(A) The franchisee shall not terminate residential cable service for nonpayment of a delinquent account unless the franchisee provides initial notice of the delinquency and impending termination at least five business days prior to the proposed termination. The notice shall be mailed, postage prepaid, to the subscriber to whom the cable service is billed. This notice shall not be mailed until the twenty-fifth day after the initial bill for cable service was mailed to the subscriber. The notice of delinquency and impending termination may be part of a billing statement. This section does not apply to subscribers disconnected due to checks returned due to insufficient funds.
(B) The franchisee shall only terminate cable service on days when the subscriber can reach a representative of the franchisee either in person or by telephone. Cable service terminated without good cause must be restored without charge for the restoration of the cable service. Good cause includes, but is not limited to, signal leakage, failure to pay, payment by check for which there are insufficient funds, theft of cable service, abuse of equipment or cable system personnel, or other similar subscriber actions.
(C) The franchisee shall furnish and maintain cable services to each person passed by the cable system who qualifies for service and who makes a request to receive any programming service. Nothing in this section shall limit the right of the franchisee to deny cable service to any household or individual that has a negative credit or service history with the franchisee, which may include nonpayment of bills or theft or damage to the franchisee’s equipment, or who has threatened or assaulted employees of the franchisee in the course of their employment, provided that, in the event cable service is denied, the franchisee will give notice to the subscriber of the right to contact the appropriate regulatory authority, providing name, address and phone number as directed by the franchise authority.
(Ord. 1196-98, passed 11-2-1998)