Century Cable Agrees to Rate Cuts, Refunds

After years of complaints from consumers about unfair and high charges, Century Cable has agreed to pay $12.3 million in refunds and rate reductions to about 135,000 customers under the terms of a settlement signed Tuesday with the city of Los Angeles.

City officials called the settlement, which will be paid only to the company’s subscribers in Los Angeles, the largest ever paid by a cable television provider to a local government.

The agreement was negotiated by the city attorney’s office and the city’s Information and Technology Agency, which oversees contracts with cable television companies. Century Cable customers in Los Angeles will receive $8.2 million in refunds and $3.3 million in rate reductions.

Century Cable will also pay $800,000 to the city. Century Communications Corp. executives said they admitted no wrongdoing in reaching the settlement and were eager to end the dispute.

“It took a long time to work out this settlement and we’re pleased that we can put this behind us and more forward,” said Bill Rosendahl, senior vice president for cable operations.

Under the terms of the agreement, each current Century customer will receive about $60 in rebates, which will appear in 12 monthly installments beginning May 1. Consumers will also see an annual rate decrease of about $20. Together, the compensation is equivalent to about two months free service for most customers.

The agreement covers alleged overcharges for “basic cable” services from November 1995 to the present. It remained unclear Tuesday whether the proposed rebates would be available to former Century customers who have left the area. Century serves customers in Northeast Los Angeles, on the Westside and in parts of the San Fernando Valley.

City Council approval of the settlement is expected to be a formality, city officials said.

“This shows the city is serious about protecting its consumers,” said City Atty. James K. Hahn. “When consumers are getting ripped off, we’re going to do our best to make sure it stops.”

Tuesday’s announcement is only the latest milestone in a long-running dispute involving the Connecticut-based Century Communications Corp., federal regulators and a host of local governments in Southern California. Century has been fighting a rollback on cable rates since one was imposed by Congress in 1993.

Last year, the Federal Communications Commission proposed a settlement in which Century would pay $4.6 million in rebates to a number of Southern California communities. Century was ordered to reduce rates in Beverly Hills, Marina del Rey, Santa Monica and other communities.

In December, however, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously not to join that agreement, which would have allocated $1.6 million to Los Angeles customers. City officials began what would become five months of negotiations with Century executives.

“We got a much better deal than the FCC wanted and more than the municipalities around us,” said Alan Arkatov, who participated in the negotiations as a member of the citizens panel that oversees the Information Technology Agency.

“What the city has tried to do is be a good cop and make sure the service is solid and that customers are not unfairly charged,” Arkatov said. The settlement will put a stop to “a never-ending rise in cable rates,” he said.

Not surprisingly, some Century customers who heard about the rebates and reduced rates seemed pleased.

“They’ve been increasing the prices. In the last bill there was another one,” said Gil Harris of Silver Lake. Of the rebate, he said, “It’s great. I’m glad somebody got on them.”

Harris said his cable bill rose noticeably when he moved to Silver Lake from Hollywood, where another company held the cable franchise.

“When I first came here I was paying like $26,” he said. “Right now, I pay $34 and I just get the basic [service].”

Other Century customers, however, didn’t think their cable bills were exorbitant.

“If they’ve overcharging me, I’d like to get it,” said James Jack Johnson, also of Silver Lake. “But I didn’t feel it was too high. I’m sure they’re charging a competitive price.”

The Los Angeles settlement may not be the end of Century Communications’ disputes with Southern California customers. In Ventura, city officials filed a report this week asking federal regulators to rein in the company, claiming it was forcing a steep rate increase on 15,800 subscribers.