§ 8AA-59. Communications, bills and refunds.

(a) The licensee will provide written information in each of the following areas at the time of installation and at any future time upon request:

(1)

The products and services offered;

(2)

Prices and service options;

(3)

How to use the cable service;

(4)

Installation and service policies;

(5)

The licensee's procedures for the receipt and resolution of customer complaints, the licensee's address and telephone number including area code to which complaints may be reported, and the hours of operation. Toll free telephone numbers should indicate such;

(6)

The telephone number and address of the County's office designated to handle cable service complaints and inquiries in a manner that identifies the County's telephone number so that it is not confused by subscribers with that of the licensee in a format approved by the Director. Licensee shall provide subscribers with a written summary in a manner approved by the Director of the consumer protection provisions provided for in 8AA-58 and 8AA-59;

(7)

The availability of the "lock-out" device required by this chapter;

(8)

The availability of an input selector, or A/B switch, and identification of those local broadcast stations not carried on their system;

(9)

The licensee's information collection and disclosure policies for the protection of a subscriber's privacy.

(10)

In addition, the licensee shall provide written notice on its monthly billing, at the written request of the County, of any announcements regarding requests or applications by the licensee for renewal. The County shall make such a request no less than sixty (60) days prior to the mailing of any billing by the licensee. Said notices shall be at the expense of the licensee and said expense shall not be considered part of the license fee assessed pursuant to this Chapter. Licensee shall air such announcement over its cable system on such channels, times, and with adequate frequency to reach a majority of its subscribers.

The information in subsections (5)—(9) above will be provided to each subscriber annually. The licensee will provide prompt notification to the County and to each affected customer of any material change in any of the above.

(b) Bills will be clear, concise and understandable.

(1)

The first billing statement of the licensee after a new installation or service change shall be prorated as appropriate and shall reflect any security deposit.

(2)

The billing statement of the licensee must be fully itemized, with itemizations including, but not limited to, cable service and equipment charges. Invoices will also clearly delineate all activity during the billing period, including optional charges, rebates and credits.

(3)

The billing statement of the licensee must state when the bill is due. Any balance not received within thirty (30) days after the due date may be assessed an administrative/late fee charge. The administrative/late fee charge must appear on the next available billing statement and must not exceed five dollars ($5.00). In a bulk fee contract the administrative/late fee charge shall not exceed five dollars ($5.00) per individual unit receiving service.

(4)

Subscribers shall not be charged an administrative fee, a late fee or otherwise penalized for any failure by the licensee, its employees, or contractors, including failure to properly credit the subscriber for a payment timely made.

(5)

The licensee will provide notice to the subscriber of the following at the time of installation of service, at least annually to all subscribers, as a notice enclosed with a bill that includes a past due amount, and at any time upon request of a subscriber; that payment can be remitted in person at an office of the licensee and of the addresses where payment can be made.

(6)

A licensee may not alter the service within its control being provided to a subscriber (including by retiering, restructuring a tier or otherwise) unless it complies with this subsection and/or applicable federal law.

(a)

If a licensee wishes to alter the service within its control to a subscriber, then the licensee must provide the subscriber with thirty (30) days advance written notice of such retiering or rate increase, and for thirty days after such notice of retiering or rate increase, a subscriber may obtain changes in service tiers at no additional charge.

(b)

Except as provided herein, or under applicable federal or state law, no charge may be made for any service or equipment that the subscriber has not affirmatively requested by name. A subscriber's failure to refuse a cable operator's proposal to provide such service or equipment is not an affirmative request for service or equipment. A subscriber's affirmative request for service or equipment may be made orally or in writing. This section shall not apply to the adjustment of rates to reflect inflation, cost of living and other external costs, the addition or deletion of a specific program from a service offering, the addition or deletion of specific channels from an existing tier of service, the restructuring or division of existing tiers of service, or the adjustment of rates as a result of the addition, deletion or substitution of channels pursuant to FCC rules, provided that such changes do not constitute a fundamental change in the nature of an existing service or tier of service and are otherwise consistent with applicable regulations.

(c) Refund checks or credits will be issued promptly, but no later than the earlier of forty-five (45) days or the customer's next billing cycle following the resolution of the request, and the return of the equipment supplied by the licensee if service is terminated.

(d) All customers and the County will receive written notification a minimum of thirty (30) days in advance of any rate or channel change, provided the change is within the control of the licensee.

(e) The licensee shall, within seven (7) days after receiving written request from the County, send a written report to the County with respect to any particular consumer complaint. The report to the County shall provide a full explanation of the investigation, findings and corrective steps taken by the licensee.

(Ord. No. 90-73, § 1, 7-24-90; Ord. No. 01-44, § 1, 3-20-01; Ord. No. 03-122, § 1, 5-6-03)