As a subscriber to cable or other service, you are entitled under federal law to know the limitations imposed upon operators in the use, collection and disclosure of personally identifiable subscriber information. The law relates only to personally identifiable information.
1. Collection.
Section 631 of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, as amended, requires us to inform you of the nature of personally identifiable customer information that we collect and of the nature of the use we make of such information. Generally, the Cable Act permits us to collect and use only the information needed for the business of providing cable and other services to customers. In order that we may operate efficiently, we keep regular business records that contain your name, service address, billing address, if different, telephone numbers (home and business), credit card information (as required for payment of services), account number, installation, billing, payment, deposit, complaint and service records, converter and equipment records, records of information you have furnished to us, such as the location and number of television sets connected to cable and the service options you have chosen. Such records may also include your place of employment, whether you own or lease your residence, name and address of your landlord, identification card numbers (such as drivers license and/or social security number) and other personally identifiable information. We use this information to sell, maintain, disconnect and reconnect cable or other services; to make sure that you are being billed properly for the services you receive; to maintain financial accounting, tax, service and property records including records required by the terms of our franchise; to provide information to you regarding products and services offered by us or third parties; and for other purposes as described below. We take reasonable precautions to prevent unauthorized access to this information.
2. Disclosure.
With respect to cable and other service you receive from us, the Cable Act allows us to collect personally identifiable information and to disclose it to a third party only if (a) you consent in advance in writing or electronically; (b) disclosure is necessary to render cable service and other services we provide to you and related business activities; (c) disclosure is requires pursuant to a court order and you are notified of such order; or (d) for mailing lists as described below. The Cable Act requires us to inform you of the nature, frequency and purpose of any disclosure which may be made of such information, including an identification of the types of persons to whom the disclosure may be made. We may make your records available to employees, agents and contractors to install, market, provide, or audit cable service or other services provided by us and to measure viewership and customer satisfaction and to provide you with information relating to your cable service or other service provided by us, and to provide you with information concerning cable-related products and services offered by third parties. Access for these purposes will be provided as needed for the specific job at hand. Access for these purposes is routine, and does not occur with any specific frequency. WE MAY MAKE YOUR RECORDS AVAILABLE TO THIRD PARTY CREDIT AGENCIES ON A REGULAR BASIS IN CONNECTION WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS, OR IN THE EVENT SUCH ACCOUNTS ARE DELINQUENT. We may also occasionally release our customer list to a consumer research organization to conduct market research for services provided and programs shown by the cable system. Access for these purposes occurs when needed and not with any specific frequency. Further, we make our customer list available each month to an independent billing house to send bills; to distributors each month for sending program guides; to programmers for marketing and promotions of their service carried on our system; to programmers and outside auditors to check our records whenever such audits are required, as needed; to attorneys and accountants on a continuous basis as necessary to render service to the company; to potential purchasers in connection with a system sale which occurs only at the time such sale is contemplated; to representatives of governmental taxing, or regulatory authorities in furtherance of our legitimate business activities; to mailing services as needed for system related mailings; to mailing or other services to provide our customers information relating to products and services offered by third parties; and to collection services if required to collect past due bills at such time as bills are submitted for collection. Where utilized, customer information also is disclosed to our bill payment lock box service each month as necessary for processing customer payments.
3. Mailing Lists.
Unless you object, the Cable Act allows us to disclose certain information to others, including advertisers and direct mail or telemarketers, for non-cable related purposes including selling or disclosing customer lists to commercial or charitable users thereof. Disclosure for such purpose is limited to your name, address, and the particular services to which you subscribe, but cannot include the extent of your viewing or use of a particular service or the nature of any transaction you made over the cable system. AFTER PROVIDING YOU WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONTACT US, WE INTEND TO PROVIDE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS TO THIRD PARTIES. DISCLOSURE MAY BE AS OFTEN AS REQUESTED BY THIRD PARTIES. If you wish to remove your name from such lists and disclosures, you must write your local cable company asking us to remove your name from such lists. You should use the address for us identified on your monthly bill. To enable us to process your request, you must include your name, address, phone number and account number. We will remove your name from the lists and disclosures as soon as we practicably can in the course of normal business practices. Or you may simply tear off the "Limitation of Disclosure" form attached. Fill it out and mail as indicated above.
4. Retention.
The Cable Act requires us to inform you concerning the period during which we will retain information. As required by the Cable Act, we destroy customer information that is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it is collected unless there is a legitimate request or order to inspect the information still outstanding. The information that you have provided us upon installation of service is maintained in our management information system and billing systems, and is updated as new information is added. Accounting and billing records are retained for ten years for tax and accounting purposes or until the relevant income tax years for which the document was created has been closed for income tax purposes and/or all appeals have been exhausted. Routine paper records necessary to render, or conduct legitimate business activities related to the cable service or other service provided you as a customer are kept in accordance with the local cable company's voluntarily adopted document retention program. Paper records such as work orders and records of technical maintenance and service you are provided are retained for five years. Records relating to involuntary disconnects are kept indefinitely to facilitate collection and are updated as new information is added.
5. Disclosure by Court Order.
The Cable Act also provides that the government may obtain disclosure of personally identifiable information by court order if it offers evidence that such records are material to criminal activity, and if you are given the opportunity to appear and contest the evidence.
6. Customer Rights.
As described above, the Cable Act establishes your rights as a customer and the limits upon the cable operator with respect to the collection and disclosure of customer information. You have the right to inspect our records that contain information about you and to correct any error in our information. If you wish to inspect the records at our system office pertaining to you, please contact us at the system business office between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (holidays excluded), to set up an appointment. You may bring a private civil action in U.S. District Court and you may seek to recover damages, costs and attorney fees if the limits under the Cable Act have been violated. THE NAME, ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER OF YOUR LOCAL CABLE SYSTEM CONTINUES TO BE IDENTIFIED ON THE FACE OF YOUR MONTHLY BILL. ANY CHANGES TO SUCH INFORMATION WILL BE NOTED ON YOUR FUTURE BILLS. |