Dear Valued Customer:
At Windstream, we are proud to be your local cable TV connection and we strive to maintain a level of customer service that exceeds your expectations.
If you have a question or concern, experience a service problem, or wish to learn more about a Windstream cable TV product, please call our customer service center, or visit your local Windstream store. Our contact information can be found at the end of this document.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide you with quality entertainment and service.
SERVICE & INSTALLATION POLICIES
Installation work will be performed on an appointment basis. Appointments are usually scheduled in four-hour blocks during normal business hours. If you have special needs beyond this appointment option, please call us and we will do our best to accommodate you. If our installer or technician is running late, we will attempt to contact you and reschedule the appointment at a time convenient for you.
Standard installations (those that are located up to 125 feet from our existing distribution system) will normally be performed within seven business days after an order has been placed. If it is determined that a non-standard installation is needed, the estimated cost and completion date will be provided to the customer in advance.
Our technical staff will not enter your home to perform work unless a responsible adult over 18 years of age is present. We have established this policy to protect you and our employees.
Repair and maintenance to the cable lines outside your home and repairs to any cable company-owned equipment are currently provided to you free of charge.
OUTAGES/SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS
We will normally respond to service interruptions (outages) and other service problems as soon as possible, and normally within 24 hours from the time we are notified of an interruption. We will normally respond to other non-outage service problems by the next business day. For outages beyond our control (such as natural disasters or severe weather-related problems), we will respond as promptly as possible.
We work to ensure trouble-free reception, but from time to time equipment failures can occur. Generally, it is our policy to issue a credit, upon request, for service interruptions greater than 24 hours. Windstream Cable Television customer service representatives are available during normal business hours, and after-hours emergency reporting service is available 24 hours a day. Please call us in a timely manner when you notice a problem. We will not issue credit for service interruptions if we are not notified promptly or for situations beyond our control.
SERVICE AND RATE CHANGES
We reserve the right to change our equipment, prices and/or fees. We also reserve the right to rearrange, delete, add to or change the services provided. In accordance with federal and local regulations, we will notify you in advance of changes in rates and/or services and inform you of the effective date of those changes.
TERMINATION OF SERVICE
Unless a contractual agreement for cable services is in place, you may cancel your service at any time by calling our customer service center or retail store. Please do not write disconnect requests directly on your bill. We reserve the right to terminate your service if you fail to pay your bill when it is due, if any contract terms are violated, or for failure to rectify conditions that interfere with normal cable operations. Unpaid disconnected accounts are forwarded to a collection agency. You may not assign or transfer your service without providing the cable company with proper notification.
BAD CHECK POLICY
A fee of will apply to any returned checks. If payment is not made and the account is delinquent, the account will be disconnected and a reconnect fee will apply.
SERVICE CALL POLICY
Windstream Cable Television will maintain all the outside wiring that we have installed free of service charges. A service charge will apply for repairs to inside wiring or customer modifications to our wiring. A charge may also apply for repairing wire/cable damaged by the customer or by others working on the customer's property. A service charge may apply for a service call to help connect a digital video or audio device or to reprogram a TV, a digital video device or other non-cable company equipment.
CABLE TV PROTECTION PLUS COVERAGE
Windstream Cable Television is responsible for all cable wiring up to 12 inches beyond the grounding point normally located or installed on the outside of the customer's residence. The customer is responsible for cable wiring from that point. A large percentage of trouble reports are caused by inside wiring, cable outlets or jacks and customer-owned equipment.
In some areas Windstream offers the option of subscribing to Cable TV Protection Plus, a service that provides protection from repair costs when a problem is found with the customer's inside cable wiring or existing cable outlets. Cable TV Protection Plus includes the repair or replacement of existing approved cable outlets and inside cable wiring. All inside cable wiring repairs are subject to Windstream's discretion for post-wiring standards and doesn't include cable wiring that runs through inside walls. The addition or moving of existing cable outlets or jacks is not included. Cable TV Protection Plus does not cover customer-owned equipment connected to the wiring or intentional damage to inside wiring. Cable TV Protection Plus added on a repair call/visit will be billed at a standard monthly rate.
A service call charge may be applied if a problem is found in the customer's wiring. However, in areas where the service is available, the customer may take the Cable TV Protection Plus inside wiring protection plan for 12 months and repairs will be made on up to four existing outlets for a one-time activation fee. If a customer chooses not to take the Cable Protection Plus plan, inside wire repairs can be made on a time/material basis. If a customer chooses not to take the Cable TV Protection Plus plan, or doesn't want us to repair the inside-wiring problem, then a service call fee will be applied.
LATE FEE
A late fee will apply to all accounts not paid by the due date stated on your cable bill.
EQUIPMENT POLICY
Equipment installed by your cable company, placed under, over, on or about your home or property in connection with the delivery of service, is the property of the cable company. Rented digital receivers that are provided to customers, if necessary or requested, are the property of the cable company. Rented equipment must be returned to us when service is discontinued for any reason, or at any reasonable time we need to issue other equipment. Failure to return rented equipment at the appropriate time will result in a charge to the customer's account and may lead to legal action to recover the equipment. You are responsible for damage to rented equipment, other than normal wear and tear, and may be assessed a charge for repair or replacement. Equipment purchased from the cable company is the property of the customer and not covered by the above equipment policy.
BILLING PROCEDURES
Cable services are billed one month in advance. Partial month charges will be included on your bill if you add or change services between billing dates. Customers agree to pay us monthly by the payment due date as shown on their cable bill and for any administrative fees due to late payments or other charges due us. Customers agree to pay all federal, state, local and user taxes, franchise fees and other charges, if any, which we may now or in the future be assessed. Billing rates are subject to periodic adjustment as permitted by franchise agreements and federal law. Customers may pay for multiple months of service in advance if that is more convenient. However, no discounts are generally given for advance payment. If changes in rates occur after advance payments are made, customers are responsible for any adjusted rates as of the applicable rate change effective date.
To ensure your account is properly credited, mail your check or money order along with the remittance stub to the address printed on your bill. Please write your account number and service address on your check or money order and allow five to seven days for processing. DO NOT MAIL CASH. To ensure prompt attention, please write your inquiries or requests on a separate piece of paper rather than on the bill itself. Payments received after the due date are subject to a late charge. In addition, service may be disconnected and collection proceedings initiated if the account is past due. A late fee will apply to all account balances not paid by the due date stated on your cable bill. If you change the service you receive, we may charge you a change of service fee. Any disputed charges or billing discrepancies must be brought to our attention during the current billing month or all charges will be considered accepted by the customer.
NON-PAY RECONNECT POLICY
Once an account has been disconnected for non-payment, the total amount due on the account must be paid in order to reconnect service. In addition, payment of a reconnect fee is required at the same time. The amount due and the reconnect fee must be paid in full before service is reconnected. In most cases, reconnection is done within three to five working days. There will be no exceptions to this policy.
THEFT OF CABLE TV SERVICE
The 1984 Cable Act, as amended by the 1992 Cable Act, was enacted by the U.S. Congress and created both civil and criminal penalties against manufacturers, suppliers and users of unauthorized cable devices. This federal theft-of-service law supplements any existing state or local laws. The federal law prohibits the interception or receipt of any communication service over a cable system, unless authorized by the operator. This includes the theft of audio, video, textual, data or other service, including data transmitted to or from a subscriber over a system that has interactive capability. Further, the law pertains to both the manufacturers and distributors of equipment, as well as individuals. The Cable Act provides a cable operator the right to seek substantial monetary damages with regard to theft of its cable services. In addition, if the violations are willful and for commercial advantage or private financial gain, the court may award damages of up to $50,000 in civil cases and a maximum of $100,000 for certain criminal violations, in addition to a maximum of five years imprisonment for subsequent offenses. Congress has taken the foregoing actions because it believes that theft of cable service poses a major threat to the economic viability of cable operators and cable program suppliers, and it creates unfair burdens on cable subscribers who are forced to subsidize the benefits that other individuals are getting by receiving cable service without paying for it. Also, tampering with cable lines often causes reception problems for paying customers like you. If you are aware of persons receiving unauthorized cable service, please call us confidentially. We will follow up to ensure that the service you receive is not affected by someone else's tampering.
COMPLAINT PROCEDURES
If you experience a problem, please follow the steps outlined below:
First, contact our customer service center or retail store and tell us about your problem. If your problem concerns the signal quality of your cable service and we cannot resolve it over the phone, we will immediately schedule a service call. (We do not repair televisions or customer-owned audio or video equipment.) If a technical problem has occurred such as a power outage affecting a large number of our customers, it is possible for our telephone lines to become overloaded with calls. You may receive a busy signal in this instance because your neighbors are also reporting the problem. Please be assured we will act to resolve your service problem as soon as possible. In the vast majority of cases, we can promptly resolve any problem that you may experience. All reasonable efforts will be made by our service technicians and other employees to resolve any complaints concerning the technical quality of service promptly and efficiently. If our service technician fails to correct the problem, you may contact our office and we will review the complaint and the corrective action taken. If we are not able to take any further action to correct the problem, we will promptly inform you of our determination and the reasons we cannot correct the problem. If you believe our investigation and handling of a complaint is deficient in some manner, you may contact the local franchising authority. Your local contacts are listed below. Click here for Contact and Franchise information
SUBSCRIBER PRIVACY NOTICE
Section 631 of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 ("Cable Act") requires us to inform you of the following matters:
1. Collection
The Cable Act requires us to inform you of the nature of personally identifiable subscriber information that we collect and of the nature of the use we make of such information. General IX, the Cable Act permits us to collect and use only the information needed for the business of providing cable and other services to subscribers. In order that we may continue to provide reliable, high-quality service and maintain adequate records, we keep regular business records that contain your name, address, telephone number, social security number and other personally identifiable information. Such records include billing, payment, deposit, complaint and service 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. We use this information to sell, maintain, disconnect and reconnect services to make sure that you are being billed properly for the services you receive, and to maintain financial, accounting, tax service and property records, including records required by the terms of our franchise. We take reasonable precautions to prevent unauthorized access to this information. Periodically the information is used for cable-related market research by the company and others.
2. Disclosure
The Cable Act allows us to collect personally identifiable information and to disclose to a third party only if (a) you consent in advance in writing or electronically; (b) disclosure is necessary to deliver cable service and other services we provide to you, or to conduct related business activities; (c) disclosure is required pursuant to a court order and you are notified of such order; or (d) for mailing list as described below.
The Cable Act requires us to inform you of the nature, frequency and purpose of any disclosure that 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 and audit cable service on each occasion access is needed for the specific job at hand. Access for this purpose is routine and does not occur with any specific frequency. We may also occasionally release our subscriber list to a customer research organization to conduct market research. This typically occurs no more than once each year. Further, we make our subscriber list available each month to an independent billing house to send bills; to mailing services and programmers each month for sending program guides; to programmers and outside auditors to check our records whenever such checks are required, which occurs irregularly; to attorneys and accountants on a continuous basis as necessary to carry out service to the company; to potential purchasers in connection with a system sale which occurs only at the time such sale is contemplated; and to franchising authorities to demonstrate compliance at the irregular times when compliance concerns are raised. Subscriber information may also be disclosed to our bill payment lock box service each month as necessary for processing subscriber payments, and information on delinquent accounts may be supplied to collection agencies and credit bureaus when delinquency occurs. We take reasonable precautions to prevent unauthorized access to this information.
3. Mailing Lists
The Cable Act also allows us to disclose your name and address for mailing lists and other purposes unless you object. We do not presently sell our subscriber list or otherwise disclose it to commercial users, and do not anticipate making any such disclosure in the future. Should we make any such disclosure in the future, we will not disclose the extent of your viewing or use of a particular service or the nature of any transaction you may make over the cable system, but we may disclose that you are among those who subscribe to a particular service. If you do not wish to have your name and address included on a subscriber list disclosed to commercial or charitable users, please contact us at our system business office. Please refer to your bill for the address of our system office, our phone number and our office hours.
4. Retention
The Cable Act requires us to inform you concerning the period during which we will retain subscriber information. As required by the Cable Act, we destroy subscriber information that is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected unless there is a legitimate request or order to inspect the information still outstanding. Paper records such as work orders and installation records are generally retained for up to three months. Subscriber records maintained in our management information system are routinely deleted from our records as newer information is added. The age of these records varies from address to address, depending on the date when service commenced and the number of transactions. Ledger data is deleted after a varying period, at the most six months. Older records in the system may be deleted occasionally to free storage space for new records. Information concerning location and number of outlets and other information you have provided to us upon installation is retained so long as you are a subscriber and may be deleted from the system within two years after you terminate your subscription, provided your account is fully paid. Market research information is retained for a maximum of two years. Accounting and billing records are retained in historical ledgers for six years for tax and accounting purposes.
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 a criminal case, and if you are given the opportunity to appear and contest the evidence.
6. Subscriber Rights
As described above, the Cable Act establishes your rights as a subscriber and the limits upon the cable operator with respect to the collection and disclosure of subscriber information. You have the right to inspect our records that contain information about you and to correct any errors in our information. If you wish to inspect the records pertaining to you at our system office, please contact us at the system business office during business hours 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.
TROUBLESHOOTING
If you experience problems with your television reception, keep in mind that it may or may not be related to your cable TV service. If the problem is only on one channel, it is probably just a temporary transmission problem with that particular network. If the problem affects more than one channel, here are a few things you can check before calling for repair service:
TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS
Poor or no video:
First check to see if all TVs in the home are experiencing the same problems. If the problem is only on one set, it is likely that the problem is related to the connection inside the home. Check all connections to your TV, wall jack and any connected video devices. Look to make sure the ends of your coax cable are undamaged and that the connector center pin is straight. Tighten any loose connections.
Check your coaxial cables. Consider swapping old or low quality cabling for heavy-duty cables. Damaged cables or connections should be replaced.
If you've recently moved or installed equipment please double-check the connections.
Move the coaxial cables away from other cables. Your TV cables may be receiving electromagnetic interference from nearby power cables or other electronic devices. If separating the cables improves your picture, use cable ties, tape or twist ties, to hold them in place.
Check that the antenna input is set to "Cable" or "CATV" mode. This is a likely cause if your TV is only able to receive 13 channels.
Please check to ensure that the correct TV 'input" or "source" is selected by using your TV remote to slowly toggle through available settings. Some digital TVs require a moment for each setting to be read.
If your television is connected through a digital devise such as a cable box, DVR, or DVD player, make sure your TV is set to the designated output channel. (normally channel 03 or 04)
If you have a cable box or digital receiver on your system, to correct a receiver problem try unplugging the box for a moment. When power is restored, let the box cycle through its reboot process. This can take a few minutes.
If you suspect a reception problem with your cable box, you can check by connecting the cable from the cable wall jack directly to the TV. If the picture is clear when the box is bypassed, the converter box is likely the problem. Please call to have it checked or replaced.
Picture, but no sound:
Check to ensure that the MUTE setting is not activated on the TV or on any digital video devices.
Please check to ensure that the correct TV 'input" or "source" is selected by using your TV remote to slowly toggle through available settings. Some digital TVs require a moment for each setting to be read.
Check to make sure the SAP, or secondary audio program feature, is not activated. With some TVs the SAP feature can be turned on and off from your TV remote.
If audio is not in English, please check the language feature on your TV or digital receiver. Also make sure the SAP feature is not activated. The SAP can also result in an audio feed that does not match the video.
Cross streaks:
Cross streaks or static streaks across the screen can sometimes be caused by electrical interference from appliances, power sources or atmospheric conditions. If a cord-shielding problem exists, devices like microwaves, vacuums and blenders can cause problems.
Make sure that the cable connections on the back of your TV or converter are secured tightly.
Rolling pictures:
Check your TV manual for possible adjustments.
Vertical or horizontal shrinking:
A shrinking TV picture (from top to bottom or from side to side) can sometimes be caused by power "brownouts."
Also you may want to check your TV manual for possible adjustments.
If your troubleshooting has not corrected the problem, please call us. We will be glad to assist you over the phone and schedule a home appointment if necessary. We want you to enjoy the best quality service.
INTERFERENCE FROM NATURE
Lightning:
During electrical storms, we advise that you unplug your television set(s) and disconnect your incoming cable line(s). We are not responsible for any damage to customer-owned equipment caused by lightning or any other Act of God beyond our control.
Picture Distortion/Sun Outages:
For a few days in the spring and fall, brief interruptions (5 -10 minutes) in satellite-delivered programming may occur due to an alignment between the sun, the orbiting communications satellite and our receiving antenna. We thank you for your understanding during these brief "sun outages."
EQUIPMENT
The procedure you will need to follow to get the most from your cable service will depend in part on the features built into your TV and other video equipment. The viewing capabilities or setting you select on your equipment can also determine the quality of video and audio you receive.
CABLE TV CONVERTERS
We can provide you with a converter box or digital receiver if your TV set cannot receive all cable channels on the Basic or Expanded Basic line-ups. (A monthly fee will be assessed for the use of this box.) Additionally, converters and remotes with basic functions and features are available from various independent retail vendors. The converter box will allow you to receive all unscrambled cable channels.
You may need a converter box if you do not have fully cable-ready equipment such as a TV, VCR and/or or other video device with a built-in tuner. The use of certain types of converter boxes may deactivate the use of some television features such as picture in picture.
In some areas, digital channels may require a digital receiver or cable card that is leased from the cable company. To use a converter, make sure your TV is set to the designated output channel (02,03 or 04), and make sure the converter is connected to your cable line, your TV, VCR, or DVD player.
High Definition cable channels may require an HD receiver or an HD cable card that can be leased from the cable company. In areas where the service is available, unencrypted reception channels can be picked up by a commercial QAM receiver.
In certain areas HD digital video recorders are also available for lease. These provide easy recording and playback of cable programming. The DVR also allows simultaneous recording of two channels, and allows a customer to pause and rewind the cable channel being viewed.
Additional information about company-provided equipment can be found at the cable TV web site www.windstreamcable.com.
A/B SWITCH
Cable customers have the option of adding an A/B switch to their television and cable equipment. An A/B switch allows you to receive off-the-air local broadcast television stations or signals not carried on cable via your antenna. A/B switch kits are available from various independent retail vendors.
PARENTAL CONTROL
If you desire channel blocking or parental control to prevent children in the household from viewing some channels or programs, your TV set may provide parental control. If your TV set does not accommodate parental control, in most locations Windstream Cable offers a device to block channels. This device can be purchased by special order and may require a prepayment. Digital customers may set parental controls themselves via the on-screen menu. This is accomplished by pressing the Menu button on the remote, choosing the Parental Control option and then follow the on-screen instructions.
On Motorola receivers, from the Main Menu, highlight the "Parents" icon and press "OK." Follow on-screen instructions to enter a four-digit PIN. A rating level or channel can be locked by highlighting it and then pressing "Lock."
On Scientific Atlanta equipment, press "Menu" on the remote control, and press the "Up/Down" setting to activate Parental Control. Press "Select" to enter a four-digit PIN.
