[Ord. No. 3272 §1, 1-3-1994]
A.
The
rules contained in this Chapter are adopted to set forth standards
regarding the operation of the business office of any cable television
systems operating within the City. Nothing in this Chapter should
be construed to prevent or prohibit:
1.
The City from amending or subsequently changing its ordinance or
cable television franchise agreement and thereby imposing customer
service requirements that exceed the standards set forth herein,
2.
The City from enforcing, through the end of the franchise term, pre-existing
customer service requirements that exceed the standards set forth
in this Chapter,
3.
The City from enforcing any existing State consumer protection law
to the extent it has not been specifically pre-empted by the Federal
Communications Commission, or
4.
The establishment or enforcement of any local ordinance or regulation
concerning customer service that imposes customer service requirements
that exceed, or address matters not addressed by the standards set
forth by the Federal Communications Commission in Title 47 of the
Code of Federal Regulations Part 76, Sub-part H.
[Ord. No. 3272 §2, 1-3-1994]
A.
Any
operator of a cable system within the City of Berkeley shall maintain
their system subject to the following minimum requirements:
1.
The cable operator will maintain local, toll free or collect call
telephone access lines which will be available to the cable operator
subscriber twenty-four (24) hours per day seven (7) days a week.
a.
Trained company representatives will be available to customer telephone
inquiries during normal business hours.
b.
After normal business hours, the access line may be answered by a
service or an automated response system, including an answering machine.
Inquiries received after normal business hours must be responded to
by a trained company representative within the first (1st) four (4)
hours of the next business day.
2.
Under normal operating conditions, telephone answer time by a customer
representative, including wait time, shall not exceed thirty (30)
seconds when the connection is made. If the call needs to be transferred,
transfer time shall not exceed thirty (30) seconds. These standards
shall be met no less than ninety percent (90%) of the time under normal
operating conditions, as measured on a weekly basis:
a.
If a customer complains that their telephone call has not been answered
within the time limits herein established, the cable television operator
shall have the burden of proving either that the telephone was answered
with the time limits herein established, or that the cable company
does answer its telephone calls within these time standards. In the
absence of affirmative evidence from the operator, demonstrating compliance
with this rule, credible evidence that a particular call was not answered
within these standards shall establish a presumption that the operator
is in violation of said rule.
3.
The customer will receive a busy signal on the telephone nor more
than three percent (3%) of the time. If a customer alleges that he/she
made two (2) successive telephone calls and each was the subject of
a busy signal, it shall be presumed that this standard has been violated.
However, on an affirmative showing by the company of some extraordinary
operating condition (a temporary outage due to a storm is not an extraordinary
operating condition) or that the average for the customer for a busy
signal is less than three percent (3%), this presumption shall be
overcome.
[Ord. No. 3272 §3, 1-3-1994]
The cable operator shall provide a customer service center and
a bill payment location that is open at a minimum during normal business
hours and which is conveniently located to the customer. This customer
service center shall be located within the cable operator's franchise
area located in north St. Louis County.
[Ord. No. 3272 §4, 1-3-1994]
A.
Under
normal operating conditions, each of the following four (4) standards
will be met no less than ninety-five percent (95%) of the time measured
on a weekly basis:
1.
Standard installations will be performed within seven (7) business
days after an order has been placed. "Standard" installations are
those that are located up to one hundred twenty-five (125) feet from
the existing distribution system. Other installations will be performed
within fourteen (14) business days after an order has been placed.
If a customer complains that he/she placed an order and the installation
was not completed within that period of time, the company shall have
the burden of proving compliance with this standard, or providing
a reasonable explanation of why the standard was not met. Merely demonstrating
statistical compliance, without a specific reason why this particular
installation did not occur will not overcome the presumption of neglect
of these customer service standards.
2.
Excluding conditions beyond the control of the operator (storm damage
is not a condition unexpected to the operator and is a circumstance
that the operator shall anticipate and be within the operator's control)
the cable operator will begin working on "service interruptions" promptly
after being notified and shall initiate a response no later than twenty-four
(24) hours after the interruption becomes known. The service interruption
work should be completed promptly thereafter as conditions require.
3.
The cable operator shall establish an "appointment window" for installation,
service calls and other installation activities at a specific time,
or, at maximum, a four (4) hour time block during normal business
hours. The operator may schedule service calls and other installation
activities outside of normal business hours for the express convenience
of the customer.
a.
The cable operator may not cancel an appointment with a customer
after the close of business day prior to the scheduled appointment.
b.
If a cable operator representative is running late for an appointment
with a customer and will not be able to keep the appointment as scheduled,
the customer will be contacted and the appointment will be rescheduled
as necessary. However, this rescheduled appointment will be at a time
which is convenient for the customer and the cable operator will provide
a service representative at that time.
[Ord. No. 3272 §5, 1-3-1994]
A.
The
cable operator shall provide written information on each of the following
areas at the time of installation of service; at least annually to
all subscribers; at any time upon request of any person; and shall
provide copies to the City which shall be available for distribution
at the City Hall:
1.
Products and services offered.
2.
Prices and options for programming, services and conditions of subscriptions
and other services.
3.
Installation and service maintenance policies.
4.
Instructions on how to use the cable service.
5.
Channel positions of probate carried on the system.
6.
Billing and complaint procedures, including the address and telephone
number of the City's call complaint officer.
[Ord. No. 3272 §6, 1-3-1994]
Customers will be notified of changes in rates, programming
services or channel positions as soon as possible through announcement
on the cable system and in writing. Notice must be given to subscribers
a minimum of thirty (30) days in advance of such changes, unless the
change is not within the control of the cable operator. The cable
operator shall have the burden of demonstrating that the change is
not within his/her control, and in so doing must make available documents
showing previous costs and increased costs, and when the cable operator
become aware of them. In addition to changes in the cable rates, the
cable operator shall notify subscribers thirty (30) days in advance
of any significant changes in any of the polices required by the proceeding
Section.
[Ord. No. 3272 §7, 1-3-1994]
A.
Bills
will be clear, concise and understandable. Bills must be fully itemized,
with itemization including, but not limited to, basic and premium
service charges and equipment charges. Bills will also clearly delineate
all activity during the billing period, including optional charges,
rebates and credits.
B.
In
case of a billing dispute, the cable operator must respond to a written
complaint from the subscriber within thirty (30) days. In the case
of a telephonic complaint from a subscriber, the company must respond
to the complaint at the time of the telephone call, and if necessary,
will follow up with a written response within fifteen (15) days.
[Ord. No. 3272 §8, 1-3-1994]
[Ord. No. 3272 §9, 1-3-1994]
[Ord. No. 3272 §10, 1-3-1994]
This Article is adopted under Police power of the City, and
is expressly intended to follow the lead of the Federal Communications
Commission, with certain amendments making provision more strict against
the interest of the cable company with express understanding that
the Federal Communications Commission has authorized the City to do
so. Violations of this Chapter shall be an offense of the City, and
upon conviction, the cable operator shall be fined not more than five
hundred dollars ($500.00), and the cable franchise term shortened
by up to thirty (30) days, provided that in no event shall the cable
television franchise be shortened below a thirty-six (36) month period
to allow the cable operator to exercise his/her rights under the Cable
Communications Policy Act of 1984, as amended, to attempt to obtain
renewal of the franchise.
