TCA § 7-59-308 — Customer complaint handling process — Customer service requirements
Certain franchise authority holders must follow FCC customer service rules, list the department and its phone number on invoices, and route complaints through the service agreement process before they can go to the department.
In addition to the customer complaint handling process described in the application for a state-issued certificate of franchise authority, a holder of a state-issued certificate of franchise authority must comply with the customer service requirements found in 47 CFR 76.309(c), which customer service requirements shall be the sole customer service requirements applicable to a holder of a state-issued certificate of franchise authority. Each holder of a state-issued certificate of franchise authority shall identify the department as the applicable franchise authority and include its telephone number on customer invoices. With regard to providers of cable or video service under the terms of local franchises, the municipal or county government shall handle customer inquiries or complaints, for customers located in the municipality or county, in accordance with the terms of the local franchise governing a cable service provider or provider of video services. With regard to holders of state-issued certificates of franchise authority, customer complaints shall be handled in accordance with the terms of the service agreement between the holder and the customer. To the extent that a complaint remains unresolved following the procedures in the service agreement, a complaint may be brought to the department. A municipality or county that receives a customer complaint may refer the complaint to the department. If the department determines that the provider has violated the customer service requirements made applicable in this part, it shall order the provider to: Cure the violation within a reasonable period of time; or Issue a service credit equal to the charges for the period of time that the customer's service was affected by the provider's failure to comply with the applicable service requirement, which shall not exceed a maximum credit of three (3) months, and the affected period shall not include the time during which the complaint is considered by the department. If the department determines that no violation has occurred, then it shall dismiss the complaint. Except as provided for in this subsection (c), the department is not empowered to award remedies or to impose penalties of any kind for any customer service complaint that is not expressly provided for by the FCC's customer service requirements. The department is not empowered to initiate investigations or to review or regulate the general compliance of a provider with the customer service standards and is instead limited to addressing only the specific customer complaints brought to the department. Nothing in this part alters, limits, or expands any existing remedy available to any customer, or any power available to the attorney general and reporter, pursuant to the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977, compiled in title 47, chapter 18.