Forced to choose between Charter Cable and Direct TV satellite, i stupidly chose cable. What a mistake.
I signed up for services online using a web chat after trying 5 times via phone only to be disconnected each time. (that should have been my first clue...) i ordered an HD DVR and wireless high speed internet for 2 laptops and 1 PC. The rep confirmed my choices with me, scheduled the install for the date i requested and provided me with a dollar amount i would need to pay at the time of installation. Since this was all done via web chat, i copied and pasted the log to a word document and saved it in case there were any problems.
Install day came and the tech (sub-contractor) arrived early. Fine by me - 1 point for Charter! Unfortunately, he arrived with a regular digital cable box. No HD, no DVR. He claimed it wasn't on the order and he didn't have one in his truck. I was miffed but luckily the local office was still open so he said i could just drive down there and swap the box. "just take the box, leave all the wires." he even gave me an HDMI cable in case they didn't give me one at the office.
Got to the office right before they closed. Miserable woman behind the counter scolded us for not bringing the power cord. I explained the tech said to leave it and she got all snotty. Said we'd have to drop it off. (like i have time to run all over town... I'm moving in a new place for pete's sake.) we inquired why the work order didn't have the correct equipment and asked if we could be compensated for our time and trouble. She refused and pretty much brushed us off. (come to find out she gave us a whopping $5 credit.) for whatever reason she also gave us (another) HDMI cable and one came in the box so we scored. I'm thinking about giving the extras as Christmas gifts this year...
About a week after installation, a Charter tech arrived unannounced claiming he needed to check what the subcontractor had installed to "make sure he did it right". I found this odd but let him in to check the wires. When he got to the upstairs TV where the modem was hooked to, he nearly flipped his lid. Apparently we had purchased the wrong kind of spliter and he insisted on replacing it right then and there for an identical piece. I refused because i work from home and was in the middle of something where i couldn't lose the internet connection. He reluctantly agreed but made me promise to replace it ASAP. Said if i didn't, they would receive service reports and automatically send a tech out to repair the connection.
About a week later (during the first few nights of the Olympics!) a few HD channels started freezing up. The picture would get all blotchy and the sound would cut in and out. I called tech support and was told they'd send a signal to the box and it should be ok. It worked so i figured all was fine. 3 days later it was happening again. Another signal to the box, but this time it didn't fix the problem. Unfortunately for me, i was calling on a Saturday and they couldn't get someone to check things out until Monday. (after they warned me numerous times i'd be charged $35 if there was nothing wrong with the box.) i refused the service and marched back to the local office to swap out the box.
A very nice rep named Nicole was quite patient as i ranted on and on to her. She asked if my channels were doing the same thing as on their TV... She tuned to one of the problem channels and sure enough, same problem! Turns out it was a problem with the network feed, not the box. Huh. Wonder what would have been so hard to just tell me that when i was talking to tech support??? Nicole sent me on my way with a smile and hope the problem would rectify itself.
During all this, over the phone i had requested a credit on my account for all the trouble i was having. Eric agreed to put a $20 credit but made me wait on the line with him while he did that. I asked if that was necessary because on top of all the problems, now they were eating away at my cell minutes. He agreed to complete the transaction after we disconnected.
Rec'd a bill on Sat 8/23 (dated 8/16 so it took an entire week to arrive in my mailbox). Then on Tues 8/26 i received a notice that my account was past due and i better pay or face disconnection. I made a call to the 800 number and spoke to a rep in billing. I was not satisfied with her scripted answer so i asked to speak with a supervisor. Conveniently, one was not available at 2pm EST on a Tuesday afternoon. I requested a call back and stated the bill would not be paid until i spoke with a supervisor.
I did not receive a call back but i did get 2 more threatening disconnect notices in the mail today (Tues 9/2). One notice claimed my balance was 40 days overdue. Funny how the service was only installed 37 days ago...
I called again the 800 number again and finally spoke with Mary, a supervisor. She had an accent and was clearly not stateside. I asked if she saw a note on my account that i had requested (and not received) a call back from a manager. Of course, there was no such note. I explained all my issues with the billing and service and asked where my $25 in credits were. She said the $20 credit promised by Eric had not been completed because the call had been disconnected. At this point, i nearly lost it. After much back and forth and after asking what should stop me from canceling my service and signing up with a more reliable provider, she "warned" me to calm down or she would need to disconnect the call.
I took a deep breath and confirmed that she would complete the $20 credit, that i could pay my balance due of $137 and my next payment of $121 would be due Oct 26. We shall see.
I'm considering canceling and switching to DirectTV but may be moving again in a few months so i'm not sure if it's worth even more hassle. I can tell you for sure i will NEVER use Charter again and i will discourage everyone i know from using them. They are absolutely terrible and should be put out of business.
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