of such request.
c. In the event a Grantee denies the request for such credit, in whole or in part, the Grantee shall provide written notice to both the County and the Subscriber within five business days from receipt of the Subscriber Refund Form that such request for credit is being denied, in whole or in part, as the case may be.
(Ord. O-200203-12-002, passed 3-5-2002)