Policies and Practices

Notice To Customers Regarding Policies, Complaint Procedures And Services

When the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued its technical and customer service standards, it adopted regulations which require all cable television operators to establish a process for resolving questions or complaints customers may have about billing for the services provided, the quality of the television signals delivered or other services we provide, and to notify customers of these procedures.
We are committed to providing high quality cable television service to our customers and to assuring that each problem is immediately resolved to the customer's satisfaction. These customer service procedures, in addition to many other issues, are covered in material generally provided to you at the time of installation and annually thereafter once you have become a customer.
This notice summarizes some of the procedure that you need to know to help us answer questions and resolve complaints you may have about billing for the services you receive, the quality of the television signals or other services we provide.
For those of our customers receiving service through commercial accounts, bulk rate arrangements with multiple dwelling owners, or similar arrangements, some of the policies, procedures and services herein may not apply. Please refer to the terms and conditions of documents reflecting such separate arrangements. Where such documents are inconsistent with the policies, procedures and information relating to service set forth herein, the terms and conditions of such separate arrangements shall apply.

Your Local Cable Company's Policies And Practices
The following policies and practices, set forth below, are used when providing you cable television and other services. We may change them in the future and will notify you if that occurs. We will continue to review our policies and practices as part of our commitment to continually review and improve the quality of services we provide. We will send you a written notice informing you of any changes and the effective date. If you find the change unacceptable, you have the right to cancel your service. However, if you continue to receive service after the effective date of the change, we will consider this your acceptance of the change.

1. Definitions

As used in these Policies and Procedures:
"We", "Company", "us" or "our" mean your local cable company, its employees, or its authorized agents. "You" or "your" mean the customer identified on the work order that was signed to begin your cable TV service. "Home" means the place you live, including a single-family home, apartment, other residence, or any other type of dwelling unit, where your service is installed.
"Hourly service charge" means the hourly charge you pay us for certain services. The hourly service charge is calculated to recover the costs of servicing, installing and maintaining customer equipment.
"Installed" means either installed or activated.
"Inside Wire" or "Inside Wiring" means the cable that runs inside your home to a point 12 inches outside of your home, and includes any extra outlets, splitters, connections, fittings or wall plates attached to it.
"Equipment" means one or more of the following: converter, converter-descrambler, digital converter, remote control unit, security device, addressable control module, A/B switch, coaxial cable ("cable") which is not inside wiring, parental lock-out device, or any other device installed in or around your home, or provided by us, necessary or convenient for you to receive cable TV programming or other services from us. Inside wiring is not equipment.
"Service" means the cable TV programming or any other service that we provide to you.

2. Payment For Service

We provide service to you on a month-to-month basis. Charges for service start within 24 hours after service is installed. The charges for one month's service, any deposits, and any installation or equipment-lease fees, are payable when service is installed. After that, we will bill you each month in advance for service (except for pay-per-view movies or special events, which are sometimes billed after they are provided to you).

The bills you receive will show the total amount due and the payment due date. You agree to pay us monthly by the payment due date for that service and for any other charges due us, including any administrative fees due to late payments or any returned check fees.

If you do not pay your bill by the due date, you agree to pay us an administrative fee for late payment. The administrative fee is intended to be a reasonable advance estimate of our costs that result from customers' late payments and non-payments. Other fees or charges may also be assessed.

We do not anticipate that you will pay your bill late and the administrative fee is set in advance because it would be difficult to determine the costs associated with any one particular late payment. We do not extend credit to our customers and the administrative fee is not interest, a credit service charge or a finance charge.

You agree to pay all taxes, franchise fees, and other charges, if any, which are now or may in the future be assessed because you receive our service.

If your service is disconnected because you do not pay your bill by the due date, we may require you to pay all past-due charges, a reconnect fee, and a minimum of one month's advance charges before we reconnect your service.

If there are any billing errors or other requests for credit, you must bring those to our attention within six months of the time you receive the bill for which you are seeking correction.

If we are required to use a collection agency or attorney to collect money that you owe us or to assert any other right that we may have against you, you agree to pay the reasonable costs of collection or other action. These costs might include, but are not limited to, the costs of a collection agency, reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.

3. Company Changes In Service And Charges

Subject to applicable law, we have the right to change our service and equipment, and our prices or fees, at any time. We also may rearrange, delete, add to or otherwise change the service provided on our Basic Service or other levels of service. If the change affects you, we will provide you notice of the change and the effective date. The notice may be provided on your monthly bill, as a bill insert, or by other permitted communication. If you find the change unacceptable, you have the right to cancel your service. However, if you continue to receive service after the effective date of the change, we will consider this your acceptance of the change.

To the extent required by law, after notice to you of a retiring of our services or rate increase, you may change your service at no additional charge. Please refer to the Products and Services Price List we have supplied you for details.

You may obtain information about our current fees and pries for any of our services by calling the cable office. The office phone numbers are on your monthly bill. A list of charges is also provided to our customers annually in a mailing or bill stuffer.

4. Termination Of Service

You have the right to cancel your service for any reason at any time by giving us notice. We will refund any balance due to you within thirty (30) days (or upon the return of any of our equipment, if later).

Subject to applicable law, if you fail to pay your bill when it's due, we have the right to terminate your service.

You may not assign or transfer the service without our written consent.

The individual policies and practices in this document will continue and apply to your rights and those of the Company after the end of your service.

5. Equipment

Except for the Inside Wiring, which we consider your property regardless of who installed it, the Equipment installed by us belongs to us or other third parties, unless you have purchased it. We may, at our option, supply new or reconditioned Equipment to you.

You must have our prior written consent to sell or give away our Equipment and our Equipment may only be used in your home.

If you cease to be our customer, you are responsible for returning the Equipment to our designee or us. If you move, do not leave the Equipment in your vacant home or with anyone else. The Equipment must be returned to us or one of our representatives in working order, normal wear and tear excepted, or else you will be charged the retail price for a new replacement and other charges for each piece of Equipment not returned.

You are responsible for preventing the loss of, or damage to, the Equipment within your home. We suggest that the Equipment in your possession be covered by your homeowner's, renter's or other insurance. If you have us repair or maintain the Inside Wiring, we will charge you additionally for that service. We are not responsible for problems with the operation of your television or television-related Equipment. We do not service television receivers or any other television-related Equipment (such as VCRs, home antennas, or other cable-compatible Equipment) not owned by us, even if it is attached to the cable or to our Equipment.

None of the Equipment supplied by us, nor any of our cable placed outside your home or property in connection with the installation of the Equipment and service shall be deemed fixtures, or in any way part of your real property, unless you purchase our cable to the extent permitted by law when service ends. We may remove the Equipment supplied by us by us, at our option, at any time during or following the termination of your service due to nonpayment for service.

We consider Inside Wiring to be your property, regardless of who may have installed it. You will continue to be responsible for the repair and maintenance of the Inside Wire. You may install Inside Wiring, such as additional cable wiring and outlets. Regardless of who does the work, the internal wiring within your home must not interfere with the normal operations of your local cable system. Inside Wire maintenance may not be your responsibility if you rent your home. Contact your landlord or building manager to determine responsibility.

6. Access To Customers' Homes

You authorize us or our designees to enter into your home, in your or your representative's presence, or upon your property during normal business hours or by appointment, to install, maintain, replace, remove or otherwise deal with the equipment supplied by us and service. This authorization includes allowing us or such designee to be on your property outside your home at reasonable times even if you are not at home. You authorize us or our designee to make connections and perform other tasks that are necessary or desirable to enable us to provide service to you or others, including connecting and making necessary attachments to your inside wiring. If you are not the owner of your home, you agree to supply our designee, or us if we ask you to, with the owner's name and address, proof that you may give us access on the owner's behalf and, if needed, consent from the owner of the home.

7. Private Viewing Of Unauthorized Service And Use Of Equipment

We provide service to you for your private home viewing, use and enjoyment. You agree that the programming provided over the cable system will not be viewed in areas open to the public. The programming may not be rebroadcast, transmitted or performed, nor may admission be charged for its viewing without first obtaining written consent, in advance, from us and our programming supplier(s). This consent may be withheld at the sole discretion of either of us.

Your cable company may not have the right to distribute pay-per-view programming to commercial establishments. You may not order or request pay-per-view programming for receipt, exhibition or taping in a commercial establishment. You may neither exhibit nor assist in the exhibition of pay-per-view programming in a commercial establishment unless explicitly authorized to do so in advance, by us and our program provider. You may not move your converter to another location or use it at any time at an address other than your home or location where service was installed by us without our prior written authorization. If you fail to abide by this restriction, you will be held liable for any claims made against you or your cable company on account of any unauthorized commercial exhibition.

You agree not to attach any unauthorized device to our equipment. If you make any unauthorized connection or modification to the equipment of any other part of the cable TV system, you will be in breach of these policies and practices, and we may terminate your service.

Much of the equipment and many of the devices necessary to receive our services are available both from us and others. If you purchase or lease such equipment from us, you are responsible for assuring that they do not interfere with the normal operations of your local cable system and other communications systems and devices. For example, you agree not to install anything, to intercept or receive, or to assist in intercepting or receiving, or which is capable of intercepting or receiving, any service offered over a cable system, unless specifically authorized to do so by us. You are responsible to pay for all services received or otherwise provided to your household. You also agree that you will not attach anything to the inside wire or equipment, which singly or together results in a degradation of the cable system's signal quality or strength. You may not attach any device or equipment to your inside wiring in a way that impairs the integrity of the local cable system, such as creating signal leakage, which may cause a violation of governmental regulations, or attaching devices or equipment, which alone or together, result in a degradation of signal quality. Further, services or signals provided by us which are carried on or transmitted through the inside wire or equipment provided by us may not be commingled with signals or services provided by others.

We can recover damages from you for tampering with any of the equipment, or any other part of the cable system, or for receiving unauthorized service.

You must return any converter we supply you which is owned by us when you are no longer a customer. In some cases, you may also choose to buy a converter from an independent store. Please remember, however, that converters with descrambling capabilities should only be obtained from us. In fact, should you see advertisements for cable converters that have descramblers in them (so-called "pirate boxes" or "black boxes"), you should understand that these devices may be illegal to sell or use, unless authorized by us. Because of the need to protect our scrambled services, we will not authorize the use of any converters, pay-per-view and other descramblers not provided by us. People who use illegal converters/descramblers may actually be stealing cable service. This practice may unfairly result in increased prices to our honest customers.

8. Limited 30-Day Warranty And Limitations Of Liability

Except as explicitly set forth in the terms and conditions of specific services we provide to you, we warrant for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of our installation or repair that our service and the equipment we have installed or repaired will meet accepted industry standards and be free from defects in materials or workmanship. If you report any failure to conform to this warranty to us within that 30-day period, we will reperform the nonconforming services and repair or replace the nonconforming equipment. Such reperformance of work or repair or replacement of nonconforming equipment shall constitute our entire liability and our sole remedy under this warranty, whether claims or remedy are sought in contract or tort (including negligence, strict liability, or otherwise, without limitation).

In no event shall our employees or agents have any liability for special, indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from our provision or failure to provide any equipment or services to you, or from any fault, failure, deficiency or defect in service, labor materials, work or equipment furnished to you.

The foregoing warranties are exclusive and in lieu of all other warranties, whether written or implied, in fact or in law. We, to the extent permitted by applicable law, disclaim any and all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Except as expressly required by law, we will not be liable for any delay or failure to perform our obligations, including interruptions in service, if such delay or nonperformance arises in connection with any acts of god, fire, earthquakes, floods, strikes or other labor disputes, unusually severe weather, acts of any governmental body, or any other cause beyond our reasonable control.

This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights that may vary from community to community. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages or do not allow limitations on implied warranties or their duration, so the above exclusion may not apply to you.

9. Applicable Law

These policies and practices, including all matters relating to their validity, construction, performance, and enforcement, are governed by applicable federal law, the rules and regulations of the FCC, and applicable laws, regulations or applicable ordinances for the state and local areas where service is provided. These policies and practices are subject to amendment, modification or termination if required by such regulations or laws.

If any provision in these policies and practices is declared to be illegal or in conflict with any law or regulation, that provision may be deleted or modified, without affecting the validity of the other policies and practices.

10. Notice

If we send you notice, it will be considered given when deposited in the US mail, addressed to you at your last-known address, or hand delivered to you or to your home. We may provide electronic or telephone notice to you, which shall be deemed given when left with you. If you give notice to us, it will be deemed given when received by us.

11. Changes To Policies And Practices

We will notify you of changes to these policies and practices. Any changes proposed by you will only be effective when accepted in writing by one of our senior officers, within their sole discretion.

12.Procedure For Resolving Customer Complaints About Signal Quality

If you have any complaint regarding the quality of the television signals we deliver, you should contact us by phone or in writing to inform us.

We will promptly try to resolve the problem. If you are dissatisfied with our resolution of the complaint, you may notify the responsible official for your community. Please refer to your cable bill for the agency's name and address.

13. Signal Quality And Customer Service Policies/Complaint Procedures

Our business office is open weekdays, except holidays, for customer visits and telephone calls. Our telephone number is printed on your monthly bill.
When you call about a service problem during normal business hours, a Customer Service Representative (CSR) will attempt to determine the nature of the problem. If possible, the CSR will help you resolve the problem over the telephone. If the problem cannot be resolved during the call, the CSR will schedule a Service Technician to visit your home, usually within 24 hours of the time of the call. If our workload permits, the Service Technician will be dispatched the same day.
We maintain a local telephone access line which will be available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year. (If you call about a service problem outside of regular business hours, the call may be answered by an answering service or answering machine. The service or machine will record your name, number and nature of the problem. Please leave both your home and work telephone numbers. When possible, a Service Technician will be dispatched promptly to fix the problem. In all other cases, the answering service or machine will forward the information to our office.)
Emergencies that affect signal quality, such as fallen utility poles, violent storms or very cold weather may interfere with reception of cable service. We are committed to have one of our crews promptly correct outages or other service-related problems occurring as a result of an emergency situation. We pledge a prompt response at any time if a large area of the system is experiencing technical difficulties.
Our CSRs and Service Technicians are well-trained and have authority to attempt to resolve a customer's problem, including replacement of any non-operating equipment, in order to provide quality service.
We offer an "appointment window" for installation calls, or other installation activities which are either a specific time, or, at a maximum, a four-hour time block during normal business hours.
We commit to a policy to not cancel our appointment with you after the close of business in the business day prior to a scheduled appointment. If we are running late for an appointment, we will attempt to contact you and will, as necessary, attempt to reschedule to a time which is convenient for you.
We will maintain complaint records for a five-year period. In addition, those records will be available for inspection by the franchise authority or the FCC.

14. What Is A Blackout?

From time to time, due to either government regulations or contractual commitments with sports organizations or leagues, we will be required to "black out" certain programs or athletic contests. We do not determine what must be blacked out.

15. How Is Signal Leakage Prevented?

To avoid any possible interference with other transmitted signals, the FCC requires us to maintain strict emission standards. It is our policy to prosecute any individual responsible for creating signal leakage through unauthorized cable connections (including additional outlets not installed by us) or through the use of cable equipment not provided by us. There are state and federal laws which cover these issues.

16. Installation Policies

When adding new cable service or additional hookups to your home, you are entitled to an installation appointment within seven business days of calling to request service. Your appointment will be scheduled in a window no larger than four hours, unless you request otherwise.

We require that someone over eighteen years of age be at your home during installation of your cable service.

Upon arriving at your home for an installation or service appointment, our employees will properly identify themselves by using their first and last names and the reason for the visit. They will ask to collect the installation fee plus your first month's service, which will be applied as a credit on your first bill. We accept cash, checks, money orders and credit card (Visa and MasterCard) payments for this advance payment. Work will not begin until this payment is collected.

17. On-Time Guarantee

In our Service Guarantee to you, we pledge the following:

On-time installation appointments - We are on time for your installation appointment - or you get this installation free.
The Cable Service Guarantee applies at all times, unless there are circumstances beyond our control, such as natural disasters, severe weather, power failures or labor disputes. We make this commitment of superior customer service, not just because it's a good business investment, but because it's the right thing to do.

18. Billing Policies/Complaint Procedures

Your monthly cable bill not only gives you a listing of your charges, payments and credits: it may also contain special messages, such as those regarding service or rate changes. Please take the time to read the monthly messages and to review your bill carefully to make sure your name and address are correct. You will generally be billed at the same time each month.
We provide service to you on a month-to-month basis. Charges for service start within 24 hours after service is installed. The charges for one month's service, any deposits, and any installation or equipment-lease fees are payable when service is installed. After that, we will bill you each month in advance for service (except for pay-per-view movies or events, which are generally billed after they are provided to you).
The bills you receive will show the total amount due and the payment due date. You agree to pay us monthly by the payment due date for that service and for any other charges due us, including any administrative fees due to late payments, or any returned check fees.
Subject to applicable law, payment of your bill after the due date will result in you paying us an administrative fee for late payment. The administrative fee is intended to be a reasonable advance estimate of our costs that result from customers' late payments and non-payments. Other fees or charges may also be assessed by your local cable system.
We do not anticipate that you will pay your bill late and the administrative fee is set in advance because it would be difficult to determine the costs associated with any one particular late payment. We do not extend credit to our customers and the administrative fee is not interest, a credit service charge or a finance charge.
You agree to pay all taxes, franchise fees, and other charges, if any, which are now or may in the future be assessed because you receive our service.
Subject to applicable law, your service may be disconnected if you do not pay your bill by the due date, and we may require you to pay all past-due charges, a reconnect fee, and a minimum of one month's advance charges before we reconnect your service. Further, if you do not reconnect, any rental equipment must be returned to us. A handling fee may be charged for returned checks.
To the extent required by law, after notice to you of a retiring of our services or a rate increase, you may obtain changes in premium service tiers at no additional charge. Please refer to the Products and Services Price List we have supplied you for details or call your local cable office if you have questions.
If there are any billing errors or other requests for credit, you must bring those to our attention within six months of the time you receive the bill for which you are seeking correction.
If we are required to use a collection agency or attorney to collect money that you owe us or to assert any other right that we may have against you, you agree to pay the reasonable costs of collection or other action. These costs might include, but are not limited to, the costs of a collection agency, reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.

We urge that you call the cable office at the phone number printed on your bill any time you have questions or concerns about your service, VCR hookup questions or problems, or any other aspect of the cable television service, which we take pride in providing to you.

In addition, if you are unsatisfied with our handling of your complaint, you may contact the local franchising authority on your monthly bill.

19. Notice Of Availability Of Converters For Additional Outlets

Subscribers who install their own additional receiver connections may not be able to receive all broadcast stations carried on the cable system without additional equipment. For those television sets that are not truly compatible with the cable system, television broadcast stations located above Channel 13 may not be receivable without additional equipment.

Additional information regarding the compatibility of converters and other equipment with the cable system, which are supplied to you by us or otherwise obtained by you, is contained in the Important Notice To Our Customers Regarding Equipment Compatibility.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Commercial and non-standard installation and other services not listed in this kit will be charged at the Hourly Service Charge. For those of our customers receiving service through commercial accounts, bulk rate arrangements with multiple dwelling owners, or similar arrangements, some of the product, pricing and other information contained herein may not apply. Please refer to the terms and conditions of documents reflecting such separate arrangements. Where such are inconsistent with the information in the Programming Guide, the terms and conditions of such separate arrangements will apply. Please call us for more information.

Call your cable company for complete details about services and prices. You must subscribe to Basic Service to receive other optional services such as Premium Services, Pay-Per-View, and Starstream Digital Plus. Additional franchise fees, regulatory fees, taxes and other fees may apply depending on location. Pricing, programming, channel location and packaging may change. Prices do not include franchise fees or taxes except where noted. All prices subject to change.