The licensee shall provide the necessary facilities, equipment, and personnel to comply with the following consumer standards under normal conditions of operation:
(a) Local Business Office. The licensee shall maintain a local business office within the County and provide the Director with the name, address, and telephone number of the person(s) who will act as the licensee’s agent(s) for general management of the system and to receive complaints regarding quality of service, equipment malfunctions and other matters. The licensee shall advise the County of any change of said agent(s) within five working days of such change. The local office shall be open and staffed to receive inquiries or complaints, either by telephone or personally, and process bill payments from subscribers during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, State and Federal holidays excepted.
(b) Telephone. A toll-free telephone number shall be available at all times to all subscribers located within the license area for the reporting of problems. Said toll-free number shall appear on all billing statements issued by the licensee and the licensee shall also maintain, at licensee’s expense, a listing of licensee’s toll-free telephone number in both the white and yellow pages of a telephone directory serving the license area. The answering of all business phones shall be in accordance with NCTA Customer Service Standards. The licensee shall provide sufficient telephone lines, either adequately staffed to answer all incoming calls or with mechanical answering capabilities, providing, at a minimum, emergency referral information. During periods when an answering machine is used, the licensee shall provide on-call personnel who shall contact the answering machine every two hours at minimum to check on requests for service and complaints; the licensee shall respond to all calls for service or complaints received during normal business hours within four business hours of receipt, and shall promptly investigate and resolve all calls for service and complaints. The licensee shall maintain adequate telephone lines to insure access by subscribers within the licensee’s area, and shall not at any time incapacitate the system so as to prevent the receipt of telephone calls to licensee’s office.
(c) Bills and Refunds. Bills will be clear, concise, and understandable. Refund checks will be issued promptly, but no later than the earlier of 45 days or the subscriber’s next billing cycle following the resolution of the request, and return of the equipment supplied by the licensee if service is terminated.
(d) Appointments. Upon request of a subscriber or potential subscriber, the licensee shall provide a service call or installation appointment within a four hour time period, morning or evening. Should licensee be unable to keep the appointment, the subscriber shall be notified at the earliest possible opportunity, and shall be rescheduled on a priority basis.
(e) Repair Service. The licensee shall render efficient service, make repairs promptly, and interrupt service only for good cause and for the shortest time possible. Scheduled interruptions shall be preceded by notice by character generator or other means, and shall occur during periods of minimum use of the system, preferably between the hours of midnight and 6:00 a.m. A written log, or equivalent stored in computer memory and capable of access and reproduction, shall be maintained for all service interruptions and requests for cable service. licensee shall provide a repair staff of technicians capable of addressing the following problems within the following time frames:
(1) System Outage. Within two hours, including weekends, of receiving subscriber calls;
(2) Isolated Outage. Within four hours, including weekends, of receiving requests for service;
(3) Inferior Reception Quality. Within 24 hours, including weekends, of receiving a request for service.
(f) Conduct Constituting a Response. The licensee shall be deemed to have responded to a request for service under the provisions of this Section when a technician arrives at the service location and begins work on the problem. In the case of a subscriber not being at home when the technician arrives, response shall be deemed to have taken place if the technician leaves a written notification of arrival. No charge shall be made to the subscriber for any service call unless the service request can be demonstrated to be both repeated and nonsystem related in origin, or to involve subscriber negligence.
(g) Installation Staff. The licensee shall maintain an installation staff capable of installing service to any subscriber.
(h) Verification of Compliance. Upon reasonable notice, the licensee shall demonstrate to the Director compliance with all or any of the standards set forth above. The licensee shall provide data in sufficient detail to permit the County to verify the extent of compliance.
(I) Noncompliance with Standards. A repeated and verifiable pattern of noncompliance with the consumer protection standards listed above, after licensee receives due notice and an opportunity to cure, may be deemed a breach of the license subject to any and all remedies as prescribed in § 42.0556 herein and applicable law.
(Ord. 1281, passed - -1966; Am. Ord. 2053, passed - -1976; Am. Ord. 2667, passed - -1982; Am. Ord. 3440, passed - -1991; Am. Ord. 3497, passed - -1992)