The franchisee shall abide by the following requirements governing communications with customers, bills, and refunds:
(A) Each franchisee shall provide to subscribers written information about each of the following at the time of installation, at least once annually, and thereafter at any future time upon request of a subscriber:
(1) How to use the cable service;
(2) Installation and service maintenance policies;
(3) The products and services offered;
(4) Prices and service options;
(5) Channel positions of programming carried on the system;
(6) The franchisee's procedures for the receipt and resolution of complaints;
(7) The franchisee's address of all business offices within the city and telephone number to which complaints may be reported, and the hours of operation;
(8) The telephone number and address of the city's office and the city's office designated to handle cable television complaints and inquiries shall be printed on the bill;
(9) The availability of a parental control device and services or specialized equipment available to subscribers with disabilities, and the conditions and costs to obtain such devices and/or services; and/or
(10) Franchisee's information collection and disclosure policies for the protection of subscribers' privacy.
(B) At the request of the city, a franchisee shall provide written notice to all subscribers of any city meeting regarding the franchisee's renewal, transfer, or modification of its franchise. The city shall make such a request in writing, no less than 30 days prior to the mailing of any billing by the franchisee. Said notices shall be made at the franchisee's expense, and said expense shall not be considered part of the franchise fee assessed pursuant to this subchapter and shall not be regarded as a franchise fee, as the term is defined in Section 622 of the Cable Act, 47 USC 542.
(C) The franchisee's bills to subscribers will be clear, concise, and understandable. All charges shall be separately itemized on the bill.
(D) Refund checks will be issued promptly, but no later than the earlier of 30 days or the subscriber's next billing cycle following the resolution of a refund request, or the return of the equipment supplied by the franchisee if service is terminated.
(E) Credits for service will be issued no later than the subscriber's next billing cycle following the determination that a credit is warranted.
(F) A franchisee shall provide subscribers and the city with at least 30 days advance written notice of any changes in rates, charges, channel lineup, change in subscriber procedures and policies, or initiations or discontinuations or changes of service or services offered over the cable system within the control of the franchisee. Notice to subscribers and the city of such changes not within the control of the franchisee shall be provided as quickly as practicable.
(G) (1) The franchisee's first billing statement after a new installation or service change shall be pro- rated as appropriate, and shall reflect any security deposit.
(2) The franchisee's billing statement 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.
(3) The franchisee's billing statement must show a specific due date not earlier than ten days after the date the statement is mailed or ten days after the beginning of the service period. If the franchisee charges a late fee or administrative fee, the bill must show the date after which the fees will be imposed and the amount. Any balance not received within 15 days after the due date may be assessed an administrative charge as a late fee. Any administrative charge imposed as a "late fee" must be reasonable and must be limited to a fair approximation of the actual cost of handling and collecting the customer bill. Franchisees shall use late fees for cost recovery only and not as a tool of profit for the collection of additional revenues, or as a penalty or deterrent. Any late fee charged to subscribers in excess of $5 per billing period is presumed to be unreasonable, and the franchisee shall bear the burden of proving that any such late fee is reasonable, consistent with applicable law.
(a) Any administrative charge applied to unpaid bills shall be subject to regulation by the city consistent with applicable law.
(b) Subscribers shall not be charged an administrative fee or a late fee, or be otherwise penalized for any failure by the franchisee, its employees, or contractors, to bill the subscriber timely and correctly or to credit properly the subscriber for a payment timely made.
(c) With respect to the majority of cases in which late fees are imposed, the calendar day prior to the date a late fee is imposed must be a day on which the franchisee's local business office is scheduled to be open and on which mail will be delivered.
(d) In the event of a billing dispute, the franchisee shall not charge a late fee while the dispute is pending.
(4) The franchisee must notify the subscriber that he or she can remit payment in person at the franchisee's office and must inform the subscriber of the address of that office.
(H) If the franchisee does not comply with this section, the franchisee shall have 30 days to cure such violation from the day the franchisee receives notice of such violation. If the franchisee has not cured the violation within 30 days from such notice date, the city shall fine a franchisee for violation of this section $250 per day for each day that the violation continues. If a franchisee has a subsequent violation of this section within one year of a violation that resulted in a fine, and the franchisee fails to cure the violation within the time period required herein, the city shall fine the franchisee $500 per day for each day that the violation continues. The fines shall begin to accrue on the first business day after the 30 day cure period has terminated.
(Ord. 1406, passed 5-15-02)