Each cable system operator must satisfy all FCC and state customer service standards or consumer protection standards, as well as the provisions of this article. In the case of a conflict among standards, the stricter standard shall apply.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
(a) 
Walk-in hours. Each operator shall maintain at least one office at a convenient location in the city that shall be open for walk-in traffic at least ten hours per day (except legal holidays) Monday through Friday, with some evening hours, and at least five hours on Saturday to allow subscribers to pay bills, drop off equipment and to pick up equipment.
(b) 
Service call hours. Each operator shall perform service calls, installations, and disconnects at least ten hours per day Monday through Saturday, except legal holidays, provided that an operator shall respond to outages twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
(a) 
Telephone hours. Each operator shall establish a publicly listed local toll-free telephone number. Customer service representatives must answer the phone at least ten hours per day, Monday through Saturday, except legal holidays, for the purpose of receiving requests for service, inquiries, and complaints from subscribers. After such business hours the phone shall be answered so that customers can register complaints and report service problems on a twenty-four hour per day, seven day per week basis, and so that the operator can respond to service outages as required herein.
(b) 
Telephone answering time. Telephone answering time shall not exceed thirty seconds or four rings, and the time to transfer the call to a customer service representative (including hold time) shall not exceed an additional thirty seconds.
(c) 
Busy signal. Under normal operating conditions customers shall receive a busy signal less than three percent of the time.
(d) 
Meeting standards. Under normal operating conditions, the standards set out in subsections (b) and (c) shall be met ninety percent of the time, measured quarterly. The phrase "of the time" refers to the percentage of calls to the operator during normal operating conditions, so that if one thousand calls are received by the operator, nine hundred of those calls must be answered within the time limits specified in subsection (b); and fewer than thirty should receive a busy signal as specified in subsection (c).
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
(a) 
Appointments. All appointments for service, installation, or disconnection shall be specified by date. Each operator shall specify a specific time at which the work will be done, and service personnel shall arrive within thirty minutes of the scheduled time. An operator may also, upon request, schedule service installation calls outside normal business hours, for the express convenience of the customer.
(b) 
Rescheduling appointments. If at any time an installer or technician anticipates that he or she will be late for an appointment and believes a scheduled appointment time will be missed, an attempt to contact the customer shall be made and the appointment rescheduled at a time convenient to the customer, if rescheduling is necessary. It is the operator's burden to prove it met the appointment.
(c) 
Missed appointments. The operator shall offer and fully describe to subscribers who have experienced a missed appointment (where the missed appointment was not the subscriber's fault) that the subscriber may choose between the following options:
(1) 
Installation or service call free of charge, if the appointment was for an installation or service call for which a fee was to be charged;
(2) 
One month or a credit equal to one month of the most widely subscribed to service tier free of charge for other appointments; and
(3) 
An opportunity to elect remedies under California Civil Code Section 1722 as may be amended, if applicable.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
(a) 
Acknowledging service request. Under normal operating conditions, requests for service, repair, and maintenance shall be acknowledged by a trained customer service representative within twenty-four hours, or before the end of the next business day, whichever is earlier.
(b) 
Acknowledging other inquiries. An operator shall respond to all other inquiries (including billing inquiries) within five business days of the inquiry or complaint.
(c) 
Repairing outages. Under normal operating conditions, repairs and maintenance for outages or service interruptions shall be completed within twenty-four hours after the outage or service interruption becomes known to operator where the operator has adequate access to facilities to which it must have access in order to remedy the problem. Each operator shall obtain an emergency repair permit annually from the department of public works.
(d) 
Service problem repairs. Under normal operating conditions, work to correct all other service problems must be begun by the next business day after notification of the service problem, and must be completed within five business days from the date of the initial request.
(e) 
Abnormal operating conditions. When normal operating conditions do not exist, an operator shall complete the work in the shortest time possible.
(f) 
Cancellation of appointments. An operator shall not cancel a service or installation appointment with a customer after the close of business on the business day preceding the scheduled appointment.
(g) 
Time for extension. Except as a franchise otherwise provides, service shall be extended upon request to any person or to any government building in an operator's franchise area: (1) within seven days of the request, where service can be provided by activating or installing a drop; (2) within ninety days of the request where an extension of one-half mile or less is required; or (3) within six months where an extension of one-half mile or more is required.
(h) 
Service upgrades. Requests for additional outlets, service upgrades or other connections (e.g., DMX, VCR, A/B switch) separate from the initial installation shall be performed within seven business days after an order has been placed.
(i) 
Service standards to be met. Under normal operating conditions, the service standards set out in subsections (a) through (h) shall be met at least ninety-five percent of the time, measured on a quarterly basis. The phrase "of the time" refers to the number of service requests received by the operator, so that if operator receives one hundred service requests, at least ninety-five of those requests shall be scheduled and/or completed within the time limits specified in subsections (a) through (h).
(j) 
Sufficient service staff required. The failure of the operator to hire sufficient staff or to properly train its staff shall not justify an operator's failure to comply with this provision.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
For each violation of a cable system customer service standard, penalties will be imposed as follows and shall not be charged or passed-through to subscribers:
(a) 
Two hundred dollars for each day of each material breach, not to exceed six hundred dollars for each occurrence of material breach.
(b) 
If there is a subsequent material breach of the same provision within twelve months, four hundred dollars for each day of each material breach, not to exceed twelve hundred dollars for each occurrence of the material breach.
(c) 
If there is a third or additional material breach of the same provision within twelve months of the first, one thousand dollars for each day of each material breach, not to exceed three thousand dollars for each occurrence of the material breach.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
With regard to subscribers with disabilities, upon subscriber request, each operator shall arrange for pickup and/or replacement of converters or other operator equipment at the subscriber's address or by a satisfactory equivalent (such as the provision of a postage-prepaid mailer).
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
An operator shall provide each subscriber at the time service is installed, and annually thereafter, clear and accurate written information:
(a) 
On placing a service call, filing a complaint, or requesting an adjustment (including when a subscriber is entitled to refunds for outages and how to obtain them);
(b) 
Showing the telephone number of the city office responsible for administering the cable television franchise;
(c) 
Providing a schedule of rates and charges (which listing must identify any discounts offered), including, but not limited to, disconnect fees and service downgrade fees, if any; channel positions; services provided; a copy of the service contract, delinquent subscriber disconnect and reconnect procedures; notifying subscribers of the availability of parental control devices, and the conditions under which they will be provided and the cost (if any) charged; and notifying subscribers of the franchisee's privacy policy;
(d) 
Describing conditions that must be met to qualify for discounts;
(e) 
Describing policies related to privacy and confidentiality;
(f) 
Describing any other of the operator's policies in connection with its subscribers; and
(g) 
Describing any discounts, services, or specialized equipment available to subscribers with disabilities; explaining how to obtain them; and explaining how to use any accessibility features.
Subscribers shall also be given notice of any material changes in the foregoing at least thirty days before such changes take effect.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
The form of all general communications with subscribers, including without limitation, billing statements and notices of customer service policies and procedures shall be subject to city approval. The franchisee shall submit for city approval a copy of all such documents at least thirty days prior to the date of intended distribution to customers. The city response to franchisee's requests for review shall be made within five working days of franchisee's submission, and approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
The operator shall provide the city manager at least sixty days, and all subscribers at least thirty days, written notice of any material changes in the information required to be provided under this article, except that, if federal law establishes a shorter notice period and preempts this requirement, the federal requirement will apply.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
Each operator shall take appropriate steps to ensure that all written operator promotional materials, announcements, and advertising of residential cable service to subscribers and the general public, where price information is listed in any manner, clearly and accurately discloses price terms. In the case of telephone orders, an operator shall take appropriate steps to ensure that price terms are clearly and accurately disclosed to potential customers in advance of taking the order. In addition, one hundred percent of all written materials distributed to subscribers shall be appropriate for reading at the 8th grade level.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
Each operator shall maintain a file open for public inspection containing all notices provided to subscribers under these customer service standards, as well as all promotional offers made to subscribers. The notices and offers shall be kept in the file for at least one year from the date of such notice or promotional offer.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
An operator will provide forty-eight hours prior notice to subscribers and the city before interrupting service for planned maintenance or construction; provided, however, that planned maintenance that does not require more than two hours interruption of service and that occurs between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. will not require such notice to subscribers, and notice to the city must be given no less than twenty-four hours before the anticipated service interruption.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
An operator's first billing statement after a new installation or service change will be prorated as appropriate and will reflect any security deposit.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
(a) 
Clear billing statement. An operator's billing statement must be clear, concise, and understandable; must itemize each category of service and equipment provided to the subscriber; and must state clearly the charges therefor.
(b) 
Payment due date specified. An operator's billing statement must show a specific payment due date not earlier than the later of:
(1) 
Fifteen days after the date the statement is mailed; or
(2) 
The tenth day of the service period for which the bill is rendered.
(c) 
Late fee. A late fee or administrative fee (collectively referred to below as a "late fee") shall not be imposed for payments earlier than twenty-seven days after the due date specified in the bill. In addition, an operator shall not report any delinquency or the imposition of any late fee to any credit agency earlier than twenty-seven days after the due date.
(d) 
Notice of late fee. A late fee shall not be imposed unless the subscriber is provided written notice at least ten days prior to the date the fee is imposed that a fee will be imposed, the date the fee will be imposed and the amount of the fee that will be imposed if the delinquency is not paid. A late fee shall not be imposed unless the outstanding balance exceeds ten dollars. Once a subscriber's account is up to date and any late fee paid, an operator shall immediately notify all credit agencies or other third parties to whom the operator may have provided information regarding the subscriber's past delinquency, and shall take no further action that might penalize or harm the subscriber.
(e) 
Operator's billing errors. Subscribers shall not be charged a late fee or otherwise penalized for any failure by an operator, including failure to timely or correctly bill the subscriber, or failure to properly credit the subscriber for a payment timely made. Payments shall be considered timely if postmarked on the due date.
(f) 
Payment by mail or in person. An operator's bill must permit a subscriber to remit payment by mail or in person at the operator's local office.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
(a) 
Prorated credit. A subscriber's account shall be credited a prorated share of the monthly charge for the service upon subscriber request if a subscriber is without service or if service is substantially impaired for any reason for a period exceeding one hour during any twenty-four hour period; or automatically if the loss of service or impairment is for twelve hours or longer.
(b) 
Impairment caused by subscriber. An operator need not credit subscriber where it establishes that a subscriber will obtain a refund for a loss of service or impairment caused by the subscriber or by subscriber-owned equipment (not including, for purposes of this section, in-home wiring installed by the operator).
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
The operator shall provide an appropriately detailed response to all written billing complaints from subscribers within thirty days of receipt.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
Refunds to subscribers shall be issued no later than:
(a) 
The earlier of the subscribers next billing cycle following resolution of the refund request, or thirty days; or
(b) 
The date of return of all equipment to operator, if cable service has been terminated.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
Credits for cable service shall be issued no later than the subscriber's next billing cycle after the determination that the credit is warranted.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
(a) 
Subscriber termination. A subscriber may terminate service at any time without penalty.
(b) 
Disconnection upon subscriber termination. An operator shall promptly disconnect from the operator's cable system or downgrade any subscriber who so requests. No charges for service may be made after the subscriber requests disconnection. No period of notice before voluntary termination or downgrade of cable service may be required of subscribers by any operator. There shall be no charge for disconnection, except for the collection fee authorized by state law, and any downgrade charges shall conform to applicable law. The notice required by Section 8B.05.080 shall describe the collection fee authorized by state law and the circumstances in which it may apply.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
Any security deposit and/or other funds, including interest, due a subscriber that disconnects or downgrades service shall be returned to the subscriber within thirty days or in the next billing cycle, whichever is later, from the date disconnection or downgrade was requested except in cases where the subscriber does not permit the operator to recover its equipment, in which case the amounts owed shall be paid to subscribers within thirty days of the date the equipment was recovered, or in the next billing cycle, whichever is later.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
(a) 
Disconnection for nonpayment. An operator shall not disconnect a subscriber's cable service for nonpayment unless:
(1) 
The subscriber is delinquent in payment for cable service;
(2) 
A separate, written notice of impending disconnection, postage prepaid, has been sent to the subscriber at least twenty days before the date on which service may be disconnected, at the premises where the subscriber requests billing, which notice shall identify the names and address of the subscriber whose account is delinquent, state the date by which disconnection may occur if payment is not made, and the amount the subscriber must pay to avoid disconnection, and a telephone number of a representative of the operator who can provide additional information concerning and handle complaints or initiate an investigation concerning the services and charges in question;
(3) 
The subscriber fails to pay the amounts owed to avoid disconnection by the date of disconnection; and
(4) 
No pending inquiry exists regarding the bill to which operator has not responded in writing.
(b) 
No disconnection if payment made. If the subscriber pays all amounts due, including late charges, before the date scheduled for disconnection, the operator shall not disconnect service. Service may only be terminated on days in which the customer can reach a representative of the operator either in person or by telephone.
(c) 
Reinstating service. After disconnection (except as noted below), upon payment by the subscriber in full of all proper fees or charges, including the payment of the reconnection charge, if any, the operator shall promptly reinstate service.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
(a) 
Disconnection. An operator may immediately disconnect a subscriber if:
(1) 
The subscriber is damaging, destroying, or unlawfully tampering with or has damaged or destroyed or unlawfully tampered with the operator's cable system;
(2) 
The subscriber is not authorized to receive a service and is receiving it and/or is facilitating, aiding or abetting the unauthorized receipt of service by others; or
(3) 
Subscriber-installed or attached equipment is resulting in signal leakage that is in violation of FCC rules.
(b) 
Lawful use of equipment. A subscriber may use or install any equipment on the subscriber's premises, and connect it to the cable system, unless expressly prohibited by law. Installation or use of any such equipment by a subscriber is permitted and an operator shall not disconnect such a subscriber unless the use or installation of the equipment creates grounds for disconnection pursuant to Section 8B.05.0220(a).
(c) 
Restoration of service. After disconnection, the operator shall restore service after the subscriber provides adequate assurance that it has ceased the practices that led to disconnection, and paid all proper fees and charges, including any reconnect fees and all amounts owed the operator for damage to its cable system or equipment. Provided that, no reconnection fee may be imposed on a subscriber disconnected pursuant to this article if the leakage was the result of the operator's acts or omissions; or in any case unless the operator notifies the subscriber of the leakage at least three business days in advance of disconnection, and the subscriber has failed to correct the leakage within that time.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
Except as applicable law may otherwise provide, an operator may remove its property from a subscriber's premises within thirty days of the termination of service. If an operator fails to remove its property in that period, the property shall be deemed abandoned unless the operator has been denied access to the subscriber's premises, or the operator has a continuing right to occupy the premises under applicable law.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
An operator may require a reasonable, non-discriminatory deposit on equipment provided to subscribers. Deposits will be placed in an interest-bearing account, and the operator shall return the deposit, plus interest earned to the date the deposit is returned to the subscriber, less any amount the operator can demonstrate should be deducted for damage to such equipment.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
(a) 
Without limiting an operator's obligations under federal law, an operator shall provide parental control devices at no charge to all subscribers who request them that enable the subscriber to block the video and audio portion of any channel or channels of programming. An operator shall notify all subscribers in writing of the availability of these devices at the time of initial connection, and at least annually thereafter.
(b) 
To the extent required by federal law, if a grantee plans to provide a premium channel without charge to a subscriber who does not subscribe to such premium channel, the operator shall provide at least thirty days' prior written notice thereof to said subscriber, and upon the subscriber's request, shall block entirely the subscriber's reception of said channel. For purposes of this section, a "premium channel" shall mean any pay service offered on a per channel or per program basis, which offers movies rated by the Motion Picture Association as X, NC-17, or R.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
A franchisee shall offer subscribers the opportunity to subscribe to each service offered by the franchisee on an unbundled basis.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)
Notwithstanding the requirements of this article, the city manager is authorized to relieve an operator of its obligations under this article if:
(a) 
The operator shows that there is an alternative standard that is substantially similar to that established by this article;
(b) 
The city manager determines that there is sufficient competition among cable operators that renders application of these standards unnecessary; or
(c) 
In light of the number of customers served by a cable operator, the requirements of this article are, in the city manager's sole discretion, unduly burdensome and there is an alternative way to serve the same interest.
The city manager shall inform the city council of any decision to relieve an operator of any obligations.
(Ord. 2064 § 1, 2001)