Chapter 31.24
BILLING

Sections:

31.24.010    General standards.

31.24.020    Refunds.

31.24.030    Credits.

31.24.040    Payment information—Late fees.

31.24.050    Deposits.

31.24.060    Billing inquiries.

31.24.010 General standards.

(a)    Bills shall be clear, concise, and understandable.

(b)    Bills shall fully itemize cable services, equipment, and any other items for which a cable operator charges a subscriber, including basic and premium service charges and equipment charges.

(c)    Bills shall clearly delineate all activity during the billing period, including optional charges, rebates, and credits.

(d)    The first billing statement after a new installation or service change will be prorated as appropriate and will reflect any deposit. (Ord. 4207 § 1 (part), 2009)

31.24.020 Refunds.

Refund checks to subscribers shall be issued promptly, but no later than:

(a)    The earlier of the subscriber’s next available billing cycle or thirty days following resolution of the refund request; or

(b)    The return of all equipment supplied by the cable operator if cable service is terminated. (Ord. 4207 § 1 (part), 2009)

31.24.030 Credits.

(a)    Credits for cable service shall be issued no later than the subscriber’s next billing cycle following the determination that a credit is warranted.

(b)    The account of any subscriber shall be credited a prorated share of the monthly charge for cable service, upon the reasonably prompt request of a subscriber, or without a subscriber’s request if the cable operator is aware of an outage and can identify the affected subscribers, if the subscriber is without cable service for a period that exceeds twelve hours during any twenty-four-hour period, or cable service is substantially impaired for any reason for a period that exceeds twelve hours during any twenty-four-hour period.

(c)    The provisions of subsection (b) of this section do not apply if it can be documented that a subscriber seeks a refund for an outage or impairment that the subscriber caused, or a planned outage occurred between the hours of twelve midnight and six a.m. and the subscriber had prior notice. (Ord. 4207 § 1 (part), 2009)

31.24.040 Payment information—Late fees.

(a)    A cable operator’s billing statement shall show a specific payment due date not earlier than the midpoint of the period for which the cable service being billed is rendered, e.g., the fifteenth day of a thirty-day billing cycle.

(b)    If a balance due is not received by thirty days after the end of the period for which the cable service being billed is rendered, the cable operator may assess a late fee in accordance with state and local law and judicial decisions.

(c)    Any late fee shall appear on the following month’s billing statement.

(d)    A subscriber may not be charged a late fee or otherwise penalized for any failure by a cable operator, including a failure to timely or correctly bill the subscriber or a failure to properly credit the subscriber for a payment timely made. (Ord. 4207 § 1 (part), 2009)

31.24.050 Deposits.

(a)    A cable operator may require a reasonable, nondiscriminatory deposit on equipment provided to subscribers, in addition to any allowable monthly rental fees.

(b)    A subscriber deposit shall bear interest in accordance with applicable law or at the going rate, which may not be less than the interest rate then chargeable for unpaid federal income taxes (26 U.S.C. 6621). All deposits, with interest, shall be returned to the subscriber within thirty days after return of the equipment. (Ord. 4207 § 1 (part), 2009)

31.24.060 Billing inquiries.

If a subscriber requests a written response to a written billing inquiry, the cable operator shall respond in writing (in hardcopy if the subscriber so requests it or if the subscriber’s request is in hardcopy) within thirty days of receipt. (Ord. 4207 § 1 (part), 2009)