(a) The grantee shall maintain a local office to provide the necessary facilities, equipment and personnel to comply with the following consumer protection standards under normal operating conditions and those set forth by the FCC:
(1) Cable system office hours and telephone availability.
A. The grantee will maintain a local, toll-free or collect call telephone access line which will be available to its subscribers twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
1. Trained grantee representatives will be available to respond to customer telephone inquiries during normal business hours.
2. After normal business hours, the access line may be answered by a service or an automated response system, including an answering machine. Inquiries received after normal business hours must be responded to by a trained grantee representative on the next business day.
B. Under normal operating conditions, telephone answer time by a customer representative, including wait time, shall not exceed thirty seconds when the connection is made. If the call needs to be transferred, transfer time shall not exceed thirty seconds. These standards shall be met no less than ninety percent of the time under normal operating conditions, measured on a quarterly basis.
C. The grantee will not be required to acquire equipment or perform surveys to measure compliance with the telephone answering standards set forth above unless an historical record of complaints indicates a clear failure to comply.
D. Under normal operating conditions, the customer will receive a busy signal less than three percent of the time.
E. Customer payment locations will be open at least during normal business hours and will be conveniently located at locations to be chosen by the grantee.
(2) Installations, outages and service calls. Under normal operating conditions, each of the following four standards will be met no less than ninety-five percent of the time, measured on a quarterly basis:
A. Standard installations will be performed within seven business days after an order has been placed.
B. Excluding conditions beyond the control of the grantee, the grantee will begin working on service interruptions promptly and in no event later than twenty-four hours after the interruption becomes known. The grantee must begin actions to correct other service problems the next business day after notification of the service problem.
C. At the subscriber's request, the appointment window alternatives for installations, service calls and other installation activities will be within a two to four-hour time block during normal business hours. (The grantee may schedule service calls and other installation activities outside of normal business hours for the express convenience of the customer.)
(3) Communications between grantee and cable subscribers.
A. Notifications to subscribers.
1. The grantee shall provide the following information at the time of installation of service:
a. A channel lineup card;
b. Billing and complaint procedures, including the grantee's local telephone number;
c. For unresolved complaints, the address and telephone number of the City; and
Pursuant to Federal cable law, a privacy notice shall be sent to all subscribers annually.
2. Customers will be notified of any changes in rates, programming services or channel positions as soon as possible. Notice must be given to subscribers a minimum of thirty days in advance of such changes if the change is within the control of the grantee. In addition, the grantee shall notify subscribers thirty days in advance of any significant changes in the other information required by the preceding paragraph. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the grantee shall not be required to provide prior notice of any rate change that is the result of regulatory fee, franchise fee, or any other fee, tax, assessment, or charge of any kind imposed by any Federal agency, the State, or the grantor on the transaction between the grantee and the subscriber, nor will the grantee be required to provide prior notice of additions of programming to existing packages or the creation of new programming packages.
B. Billing.
1. In case of a billing dispute, the grantee must respond to a written complaint from a subscriber within thirty days.
2. The grantee shall agree to a reasonable procedure for the resolution of any subscriber complaints that cannot be resolved between the grantee and subscriber.
C. Refunds. Refund checks will be issued promptly, but no later than either:
1. The customer's next billing cycle following resolution of the request or thirty days, whichever is earlier; or
2. Within fifteen days of the return of the equipment supplied by the grantee if service is terminated.
D. Credits. Credits for service will be issued at the earliest billing cycle following the determination that a credit is warranted.
(Ord. 29-99. Passed 6-29-99.)