Tuolumne County Municipal Code Ch. 4.06 Customer Service and Consumer Protection Standards

Sections:

• 4.06.010 General
• 4.06.020 Office availability
• 4.06.030 Telephones
• 4.06.040 Other Reports
• 4.06.050 Scheduling Work
• 4.06.060 Standards
• 4.06.070 Disabled Services
• 4.06.080 Notice to Subscribers Regarding Service
• 4.06.090 Notices to the County
• 4.06.100 Changes in Noticed Information
• 4.06.110 Truth in Advertising
• 4.06.120 Other Notices
• 4.06.130 Interruptions of Service
• 4.06.140 Prorated Billing
• 4.06.150 Billing Statement
• 4.06.160 Credit for Service Impairment
• 4.06.170 Billing Complaints
• 4.06.180 Billing Refunds
• 4.06.190 Credits for Cable Service
• 4.06.200 Disconnections
• 4.06.210 Security Deposit
• 4.06.220 Disconnection due to Nonpayment
• 4.06.230 Immediate Disconnection
• 4.06.240 Deposits
• 4.06.250 Parental Control Option
• 4.06.260 Penalties
• 4.06.270 Relief

comply with the requirements in this chapter.
These requirements include but are not limited to the requirements set forth in FCC regulations, including 47 C.F.R. §76.309 and other applicable law. To the extent the provisions of this chapter differ from applicable FCC regulations or any applicable law, the provision or provisions that impose the highest standard or greatest legal duties or obligations upon the Franchisee shall take precedence, unless a different order of precedence is expressly set herein. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

A. Each Franchisee will maintain at least one office at a convenient location in Tuolumne County that will be open for walk-in traffic at least (10) hours per day (except legal holidays) Monday through Friday, with some evening hours, and at least five (5) hours on Saturday to allow subscribers to pay bills, drop off equipment and to pick up equipment.

B. Each Franchisee will perform service calls, installations, and disconnects at least ten (10) hours per day Monday through Saturday, except legal holidays, provided that a Franchisee will respond to outages twenty- four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

statistics shall be measured on the basis of call response statistics in all call centers that serve Franchise area subscribers. If the call centers serve subscribers located in other communities, the Franchisee shall insure that call center representatives do not give priority or preferential treatment to subscribers located in other communities.

A. Definition of call response terms:

(1) Answer time is the interval between when the Franchisee receives a call and when an interactive voice response (IVR) or agent answers.

(2) Speed of Answer is the amount of time between when the customer is transferred into the agent queue from either an IVR or an agent and the time an agent answers.

(3) Calls Abandoned is the percentage of calls in any agent queue that are abandoned.

(4) Trunks Busy represents the percentage of time customers receive a busy signal when they call customer service during normal business hours.

B. Each Franchisee will establish a publicly listed local toll-free telephone number.
Customer service representatives must answer the phone at least ten (10) 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 will be answered so that customers can register complaints and report service problems on a twenty-four (24) hour per day, seven (7) day per week basis, and so that the Franchisee can respond to service outages as required herein.

C. Standards for Call Response

(1) Answer Time will not exceed thirty (30) seconds or four (4) rings.
Under normal operating conditions the Franchisee shall meet this requirement at least ninety (90) percent of the time.

(2) The average Speed of Answer shall not exceed thirty (30) seconds.
Under normal operating conditions the Franchisee shall meet this requirement at least ninety (90) percent of the time.

(3) The percentage of Calls Abandoned shall not exceed three (3) percent under normal operating conditions.

(4) Subscribers shall receive a Trunks Busy signal less than three (3) percent of the time under normal operating conditions.

D. Call Response Reports.

(1) Franchisee shall submit reports on call response statistics every calendar quarter, except as otherwise provided in this section. If any of a Franchisee’s quarterly call response statistics fail to demonstrate compliance with any applicable requirement, the Franchisee must thereafter submit monthly reports on all call response times until the Franchisee requests and the County approves resuming quarterly reporting.

(2) Information in the reports about call response times shall be determined on the basis of the simple average of results during business hours under normal operating conditions for the entire reporting period, and any report submitted at the end of a
calendar quarter shall report the total number of calls during the proceeding quarter and the average call response times during that quarter. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

A. A Franchisee shall submit reports on all customer service standards identified in this Section during each successive calendar quarter for the term of the Franchise except as otherwise might be provided herein. If a Franchisee’s report for two (2) quarters within a calendar year fail to demonstrate that the Franchisee has complied with any customer service standard in Section 4.06.030 of this section, the Franchisee shall thereafter submit monthly reports about performance of each such requirement until it reports three (3) consecutive months with less than five (5) percent deviation from any minimum required standard unless the Franchisee demonstrates to the County’s satisfaction that the deviation occurred when it was not operating under normal operating conditions as defined in 47 C.F. R.§76.309 and reports on the nature and duration of such non-normal operating conditions.

B. Timing. A Franchisee shall submit reports within thirty (30) days after the close of the applicable reporting period. Each report shall include data from the applicable reporting period.

C. Each of the reporting requirements in this Section is self-executing and the Franchisee agrees that the County does not need to provide additional notice or an opportunity to cure in order to establish that the Franchisee has committed a breach of these requirements for the purposes of the Franchisee’s obligation to pay liquidated damages as described in this Section.

D. Compliance. If a monthly or quarterly report indicated that a Franchisee has failed to meet any of the minimum required standards, the Franchisee shall provide a

written explanation of the deviation within (10) business days of the report, including steps being taken to cure the deviation, and the time expected to implement the cure. A Franchisee must cure within thirty (30) days unless a longer period is agreed to in writing by the County, which agreement shall not be unreasonably withheld. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

A. All appointments for service, installation, or disconnection will be specified by date. Each Franchisee will set a specific time at which the work will be done, or offer a choice of time blocks, which will not exceed four (4) hours in length. A Franchisee may also, upon request, schedule service installation calls outside normal business hours, for the express convenience of the customer.

B. If at any time an installer or technician is late for an appointment and/or believes a scheduled appointment time will be missed, an attempt to contact the customer will be made before the time of appointment and the appointment rescheduled at a time convenient to the customer, if rescheduling is necessary. It is the Franchisee’s burden to prove it met the appointment.

C. The Franchisee will 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 (1) 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 1722, if applicable.

D. If the Franchisee makes reasonable and no less than three (3) attempts to confirm an appointment during the scheduled appointment time or appointment window and is unsuccessful in obtaining such confirmation, the Franchisee may assume that the customer has cancelled the appointment. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

A. Under normal operating conditions, requests for service, repair, and maintenance must be acknowledged by a trained customer service representative within twenty-four (24) hours, or before the end of the next business day, whichever is earlier.

B. A Franchisee will respond to all other inquiries (including billing inquiries) within five (5) business days of the inquiry or complaint.

C. Under normal operating conditions, repairs and maintenance for outages or service interruptions must be completed within twenty-four (24) hours after the outage or interruption becomes known to Franchisee where the Franchisee has adequate access to facilities to which it must have access in order to remedy the problem.

D. When normal operating conditions do not exist, a Franchisee will complete the work in the shortest time possible.

E. A Franchisee will not cancel a service or installation appointment with a customer within 24 hours of the appointment or after the close of business on the business day preceding the scheduled appointment, whichever is earlier.

F. Requests for additional outlets, service upgrades or other connections (e.g., DMX, VCR, A/B switch) separate from the initial installation will be performed within seven (7) business days after an order has been placed.

G. Under normal operating conditions, the service standards, set out in Section 4.06.060 A-G will be met at least ninety-five (95) percent of the time, measured on a quarterly basis.

H. The failure of the Franchisee to hire sufficient staff or to property train its staff will not justify a Franchisee’s failure to comply with this provision. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

subscribers with disabilities, upon subscriber request, each Franchisee will arrange for pickup and/or replacement of converters or other Franchisee equipment at the subscriber’s address or by a satisfactory equivalent (such as the provision of a postage-prepaid mailer). (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

Service. A Franchisee will 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 compliant, 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 County office responsible for administering the cable television Franchise;

C. Detailing current rates and charges (which must include any senior, disabled or other discounts offered and the least expensive tier of service available), channel positions, services provided, delinquent subscriber disconnect and reconnect procedures; information regarding the availability of parental control devices, the conditions under which they will be provided and the cost (if any) charged;

D. Describing conditions that must be met to qualify for discounts;

E. Describing any other of the Franchisee’s policies in connection with its subscribers; and

F. Describing any discounts, services, or specialized equipment available to subscribers who are seniors or with disabilities; explaining how to obtain them; and explaining how to use any accessibility features. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

will provide the County with copies of all notices provided to its subscribers pursuant to this Chapter. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

Franchisee will provide the Tuolumne County Administrator (or designee) at least sixty (60) days, and all subscribers at least thirty (30) 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. 2628 § 1, 2005)

Franchisee will take appropriate steps to ensure that all written Franchisee 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, a Franchisee will take appropriate steps to ensure that price terms are clearly and accurately disclosed to potential customers in advance of taking the order. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

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 will be kept in the file for at least one (1) year from the date of such notice of promotional offer. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

Franchisee shall inform subscribers and the County, three (3) days prior to any scheduled or planned interruption of service for planned maintenance or construction; provided, however, that planned maintenance that does not require more than one (1) hour interruption of service and/or that occurs between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. will not require such notice to subscribers, and notice to the County must be given no less than twenty-four (24) hours before the anticipated service interruption. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

billing statement after a new installation or service change will be prorated as appropriate and will reflect any security deposit. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

A. Franchisee’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 changes therefor.

B. A Franchisee’s billing statement must show a specific payment due date not earlier than the later of:

(1) Fifteen (15) days after the date the statement is mailed; or

(2) The tenth (10th) day of the service period for which the bill is rendered.

C. A late fee or administrative fee (collectively referred to below as a “late fee”) may not be imposed for payments earlier than twenty-seven (27) days after the due date specified in the bill.

D. Subscribers will not be charged a late fee or otherwise penalized for any failure by a Franchisee, including failure to timely or correctly bill the subscriber, or failure to properly credit the subscriber for a payment timely made. Payments will be considered timely if postmarked on the due date.

E. A Franchisee’s bill must permit a subscriber to remit payment by mail or in person at the Franchisee’s local office. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

A. Subscriber’s account will 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 four (4) hours during any twenty-four (24) hour period; or automatically if the loss of service or impairment is for twenty-four (24) hours or longer.

B. A Franchisee 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 Franchisee). (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

respond to all written billing complaints from subscribers within thirty (30) days. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

subscribers will be issued no later than;

A. The earlier of the subscriber’s next billing cycle following resolution of the refund request, or thirty (30) days; or

B. The date of return of all equipment to Franchisee, if cable service has been terminated. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

for Cable service will be issued no later than the subscriber’s next billing cycle after the determination that the credit is warranted. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

promptly disconnect from the Franchisee’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 Franchisee. There will be no charge for disconnection, except for the collection fee authorized by state law, and any downgrade charges will conform to applicable law. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

deposit and/or other funds due a subscriber that disconnects or downgrades service will be returned to the subscriber within thirty (30) 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 Franchisee to recover its equipment, in which case the amounts owed will be paid to subscribers within thirty (30) days of the date the equipment was recovered, or in the next billing cycle, whichever is later. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

A. A Franchisee may not disconnect a subscriber’s cable service for non-payment 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 (20) days before the date on which service may be disconnected, at the premises where the subscriber requests billing, which notice must 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 Franchisee who can provide additional information 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 the Franchisee as not responded in writing.

B. If the subscriber pays all amounts due, including late charges, before the date scheduled for disconnection, the Franchisee will not disconnect service. Service may only be terminated on days in which the subscriber can reach a representative of the Franchisee either in person or by telephone.

C. 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 Franchisee will promptly reinstate services. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

Franchisee may immediately disconnect a subscriber if:

A. The subscriber is damaging, destroying, or unlawfully tampering with or has damaged or destroyed or unlawfully tampered with the Franchisee’s cable system;

B. The subscriber is not authorized to receive a service, and is facilitating, aiding or abetting the unauthorized receipt of service by others; or

C. Subscriber-installed or attached equipment is resulting in signal leakage that is in violation of FCC rules.

D. After disconnection, the Franchisee will 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 Franchisee 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 Franchisee’s acts or omissions; or in any case unless the Franchisee notifies the subscriber of the leakage at least three (3) business days in advance of disconnection, and the subscriber has failed to correct the leakage within that time. Franchisee’s property. Except as applicable by law a Franchisee may remove its property from a subscriber’s premises within thirty (30) days of the termination of service.
If a Franchisee fails to remove the property in that period, the property will be deemed abandoned unless the Franchisee has been denied access to the subscriber’s premises, or the Franchisee has a continuing right to occupy the premises under applicable law. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

a reasonable, non-discriminatory deposit on equipment provided to subscribers. Deposits will be placed in an interest-bearing account, and the Franchisee will return the deposit, plus interest earned to the date the deposit is returned to the subscriber, less any amount the Franchisee can demonstrate should be deducted for damage to such equipment.

limiting a Franchisee’s obligations under Federal law, a Franchisee must 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. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

in this Chapter, penalties will be imposed as follows:

A. Two hundred dollars ($200) for each day of each material breach, not to exceed six hundred dollars ($600) for each occurrence of material breach.

B. If there is a subsequent material breach of the same provision within twelve (12) months, four hundred ($400) for each day of each material breach, not to exceed twelve hundred ($1,200) for each occurrence of the material breach.

C. If there is a third or additional material breach of the same provision within twelve (12) months of the first, one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each day of each material breach, not to exceed three thousand dollars ($3,000) for each occurrence of the material breach.

D. Any penalty assessed under this section will be reduced dollar for dollar to the extent any liquidated damage provision of a Franchise imposes a monetary obligation on a Franchisee for the same customer service failures, and no other monetary damages may be assessed. Tuolumne County will provide notice, and impose penalties, under this section pursuant to the procedures established by California Government Code § 53088.2(R). (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)

requirements of this Chapter, the County Administrator is authorized to relieve a Franchisee of its obligations under this Chapter if:

A. Franchisee shows that there is an alternative standard that is substantially similar to that established by this Chapter;

B. In light of the number of customers served by a cable system operator, the requirements of this Chapter are, in the County Administrator’s sole discretion, unduly burdensome and there is an alternative way to serve the same interest. (Ord. 2628 § 1, 2005)