Township of Caln, PA Article VIII Consumer Protection Provisions

§ A161-33 Subscriber complaint practices.

A. It is the intent of the Board of Commissioners of Caln Township to enforce the latest minimum customer service standards as established by the FCC, concerning but not limited to:

(1) System office hours and telephone availability.

(2) Installations, outages and service calls.

(3) Communications between system operator and the subscriber, including standards governing bills and refunds.

B. Additional requirements:

(1) The franchisee shall render sufficient service, make repairs promptly and interrupt service only for good cause and for the shortest time possible. Such interruptions, insofar as possible, in the franchisee's best business judgment, shall be preceded by notice and shall occur during periods of minimum use of the system.

(2) The franchisee shall maintain a toll-free telephone number and adequate telephone lines and personnel to respond in a timely manner to schedule service calls and answer subscriber complaints or inquiries.

(3) The franchisee shall comply with the customer service standards set forth in Part 76 of the FCC regulations, 76 C.F.R. § 76.309.

(4) Service calls for maintenance or repairs shall be performed at no charge; provided, however, that if such maintenance or repair is required as a result of damage caused by a subscriber or as a result of a subscribers personal equipment, then the franchisee may charge a reasonable cost for time and material.

(5) Customer Complaint Procedures:

(a) The franchisee shall provide the customer with a written response to a written complaint addressed to the local franchisee office within 30 days of its receipt. Such response shall include the results of its inquiry and its decision in response to the complaint.

(b) If the Township is contacted directly about a customer complaint, it shall notify the franchisee in writing. When the franchisee receives such notification, the time period for the franchisee to respond as required in Subsection B(5)(a) above shall commence.

(c) Any subscriber who, in good faith, disputes all or part of any bill sent by the franchisee has the option of withholding the disputed amount, without a late fee, the initiation of collection procedures or disconnection, until the franchisee has investigated the dispute in good faith and has made a determination that the amount is owed provided that:

[1] The subscriber provides a written complaint to the franchisee in a timely fashion and includes identifying information;

[2] The subscriber pays all undisputed charges; and

[3] The subscriber cooperates in determining the appropriateness of the charges in dispute.

(6) The franchisee shall maintain customer complaint records of written complaints as set forth in Subsection B(5) above, which shall contain the date each complaint is received, the name and address of the affected subscriber, a description of the complaint, the date of resolution, and a description of the resolution. The franchisee shall not be required to maintain such complaint records for a period in excess of 24 months.

(7) Credit for service outages: In the event that the franchisee's cable service to any subscriber is completely interrupted for six or more consecutive hours, the franchisee shall grant such subscriber a pro rata credit or rebate, on a daily basis, of that portion of the service charge during the next consecutive billing cycle or, at its option, apply such credit to any outstanding balance that is currently due. The franchisee shall not reduce the franchise fees paid to the Township as consideration for the grant of a franchise by virtue of any credits or rebates to subscribers.

§ A161-34 Parental control option.

The franchisee shall provide parental control devices to all subscribers who wish to be able to cut off any objectionable channel or channels of programming or data service from the communications service entering the subscriber's home. This control option shall be at no charge.

§ A161-35 Rates and charges.

A. The franchisee shall give at least 30 days' notice of its intention to change monthly rates and installation charges for residential service by mailing notices thereof to each of the current subscribers and to whom such charges will apply.

B. The franchisee shall not, as to rates, charges, service or services facilities, make or grant any undue privilege or advantage to any party, nor subject any party to undue prejudice or disadvantage, provided that the franchisee may establish reasonable classifications of customers and may offer a discount to senior citizens. Nothing in this chapter prohibits the reduction or waiving of charges in connection with promotional campaigns or for the purpose of attracting subscribers or users.

§ A161-36 Local regulatory framework.

Provided that federal law permits local regulation of rates for cable services, and subject to compliance with such federal law, if, at any time during the existence of any franchise granted pursuant to this chapter, the Board shall find that it is in the public interest to regulate rates or services for the franchise, the rates and service of the franchise hereunder shall thereafter be regulated by such one or more resolutions as may be adopted from time to time by the Board establishing rates or services applicable to the franchise.