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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of ) File No. EB-02-
TC-067 )
Time Warner Cable ) CUID No. NC0222
(Rockingham County)
)
Refund Plan )
ORDER
Adopted: July 16, 2002 Released: July 17,
2002
By the Chief, Enforcement Bureau:1
1. In this Order we consider a refund plan filed by
the above-referenced operator ("Operator")2 pursuant to
Order, DA 99-15043 ("Refund Order").4 In the Refund Order,
the Cable Services Bureau found Operator to be overcharging
$0.36 per subscriber per month for the period from January
23, 1998 (the date of the filing of the first valid
complaint) through December 31, 1998. Our review of
Operator's refund plan reveals that the refund plan does not
fulfill the requirements of the Refund Order. Rather than
calculating its refund liability for 1998, the period
reviewed in the Refund Order, Operator submitted an
additional FCC Form 1240 covering the period January 1, 1999
through December 31, 1999, which purports to true-up
Operator's 1998 refund liability. Operator then calculated
its refund liability for the1999 overcharges rather than the
1998 overcharges.
2. We have not reviewed the 1999 FCC Form 1240, and
there is no pending complaint requiring us to do so. We will
not accept FCC Form 1240s filed subsequent to a released
order simply to allow an Operator to attempt to true-up
refund liability and avoid the payment of refunds.5 In
addition, the Bureau does not have the resources to review
additional filings made subsequent to the release of an
order.6 Furthermore, the Commission does not have
jurisdiction to review the rates for cable programming
services provided after March 31, 1999, a period that is
within the year covered by Operator's subsequent FCC Form
1240. We cannot assume that Operator calculated its 1999
FCC Form 1240 accurately. If a review of the additional
filing indicated that errors were made in the calculation of
the 1999 rate, we would be without jurisdiction to order
refunds after March 31, 1999. Indeed, Operator's proposed
refund plan includes refunds beyond March 31, 1999. We
therefore reject Operator's refund plan.
3. We calculate Operator's refund liability as
follows: For the period from January 23, 1998 through
December 31, 1998, we calculate an overcharge of $0.36 per
month per subscriber, in accordance with the Refund Order.
Our total calculation, including franchise fees plus
interest through July 31, 2002 equals $25,146.00. We order
Operator to refund this amount, plus any additional interest
accrued from July 31, 2002 to the date of refund, to its
CPST subscribers within 60 days of the release of this
Order.
4. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Operator's refund
plan IS NOT APPROVED.
5. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, pursuant to Section 76.962
of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 76.962, that Operator
shall refund to subscribers in the franchise area referenced
above the total amount of $25,146.00, plus interest accruing
from July 31, 2002 to the date of refund, within 60 days of
the release of this Order.
6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, pursuant to Section 76.962
of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 76.962, that Operator
shall file a certificate of compliance with the Chief,
Enforcement Bureau, within 90 days of the release of this
Order certifying its compliance with this Order.
7. This action is taken pursuant to Sections 0.111 and
0.311 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111 and
0.311.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
David H. Solomon
Chief, Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 Effective March 25, 2002, the Commission transferred
responsibility for resolving cable programming services tier
rate complaints from the former Cable Services Bureau to the
Enforcement Bureau. See Establishment of the Media Bureau,
the Wireline Competition Bureau and the Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reorganization of the
International Bureau and Other Organizational Changes, FCC
02-10, 17 FCC Rcd 4672 (2002).
2 The term "Operator" includes Operator's successors and
predecessors in interest.
3 In the Matter of Time Warner Cable, DA 99-1504, 14 FCC Rcd
12150 (CSB 1999).
4 The Refund Order required Operator to determine the
overcharges to cable programming service tier ("CPST")
subscribers for the period stated in the Refund Order and
file a report with the Chief, Cable Services Bureau, stating
the cumulative refund amount determined (including franchise
fees and interest), describing the calculation thereof, and
describing its plan to implement the refund within 60 days
of Commission approval of the plan.
5 See, e.g., In the Matter of Cableone, DA 02-522, 17 FCC
Rcd 4300 (CSB 2002).
6 Operator was informed by letter that its methodology was
unacceptable, but failed to file an appropriate refund plan.
See letter dated September 22, 1999 to Jack W. Stanley,
President, Greensboro Cable Division, Time Warner Cable,
from Patrick A. Boateng, Acting Chief, Financial Analysis
and Compliance Division, Cable Services Bureau.