Falcon Cable TV Pays Fines for Poor Service

Falcon Cable TV, the smallest of three cable service providers in Thousand Oaks, has paid $12,300 in fines for poor service--the first such penalty imposed in the city’s history.

The fines were for failing to respond to hundreds of subscriber complaints and not providing timely refunds to customers who canceled service. Falcon said it has taken steps to rectify those problems.

“I think it was very appropriate for them to pay the liquidated damages, because they failed to comply with the city’s customer service requirements for cable operators,” said Caroline Milton, the city’s media services coordinator. “The violations for which the city assessed penalties against Falcon were very basic.”

The Malibu-based company’s fines consisted of $10,700 for failure to provide refunds within 30 days to customers canceling service and $1,600 for failing to respond within the required 10 days to 95 subscriber complaints from July 15 to Aug. 15. The fines were paid Friday.

The money will remain in a general account until the City Council determines how it should be spent, Milton said.

Dan DeLaney, a division vice president for Falcon, said his company has expanded its customer service center in Calabasas in the past week and hired additional personnel to handle complaints made by telephone or in person.

“We have more than enough people handle the incoming telephone traffic,” he said.

By next week, Falcon should have relocated its satellite dishes in Thousand Oaks to a higher elevation to ensure customers receive a clearer television picture, DeLaney said. That will mean fewer customer complaints, he said.

In a letter to the city dated Sept. 12, DeLaney stated that the company paid the fine in the “spirit of cooperation” because it did not want to pursue litigation.

“Although we believe there have been certain circumstances beyond our control, which have precipitated some of the problems for which liquidated damages have been assessed, we do not wish to dispute the city’s assessment,” DeLaney said.

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Falcon has attributed its periodic service interruptions to its installation of underground fiber-optic cable, which transmits a clearer signal than the old copper wire that is being replaced.

Falcon’s subscriber base in Thousand Oaks has declined sharply since the beginning of the year--from 5,000 to about 3,300.

By comparison, TCI of Ventura County has about 27,000 customers in Thousand Oaks and GTE Media Ventures has about 10,600.

GTE’s and TCI’s operations are in compliance with their franchise agreements, according to the city.