Failure to meet the requirements of this section will result in foreseeable damages in an amount specified in the section titled, “liquidated damages.” The franchisee shall establish written customer service standards which shall be approved by the council.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
A franchisee shall not deny cable service or other communications services to its city facilities, including its public and educational access facilities, or otherwise discriminate against subscribers, channel users, employees or general citizens on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, disability, income level or area in which they live within the franchise area. A franchisee shall not discriminate in service or rates between similar classes of subscribers similarly situated throughout the geographic area in which cable service is provided, except that franchisee may offer reasonable discounts to senior citizens or economically disadvantaged group’s or as otherwise may be authorized by law.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
A franchisee agrees to comply fully with all applicable state and federal laws relating to the protection of subscriber privacy, including, without limitation, Section 631 of the Communications Act of 1934 and any future amendments or related provisions. To the extent not preempted by federal law, in the event that part or all of such provisions are repealed or lessened the requirements in effect on the effective date of the repeal shall nevertheless continue to apply to a franchisee throughout the term of the remaining franchise.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
4.20.128.3.1. 
Each franchisee shall strictly observe and protect existing federal, state and local rights of privacy and of property of subscribers and users at all times. Information on individual subscribers, individual subscriber preference of any kind including, but not limited to, viewing habits, political, social, or economic philosophies, beliefs, creeds, religions, shopping choices, interests, opinions, energy uses, medical information, banking data or information, or names, addresses, or telephone numbers, or any other personal or private information, shall not be collected or revealed to any person, mailing service, investigating agency or department, company, other agency, or entity unless upon the authority of a court of law or upon prior written permission of the subscriber, which written permissions must be kept permanently on file by franchisee and available for review by the city upon five working days advance notice. The request for such permission must be contained in a separate document with a prominent statement that the subscriber is authorizing the permission in full knowledge of its provision. Such authorization shall not in any event be required as a condition of receiving service. However, nothing in this subsection shall prevent a franchisee from providing (i) the "names and address" only of subscribers to premium service providers for purposes of distribution of guides concerning programming offered by such providers, or (ii) the names, addresses and billing information of subscribers to billing services for purposes of preparing and mailing subscriber statements or to debt collection agencies for the purposes of debt collection.
4.20.128.3.2. 
Franchisee may release the number of its subscribers but only as a total number and as a percentage of the potential subscribers throughout the city. When indicating the number of subscribers viewing a particular channel at a particular time, franchisee shall indicate only the total number of subscribers viewing during the relevant time and the percentage of all subscribers which they represent, but never the identity of a particular subscriber. Franchisee shall provide such total and percentage information to city upon request.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
4.20.128.4.1. 
A franchisee shall provide the services and facilities of the system to disabled persists to the extent set forth in the franchise agreement. At a minimum, a franchisee shall provide a remote control device (and converter if required) to those subscribers who are paraplegic or quadriplegic, and franchisee shall not charge such subscribers a fee for such devices and converters which exceeds franchisee's own costs in purchasing such devices and converters. If specified in the franchise agreement, and within a time specified therein, a franchisee shall submit to the city a plan and/or report for the disabled demonstrating how the franchisee intends to ensure the availability of its services and facilities to disabled persons. Said plan shall list, at a minimum, specified programming provided for the disabled, if any, and shall include the franchisee's facility accessibility proposal. Said plan shall be updated from time to time as necessary or as required by the city.
4.20.128.4.2. 
The franchisee shall provide information on how to obtain equipment which facilitates the reception of closed-captioned programming transmitted over the cable system to any person who requests it within five business days of the receipt of such a request.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
At the time of installation, the franchisee will provide each subscriber, free of charge, a card indicating the channel lineup for cable service. The franchisee will send a free replacement card to each subscriber whenever there is a change in the channel assignments; such card shall be sent within thirty (30) days of the change in channel assignment. The franchisee shall provide a printed program guide for basic service channels. If feasible, an electronic program guide is desired. It is the city’s understanding that premium program guides are included in the price of premium service. An electronic version of this card shall be provided to city in HTML format for inclusion in city WWW pages.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
A franchisee shall provide a local and a toll-free telephone number, a local office and adequately trained customer service representatives to receive and act upon requests for repairs and consumer complaints. Said telephone numbers shall be so operated that calls can be received and responded to on a twenty-four (24) hour basis, seven days a week, including weekends and holidays. When a regular customer service representative is not on duty, an adequately trained answering service or automated response unit shall take the name, address and telephone number of each caller to report back to the franchisee. The answering service or automated response unit shall be able to contact and dispatch a repair technician to meet the requirements of this section for a system service interruption. For non-emergency problems (e.g., requests for adding premium services), a franchisee’s customer service representative is to return the phone call to the customer the next business day after the customer’s call to the answering service or automated response unit. In addition, franchisee shall develop or cause to be developed a log which, at a minimum, contains and segregates the number and nature of calls made to its answering service or automated response unit from subscribers within the city on an ongoing basis, and the franchisee shall report this information, when requested by the cable administrator. For purposes of this section “adequately trained” includes the capability to provide for the dispatch of technical personnel and information as to business hours and appropriate telephone numbers for business hour contacts.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
If a subscriber states that he or she is unsatisfied with the response of a customer service representative, or asks to speak with a customer service supervisor or any qualified supervisor, the matter shall be immediately referred to a qualified supervisor for resolution. If no customer service supervisor or other qualified supervisor is available, the customer service representative must record the pertinent information and a qualified supervisor shall return the telephone call as promptly as possible, but in no event later than one business day. If that call does not achieve contact with the subscriber, the supervisor must utilize reasonable efforts to do so including, without limitation, calling periodically, leaving a telephone message or writing the subscriber to give a direct dial or extension number to reach the supervisor directly. If a subscriber remains dissatisfied with the resolution of his or her complaint following review by a qualified supervisor, the subscriber shall be referred to the manager or director of customer service for final resolution. The manager or director of customer service shall provide the customer with a follow up written response detailing the corrective measures taken by the franchisee within seven days of the customer’s initial call or complaint, a copy of which shall be sent to the cable administrator. For any such call or complaint which the manager or director of customer service fails to provide a written response within the time limit allowed, the franchisee shall automatically credit the complaining customer’s account in the amount of ten dollars ($10.00) on the next billing cycle.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
4.20.128.9.1. 
A franchisee shall obtain and maintain sufficient telephone lines and staffing so as not to delay unreasonably the answering of all telephone calls. Trained customer service representatives shall be available to respond to customer telephone inquiries during normal business hours, defined as not less than nine hours per business day Monday through Friday and four hours on Saturday.
4.20.128.9.2. 
Franchisee shall connect a telephone caller within thirty (30) seconds after the caller dials and "ringing" begins. This standard shall be deemed satisfied when a connection is made either to an automated attendant capable of responding to the subscriber's inquiry, such as an automatic response unit, or to a customer service representative capable of responding to the subscriber's inquiry. Under normal operating conditions, the caller will receive a busy signal less than three percent of the time.
4.20.128.9.3. 
If the call needs to be transferred, if the caller needs to be placed on hold, or if the caller wishes to be transferred, such transfer or hold time shall not exceed thirty (30) seconds.
4.20.128.9.4. 
Each of the standards set forth in this section shall be met no less than ninety five percent (95%) of the time, measured on a quarterly basis, under normal operating conditions. The franchisee maintains the burden of providing a statistical printout so that compliance can be determined. However, the franchisee will not be required to acquire equipment to measure compliance with the telephone answering standards above unless a historical record of complaints indicates a clear failure to comply.
4.20.128.9.5. 
During the hours when a customer service representative of franchisee is not on duty to receive calls, a qualified employee or contractor shall either be available to an adequately trained answering service or to an automated paging system to act upon subscriber calls to correct service interruptions in cable service as provided in this section.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
4.20.128.10.1. 
If the cable administrator reviews the telephone usage complaints against a franchisee and finds them to reflect a failure to comply with the standards of the ordinance codified in this title, the cable administrator shall direct the franchisee to provide to the city, at the franchisee's cost, a statistically accurate call traffic study which shall identify the franchisee's compliance with the requirements of the ordinance codified in this title and propose remedies to correct any deficiencies in compliance. This study shall be delivered to the city within ninety (90) days following receipt of written notice from the city specifying the need for such study. The study shall be conducted over a period of ninety (90) days so as to determine whether the standards set forth in this section have been satisfied no less than ninety-five percent (95%) of the time, measured on a quarterly basis, under normal operating condition.
4.20.128.10.2. 
Remedy. In the event that the city determines that the franchisee has failed to meet the standards set out in this section based upon such study, the franchisee shall have thirty (30) days from written notification of such noncompliance by the city to cure the same. Failure to meet the requirements of this section will result in foreseeable damages in an amount specified in the section titled, "liquidated damages."
4.20.128.10.3. 
Reservation. The city shall have the right to modify the telephone response requirements in the ordinance codified in this title and the franchise agreement as it reasonably deems appropriate to protect the public interest, after notice to all franchisees.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
Failure to meet the requirements of this section will result in foreseeable damages in an amount specified in the section titled, “liquidated damages.”
4.20.128.12.1. 
A franchisee may respond to a service request or complaint by telephone where the service request or complaint does not reasonably require dispatching an employee or contractor to address or resolve such request or complaint. When a telephonic response is insufficient and a service call is necessary, the franchisee shall be deemed to have responded to request for service when a qualified employee or contractor arrives at the subscriber's location or other location where necessary to address the complaint and begin work, provided that the employee or contractor continues said work without cessation to completion where practicable.
4.20.128.12.2. 
If a work interruption is reasonably necessary (for example, to obtain unforeseeable but necessary permits, tools, materials, equipment or additional personnel), the employee or contractor shall complete said work at the earliest reasonable date that is convenient to the customer, provided; however, that a lack of an adequate supply of cable converters or other electronic hardware shall not be deemed a necessary work interruption.
4.20.128.12.3. 
If a subscriber is not at home when the employee or contractor arrives, the employee or contractor shall attempt to repair any problems which can be reasonably repaired from outside the customer's premises (for example, a repair to a cable drop between the front of customer's residence and the street).
4.20.128.12.4. 
If such a repair is not possible, the employee or contractor shall leave a door hanger at the customer's location which shall notify the customer that a repair was attempted and ask the customer to call the franchisee to reschedule another mutually convenient service call.
4.20.128.12.5. 
A franchisee shall maintain a repair force of service and maintenance personnel capable of responding to subscriber requests for service and complaints under normal operating conditions within the following time frames (unless; a subscriber requests a different date that is more convenient to the subscriber and that is beyond the following performance standards):
4.20.128.12.6. 
Service interruption within four hours, including weekends and holidays of receiving subscriber calls which by number identify a service interruption. Repairs due to service interruption will be made on evenings and weekends as necessary at no cost to the subscribers or city. Agents of the franchisee responsible for evening and weekend repairs must be available at local telephone number or page;
4.20.128.12.7. 
Up to two subscribers service interruption. Within one day, including weekends and holidays, of receiving requests for service identifying an individual service interruption;
4.20.128.12.8. 
Up to two subscribers service interruption. Within two days, including weekends and holidays, of receiving a request for service identifying a problem concerning picture or sound quality, or requesting exchange of defective converter; and
4.20.128.12.9. 
Where the subscriber requests service and the franchisee does not complete the service within the requirements of this section, the franchisee shall automatically credit the subscriber's account a prorated amount equal to one thirtieth of the subscribers monthly bill per day, rounded up to the nearest day, in excess of the standards set forth above. The credit shall automatically appear in the customer's next billing cycle. Failure to meet the requirements of this section will result in foreseeable damages in an amount specified in the section titled, "liquidated damages." Additionally, failure to properly credit any customer account shall be grounds for termination of the franchise agreement.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
The franchisee shall maintain for one year a written record (or an equivalent stored on magnetic, electronic or optical media capable of reproduction in printed form by the franchisee) of all requests for installations and/or cable service which require a service call to a subscriber’s residence, place of business or other location, and their disposition, whether such requests are made by telephone, in writing, in person, or otherwise, including the name of the person requesting installation or service, the date and time of the request, the nature of the request, the date and time of the franchisee’s response, and a brief description of the response or the service problem reported and resolved. Said written, electronic or optical record shall be made available to the city within five working days upon receipt of notice. Failure to meet the requirements of this section will result in foreseeable damages in an amount specified in the section titled, “liquidated damages.”
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
Consistent with Section 4.20.114.42, franchisee shall furnish and maintain services to each person within the franchise area who makes a bona fide request to receive any service. Nothing in the ordinance codified in this title or the franchise agreement shall limit the right of the franchisee to deny service to any household or individual because of a negative credit or service history with the franchisee which may include nonpayment of bills or theft or damage to the franchisee’s equipment, or who has threatened or assaulted employees of the franchisee in the course of their employment provided that in the event service is denied, the franchisee will give written notice to the subscriber of his right to appeal to the cable administrator the franchisee’s decision to deny service.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
A franchisee may require refundable deposits in circumstances consistent with reasonable business practices, including where such deposits are necessary to protect equipment or to ensure payment where there is reasonable evidence of a risk of nonpayment. Upon termination of service for any reason, subscribers will be entitled to receive a refund of the deposits, subject to (i) an offset or credit for all outstanding obligations of the subscriber to the franchisee, including outstanding service charges, and (ii) return of all equipment provided by the franchisee in connection with the services received by the subscriber.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
Failure to meet the requirements of this section will result in foreseeable damages in an amount specified in the section titled, “liquidated damages.”
4.20.128.17.1. 
The franchisee shall execute an installation or disconnection within seven calendar days of the subscriber's order. Failure to meet the installation deadline shall result in a crediting of the customer's account the amount equal to one month's basic service or twenty dollars ($20.00) which ever is less. A subscriber ordering disconnection shall be entitled to a prorated credit from the date of disconnection to the next regular bill date.
4.20.128.17.2. 
The franchisee shall provide each subscriber at the time of initial subscription to the system and upon request notice as to the procedures to be used for reporting and resolving complaints regarding the quality of service, defective equipment and similar matters; a complete listing of cable-related rates and fees; and a copy of billing policies.
4.20.128.17.3. 
A subscriber shall receive the monthly bill no less than two weeks in advance of its due date. A coupon book system may be employed.
4.20.128.17.4. 
Any disconnection or relocation caused by a city-ordered relocation of franchisees equipment due to repairs, refurbishing, demolition, safety or security reasons shall be effected at no additional charge to the city or the subscriber.
4.20.128.17.5. 
Involuntary Disconnection. Franchisee shall only disconnect or terminate a subscriber's service for good and just cause. The franchisee shall not disconnect service for nonpayment until the franchisee has provided the subscriber with written notice, separate and apart from the customer's regular monthly bill, provided on or after the due date of the subscriber's billing and separately from that billing, at least ten (10) calendar days in advance of the disconnection. The notice shall specify:
4.20.128.17.5.1. 
Proposed date subject to disconnection;
4.20.128.17.5.2. 
Total payment required to avoid disconnection, with an itemization of component charges if such itemization has not recently been supplied to the subscriber;
4.20.128.17.5.3. 
Total amount in arrears if that amount differs from above; and
4.20.128.17.5.4. 
Telephone numbers and office hours to contact a customer service representative.
4.20.128.17.5.5. 
In no event shall involuntary disconnection or termination for nonpayment occur less than fourteen (14) calendar days after the end of any billing period for which charges are delinquent. Franchisee will make reasonable efforts personally to contact the subscriber by knocking on the door of the subscriber's residence or other facility and giving the subscriber an opportunity to continue service by paying all accrued charges. Where a franchisee has improperly discontinued service, or discontinued service not in accordance with the procedures set forth above, it shall provide free reconnection within twenty four (24) hours of being made aware of improper disconnection and credit the customer's account in the amount of one month's basic service or twenty dollars ($20.00) which ever is less. The credit shall appear in the customer's next billing cycle. Failure to properly credit any customer account shall be grounds for termination of the franchise agreement.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
A franchisee shall not, except to the extent expressly permitted by law, impose any fee or charge on any subscriber for: (i) any service call to said subscriber’s premises to perform any repair or maintenance work related to franchisee installed equipment necessary to receive service, except any such work which was necessitated by a negligent or wrongful act of said subscriber; or (ii) the disconnection or downgrading of any services to a subscriber, unless otherwise provided in this section, provided that the franchisee may impose appropriate charges if, at the time of disconnection, some or all of the franchisee’s equipment is not returned to the franchisee or the subscriber has not paid all outstanding fees and charges due to the franchisee.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
A franchisee shall afford subscribers with a right to cancel or rescind any contract or agreement for cable services by midnight of the third business day, excluding Sundays, after the day on which the subscriber enters such an agreement, except that such right of rescission shall end upon initiation of installation of service whether physically or electronically on the subscriber’s premises.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
The franchisee agrees to make subscriber service changes as quickly as possible but not later than three business days after notification, or as agreed with the subscriber. Appointments shall be available in four-hour periods. Changes not made on time shall be provided free of charge.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
4.20.128.22.1. 
All franchisee employees will carry an identification card, with photograph and physical statistics, which positively identifies them as working for the franchisee. All employees will carry this card in plain view whenever on a subscriber premises. The franchisee will provide these cards. Upon release of any employee, the franchisee will ensure that any required franchisee identification cards are returned to the issuing office.
4.20.128.22.2. 
All personnel, agents and representatives of a franchisee, including subcontractors, that have occasion to deal, in their official capacity, directly with subscribers or members of the public at their residences or places of business shall wear photo identification badges, when acting on behalf of the franchisee, except in cases of emergency provided it is impracticable to do so. Proper identification shall be provided to all employees of the franchisee. Employees are responsible for cleanup and proper installation procedures on the subscriber's premises.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
In the city’s discretion, unreasonable, frequent or widespread delays in making repairs or failure to make timely repairs shall be grounds for liquidated damages or termination of a franchise agreement. Agents of the franchisee responsible for making repairs shall be available at a local published telephone number eight a.m. to five p.m., Monday through Saturday. At all other times the franchisee shall have at a minimum an answering service. Failure to meet the requirements of this section will result in foreseeable damages in an amount specified in the section titled, “liquidated damages.”
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
For each failure of the franchisee to meet any scheduled appointment, the franchisee must offer the subscriber in the sole discretion of the subscriber:
4.20.128.24.1. 
A credit of twenty dollars ($20.00) to the subscriber's then current billing balance; or
4.20.128.24.2. 
With respect to service connection or repair appointments, an opportunity to elect to seek remedies under state law, if applicable;
4.20.128.24.3. 
The remedies in this section shall, however, be provided in addition to, not in lieu of, other remedies provided in the ordinance codified in this title and the franchise agreement.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
Before or concurrently with providing initial cable service to each subscriber, at least annually thereafter, and at any time upon request, a franchisee shall provide each subscriber with a copy of its written customer service standards and shall advise each subscriber in writing either in its written customer service standards or a current rate card, or otherwise, of:
4.20.128.28.1. 
The availability of the signal control device or parental control option (lock box) required by 47 U.S.C. 544(d)(2)(A) of the Communications Act of 1934 as amended;
4.20.128.28.2. 
All cable service offerings and options, the fees, charges, deposits, and associated terms and conditions which apply to all cable services then being distributed over the system which the subscriber may elect to receive, including, if available, an option for a subscriber to pay for cable services one year in advance and receive a substantial discount;
4.20.128.28.3. 
Procedures for ordering, changes in or termination of services, as well as franchisees obligation to provide subscribers with thirty (30) days prior written notice of any changes in such services, fees, charges, deposits, procedures, policies or associated arms and conditions, excluding temporary marketing and sales discounts on offers and adjustments in rates for pay-per view and similar per-event programming;
4.20.128.28.4. 
All refund and credit policies, including but not limited to subscriber's right to a credit or pro-rata refund of monthly subscription fees for any loss or interruption of cable service as described in this section, and to a refund of all fees, deposits or pro-rata payments to which the subscriber is entitled;
4.20.128.28.5. 
The franchisee's practices and procedures for protecting subscriber privacy as required by federal, state and local law or regulation, including, but not limited to, 47 U.C.C. 551, the ordinance codified in this title and the franchise agreement in the form of a separate, written statement to each subscriber which clearly and conspicuously informs the subscriber of his or her rights to privacy;
4.20.128.28.6. 
The franchisee's procedures for the receipt and resolution of subscriber complaints;
4.20.128.28.7. 
The address, telephone number and business hours of the franchisee's office in the franchise area to which complaints may be reported;
4.20.128.28.8. 
The responsibility of the cable administrator for assistance in resolving cable complaints, together with the cable administrator's address and normal business hours and the title and telephone number of the person designated to receive such complaints;
4.20.128.28.9. 
The regular meetings of the council or other meetings designated by the city that are open to the public; and
4.20.128.28.10. 
A general description of broadcast channel syndicated exclusivity, network non-duplication and sports blackout requirements which may affect subscribers' viewing of the franchisee's cable services.
4.20.128.28.11. 
The written materials required to be provided annually to subscribers under this section shall, at least forty-five (45) days before their mailing, be submitted for review and comment to the cable administrator for purposes of assuring compliance with the provisions of this section, the ordinance codified in this title, the franchise agreement and applicable provisions of federal or state law. The cable administrator shall provide comments concerning the form and content of such written materials within thirty (30) days following receipt of such materials from the franchisee; if the cable administrator fails to provide comments within such thirty (30) day period, the form and content of such materials shall be deemed satisfactory. The final form and content of such notice is within the franchisee's control, provided that the notice is otherwise consistent with the provisions of the ordinance codified in this title, the franchise agreement and applicable provisions of federal or state law.
4.20.128.28.12. 
The notice described in this section, and every other notice required under the ordinance codified in this title to be sent to all subscribers, shall either be included in the subscriber's monthly billing statement or provided separately, without inclusion with any other materials, by U.S. Mail or such other timely method of delivery as shall be appropriate. One copy of each such notice shall also be sent to the cable administrator.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
The franchisee shall supply the city with one copy of all current written materials, including promotional materials and a copy of all new and periodically updated materials which it distributes to subscribers concurrently upon their distribution to subscribers or, at the franchisee’s option, up to one year in advance.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
4.20.128.30.1. 
A franchisee shall notify subscribers of the expected time of visits for installations, service or other activities, and shall offer to schedule such visits either at a specific time or, at maximum, within a two-hour time block during normal business hours. Franchisee shall also schedule such visits outside of normal business hours for the express convenience of the customer. Franchisee shall offer subscribers a choice of either morning visits, afternoon visits or, if franchisee makes service calls later into the evening, visits up to the close of business. In each case, the subscriber shall be advised of the time block during which the service representative is scheduled to arrive.
4.20.128.30.2. 
If a subscriber requesting service on a given day cannot be scheduled within a specific time period and is advised that the franchisee's service personnel may arrive at any point during the business day, the subscriber may request the franchisee to make an appointment for service on the next business day in which such time periods are available.
4.20.128.30.3. 
If, under circumstances which depart from normal operating conditions, a franchisee is unable to keep a scheduled appointment, franchisee shall attempt to make prompt contact with subscriber to inform the subscriber of the delay and to reschedule the service visit at a time meeting the subscriber's convenience.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
Upon being notified of a service interruption, franchisee shall devise some reasonable method, such as an automated recording immediately to be placed on its incoming telephone lines, to advise subscribers of the nature and expected duration of the service interruption. If a recording is used, it shall also provide subscribers calling on other matters with the option of either obtaining information on such other matters through an automated response unit or choosing to speak with a live representative of franchisee including, if outside normal business hours, franchisee’s answering service. Franchisee shall, where practicable, also notify the cable administrator by telephone or facsimile as soon as such an outage is identified and promptly after it is repaired. Failure to meet the requirements of this section will result in foreseeable damages in an amount specified in the section titled, “liquidated damages.”
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
With respect to syndicated exclusivity and network non-duplication blackouts, franchisee shall either substitute another signal to avoid transmitting a “blank” screen on the black-out channel frequency or, by use of some reasonable device, such as a continuous, character-generated notice, otherwise avoid transmitting a “blank” screen on the blacked-out channel frequency or otherwise conveying the impression that the channel is not working properly. With respect to blackouts of selected sports events, franchisee shall prepare a character-generated notice to be superimposed on the affected channel, advising subscribers of the TV blackout of the particular sports event.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
Franchisee shall automatically terminate the subscriber’s reception of any promotional no-cost or discounted premium channel offering at the end of the established or extended promotional period, and shall not continue to assess or collect a charge for such service offering, unless the subscriber affirmatively and specifically elects, either orally, in writing or by telephone, to continue that service for the applicable charge(s). This election may be made by the subscriber at any time prior to the imposition of the applicable charge, including at any time prior to first receiving the service for no charge. This provision does not apply to the addition of any service to an existing package, tier or service offering or to any restructuring or retiering of any package, tier or service offering, provided that the subscriber is receiving the package, tier or service offering at the time of the addition, restructuring or retiering.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
4.20.128.35.1. 
The city reserves the right to establish and to modify subscriber service standards from time to time, provided such standards do not conflict with applicable federal or state law. The city shall provide each franchisee with written notice of any proposed addition to or modification of such service standards. Each such addition or modification shall be provided to each franchisee at least ninety (90) days preceding implementation of the new standard(s).
4.20.128.35.2. 
The city shall provide each franchisee with the opportunity to meet and confer concerning such proposed addition or modification. However, the city is under no obligation to adopt recommendations by a multi-channel service provider. Each such addition or modification shall be uniformly applied to all cable service providers within the city concurrently with the effective date of such addition or modification as it applies to any one cable service provider.
4.20.128.35.3. 
The franchisee shall comply with any such addition or modification within ninety (90) days following the date of adoption of such addition or modification by the city, unless franchisee shall promptly and in writing request of the city an extension of time in which to comply. The city shall promptly respond and shall grant such requests for additional time if reasonably necessary to affect compliance, so long as franchisee is actively and expeditiously attempting to obtain compliance with such additions or modifications. The determination of whether the franchisee is actively and expeditiously attempting to obtain compliance is within the sole discretion of the city.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
4.20.128.36.1. 
Subscribers not satisfied that their cable services have been provided as required in the franchise agreement or the ordinance codified in this title shall be encouraged to notify the franchisee, and the franchisee shall notify subscribers of the opportunity to do so in franchisee's annual notice required to be distributed to subscribers. A franchisee shall work with the subscriber to resolve the problem. Upon request and verification, franchisee shall provide a credit to service charges for each service interruption as set forth in this section.
4.20.128.36.2. 
Any signal interruption or service interruption of a combined duration of fifteen (15) minutes or more in any continuous twenty-four (24) hours (when normal operating conditions exist), whatever its cause, shall entitle each subscriber or subscribers affected to a automatic credit of the monthly subscriber fee prorated on a per day basis. Such credit must be applied to the first bill issued following the interruption. The only exceptions are for interruptions due to power outages which exceed the operating limits of the system's backup power supplies, acts of God or nature, or scheduled outages.
4.20.128.36.3. 
Any signal interruption or service interruption shall be computed from the time the franchisee receives notice from the first subscriber. In no event shall a franchisee be required to credit a subscriber's account in an amount in excess of one day's credit for each day a customer endures a service interruption. For example, a customer suffers a service interruption for five hours; this would entitle the customer to one day of credit. If there was a loss of signal during two four hour periods within the same day, the customer would still be entitled to only one day's credit. If, however, a service interruption runs into a second or more days, then one day's credit is due for each day, or part thereof, the service interruption or occurs. Failure to meet the requirements of this section will result in foreseeable damages in an amount specified in the section titled, "liquidated damages."
4.20.128.36.4. 
No credit shall be required for any service interruption which is caused by the acts or omissions of the subscriber, video, audio or other equipment of the subscriber.
4.20.128.36.5. 
The franchisee's customer service manager shall be given authority to credit a subscriber's account for a service interruption or signal interruption of in an amount up to one month's service charges, based upon the facts and circumstances of the complaint.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
A franchisee shall refund to a subscriber all fees, deposits or pro-rata payments to which the subscriber is entitled within thirty (30) days following disconnection of cable service, subject to (i) an offset or credit for all outstanding obligations of the subscriber to the franchisee, including outstanding service charges, and (ii) return of all equipment provided by the franchisee in connection with the services received by the subscriber. Franchisee shall automatically provide a subscriber with a twenty dollar ($20.00) payment to the last address of record for failure to provide such a refund within said thirty (30) day period.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
Notwithstanding any other sections of the ordinance codified in this title, where the actions of a franchisee, its agent(s) or subcontractor(s) can be shown, upon a reasonable demonstration of evidence by a subscriber or the cable administrator, to have been the substantial cause for the theft, loss or damage of a converter or other electronic equipment provided for the use of a subscriber (for example, by leaving a converter or other electronic equipment unattended on a subscriber’s doorstep when delivering such converter to the subscriber), the subscriber shall have no liability with respect to such theft, loss or damage. Where the franchisee falls to retrieve a converter or other electronic equipment within seven days after a disconnection and the local office located in the city is not staffed or operated in accordance with the ordinance codified in this title or the franchise agreement, neither the city nor the subscriber shall have liability with respect to such converter or other electronic equipment nor shall a franchisee subject a subscriber to any charges in connection with the failure by the franchisee to regain such converter or other electronic equipment.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
4.20.128.40.1. 
The franchisee shall bill all subscribers to its cable services in a uniform, nondiscriminatory manner, regardless of the subscriber's level of service. In no case shall any subscriber be required (i) to pay for services more than thirty (30) days in advance of the start of the period of service for which the subscriber is being billed or (ii) to pay for more than thirty (30) days of such services at any one time, provided, however, that the subscriber may be required to pay for more than thirty (30) days of service if the account is or has been past due. The franchisee shall clearly disclose on the billing statement both the date on which the payment is due and the date on which a penalty may begin to accrue if payment has not been received. There shall be a minimum of fifteen (15) days from the date of the postmark on billing statements to the payment due date, and there shall be a minimum of forty-five (45) days from the date of the postmark on the first billing statement to the imposition of a late fee.
4.20.128.40.2. 
The franchisee shall provide all subscribers with an itemized monthly bill that contains, at a minimum, the following information:
4.20.128.40.2.1. 
A list of each service or package received for that billing period showing individual charges for the lowest basic tier, satellite tier, each pay-per-view usage, each premium service subscribed to on an a la carte or package basis, and each remote control or other devices;
4.20.128.40.2.2. 
The period of time over which said services are billed;
4.20.128.40.2.3. 
The total charges due for the monthly period separate from any previous balance due;
4.20.128.40.2.4. 
A specific date by which payment is required; and
4.20.128.40.2.5. 
Specific information on complaint procedures that are available to subscribers, or a local or local and toll-free telephone number that can be called to obtain copies of franchisee's billing and complaint procedures.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
Customer service representatives shall be kept fully informed of subscriber options for service, and shall be required to advise subscribers of those options where reasonably appropriate, when subscribers telephone or otherwise contact franchisee’s customer service representatives, including, but not limited to, the following:
4.20.128.41.1. 
Advising subscribers, whenever applicable, that they may either schedule converter boxes for at-home pickup or exchange by franchisee's personnel or may themselves bring converter boxes to the franchisee's business office located in the city;
4.20.128.41.2. 
Advising subscribers, whenever applicable, that programming promotions are currently being, or may be within a week, offered at discounted rates or prices; and
4.20.128.41.3. 
Advising subscribers, whenever applicable, that known or planned service outages may affect subscribers' cable reception, provided, however, that in lieu of this franchisee may use a character generator to disclose such information on an appropriate and convenient channel.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)
4.20.128.42.1. 
Upon request, a franchisee shall report to the city on a quarterly basis regarding its compliance with the customer service standards. A report form shall be developed in consultation between the cable administrator and a franchisee that will provide the detail necessary to monitor franchisee's compliance with these standards, and such report shall include, but not be limited to, a summary of subscriber complaints by type of complaint in accordance with this section. A franchisee shall comply with all procedures established by the city and the franchisee regarding the handling of all complaints received directly by the cable administrator from city residents regarding cable system service.
(Ord. 205 § 3, 2001)