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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNS-2682 - Repealing and Amending In Its Entirety Section 15-258 of Article II of Chapter 15 of Santa Ana Municipal Code Relating to Consumer Protection and Service Standards... (JWF 4/6/05) ORDINANCE NO. NS-2682 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA REPEALING AND AMENDING IN ITS ENTIRETY SECTION 15-258 OF ARTICLE II OF CHAPTER 15 OF THE SANTA ANA MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION AND SERVICE STANDARDS, AND REPEALING ARTICLE III OF CHAPTER 15. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Section 15-258 of Article II of Chapter 15 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is repealed and amended in its entirety to read as follows: "Sec. 15-258 Consumer Protection and Service Standards (a) Operational Standards (1) Grantee must maintain the necessary facilities, equipment, and personnel to comply with the following consumer protection and service standards under "normal operating conditions" as that term is defined below in subsection (4): a. Provide sufficient toll free telephone line capacity during normal business hours to ensure that telephone calls are answered promptly. Telephone answer time by a customer service representative, including wait time, shall not exceed 30 seconds when the connection is made. Callers who must be transferred may not be required to wait more than 30 seconds before being connected to a service representative. b. Under normal operating conditions, callers may not receive a busy signal more than three percent of the time, measured on a quarterly basis. c. Provide emergency toll-free telephone line capacity on a 24-hour basis, including weekends and holidays. After normal business hours, the telephone calls may be answered by a service or an automated response system, including an answering machine. Calls received Ordinance No. NS-2682 Page 1 of 13 Ordinance No. NS-2682 Page 2 of 13 after normal business hours must be responded to by a trained company representative on the next business day. d. Provide a conveniently-located local business and service or payment office open during normal business hours at least eight hours daily on weekdays, and at least four hours weekly on evenings or weekends, and adequately staffed with trained customer service representatives to accept subscriber payments and to respond to service requests, inquiries, and complaints. e. Provide an emergency system maintenance and repair staff, capable of responding to and repairing major system malfunctions on a 24-hour per day basis. f. Maintain a trained installation staff to provide service to any subscriber requiring a standard installation within seven days after receipt of a request, or such longer time as may be requested by the subscriber, in all areas where trunk and feeder cable have been activated. "Standard installations" are those that are located up to 150 feet from the existing distribution system, unless otherwise defined in the franchise agreement. g. The Grantee must schedule, within a specified four-hour time period Monday through Saturday (legal holidays excluded), all appointments with subscribers for installation of service, service calls, and other activities at the subscriber's location. The Grantee may schedule installation and service calls outside of normal business hours for the convenience of the subscriber. The Grantee may not cancel an appointment with a subscriber after the close of business on the business day prior to the scheduled appointment. If a Grantee representative is delayed in keeping an appointment with a subscriber and will not be able to honor the scheduled appointment, the subscriber must be contacted prior to the time of the scheduled appointment, and the appointment must be rescheduled, as necessary, at a time that is convenient for the subscriber. The Grantee must undertake appropriate quality control measures to ensure that the customer is satisfied with the work. h. Subscribers who have experienced a late or a missed appointment due to the fault of the Grantee will either receive an installation free of charge or a $20 credit. i. Upon a subscriber's request, the Grantee will arrange for pickup or replacement of converters or other equipment provided by the Grantee at the subscriber's address within 14 days after the request is made if the subscriber is mobility-limited. (2) Under normal operating conditions, the standards of subparagraphs a, b, c, and g, above must be met not less than ninety percent of the time, measured on a quarterly basis. The standards of subparagraph f, above must be met not less than ninety-five percent of the time, measured on a quarterly basis. (3) As used in this paragraph (a), the term "normal business hours" means those hours during which most similar businesses in the community are open to serve customers. In all cases, "normal business hours" must include some evening hours at least one night per week, or some weekend hours, or both. (4) As used in this paragraph (a), the term "normal operating conditions" means those service conditions that are within the control of the cable operator. Conditions that are not within the control of the cable operator include, but are not limited to, natural disasters, civil disturbances, power outages, telephone network outages, and severe or unusual weather conditions. Conditions that are ordinarily within the control of the cable operator include, but are not limited to, special promotions, pay-per-view events, rate increases, regular peak or seasonal demand periods, and maintenance or upgrade of the cable system. (b) Service Standards (1) The Grantee will render efficient service, make repairs promptly, and interrupt service only for good cause and for the shortest time possible. Except in emergency situations, scheduled interruptions will occur during a period of minimum use of the cable system, preferably between midnight and 6:00 a.m. Unless the scheduled interruption lasts for no more than two hours and occurs between midnight and 6:00 a.m. (in which event 24-hours prior notice Ordinance No. NS-2682 Page 3 of 13 must be given to the City), 48-hours prior notice must be given to subscribers. (2) The Grantee will maintain a repair force of technicians who will respond to subscriber requests for service within the following time frames: a. For a system outage: Within two hours, including weekends, of receiving subscriber calls or requests for service that by number identify a system outage of sound or picture of one or more channels, affecting five or more subscribers of the system. b. For an isolated outage: Within 24-hours, including weekends, of receiving requests for service identifying an isolated outage of sound or picture for one or more channels. c. For inferior signal quality: No later than the following business day, excluding Sundays and holidays, after a request for service identifying a problem concerning picture or sound quality. (3) The Grantee will be deemed to have responded to a request for service under the provisions of this paragraph (b) when a technician arrives at the service location and begins work on a problem that cannot be corrected from a remote location. If a subscriber is not home when the technician arrives, the technician must leave written notification of arrival. (4) The Grantee may not charge for the repair or replacement of defective or malfunctioning equipment provided by the Grantee to subscribers, unless the defect or malfunction was caused by the subscriber. (5) The Grantee must determine the nature of the problem within 24 hours after commencing work and resolve all cable system related problems within three business days, unless technically infeasible. (c) Billing and Information Standards (1) Subscriber bills must be clear, concise, and understandable. Bills must be fully itemized, with itemizations including, but not limited to, basic and premium service charges and equipment charges. Bills also must clearly delineate all Ordinance No. NS-2682 Page 4 of 13 activity during the billing period, including optional charges, rebates, and credits. (2) The first billing to a subscriber after a new installation or service change must be prorated based upon when the new or changed service commenced. Subscribers must not be charged a late fee or otherwise penalized for any failure attributable to the Grantee, including the failure to timely or correctly bill the subscriber. (3) In case of a billing dispute, the Grantee must respond in writing to a written complaint from a subscriber within 10 days after receiving the complaint at the office specified on the billing statement for receiving that complaint. (4) Upon request by a subscriber, credits or refunds must be provided by Grantee to subscribers who experience an outage, interruption, or disconnection of service of four or more consecutive hours, provided that such loss of service is neither caused by the subscriber nor attributable to scheduled repairs, maintenance, or construction in circumstances where Grantee has provided advance written notice to a subscriber, and the loss of service does not exceed the time period specified by Grantee. For subscribers terminating service, credits or refunds must be issued promptly, but no later than 30 days after the return of any Grantee-supplied equipment. (5) The Grantee must provide written information on each of the following matters at the time of the installation of service, at least annually to all subscribers, and at any time upon request: a. Products and services offered. b. Prices and options for programming services and conditions of subscription to programming and other services. c. Installation and service maintenance policies. d. Instructions on the use of the cable service. e. Channel positions of programming carried on the system. Ordinance No. NS-2682 Page 5 of 13 f. Billing and complaint procedures, including the address and telephone number of the City's office designated for dealing with cable related issues. g. Consumer protection and service standards and penalties for noncompliance. (6) Subscribers must be notified of any changes in rates, programming services, or channel positions as soon as possible through announcements on the cable system and in writing. Notice must be given to subscribers a minimum of 30 days in advance of those changes if the change is within the control of the Grantee. In addition, Grantee will endeavor to notify the City of those changes at least five working days before subscribers are notified. (7) The Grantee must maintain a public file containing all notices provided to subscribers under these consumer protection and service standards and all published promotional offers made by Grantee to subscribers. These documents must be maintained for a minimum period of two years. (d) Verification of Compliance with Standards (1) Upon 30 days prior written notice, the City may require the Grantee to provide a written report demonstrating its compliance with any of the consumer service standards specified in this section. The Grantee must provide sufficient documentation to enable the City to verify compliance. (2) A repeated and verifiable pattern of noncompliance with the consumer protection and service standards of this section, after the Grantee's receipt of written notice and an opportunity to cure, may be deemed a material breach of the franchise agreement. (3) With regard to the Grantee's telephone response obligations set forth above in subparagraphs a, b, and c of Section 15- 258(a)(1), if the City gives written notice to Grantee that Grantee is in violation of any of these obligations, then upon City's request the Grantee must submit summary information on either a monthly or a quarterly basis until such time as Grantee has demonstrated compliance for two consecutive calendar quarters. Ordinance No. NS-2682 Page 6 of 13 (e) Subscriber Complaints and Disputes (1) The Grantee must establish written procedures for receiving, acting upon, and resolving subscriber complaints without intervention by the City. The written procedures must prescribe the manner in which a subscriber may submit a complaint, either orally or in writing, specifying the subscriber's grounds for dissatisfaction. The Grantee must file a copy of these procedures with the City. These procedures must include a requirement that the Grantee respond in writing to any written complaint from a subscriber within 10 days after receiving the complaint at the office specified on the billing statement for receiving that complaint, as provided for above in Section 15-258(c)(3). (2) Upon request, and subject to applicable law protecting subscriber privacy rights, the City has the right to review the Grantee's response to subscriber complaints. (3) All subscribers have the right to continue receiving service so long as their financial and other obligations to the Grantee are honored. If the Grantee elects to rebuild, modify, or sell the system, or if the City gives notice of intent to terminate or not to renew the franchise, the Grantee must act so as to ensure that all subscribers receive service while the franchise remains in force. (4) Upon a change of control of the Grantee, or if a new operator acquires the cable system, the original Grantee must cooperate with the City, the new Grantee, or the new operator in maintaining continuity of service to all subscribers. During that transition period, the Grantee is entitled to the revenues derived from its operation of the cable system. (f) Disconnection/Downgrades (1) A subscriber may terminate service at any time, and the Grantee must promptly comply with the subscriber's request within seven days or at any later time requested by the subscriber. No period of notice prior to voluntary termination of service may be required of subscribers. Grantee will impose no charges for the voluntary termination of service unless a service call to the subscriber's premises is required Ordinance No. NS-2682 Page 7 of 13 to remove a converter box or other equipment or property owned by Grantee. (2) Grantee may, in accordance with applicable law, charge a reasonable fee to downgrade service. (3) The Grantee may disconnect a subscriber's service in compliance with paragraphs (i), 0), and (k) of Section 53088.2 of the California Government Code. If service is disconnected for nonpayment of past due fees or charges, the Grantee must promptly reinstate service upon payment in full by the subscriber of all such fees and charges, including late charges. (4) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsection (3) above, immediately disconnect service to a subscriber if the subscriber is damaging or destroying the Grantee's cable system or equipment. (5) The Grantee may also disconnect service to a subscriber when it causes signal leakage exceeding federal limits. If service is disconnected, the Grantee will immediately resume service without charge upon the satisfactory correction of the signal leakage problem if the signal leakage problem is attributable to the Grantee. (6) The Grantee may also disconnect service in those cases where customers are stealing service or have threatened Grantee's personnel with physical violence. (7) Upon termination of service to a subscriber, the Grantee will remove its equipment from the subscriber's premises within 30 days. The equipment will be deemed abandoned if it is not removed within such time period unless the Grantee has been denied access to the subscriber's premises. (g) Negative Option Billing Prohibited. No charge may be imposed for any service or equipment that the subscriber has not affirmatively selected. Payment of the regular monthly bill will not by itself constitute an affirmative selection. (h) Deposits. Grantee may require a reasonable, nondiscriminatory deposit on equipment provided to subscribers. Such deposits must be placed in an interest-bearing account. The deposit must be returned, with interest earned to the date of repayment, within 30 days after the equipment is returned to the Grantee. Ordinance No. NS-2682 Page 8 of 13 (i) Parental Control Option. Grantee must provide parental control devices at no charge to all subscribers who desire to block the video or audio portion of any pay channels providing adult programming that the subscriber finds objectionable. For other programming, such devices will be provided at a reasonable charge to the subscriber. U) Additional Requirements. (1) All officers, agents, and employees of the Grantee, or of its contractors or subcontractors, who, in the normal course of work come into contact with members of the public, or who require entry onto subscribers' premises, must display a photo identification card. The Grantee must account for all identification cards at all times. All vehicles of the Grantee or its subcontractors must be clearly identified as vehicles engaged in providing services for the Grantee. (2) Additional standards relating to service, consumer protection, and response by the Grantee to subscriber complaints not otherwise provided for in this section may be adopted by ordinance, and the Grantee must comply with those standards in the operation of the cable television system. A verified and continuing pattern of noncompliance may be deemed a material breach of the franchise agreement, provided that the Grantee receives written notice and an opportunity to cure before any penalty or other remedy is imposed. (k) Penalties for Noncompliance. The purpose of this paragraph is to authorize the imposition of monetary penalties for the violation of the customer service standards established by this section. The imposition of penalties authorized by this paragraph (k) will not prevent the City or any other affected party from exercising any other remedy to the extent permitted by law, including but not limited to any judicial remedy as provided below in subsection (3), below. (1) Administration and Appeals. a. The City Manager or the City Manager's designee is authorized to administer this paragraph (k). Decisions by the City Manager to assess monetary penalties against the Grantee must be in writing and must contain findings supporting the decisions. Decisions by the City Manager are final, unless appealed to the City Council in accordance with the procedures Ordinance No. NS-2682 Page 9 of 13 specified in Chapter 3 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code. b. If the Grantee or any interested person is aggrieved by a decision of the City Manager, the aggrieved party may appeal that decision in writing to the City Council in accordance with the procedures specified in Chapter 3 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code. The appeal letter must be accompanied by the fee established by the City Council for processing the appeal. (2) Schedule of Penalties. The following schedule of monetary penalties may be assessed against the Grantee for the material violation of the provisions of the customer service standards set forth in this section, provided that the violation is within the reasonable control of the Grantee: a. The maximum penalty for a first material violation is two hundred dollars ($200) for each day of the material violation. b. For a second material violation of the same nature within a 12-month period for which the City has provided notice and a penalty has been assessed, the maximum penalty is five hundred dollars ($500) for each day of the material violation. c. For a third or further material violation of the same nature within a 12-month period for which the City has provided notice and a penalty has been assessed, the maximum penalty is seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) for each day of the material violation. (3) Judicial Remedy. This paragraph does not preclude any affected party from pursuing any judicial remedy available to that party without regard to this paragraph (k). (4) Notice of Violation. The City must give the Grantee written notice of any alleged violation of the consumer service standards and allow the Grantee at least 30 days from receipt of the notice to remedy the specified violation. (5) Assessment of Monetary Penalties. If a violation has not been corrected or cured by Grantee within the time specified by the City, the monetary penalties specified above in Ordinance No. NS-2682 Page 10 of 13 subparagraph (2) may be assessed from the date of delivery to Grantee of the City's written notice of violation. (6) In assessing monetary penalties under this paragraph (k), the City Manager may take into account the nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of the violation and, with respect to the Grantee, the degree of culpability, any history of prior violations, and such other matters as may be relevant. If warranted under the circumstances, the monetary penalty to be assessed may be less than the maximum penalty amount specified above in subparagraph (2). (I) Additional Consumer Protection and Service Standards (1) In addition to the consumer protection and service standards that are specified above in paragraphs (a) through (k) of this section, the franchise agreement with a Grantee may require compliance with the following: a. Federal statutes, and the rules, regulations, and orders of the Federal Communications Commission, including the following: the provisions of Section 76.309(c) of Title 47 Federal Regulations, as it now exists or may later be amended; the provisions of Section 76.630 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as it now exists or may later be amended; and, the provisions of Section 551 of Title 47, United States Code, as it now exists or may later be amended. b. The provisions of California Government Code Sections 53054, et seq., entitled the "Cable Television and Video Provider Customer Service and Information Act." c. The provisions of California Government Code Section 53088, et seq., entitled the "Video Customer Service Act." d. The provisions of California Civil Code Section 1722(b)(1 )-(6) relating to service or repair transactions between cable television companies and their subscribers. e. The provisions of California Penal Code Section 637.5 relating to subscribers' rights to privacy protection. Ordinance No. NS-2682 Page 11 of 13 (2) The City may, in its discretion, incorporate in a franchise agreement those customer service and protection standards referenced above in paragraph (I) that are the most stringent, and that afford the greatest protection to consumers. These standards will apply, to the extent authorized by law, to all video, voice, and data services that are provided by Grantee to its subscribers within the franchise service area." Section 2. Article III of Chapter 15 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code (sections 15-300 through 15-307, inclusive) is hereby repealed. Section 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby declares that it would have adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof irrespective of the fact that anyone or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional. ADOPTED this 2nd day of Mav 2005 iguel A. Pulido Mayor APPROVED AS TO FORM: JoseplJ W. Fletcher, City Attorney . (n /' t-, ! // . v/ '( ( "j , Ordinance No, NS-2682 Page 12 of 13 AYES: Councilmembers: Alvarez. Bist. Bustamante. Christv, Garcia, Pulido. Solorio (7) NOES: Councilmembers: None (0) None (0) None (0) ABSENT: Councilmembers: ABSTAIN: Councilmembers: CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY I, PATRICIA E. HEALY, Clerk of the Council, do hereby attest to and certify that the attached Ordinance No. NS-2682 to be the original ordinance adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana on Mav 2. 2005 and that said ordinance was published in accordance with the Charter of the City of Santa Ana. /~- C( Clerk of the Council City of Santa Ana Date: ~ / ~ 6 -~, -0\ ~ 1) Ordinance No. NS-2682 Page 13 of 13