COMPLAINT RESOLUTION PROCEDURES
PRTC endeavors to provide the highest quality video service and to meet or exceed customer expectations. Should you have any complaint regarding services or billing that you have been unable to resolve after calling our customer service department at (843) 538-2020, you may file a written complaint with us or with the franchising authority.
- All written complaints concerning the technical quality of the television signals we provide should be sent to Tony Stout, Chief Technology Officer, PRTC, 1682 Winchester Road, Walterboro, SC 29488.
- All complaints received concerning the technical quality of cable television signals will be logged in on the same day of receipt, and will include the date, time and nature of the complaint, as well as the name, address, and telephone number of the complaining subscriber.
- A service technician will investigate complaints concerning the technical quality of cable television signals within 24 hours of receipt, consistent with our ability to access your premises if such access is deemed necessary to resolve the complaint. If the problem can be resolved without a service call to your premises, you will be advised of this immediately and the resolution of the complaint will be noted in our trouble ticket system.
- All 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, the issue will be escalated to the Installation and Repair Supervisor, who 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.
- Management level employees will investigate all complaints received concerning billing issues and a response will be provided within 2 business days of receipt of the complaint. Written billing issues should be sent to Tandy Metzendorf, Customer Service Manager, PRTC, PO Drawer 1577, Walterboro, SC 29488.
INSTALLATION & SERVICE CHANGES
Standard installations are generally completed within ten (10) business days. If you initiate a change in the services you receive, installation or change of service charges may apply.
EQUIPMENT COMPATIBILITY
PRTC delivers video service to your home with Internet protocol (IP) signaling. This technology requires special equipment provided by PRTC to convert the IP signal to a signal that commercially available television sets can receive. One difference between Internet protocol television (IPTV) and traditional cable signals is that only signals for the channels being viewed or recorded are transmitted in an IPTV system. This means the tuners on currently available television sets, VCRs, or other consumer electronics do not interface with this IP technology. As a result, you may not be able to use some of the special functions in televisions, VCRs, DVRs, etc. For example, you may not be able to view one program while recording another, record two or more consecutive programs appearing on different channels, use advanced features such as “picture-in-picture,” channel review or use any features that necessitate channel selection by the television set or VCR/DVR.
FRANCHISING AUTHORITY
PRTC receives its franchising authority from the State of South Carolina. If you are unable to resolve your complaint by contacting PRTC, you may call or write the State of South Carolina, Office of the Secretary of State, at (803) 734-0367 or PO Box 11350, Columbia, SC 29211.
CLOSED CAPTIONING
To report an immediate technical issue regarding closed captioning, please contact (843) 538-5481 or support@prtc.us. Written closed captioning complaints may be sent to Valerie Ancrum, Regulatory Affairs Manager, PRTC PO Drawer 1577, Walterboro, SC 29488, fax (843) 538-7904 or email valerie.ancrum@prtc.us.
EQUIPMENT RETURN
In the event that you disconnect your service or your service is terminated, all equipment leased to you by us should be returned to our local office. Failure to return leased equipment will result in your account being billed the cost of the equipment.
OTHER SERVICES
In addition to our Premier Package, we also offer a Hispanic Tier, Star/Encore, Showtime, HBO, Video on Demand, Pay Per View and HD Access. Please call us at (843) 538-2020 or visit our website at www. prtc.us to see the latest information on our services.
RETRANSMISSION FEES
To carry the Charleston area TV stations on its TV system, PRTC is required to negotiate fees with the local channel affiliates. By contract, PRTC is not allowed to disclose individual station fees, but is allowed to aggregate them into a local broadcast fee as a single line item in the TV section of your invoice. The fees increase annually.
FRANCHISE FEE
A cable television franchise fee is a fee charged by a local government to a cable television company as compensation for using public property it owns as right-of-way for its cable. Franchise fees are governed under Section 622 of the Cable Communications Act of 1984. Section 622, states that municipalities and counties are entitled to a maximum of 5% of gross revenues derived from the operation of the cable system for the provision of cable services. PRTC will pay these fees to either the town/city or the county that you live.
LIFELINE
If you have service with PRTC and receive SNAP, Medicaid, Public Housing, SSI or Veteran’s Pension & Survivor Benefit and do not receive a Lifeline credit from another carrier, you may qualify to receive a monthly credit on your PRTC invoice. Contact customer service at our Retail Store.
AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM
The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is an FCC benefit program that helps ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare and more. The benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service if someone in your household participates in SNAP, Medicaid, WIC, Federal Public Housing, Veteran’s Pension & Survivors Benefit, Free and Reduced School Lunch Program, Federal Pell Grant or if your household income is 200% below the poverty guidelines.
CUSTOMER PRIVACY
PRTC does not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to outside companies or marketing firms. We may share this information with affiliates and/or subsidiaries. Even then, we share personal customer information only when required for the specific and limited purpose of analyzing and/or providing products or services. Recent changes in Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations give the customer a new choice about how we use your account information to meet your future telecommunications needs. These new changes are designed to protect your privacy rights as a customer. The Telecommunications Act now requires us to have your permission to use your Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI). CPNI is data that is not publicly available (name, address, phone number) and includes information such as type of service, number of telephone lines, amount of usage, and calling and billing records. You have the right to authorize use or non-use of your CPNI by PRTC and its affiliates and subsidiaries. Regardless of your decision, PRTC and its affiliates and subsidiaries will keep your information confidential. Giving us authorization only allows us to further customize the services we can provide to you. You have the right under federal law to restrict the use of CPNI data, and we have a responsibility to protect your data. In order to restrict the use of your CPNI data, you must contact us in writing within 30 days of receiving this notification. Your restriction of this CPNI data will not affect the service or services to which you subscribe. This restriction of use of your CPNI data will remain valid until you contact us in writing or for two years, whichever comes first.
FCC BATTERY BACKUP DISCLOSURE
PRTC requires electrical power from your home to operate if your home phone service is provided with our state-of-the-art fiber optic network. PRTC offers the option to lease battery backup as part of your service but the power does not last indefinitely and must be maintained.
The battery backup provided by PRTC must be kept connected to a power source so that it maintains a charge. This will allow you to continue to use your home voice services during a power outage. The battery is expected to last at least 8 hours on standby power. PRTC offers both an 8 hour option for $4.99/month and a 24 hour option for $6.99/month. Cordless phones, home security systems, the internet, medical monitoring devices, Wi-Fi routers and other equipment are not powered by the PRTC’s battery backup during a power outage. If you want these devices to operate during an outage, you should purchase a separate battery backup or generator designed to support that equipment.
Our service technician will provide you with verbal on-site instructions that will include proper operation of the battery backup to ensure that it will function as needed during a power outage. Because environmental factors, such as temperature, can also shorten the battery’s life PRTC ‘s technicians will make every effort to install the battery backup in a location at your premise that stays above 41°F and below 114°F. The battery backup provided to you by PRTC will last approximately 5 years. PRTC will maintain and replace it should it stop working. If your services stop working, or if your battery backup starts to make a beeping sound or the DC light turns on, please verify that it is plugged in to an electrical outlet. If your services are not restored, or if the beeping continues, please call Technical Support at (843)538-5481. You should also periodically, as described in the instructions included with your battery, remove and test your battery to verify both the operation of the backup battery and its condition.
FREE TELEPHONE EQUIPMENT
For South Carolina residents who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, blind/low vision with hearing loss, or speech impaired.
If you have a problem using a standard telephone, please contact: South Carolina Equipment Distribution Program, (SCEDP) 803-737-0808 (Voice/Local) or 1-877-225-8337 (Voice/Toll Free) 803-737-0846 (TTY/Local) or 1-877-889-8337 (TTY/Toll Free)
Email: AmplifyLife@ors.sc.gov
Website: https://scedp.sc.gov/
Address: 1401 Main St. Suite 825, Columbia, SC 29201
SCEDP is administered by the Office of Regulatory Staff
ANNUAL CUSTOMER DO-NOT-CALL NOTIFICATION
To address consumer concerns about unwelcome telemarketing calls, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have established a national Do-Not-Call Registry. The registry applies to all telemarketers (with the exception of certain non-profit and political organizations) and covers both interstate and intrastate telemarketing calls. Commercial telemarketers are not allowed to call you if your number is listed on the registry.
You can register your phone number for free, and it will permanently remain on the national Do-Not-Call Registry. If you choose to remove your name from the list, you may do so at any time. The Do-Not-Call Registry will not prevent all unwanted calls. It does not cover the following:
• calls from organizations with which you have established a business relationship
• calls for which you have given prior written consent
• calls which are not commercial or do not include unsolicited advertisements
• calls by or on behalf of tax-exempt non-profit organizations
Consumers may register their residential telephone number, including wireless numbers, on the national Do-Not-Call Registry at no cost by telephone or on the internet. To register by telephone, consumers may call 1-888-382-1222. For TTY, call 1-866-290-4236. You must call from the phone number you wish to register. You may also register by internet at www.donotcall.gov. Inclusion of your telephone number on the national Do-Not-Call Registry will be effective within 31 days following your registration.
IPTV PRIVACY NOTICE
The Federal Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 contains certain provisions regarding the collection and disbursement of personally identifiable information by cable television operators. In accordance with those provisions, this cable system collects and maintains personally identifiable information concerning customers. That information includes, among other things, your name, address, and phone number, billing records; service maintenance and repair records; premium service subscription information; marketing information and customer complaints. Personally identifiable information is generally used for the normal business purpose of offering and rendering cable television service and other services to you. Some persons have access to such information when necessary in connection with our business or when otherwise desirable. Access may be on a day-to-day basis. Those people who have access include cable system employees; cable system sales agents; businesses which provide service to the cable system, such as our accountants, billing and collection services, program and program guide providers where applicable; program services which will periodically audit subscription information and other business that seeks to use your name, address, etc. The cable system will not maintain such information after it is no longer necessary for carrying on our business.
As a PRTC customer, you may review any personal information held by us, which pertains to you if you give us a reasonable period of time to locate and, if necessary, prepare the information for review. Preparation is sometimes necessary to avoid disclosure of information relating to other customers. If you wish to review your personal information, please contact us by letter or telephone to arrange for a review. The review will be at our local business office. You may request correction of any errors in personal information that we collect and maintain pertaining to you. Federal law prohibits collecting any personally identifiable information other than information necessary to carry on our business or to detect theft of service, unless you consent.
To the extent that we are permitted to collect personally identifiable information, we are permitted to disclose such information only to the extent necessary to conduct our business. In addition, the law allows us to disclose your name and address for non-cable service related mailing lists or other purposes unless you tell us you do not wish us to disclose it. However, such disclosures of names and addresses will not be in a form that discloses the extent or type of any use you make of service we provide, nor will it disclose the nature of a transaction you make over the cable system. If you do not wish to have your name and address disclosed even in limited situations described above, or if you wish to limit the circumstances in which we will disclose it, please contact our local business office.
Except as indicated in the preceding paragraph, we may not disclose personally identifiable information without your consent, unless we are required to do so by court order. Under some circumstances, a governmental entity may seek a court order to obtain personally identifiable information from the cable system concerning a cable customer.
Any person aggrieved by an act of a cable operator in violation of these federal limitations on the collection and disclosure of personally identifiable information may bring a civil action in a United States District Court to enforce the limitations.
