The city of Los Altos, CA plans to fine Comcast for apparently ignoring its claim that the cable company owes it money. Comcast is the company that provides cable tv and high speed internet for the area.At a meeting on Tuesday, city council members agreed to let the city proceed with their plan to fine Comcast $500 per day "to enforce customer service and consumer protection standards.†However, they would only allow up to a total of $1,500 in all, which is the maximum allowed by law for a first-time offense. The city sent Comcast a letter informing the cable company that they owed the city an estimated $100,000 in "public education and government" fees. Comcast is required to pay Los Altos 2 percent of its revenue in the city to support public channels, which they did not.The city's letter also questioned Comcast's use of "catch-up fees." Comcast pays a fee to do business in Los Altos, which it passes on to subscribers. In late 2007 the city increased that fee from 3 to 5 percent. From January to September 2008, Comcast kept charging customers 3 percent, but in October it raised the fee to 7.6 percent to compensate for the first three quarters of the year. City officials have questioned whether the increase in price was legal after there was an uproar among cable tv and internet customers about the price jump. The city had given Comcast the legally required 30 day-period to respond to the letter, and since Comcast has failed to do so, the city will now spend $20,000 on an auditor who will inspect Comcast’s financial dealings with the city.On Wednesday, Comcast did call the city after the resolution passed and made plans to sit down and discuss the problem. Nobody is sure what Comcast plans to do next. By: Frank Bilotta
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