Charter misses customer service goals in Greenville

[upstate29650]

As much as I hate Charter, the blame doesn't lie soley with them. It lies within the state government which allows monopolies, and IMO, hates technology.

That's right. Blame state & local governments for doing the whole "franchise" thing with cable.

Only once monopoly cable & phone companies have serious competition brought against them will things (hopefully) begin to change.

[wellen]

Opening mail tonight, I get a collection notice for a Charter account for $54.72. Since I haven't had cable service in over a year, this made me very curious. The collection agency, of course, was not open for business at this hour, so I called Charter. They verified that my account was closed and had a zero balance.

So that there weren't any misunderstandings, I had her check the Account number that was on the notice. Sure enough, they say that I owed that amount from an account that was closed out in March, 1998. 8 years ago.

Its not like I disappeared from their radar when I moved from that residence, I opened another account 10 miles away, and have had an account with them until December 2004 when I got DirecTV. Not once was I billed for this amount. Never, in 8 years, did I get a bill from Charter concerning this account.

So now I get a letter from a collection agency threatening to notify the credit bureaus if I don't pay it.

[silverseale]

Well, actually ... VERY RARELY (for me at least) ...and when it has gone out for me, it's usually due to construction cutting lines. The Charter guys up here in T.R. are on the ball.

I almost never have any problems with Charter, either (I'm in North Main area downtown)... except when it's time to pay for my "Biggest Value" cable/internet package every month. I'm dropping channels down to Expanded Basic next month, but I'm still not saving that much. Can't wait for a la carte, which seems to be almost inevitable now.

(6MB with Bellsouth DSL? I should look at DSL again... it's been several years since I have.)

[goodbye]

"A la carte" is coming regardless of the cable companies' complaints. Quite simply, people don't want to pay a flat rate for channels they never watch - ever.

[wellen]

What kills me about this is I have no way to prove whether or not I actually owe this money. Should I just take their word for it? How can I trust their record keeping when they couldn't just send me a bill? I seem to have absolutely no recourse. Anybody know who I could talk to with the county? Is there any kind of statute of limitations on something like this?

[jarvismj]

It really is sad that Charter went on my credit, because I "never returned" 3 of digital receivers. What I really loved was the fact that I basic expanded service, and one TV. I gave up having a pissing contest with them, and just disputed the credit report. It has since gone away.

[janrey]

What kills me about this is I have no way to prove whether or not I actually owe this money. Should I just take their word for it? How can I trust their record keeping when they couldn't just send me a bill? I seem to have absolutely no recourse. Anybody know who I could talk to with the county? Is there any kind of statute of limitations on something like this?

Contact the BBB. I had issues with these people when they claimed they never received my check. After several weeks going back and forth faxing numerous times proof of payment (i.e. canceled check) they still wouldn't credit my account. I wrote the BBB an email detailing my problem, less than a week later I had someone on the phone from Charter and finally my account was cleared. They are idiots in billing as far as I'm concerned.

[Upst8SC]

I would never open an account w/ Charter, I just don't trust them. I had them twice before and both times could NOT make them understand I had canceled their service!

[PalmettoChick]

I'm having my own issues with Charter now..

Earlier this year, we signed up for the digital phone/DVR/cable 'net package. We were told that the first month of the phone would be free, the DVR would be free for a certain period of time, and the 'net would be installed free of charge.

Fast forward to February, where we receive a bill for $210. The credit for the phone, which should've been $39.99, didn't show up. I called to complain, only to be told that I shouldn't have been offered the 'holiday special' and they're not going to fix it. But, they said.. because they think I'm a nice person, and I'm not lying or cheating or scamming Charter out of forty bucks, they offered to give me a good faith credit of $23.20. "Subtract the good faith credit from what you should pay, okay? We'll take care of it."

Fast forward to last Friday; in the mail, I get this notice of service disconnection due to a past due amount of $23.20. I call Charter's customer service only to be told that there's nothing they can do. The credit shows up on the computers, but I might have to pay it anyway.

I don't think so.

Today they called and said they'd cut off service if I didn't pay. It's not like I'm hard up for the cash and can't afford it.. it's the principle of the matter. You offer a deal, you renege on the deal, you offer a credit, you bill me for the credit.. why should I have to pay you $23.20 so you can give me $23.20?

Augh. I'm sorely tempted to go crawling back to Bellsouth.

[jarvismj]

As much as I keep saying, I've got DSL with Bellsouth, and unlimited long distance. I had DirecTV but because of the restrictions on where I live (no dishes of any kind) I just declined to even keep a TV. I did call Charter, and they were going to offer me the basic expanded service for only $52 a month. I was paying $55 for DTV with TiVo, and one other receiver, with 130 channels. They were also going to charge me $175 to install the service at my apartment, because I don't have any cable outlets in here (some of you know where I live, yeah, the $175 would be a bargain) I just don't feel the need to pay that much for crappy TV and slow internet.

[NYTransplant]

I'm having my own issues with Charter now..

Earlier this year, we signed up for the digital phone/DVR/cable 'net package. We were told that the first month of the phone would be free, the DVR would be free for a certain period of time, and the 'net would be installed free of charge.

Fast forward to February, where we receive a bill for $210. The credit for the phone, which should've been $39.99, didn't show up. I called to complain, only to be told that I shouldn't have been offered the 'holiday special' and they're not going to fix it. But, they said.. because they think I'm a nice person, and I'm not lying or cheating or scamming Charter out of forty bucks, they offered to give me a good faith credit of $23.20. "Subtract the good faith credit from what you should pay, okay? We'll take care of it."

Fast forward to last Friday; in the mail, I get this notice of service disconnection due to a past due amount of $23.20. I call Charter's customer service only to be told that there's nothing they can do. The credit shows up on the computers, but I might have to pay it anyway.

I don't think so.

Today they called and said they'd cut off service if I didn't pay. It's not like I'm hard up for the cash and can't afford it.. it's the principle of the matter. You offer a deal, you renege on the deal, you offer a credit, you bill me for the credit.. why should I have to pay you $23.20 so you can give me $23.20?

Augh. I'm sorely tempted to go crawling back to Bellsouth.

You have my sympathy PalmettoChick

[Eastside]

yeah...they're one sad company. My cable was out for almost two weeks a year ago, because one of their own men cut the line. Tried to get my cable pro-rated for that month. Nothing but red tape and rude treatment by them. Out with Charter, in with Time Warner!

Whoa, trust me you do NOT want Time Warner. I have Time Warner here in Columbia and they are nothing short of horrible!! Overpriced, small channel lineup, the service goes out if a chipmunk breaks wind and their customer service is nothing short of abysmal. I have had repeated outages. When I can get through to a living human being they are rude and incompetent. I have had them repeatedly set appointments to come out and fix one of their many outages and then not bother to show up for the appointment after I have taken a half day off from work to be there for the 8 - 12 "appointment". Then when I call to ask where the repair crew is, they tell me that I have to set an another appointment and take another half day off to meet the repair guys. Unbelievable!

As far as Charter is concerned, I had them when I lived in Atlanta and never had any problems with them. But it sounds like they have been disappointing in Greenville. I am hoping to move back to Greenville (if I can find a good job up there) and had planned to sign on with Charter because I wanted to drop my home phone and just use a cell and cable. But it sounds like I'll have to stick with BellSouth and get DirecTV when I move up there. My friend has DTV and loves it. He's even had them come out and fix a dish his daughter broke on a Sunday! Now that's what I call service!

[RestedTraveler]

Is Time Warner still called "Time Warner?" They've all become "Brighthouse" in and around Orlando. I had Time Warner when I lived in O-Town, too. The service was over-priced (for what was offered) and was absolutely lousy - the cable was always going off...sometimes for hours at a time, and their customer service was practically non-existant, so calling in to demand a credit for lost service was not fun at all.

Another neighborhood in which I lived in Winter Park had Adelphia, and it wasn't so bad. Never had any problems or had to phone in, so I have to say it was at least adequate.

I've not had any problems really out of charter; however, recently (within the past 10 days), I'm finding that I have to reset my modem and router at least once per day. If this keeps up, I'll be calling them for sure, and I don't suspect I'll have any problems with customer service based on my past experiences.

[wellen]

I asked Greenville Cares who I would send complaints to about Charter and got the following response:

If you live in the city limits we can send a complaint to our contact with Charter. If your address is in the county your contact would be in the county attorney's office. The number there is 467-7110. If you are unsure don't hesitate to call us at 232-2273 and we will look up your address to confirm who you should contact.

Thank You

Greenville Cares

City Hall

206 South Main Street - 1st Floor

PO Box 2207

Greenville, SC 29602

Phone - (864) 232-CARE (232-2273)

Fax - (864) 467-5757

You can bet that I am placing a call today. I don't expect to get anywhere with my own issues with Charter, but the article at the beginning of this thread says that the county does not get many complaints about charter. I want to change that. I think it would be fantastic if Charter was replaced with anyone.

[Eastside]

Is Time Warner still called "Time Warner?" They've all become "Brighthouse" in and around Orlando.

Yes, they are still called Time Warner here. However, in most cases their name is preceded by several adjectives that I cannot repeat in a family forum. I do find it funny that they have renamed themselves Brighthouse in some areas. From the dealings I've had with them there is nothing "bright" about them.