“I’m having a problem with my cable company and can’t resolve the issue. I was told to contact my local franchise authority, but I can’t seem to locate a contact number. Can you help me?” Many of the Newton Falls Public Library staff also have cable service and were curious to see what could be found to assist this consumer.
Doing an Internet search of “local franchise authority cable Ohio” brought up the link [www.szd.com/media/news/media.1194.pdf] to the article Local Franchising of Cable Television in Ohio: A Review of SB 117 by Greg Dunn, Attorney, Schottenstein, Zox & Dunn. In the article it states “In the future, cable franchising in Ohio will be referred to as video service authorization (VSA). The Ohio Department of Commerce will ultimately handle all of the cable television licenses (i.e. franchises) in Ohio.”
Taking this information, we searched Ohio.gov and found www.com.ohio.gov/admn/vsa. The page about Video Service Regulation includes links to the article Consumer Service Standards and File a Complaint. The latter link was for the flyer, The Cable Consumer Hotline [www.com.ohio.gov/admn/docs/admn_Cablehotlinecomplaint.pdf]. This had the information our patron needed for contacting someone about her problem.
• “Call toll free (800) 686-7826, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. (The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) Call Center will answer your call and pass the information along to the Department of Commerce.) (TTY/TDD: 1-800-750-0750)
• Fax a copy of the completed complaint form to (614) 644-1469.
• Email the completed complaint form to VSA@com.state.oh.us.
• Mail the completed complaint form to: Ohio Department of Commerce, Attn: Video Service Section, 77 S. High Street, 23rd Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215
A copy of the complaint form is available at:http://www.com.ohio.gov/admn/vsa/complaint.aspx”
For answers to your questions, visit the Newton Falls Public Library, 204 S. Canal Street, Newton Falls or phone 330-872-1282. For information about library programs or hours, also visit our website at www.newtonfalls.org.
