The grantor reserves the right to regulate rates for basic service
and any other services offered over the cable system, to the extent
provided by federal or state law. In accordance with the Cable Act,[1] grantee shall maintain on file with the grantor at all
times a current schedule of all rates and charges.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 47 U.S.C. § 521 et seq.
At all times, a grantee shall meet the requirements of the Federal
Communications Commission regulations on consumer complaints and protection.
However, at a minimum and in accordance with 47 CFR 76.309, as amended,
a grantee shall comply with the following:
A.
A grantee shall maintain a conveniently located local office within
the CACC service area which shall be open during normal business hours.
This office shall accept payments, handle adjustments to subscriber
bills, respond to installation, repair, and/or maintenance requests
and other service calls. A grantee shall have a toll-free telephone
number available at all times (an access line which will be available
to its subscribers 24 hours a day, seven days a week). Trained company
representatives shall be available to respond to customer telephone
inquiries during normal business hours. Except in situations beyond
its control, the grantee must begin working on a service interruption
or other service problems no later than 24 hours after being notified
of the problem. If the problem cannot be resolved within 24 hours,
the customer shall be entitled upon request to a credit for one day's
service for each day of the outage. Under normal operating conditions,
telephone answer time by a customer representative, including wait
time, shall not exceed 30 seconds when the connection is made, and
the customer will receive a busy signal less than 3% of the time.
If the call needs to be transferred, transfer time shall not exceed
30 seconds. These standards shall be met no less than 90% of the time
under normal operating conditions, measured on a quarterly basis.
A grantee shall not be required to acquire equipment or perform surveys
to measure compliance with these standards unless an historical record
of complaints indicates a clear failure to comply. After normal business
hours, the access line may be answered by a service or an automated
response system.
B.
A grantee may impose a charge reasonably related to a grantee's
actual cost incurred for a downgrade of service, except that no such
charge may be imposed when:
C.
A grantee shall render efficient service, make repairs promptly and
interrupt cable service only for good cause and for the shortest time
possible. Such interruptions shall occur during periods of minimum
use of the cable system.
D.
A grantee shall maintain adequate telephone lines and personnel to
respond in a timely manner to schedule service calls and answer subscriber
complaints or inquiries as required by this section.
E.
Subscriber requests for repairs of service interruptions shall be
responded to by a trained customer service representative on the next
business day. A grantee shall use best efforts to begin working on
service interruptions promptly and in no event later than 24 hours
after the interruption becomes known. A grantee shall begin actions
to correct other service problems the next business day after notification
of the service problem.
F.
Subscriber requests for maintenance or repairs received on Saturdays
or Sundays shall be responded to by a customer service representative
on the next business day. A grantee shall use its best efforts to
begin working on service interruptions promptly and in no event later
than 24 hours after the interruption becomes known. Grantee shall
begin actions to correct other service problems the next business
day after notification of the service problem.
G.
Service calls for maintenance or repair shall be performed in accordance
with the standards established by the FCC.
H.
A grantee shall maintain an "appointment window" alternative for
installations, service calls and other installation activities that
will be either a specific time or, at maximum, a four-hour time block
during normal business hours. A grantee shall not cancel an appointment
with a customer after the close of business on the business day prior
to the scheduled appointment. If a customer service representative
is running late for an appointment with a customer and will not be
able to keep the appointment as scheduled, the customer shall be contacted.
The appointment shall be rescheduled, as necessary, at a time which
is convenient for the customer.
A grantee shall make service available to all grantor residents based on the terms and conditions outlined in Article V of this chapter.
A.
A grantee shall provide to all new subscribers and, at least once
a year, to existing subscribers, and upon request of a subscriber,
written subscriber service information which shall include, but not
be limited to, the following:
(1)
Products and services offered by grantee;
(2)
Prices and options for programming services, including programming
carried on the system such that the programming information corresponds
to channel positioning;
(3)
Channel positions and programming carried on the cable system;
(4)
Installation policy and service maintenance and termination procedures;
(5)
Billing and complaint procedures including grantee's address,
telephone number and office hours; and
(6)
Instructions on how to use the cable service and any converters.
B.
A grantee shall notify subscribers and the grantor no less than 30
days in advance of any changes in rates, programming services, or
channel positions, provided such change is within the control of the
grantee. Grantee shall not be required to provide prior notice to
subscribers of any rate change that is the result of a regulatory
fee, franchise fee or any other fee, tax, assessment or charge of
any kind imposed by any federal agency, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
or the grantor on the transaction between the grantee and the subscriber.
A.
As mentioned herein above, grantee shall notify each of its existing
subscribers at least once a year, all new subscribers and upon request
of a subscriber of its billing practices in accordance with FCC rules.
Bills shall be clear, concise and understandable. Bills must be fully
itemized, with itemizations including, but not limited to, basic service
and premium tier service charges, if applicable, equipment charges
and any installation or repair charges. Bills shall state the billing
period, including an effective due date, the amount of current billing
and any relevant credits or past due balances. Grantee shall not assess
late fees for nonpayment of a current bill until at least 30 days
have elapsed since the mailing of the bill by grantee.
B.
As mentioned hereinabove, subscribers shall be notified of any changes
in rates, programming services or channel positions as soon as possible
through announcements on the cable system and/or in writing. Notice
must be given to subscribers a minimum of 30 days in advance of such
changes if the change is within the grantee's control.
C.
The subscriber bill shall contain the following information presented
in plain language and format:
(1)
Name and address of grantee;
(2)
The period of time over which each chargeable service is billed including
prorated periods as a result of the establishment and termination
of service;
(3)
A fully itemized list of charges levied for programming services,
equipment provided, and other services or items offered, and a report
of all activity during the billing period, including optional charges,
rebates and credits;
(4)
The amount of the bill for the current billing period, separate from
any balance;
(5)
A grantee's telephone number and a statement that the subscriber
may call this number with any questions about the bill; and
(6)
The date on which payment is due from the subscriber.
D.
The account of a subscriber shall not be considered delinquent until
at least 30 days have elapsed from the due date of the bill, which
shall be a date certain. The following provisions shall apply to the
imposition of late charges on subscribers:
(1)
A grantee shall not impose a late charge on a subscriber unless a
subscriber is delinquent, and grantee has given the subscriber written
notice of the delinquency.
(2)
A late charge of reasonable amount may be imposed monthly.
(3)
No late charge may be assessed on the amount of a bill in dispute
if found in favor of the subscriber.
(4)
Any charge for returned checks shall be reasonably related to the
costs incurred by a grantee in processing such checks.
E.
In case of a billing dispute, a grantee shall respond to a written
complaint from a subscriber within 30 days. Refund checks shall be
issued promptly, but no later than either the customer's next
billing cycle following resolution of the request or 30 days, whichever
is earlier, or the return of the equipment supplied by the cable operator
if service is terminated. Credits for service shall be issued no later
than the customer's next billing cycle following the determination
that a credit is warranted.
Unless otherwise agreed in a franchise agreement, upon the request
of mobility-limited subscribers, a grantee shall make a good faith
effort to arrange for delivery, pickup or exchange or replacement
of converters or other equipment at the subscriber's address
or by the use of a satisfactory equivalent means such as provision
of a prepaid postage mailer.
A.
Every grantee shall establish procedures for receiving, acting upon,
and resolving customer complaints, and crediting customer accounts,
without intervention by the grantor.
B.
The grantee's complaint procedure shall be filed with the grantor
prior to its acceptance of a new or renewed franchise.
C.
The grantee's investigation of a subscriber complaint shall
be concluded in no more than 30 days after receiving a written complaint,
at which time the grantee shall notify the subscriber of the results
of its investigation and its proposed action or credit.
D.
In the event of a billing dispute, grantee shall notify the subscriber
in full accordance with FCC customer service regulations regarding
billing and complaint procedures and provide the address and telephone
number of grantor's cable office.
In accordance with Sections 640 and 641 of the Cable Act,[1] grantee shall fully scramble or block the audio and video
programming of a channel upon request by a cable service subscriber
without charge.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 47 U.S.C. §§ 560 and 561.
All programming decisions shall be at the sole discretion of
grantee; provided, however, that the grantor shall be notified of
any changes in rates, channel positions or programming service as
required by FCC customer service regulations.
