Editorial:

The people have spoken.

And the Costa Mesa City Council has heard them.

Following in the steps of the Los Angeles City Council, council members are considering suing Time Warner Cable for failing to answer calls in a timely manner and provide efficient service repairs and fair prices.

Time Warner Cable became Costa Mesa’s primary joint cable, Internet and phone provider in August 2006 when the company acquired the city’s customers in a national-holding trade-off with Adelphia and Comcast. Residents took the company to task when city leaders summoned a representative to a City Council meeting to answer for the barrage of complaints.

On Tuesday, the council told a Time Warner representative they were not interested in hearing her presentation.

Instead, they wanted her to respond to complaints.

“We’re at the point where we want some real solutions,” Councilman Allan Mansoor said.

Councilwoman Katrina Foley told the representative she still hears complaints from residents, even if they’re not calling Time Warner.

“Maybe people aren’t calling [you] because they’ve just given up,” she said.

Maybe? How about probably?

Time Warner — judging by anecdotes of customers — has a terrible record when it comes to customer service. In other words, if you’re a Time Warner subscriber, good luck getting a representative on the phone, let alone getting your problem solved.

In general, we think it’s best to avoid litigation, but in this case, it may be the best — and final — card the council can play.

After all, Time Warner, despite the flood of complaints, doesn’t appear to have made one move to rectify the problem.

So it’s high time the council makes its move, on behalf of Costa Mesa residents, even if it means a nasty bout in court.