This report details how Charter Communications ripped us off. My roomate and I decided to get internet and basic cable, (Approx. 25 channels) for $40/month, taxes extra, (promotional price for 12 months, of course.). We paid $110 the day it was installed, (initial installation fee, and pre-pay). When we got our first bill it was wrong, so we called for them to rectify. Their rectification was to give us HBO and Cinemax free for 12 months, and they corrected the billing error, (supposedly). To get the HBO and Cinemax we needed digital converter boxes for our tvs. We were told there would be no charge for the boxes whatsoever because this was a mistake on their part. So we pick up 3 boxes and get our HBO and Cinemax. Next bill we find were being charged $5 per box for rental fees. Add an extra $15/month! (By the way, the HBO/Cinemax combo is only an extra $5/month, so you do the math.)
Our OnDemand doesnt work! We figure we're willing to pay the extra 15 bucks since we like OnDemand... Takes almost a month and a half and 2 tech visits to get the OnDemand working. For our inconveinence we were credited a measly $5 to our account! Are you kidding!? My roomie decided he liked pain so he gets expanded cable, (adds approx 100 channels to our lineup). Price is now at $90/month. Price has doubled, with extreme frustration on our part, with little gained in actual usable discount or service. Promotional prices we originally agreed to seems to have gotton lost in translation. Now roommate is moving out and he needs to cancel as the account is in his name and we can no longer afford the outragous monthly fees. I wish to keep some of the service, thus we wanted to transfer the account to my name as we already have the equipment, and all desireable services currently in place. So I want to keep the (free!) HBO and Cinemax, 1 box for the OnDemand and HBO/CINEMAX, and the Internet, with no cable at all. So they tell me that I can't keep the HBO and Cinemax unless I keep the Expanded Cable active at a cost of $70/month! What!!! We already had this in place, then my roomate got the expanded cable and now suddenly I cant have the compesentory promotion?! The other option I'm told is available is to cancel the roomate's account (we joint payed on the bill, by the way), and start a new account in my name. I'm told I'd have to repay the initial installation fee of $130 (went up from $110), BECAUSE I'M A NEW CUSTOMER!!! OMG I don't know what else to say... So I can't reduce the service on this account to the original $40/month without paying the installation fee AGAIN!!! When I inquired what exactly they'd have to install... Since everthing's ALREADY installed, I get the run around.
Seems they need to install a corprate phallus somewhere in my network but I'm not very becoming. I heard they're filing for bankruptcy, maybe they'll get a corporate bail-out, that would just make my day... Oooooh...
P.S. I was also very frustrated with their practice of billing you a month in advance since we never agreed to have the service through next month, and it made it impossible to tell what we owe right this second! Seems like a waste of paper, or even brain power spent on billing theory... What a crap company.
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