Connecticut General Statutes 16-331j – Video service provider offerings, charges, privacy policy, billing and billing disputes
(a) At the time of initial subscription, and annually thereafter, or upon request, each certified competitive video service provider shall provide subscribers with a description of (1) the video service offerings and current rates, (2) the provider’s credit policies, including any finance charges or late payment charges, and (3) the provider’s billing practices and complaint procedures.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 16-331j
- Authority: means the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and "department" means the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. See Connecticut General Statutes 16-1
- Certificate of video franchise authority: means an authorization issued by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority conferring the right to an entity or person to own, lease, maintain, operate, manage or control facilities in, under or over any public highway to offer video service to any subscribers in the state. See Connecticut General Statutes 16-1
- Certified competitive video service provider: means an entity providing video service pursuant to a certificate of video franchise authority issued by the authority in accordance with section 16-331e. See Connecticut General Statutes 16-1
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Video service: means video programming services provided through wireline facilities, a portion of which are located in the public right-of-way, without regard to delivery technology, including Internet protocol technology. See Connecticut General Statutes 16-1
(b) Consistent with the provisions of 47 USC 551, at the time of entering into an agreement to provide video service to a subscriber, a certified competitive video service provider shall inform the subscriber of the provider’s practices regarding the collection and use of personally identifiable customer information, including (1) the type of information collected, (2) the purposes for which it is used, (3) the extent and manner in which it is shared with unaffiliated third parties for purposes of enabling delivery of video service, and (4) the procedures in place to ensure the subscriber’s right to privacy. A certified competitive video service provider shall not disclose personally identifiable customer information other than anonymous or aggregate data to unaffiliated third parties for their own marketing purposes without the consent of the subscriber.
(c) A certified competitive video service provider shall implement an informal process for handling Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and customer inquiries, billing issues, service issues and other complaints. In the event an issue is not resolved through such informal process, a customer may request of the authority a confidential, nonbinding mediation with the competitive video service provider, and a designated member of the authority staff shall serve as the mediator. If the mediation is unsuccessful, the customer may file a formal complaint with the authority. The authority’s sole jurisdiction over the complaint is to determine if the certified competitive video service provider is in compliance with sections 16-331f to 16-331n, inclusive. If the provider is found to be in noncompliance, the authority shall order the certified competitive video service provider to cure such noncompliance within a reasonable period of time. Failure to comply may subject the certified competitive video service provider to civil penalties and revocation of the certificate, as provided in section 16-331o.
(d) A certified competitive video service provider shall comply with the customer service requirements of 47 C.F.R. § 76.309(c) for its video services. A company issued a certificate of video franchise authority shall not be subject to any other state law or regulation or authority order to the extent it imposes customer service requirements in excess of or more stringent than 47 C.F.R. § 76.309(c).