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Time Warner Cable TV Service Consumer Reviews - Page 2

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The Saga Continues
By -

HIGH POINT, NORTH CAROLINA -- It shouldn't be this hard for a cable company to install cable! First of all, when I contacted Time Warner Cable to inquire about digital cable, phone, and internet installation, I asked if I would need a receiver box for every TV in my home. The service representative said all that was required was an amplifier and everything would be set. I made the appointment for installation. I was told to expect someone from 9:30am to 11:00am.

At 11:25 the day of the appointment (Wednesday), I received a call stating that the technician was running behind and would arrive between 12:00 to 12:15pm. He installed the phone and internet services, but then informed me that I needed an amplifier (I already knew this, and would've thought he would, too), but he 'didn't have one on the truck' and would return Thursday to finish the job. He acquired my phone number and said he'd call before he returned. Good customer service would dictate the technician to give priority to any job left incomplete the day before. For this reason, I expected to see him Thursday MORNING.

When it was 4:15 in the afternoon and I still had not seen or heard from the technician, I called to find out if he would arrive soon. The lady I spoke with put me on hold so she could ask him what was going on. When she came back on the line, she said that he was finishing up his last job of the day, then he'd be right over.

He arrived around 5:00pm, amplifier in hand. He went to hook up the amplifier he'd brought, but wouldn't you know it - it DID NOT WORK. He said, "This a brand-new one, right out of the box. I knew I should brought more than one with me. This happens to me all the time." I found myself thinking that if such is the case, why had he arrived unprepared, but I said nothing to the effect. Instead, when he promised he'd 'be back tomorrow', I told him that now that I knew he'd come, I wouldn't call again.

Once again, I sat at home ALL DAY Friday, waiting patiently, but when it was 6:30pm and I still had not received any calls and he wasn't there, I decided I had been patient enough. I called to find out what was going on. I was informed by customer service that the technician was finished working for the day, but the representative put me on hold to call him. When she came back on the line, she apologized and said that the technician had not turned in the work order, so they had no record that my cable installation remained incomplete, and that the equipment warehouse had already closed for the day.

I wasn't too happy about that, but I didn't want to take my frustration out on the rep, so I agreed to wait until this morning (Saturday) for installation to be done. The technician who arrived this morning was a different guy (which I must say pleased me). He installed the amplifier, gave me an instructional book for the DVR, and was on his way before I could check the other televisions to be sure everything was working as it should.

I cannot believe I have to report this, but it turns out the lady who said I only needed an amplifier was wrong! I DO need a receiver for each additional TV, and this would wind up costing me an additional $22.50 per month than I was originally set to pay!! I will be calling Time Warner Cable on Monday to see what needs to be done, but for now, consider yourselves warned.. and as for me, the saga continues.

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Time Warner Cable SoCal is FAIL
By -

FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA -- Here is a log of the events that have transpired in the past week with Time Warner Cable Company in Southern California, my neighbor, and myself. On June 21 I turned 28. I decided for a birthday gift I would purchase a TiVO Series 3 DVR with HD. I thought how I will be able to use this when we get home since I did not have the cable card for it. I know the Motorola DVR box provided by the cable company did have a multi-cast cable card, or m-card for short.

I called 888-TW-CABLE on 6/21 09:49 PM. I asked the rep if I could take the card out of the old box and put it in my TiVo HD. He said it was not a problem. I removed the card out of the old box and put it in my new box. It was only receiving channels 2-13 in SD and HD. He sent a signal to my box a couple of times and it is all working. I thanked him for his time and went on to setting up the TiVo and setting up the programs I wanted to record.

On Friday, June 27, I decided to take the old cable box to the Time Warner Cable Store located at 1565 S. Harbor Blvd in Fullerton. After waiting in line I was helped by ** to return my equipment. As he was scanning it in I informed him that this box doesn't have an m-card since I am using it in my TiVo. He gave me this blank look and told me that the equipment is damaged. I told him that is what the phone rep told me I could do and it's not damaged, the card is working fine in my TiVo.

After some back and forth he went to get his supervisor, **. I explained the situation again to her and she told me the equipment is now damaged since I am not supposed to remove the card from the box. Since the card and the box are linked to each other if one is removed it causes both to stop working. Her exact words were, "Once you remove the card from the box both the card and box self destruct." I explained to her again that the card is still working fine in my TiVo and I have been recording shows with it.

If it was not supposed to work why did the phone rep activate it? She said as of right now the equipment is considered damaged and I will have to wait until Monday while they investigate. In the meantime while I have been talking, ** took that opportunity to deactivate the card I was using in my TiVo. They informed me I need to bring back the old card and they will issue me a new card. They took the equipment away, the receipt I already signed, and wouldn't issue me a proper card until I brought the old card back. I was so upset at this whole ordeal I was shaking while I was driving home. I got the card out of my TiVo and before I went back to that Time Warner Cable Store I made a copy of all the information on the M-Card.

As I was driving back some things didn't add up. If the mere act of removing something, that itself is designed to be modular, destroys the card and the equipment it came from then why was the card still working? If I was never supposed to do this and they feel that there was some miscommunication then why did the phone rep never ask me where did I get the card from or stop me and say you can't remove the card from the old box? That one is a puzzler since ** at the Time Warner Cable Store said you can purchase these M-Cards anywhere including Circuit City. I think it would be important to make sure that the cards are set up properly.

Finally my last question to them was, well now that I brought the card back can we hook it up to see if it is damaged? Their reply was absolutely not. They have to send it back to the warehouse. I asked them again and they refused to test the equipment right then and there to see how damaged it actually is. It seems like that would be something you would want to do to prove to the customer that is actually damaged instead of you saying it was damaged without proving it to me.

Well I did get my new card and the only difference? The old card had a red label; this one had a blue label. The old card worked fine in my TiVo. The blue one only gets me channels 2-13 even after getting a signal sent to my box for activation.

So it doesn't stop here. Remember I mentioned my neighbor earlier? Well she showed up at the same Time Warner Cable Store. Apparently the technician that came out to install her m-card in her TiVo didn't feel it was important. He left before setting it up and when he took off in a hurry he left the wrong card, it was a single cast card. That is why she was there, to get the m-card. Well they refused her to give her a new card; she had to fight to get one even though it was their fault. So she gets an m-card out of them eventually and takes it home. Guess what, she is getting only channels 2-13 as well.

Here is where it gets even worse. The instructions she got with the cable card tell her to call this number to activate the card, the same TW Number everyone calls. So I call for her and speak to another rep. He doesn't understand what a cable card is. He doesn't understand that I am supposed to be calling this number to get it activated. Instead of asking someone what I am talking about he basically blows it off and says the tech will be there tomorrow.

That night I went home after dinner and called Time Warner myself and told them I received a cable card I want to use in my TiVo and I am only getting channels 2-13. She tried to convince me it was a problem with my remote control. I flat out told her that she needs to activate my m-card and I have the numbers she needs. She just humored me taking the numbers. "OK, can I get those numbers now?" Which ones do you need first? "It doesn't matter".

So I just started to read numbers off to her not really telling her what set I was reading from. She told me that it will be ready in 2-3 minutes; her supervisor just sent the signal to the box. Well I waited an hour and what a surprise still no channels. I took the m-card back to the store this morning and ** is still there, does he ever go home? I told him the card doesn't work and it's only getting channels 2-13. He said there is nothing he could do except schedule a technician to come out to configure it.

I told him my neighbor has a tech coming out for the same exact thing later that day between 1-5 and if he could stop by. He said it was up to tech. He didn't bother calling the dispatcher to find out if it is OK or check my neighbors schedule or anything. He said it is up to him and he made an appointment for Monday just in case.

It seems all Time Warner Cable SoCal wants to do is lie, deceive, and extort. I already filed a complaint with the FCC since they are not allowing me to use the m-card in my TiVo. Next I will be calling the Office of the President - Customer Care Advocate on Monday to voice my complaint. Depending what the Time Warner Cable Retail Store office says on Monday after their little investigation I may contact agencies such as BBB, FTC, and possibly a follow up with the FCC.

Resolution Update 07/11/2008:

After the local CSR and the main office rep never contacted me back I decided to pursue the matter through the Better Business Bureau. I received a call from the local area rep and we discussed my concerns about that particular store. She said she will look into the matter with the store CSR. This complaint has been resolved to my satisfaction.

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Time Warner Cable
By -

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA -- I have had Time Warner cable for my TV for 30 yrs. All has been well until I found out that analog TV is going to be a thing of the past next year, so I decided to move up to HD wide screen TV which brought on having to get a box from TW. It took 3 boxes and a few visits from their techs to get it all working right.

The 1st couple guys that came out because I called with a problem told me it must be something with my cable in the attic, like a mouse may have chewed a cable, I found that hard to believe. They did replace a few cables that they could reach and left. I continued to have a problem, so before I called them again I went to Home Depot and bought a long cable and ran it through my house and hooked it up to their outside cable before it came in my house, still had the problem which they called tiling.

I called them back to come out, they said that was a smart thing I did!! Then they finally admitted it was their problem and fixed it in a street box of theirs. I was happy it was over. Well not yet, that problem was fixed, but then I decided to add a HD TV to my bedroom. This is where I find that they are all idiots!! I had gone through 4 or 5 boxes in a about 6 weeks all of which would freeze up and I would have to reboot the boxes which takes maybe 15 minutes to do. The last box I have is the best I have had. I only have to reboot maybe 1 or 2 times a week, but past boxes would have to be rebooted everyday.

I had 1 tech from TW that told me it is a software problem they have and they are working on it. He was going into a meeting the next day and wanted to know if he could use my name. I said for sure. I got a call from someone high up in the company and when I told him the tech told me they were working on this problem this guy said not true, they have no problems with this box.

If I only could get them to admit the problem and at least tell me when they might have it fixed this would be good for me!! There has to be many people having the same problem I am and don't know where to complain, or maybe they are all going to dish. Which is my next option although it has downfalls also.

I just want what I pay for every month, which I pay a lot for! I really don't like the cable companies having a monopoly on my area. I should be able to choose my cable company. If I could find others in my area with the same problems maybe in numbers we could shakeup Time Warner into doing something toward giving us our monies worth, that's all I want!

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Worst customer service EVER
By -

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- Documented below is a log of my 2+ week saga to have Time Warner fix my phone and internet service. Over the years I have encountered both good and bad customer service, but I can honestly say that this is the worst customer service I've ever experienced. I finally decided to cancel my service after the latest interaction today and have signed up for phone and internet service from Verizon and TV through a company called NuVisions.

I did not want to switch service, but I made the decision that I could no longer give my business to Time Warner if this is how they were going to treat their customers! I would discourage anyone else from buying their services as well, and I don't think you will if you take the time to read what I went through.

Time Warner Issues: I first noticed problem with the phone service. My voice was cutting in and out intermittently. The problem was not happening that frequently and I believed the problem was related to my phone. After a period of time, and looking for a new phone, I realized that I was having the same issue on multiple phones and that it must be a service issue, not a phone issue.

Thursday, 8/17/06 - My first of what would be many calls to customer service. I called to tell them I was having a problem with my service. They took diagnostics and said that they would send it to the tech guys for analysis. They then told me I would be contacted with 48 hours with the results.

Tuesday, 8/22/06 - After never being contacted by Time Warner (despite it being over 100 hours since I last called), I called customer service again. The operator tells me I have a definite problem with my line and that they need to schedule an appt. The earliest appt. is Sat, 8/26 for between 10 and 2. I take that appt because I have no choice, even though I don't want to wait 4 days for the problem to be fixed.

Saturday, 8/26/06 - I wait around for the tech until 1:50. At this time I call Time Warner to verify the tech is still coming. The cs rep says that he is still scheduled and will arrive shortly. Around 4:00 I call back, the tech not having shown up, and am informed my appt. has been cancelled because I didn't answer my phone. The tech apparently called me at 3:50, almost 2 hours after the scheduled window. This despite the fact that I had been in my apartment waiting ALL DAY.

It also never occurred to the tech that he might not be able to call me, even though he was coming out to FIX MY PHONE! I am told by the cs rep that I must re-schedule and the next available appt. is Tuesday. I ask to speak to a supervisor and am placed on hold. 15 minutes later the phone system hangs up on me.

I call back and ask to speak to a supervisor again. I also ask the cs rep "have you had other customers complain about getting hung up on after waiting on hold for a long time." Her reply was simply "oh yes". I am put on hold again for a supervisor. About 10 minutes later I get a supervisor on the phone and she asks if she can call me back on my cell because the phone is cutting out (duh, that's why I'm calling), so I give her my phone number. As she's hanging up, she says "I'll call you right back".

Approximately 2 hours later she finally calls my cell phone and explains that her supervisor came to her desk and then she forgot about it. She first tells me Tuesday is the earliest appt and then after I explain that I do not want to wait that long she makes an appt for the next day, Sunday between 10-2.

Sunday, 8/27/06 - Tech shows up around 12:30. He takes diagnostics on the line and tells me that I have a high amount of noise on the line. He checks the signal outside my apartment and says that the problem is not in my apartment but on my whole floor. He says that they will need to come replace the equipment, but the earliest they can come out is Tuesday. I ask if someone can call me on Tuesday after it is repaired to check that my service is functioning normally, and he tells me that it is not possible and that I will have to call customer service to validate the work has been done.

Tuesday, 8/29/06 - I still experience the same problems the entire day.

Wednesday, 8/30/06 - I call customer service and they tell me the work had been completed yesterday. I tell them it has not fixed my issue and they tell me I will need to have another tech come out to fix the problem. I tell them I need an appointment asap. They try to schedule an appt for several days later (I can't remember when) and I again ask to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor makes an appt for the following day, between 8 and 12. She also tells me that they are opening a client relations case (something that happens when a customer calls a lot) and someone from that dept should call me. I NEVER receive a call from anyone in the client relations department.

Thursday, 8/31/06 - Tech shows up at 12:30, which is 30 minutes after the scheduled window. He takes diagnostics and says everything looks fine. I tell him to try my phone if he thinks everything is working fine. He tries to use my phone and there is no dial tone. I tell him that's one of the issues, and if he just unplugs the modem and plugs it back in it'll work again. He does and it works. He decides to replace the modem. After switching in the new modem, the new one does not come online.

After a few minutes he calls someone on his two way radio and the operator yells at him that the system is being upgraded and tells him to LEAVE. The tech tells me he must leave but that he is sure my problem will be fixed when the modem comes online. I tell him I am not happy that he is leaving because he has not verified my problem is fixed. I ask for his name ** and ask if he can call me later to verify that my problem is fixed and I give him a piece of paper with my name and cell phone number. He says sure, he will call me. He never calls. Meanwhile, I am now left without internet and phone service while the modem is off.

At 3:30 my internet service comes back, but not the phone. At 5:00 my phone service comes back, but I'm still having the same exact problems. At 5:30 I call customer service for help. She runs the same basic diagnostics that have been run each time I call. She asks me to reset my modem and tells me to call 611 to get the phone department directly if it's not fixed after the reset (since the reset is going to drop our phone call).

The reset did not fix the problem. At 6:00, I call 611. The cs rep tells me to unplug the internet connection from my router and plug it directly into my pc because he claims the router is causing interference with the phone. He then instructs me to reset the modem and says he will call me back in 15 minutes to verify the voice quality. This was at 6:08 p.m.

At 6:25 the cs rep calls back and hears that the problem is not fixed. He tells me I need an appt for a tech to come out. I tell him I want someone that can fix my problem since I wasn't able to get it fixed the first 3 visits. He tells me the best he can do is have a client relations person call me the next day. I ask to speak to a supervisor.

After 20 minutes on hold I get a supervisor. She tells me that I really need to have someone come out to check the wiring. She cannot make an appt at that time because she is having a problem with her computer. She confirms my cell phone number and tells me she'll call me back shortly. I ask for her name **. She calls me back after 1 minute to tell me that she can't make the appt tonight because the computer problems but that she'll call me tomorrow morning by 9:00 a.m. for an appt that day. ** never calls me.

Friday, 9/01/06 - 10:35: ** has not called to schedule an appt. I call 611 and get a cs rep. I explain that I need an appt. for today. He makes me an appt for Monday (Labor day) from 8 - 12 a.m. and tells me he will try to get an earlier appt. I ask for an advanced tech, someone that can fix my problem because the other techs could not, and he tells me this person is called a foreman at Time Warner.

He indicates it would take longer to get an appt. with a foreman and advises I take the appt. for Monday. He also says he will send the diagnostics from the phone call with him to IT to analyze because he could definitely hear my voice breaking up repeatedly. He says that IT may do some things to fix it and that I should give it 48 business hours (till end of day Wednesday since this is a holiday weekend) and let them know if it is not fixed at that time. He also tells me he will ask client relations to give me a call. The call ends at 11:02. 12:00: I call Verizon and sign up for their phone and internet service. I'm done with Time Warner.

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Advertisement
Center Ice Services preempted by MLB on Time Warner Cable
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

SYRACUSE/BUFFALO/NYC, NEW YORK -- I have been a Time Warner customer for almost one year. I have had every problem under the sun. Could not get the weather channel for the 1st 3 weeks. DVR records nothing but black or a message that says this "channel is unavailable at this time." Tuning to channels that just black out. I have also been recently charged $3.94 per month for a modem that was to be included in my package price. Apparently, this has begun a class action lawsuit against this deceitful communications company.

I also subscribe to NHL center ice. Not only do I experience the above issues with this service as well but Time Warner has found a new way to (in my opinion) rip people off. Services that are paid for in advance are not being delivered. I live in upstate NY. I am 6 hours form Buffalo, 8 or more hours from NYC, and my closest NHL team is 1.5 hours away in Ottawa Ontario, Canada.

On Tuesday March 26 2013, Buffalo Sabers at Tampa Bay Lightning. Even if this game were in Buffalo, I would not drive 6 hours to see this game live. This game was in Tampa Florida over 1300 mile away from my home. The center Ice channel said this game was "required to be blacked out in my local market area." Maybe this part is true but I don't think that's how blackouts work.

All that week the NHL center ice channels were not working in the day. There were no game replays between 3/26 and 3/30/13. Replays are part of the agreement for center ice. Also missing was the Statistics channel for NHL (also part of the deal). Time Warner could not and would not offer an explanation to this. Then it got much worse.

On Saturday March 30th, Center Ice seemed to work OK until game time. The 10:30pm (eastern) game between the Phoenix Coyotes and San Jose Sharks was not on. Instead I got the same message that the game was "required to be blacked out in my local market area." This game was in San Jose California which is about 3000+ miles from me. If this required blackout were the case I would not get any games. This game was not on the HD channel 1119 or the standard Def channel 1122. Both had this message.

I called tech support and the tech said they are getting lots of calls about this and working to remedy this. This was at 11:23 pm on 3/30/13. The next day I was looking for this games replay and could not find it. On the channel where the live game and replays were supposed to be I found the same message at 11am on 3/31/13 (required to be blacked out in my local market area). This was a replay of the previous nights game. Replay blacked out? But it gets worse.

Later that day, (Sun. 3/31/13 At 6pm) I tried to watch the Los Angeles Kings at the Dallas Stars. Again, this game is thousands of miles from my market area. I got the same message regarding my "local market area". I called tech support. While waiting on hold, I checked for this game on the SD channel 1122 and it was on their in Standard Def. Why does the HD channel say "required to be blacked out". Is time Warner lying to customers and used blackout restrictions that don't apply to games.

I spent over an hour on the line again. The tech was trying to find out why this was happening. He attributed it to the fact that Time Warner uses the same channels (1112 through 1134) for both NHL center ice and MLB baseball. The tech went on to say that I am "probably going to run in to this issue a lot now that baseball is starting, especially on the HD channels."

Prepaid Hockey preempted by MLB is not what NHL center ice customers pay for. I believe the messages about "local market area" are false statements. These blackouts or not because of FCC or NHL Rules but due to Time Warner's Unwillingness or Technical inability to assign separate channels for Mlb and NHL. Direct TV does have separate channels. Is time Warner using FCC and NHL blackout rules to mask this problem that is obviously within their system.

In my opinion this is not only blaming the FCC and/or NHL but an abuse of these blackout restrictions. It is also my opinion that this is another method time Warner uses to rip off unsuspecting Hockey consumers. All subscribers paid in advance for NHL center Ice and press releases about the agreements for this year state that it includes same day replays and that it runs from 1/19/13 to 4/27/13.

Today is April first yet I have already had NHL games (both HD and sd) have been blocked or preempted by Mlb baseballs package. This morning I turned to the NHL channels and see that there is no hockey schedule as usually but the Mlb schedule is there instead. This caused me to form the opinion that Time Warner already got the Money from Hockey fans and now the need to get MLB subscribers money at the expense of the NHL subscribers. Many have paid for this and expect hockey until 4/27.

To broadcast games on SD channels and black out the same game on HD under the guise of "Blackout restrictions" should be criminal (and it may be). After the call to tech support yesterday, I requested to be transferred to cancellations department. As I explained my concerns about this, the representative tried to use these same lies to "make me go away". When the representative realized I had researched the accurate info and would not buy his explanations, it got quiet and then the representative hung up. I called back two more times to the same department and again was hung up on both times.

I call last week regarding this issue, I was actually told (in a very snotty tone) is because of FCC rules. I believe that is false. In my research I discovered that time Warner had or has a lawsuit against them regarding Illegal modem charges. I too have had these charges even though my agreement was to include this in the monthly fee. Hopefully someone looks into this and files another class action suit against time Warner for this deceitful business practices regarding sports packages.

I have even contacted the Office of the President (on numerous occasions) where a representative there also lied to me and was extremely argumentative. I will not be going through this for the full price of the package next year. I will most likely switch to Direct TV as there are no other cable providers available due to time warrens monopoly on my area. It is obvious to me Time Warner is not interested in fixing the issues. I will be taking this up through other avenues as I have given time Warner a year and never had anything resolved.

Anyone else having these problems (and I am sure they are) can file a complaint a FCC.gov/complaints. There is also a similar complaint line for the federal trade commission. I would also encourage letters or other communique directly to the National Hockey League offices. They may be interested to know what time Warner is doing to hockey fans to accommodation Mlb. They may have issue with the way the product is being mishandled by Time Warner. ** is the attorney that was involved in the other class action lawsuit against Time Warner. I wonder if he would be interested to look in to this. For others with this issue, ** office is on Avenue of the Americas In NYC.

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Time Warner Cable caused me to have an emotional breakdown.
By -

ARLINGTON, TEXAS -- On August 02, 2011 my apartment caught on fire in which destroyed everything I owned including Time Warner Cable Equipment. Thank God I did have renters insurance. So in the month of September I finally was able to find a place to live in which I was very excited to do, because of the places I had to live because of the fire. I called Time Warner Cable to have my services transferred and to pay the balance due on my account. I relied completely on Time Warner Cable to be able to give me the balance owed on my account simply because all the bill that I had was destroyed in the fire.

The agent that took my call told me that all I owed was $50.00 dollars, so that is what I paid. We then was able to set up an appointment to have my services connected. My services was connected on September 8, 2011. After 2 whole months had passed I received a call from ** in the collection department saying that my service will be disconnected tomorrow if I fail to set up payment arrangement with her now. I explained to her that I was not aware of such a balance due and that there is no way that I could make a payment because I just paid my bill for Time Warner Cable of $303.00 two days prior.

I immediately became ill because I work from my home and I have to have internet and my phone service to do so. While we was talking she disconnected my service. I started crying uncontrollable. I couldn't breathe. She told me to calm down. I had so much pressure on me through this lady ** that I had no choice to give her dates out of my state of confusion on when I could pay this bill. She said that I had to pay the bill before the month is out.

I paid the first payment, so when the second due date came which was 2 weeks later, I called Timer Warner Cable because I couldn't meet that deadline in such short notice. I was advised that I didn't have to make a payment today but I needed to make a payment the following Wednesday to avoid disconnect. I trusted the agent again. So my time came to clock in for work and about 30 minutes toward the end of my shift Time Warner Cable disconnected my cable, internet and phone services.

After paying my the bill with borrowed money my services was reconnected all to be disconnected again by ** because I advised her after she phoned me, that I no longer needed her services and that I was going to make a formal complaint against her and everyone else who provided me with false information and downright lousy service. I then had to call Time Warner Cable again to find out why ** did this. The supervisor said that she did not understand why my service was disconnected. I kept on stressing to her that ** did it. She eventually was able to reconnect my services. I wish that I could get another provider but unfortunately they are the only company in my area.

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Worst Customer Service I Have Ever Experienced!
By -

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA -- I sit here still almost shaking from anger and frustration after my call with Time Warner Cable. I would have said after my call with "Customer Service", but that would be a ill advised term to use. On Friday May 15th, I called customer service to explain to them that I had a hard time paying my bill. I was greeted by an agent who explained to me that I could pay $110 by Tuesday May 19th and my service would be put back on. As I work online, this was very important to me so I had to call my parents and ask them for help with paying the bill.

Today Monday May 18th I paid $110.37 and I even got a confirmation number, and an explanation that the service would be turned back on within the next 10 minutes. 15 minutes later I receive a phone call from customer service, this time its a supervisor who is on the line. She explains that I have to make the full payment of $240 before they can turn the service back on. I explain to her that I was promised that $110.37 would get the service back on. She acknowledged that, and said she was "sorry for the misinformation, you must have spoken to a trainee," but I have to make the full payment to get the service back on.

I tried to explain how horrible customer service she is providing, by letting me pay $110.37, telling me everything is OK and then calling me back saying that its not enough. She kept insisting that it was a mistake and I just had to make the full payment. When I worked as a customer service agent at a major phone company, we had to go with what we told the customer. I explained to her that since customer service had promised me that $110.37 would get the service back on, they should follow through with it. She called a supervisor at the collection department and I was transferred.

I pleaded my case, explaining my financial hardship and I was still told that not only did I have to pay the full amount. Now I also had to pay a $50 credit check fee!! Outraged and displeased I told her that this is completely unacceptable! I had been promised that $110.37 was going to get my service back on, by not only one but two customer service agents (The first on Friday May 15th and the second May 18th when I made the payment). I felt duped! They tell me to pay $110.37 and when I make the payment they want more money, although that was not a part of the agreement.

I am moving out of my apartment in two weeks, and you can be 100% certain that I will switch EVERYTHING over to AT&T at my new apartment. As I said earlier, I have worked in customer service myself, although it was a phone company. I have seen it all and been through all kinds of situations, but this is the worst! To be able to speak to two supervisors, and NONE of them are able to take it upon themselves that they made a mistake and to take responsibility and go with it - Its just unacceptable! Avoid Time Warner Cable at all costs!

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Time Warner Cable, Expensive Services Offer By Complete Imbeciles
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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA -- I would like to consider myself a good Christian man however I have to admit that I have despised TWC for many years now. There is probably not a single person working at or for TWC who really truly cares about customer satisfaction or even offering any value to their customers. When I purchased my home in Dec 2007 I had to have a new cable line put underground so that my digital cable and HS internet would work correctly and they destroyed my back yard several times over the course of several weeks trying to get it right. I had fluorescent orange lines spray painted on my grass and yard for months it seems.

After they finally got the signal strength to the house corrected the cable TV worked 'OK' but my HS internet still did not work so they had to send out a contractor to install a new line to my upstairs office where my modem was. When the contractor arrived I told him the line needed to be replaced and I showed him the cable outlet on the wall which ran to the modem.

I left him to work on things for a while and when I checked back with him a few minutes later I found that he had drilled a 1/2" hole through the interior and exterior wall which was in the middle of the wall you first saw walking into the room and in the middle of the exterior face of the house. He had started to run a new black cable through the hold when I found out what the drilling noise was and yelled at him for not asking before putting a huge hole in my house.

I asked him why he did not simply fix the existing cable outlet and he said it would be too hard to run the new wire through the wall. When I showed him that there was a crawlspace which allowed easy access to the cable line in back of the wall outlet and which he could used to easily run the line very close to the wall above the junction box on the outside of the house he just stood there with a puzzled look.

I told him my house is light gray and I could not believe he was planning to run a solid black cable line from the middle of my exterior wall (visible from the road by the way) across to the corner and down the corner to the ground. It would have looked absolutely horrible. He said he would not have looked that bad and I was ready to slap him at this point.

I have to admit at this point I think my anger got the best of me and I called him an idiot. I told him to gather all his tools together and get out of my house now. He said he could come back to fix the hole and I told him I did not want him in my house ever again. I did have him silicone the hole from the outside to keep the rain from damaging my house but I demanded that TWC send a different person which a brain to fix the inside damage. As you can imagine I prompted canceled all my services with them and have not paid them a dime ever since.

If I need a reminder of why I will never do business with TWC again I need only look at the hole in the middle of my exterior wall and remember when.. there are also countless times I have had to deal with incompetent morons at TWC's customer service departments but I will spare you the details as I'm sure most of you have had the pleasure of experiencing them for yourself. I guess one could argue that TWC is helping our society by offering employment to people with an IQ only slightly higher than the range for mental retardation; then again they probably could flip burgers at McDonalds and cause less stress for the rest of us.

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The Worst Customer Service Experience I Have Ever Had from Any Company In Any Business
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HEMET, CA, ARIZONA -- These guys can not get anything right. We all have complaints about the packages the entire industry offers. In order to get the 10 or 15 channels you actually watch you have to buy 250 channels. But these guys just plain lie. My story is a long one and continues. So, get yourself a drink and settle in for my tale of woe that begins last summer.

Smoke em if you got em. I am always looking for a better deal for my home entertainment and a Time Warner representative showed up at my door offering what looked to be a good deal. All the channels I wanted for about $15 less a month. When the tech showed up (between 12:00 and 5:00) it turned out that on my second TV I would only get local channels and I would have to pay for additional basic cable. So I sent him away.

2 months ago another guy shows up. This time he assures me that I will get basic cable on my second TV and it was true. But, There was another problem. I had become aware that many cable companies do not have the skip feature on their DVR Remote control, requiring you to fast forward through commercials, rather than simply skipping over them. He assured me that I could request that equipment. I told him no skip button would be a deal breaker. "No problem." he says.

The tech showed up (between 12:00 and 5:00), no skip button. He tried to convince me that it was just as good, but I wasn't having any of it. A DVR without a skip button is a glorified VCR. I sent him away. The salesman calls me back and explains that it was just a misunderstanding and I would get the equipment I wanted. I agreed and another chapter begins. The tech shows up (between 12:00 and 5:00). This time he has the correct equipment. But, the second TV is not included and he wants to charge me for it. I told him to leave. He called his boss or someone and they told him to install it with basic for no charge.

He completes the installation and collects a check for the first month's service and leaves. It took me about 5 minutes to discover that I was only getting local channels and damn few basic channels. Soon after I got the follow-up call from someone wanting to know if I was pleased. I was not. He told me he would get hold of the tech and send him back. If you think he returned I have some stock I would dearly like to sell. Now I'm pissed.

Since I had not yet canceled my account with DISH, I decided that I would just Hook it back up and tell Time Warner to never darken my doorstep again. That is when I discovered that instead of unscrewing the cables from the back of my DISH DVR this clown cut them. Now if I want to Dump Time Warner I am probably going to be out cash for a DISH service call and without TV for more than a week. Because we all know they show up when they damn well please (between 12:00 and 5:00). It was Saturday night and I spent all day Sunday trying to get customer service to come out on Monday and fix it.

You know how that went, but they did assure me they would be here between 12:00 and 5:00 some day. Monday morning I finally got through to a customer service supervisor, who got hold of a tech supervisor. Shortly (about 2 hours) he showed up. He seemed to be a nice young man and very professional. He soon had everything squared away or so I thought. I mentioned to him that the television had a fluctuating whine or whistle sometimes very soft and almost unnoticeable. He told me that it was my television speakers and there wasn't anything he could do. I accepted this reluctantly and thanked him for coming.

As I continued to watch TV that day the whine got really loud. So, loud I couldn't hear what was being said on the programs. It was obvious it was not my speakers. I called the Tech supervisor and he said he would be here at the end of the day. At 7 PM on a Monday night he called and asked if he could reschedule for Wednesday and he would fit me in. I'm now really angry, but I thought it best not to get in swinging distance of a Time Warner employee at that moment, so I agreed.

It's now Wednesday 6:00 PM and I still haven't heard from him. I found the business card he gave me and I called him. He said that he would stop on his way home from work. I guess he felt I hadn't waited long enough. But, he showed up about an hour later with a second DVR. He installed the DVR and I informed him that I still wasn't getting all the programming I was promised. You guessed it, Liars lie. I was required to purchase another package to get History International. I told him to leave and I was not polite about it.

You might think this story ends here, But now another chapter begins, entitled "The Internet Fiasco". I play online poker. I have an account stuffed full of play money. It is play money, which is the only reason I didn't burn down the local Time Warner Office. My connection seemed to get dropped, always in the middle of a large pot that I was invested in. Turns out that their modem was junk. But, they would be happy to come out in a couple of days (between 12:00 and 5:00) and take care of it. To their credit they did.

You think this story is over. Remember that stock, it is still for sell. Last night around 11 PM a very loud crash emanated from my home entertainment system and the blue screen of death stared back at me from my TV. This made me so angry I could not sleep.

So, as I finish writing this the sun has risen on Sunday morning. There is a bright side to this episode my house will get cleaned since I won't be watching Face the Nation, Meet the Press or this week with George (however you spell his last name) Stephanopoulos. Now I have paid for a months programming in advance and have a bill for the 2nd month and I still haven't received a full continuous month of uninterrupted service.

Do you think I'm going to pay it? YEAH I AM GOING TO PAY IT! Because dish and direct will be out some day between 12:00 and 5:00 to install my new service. I am sure Time Warner Cares and will take care of the problem someday between 12:00 and 5:00. But, in the meantime I will be talking to nice people with thick accents all over the world, on Time Warner's nickel. What a great Monday it will be.

If these companies spent a fraction of the time trying to keep their present customers happy as they do trying to lure you away from their competitors, maybe they could build some brand loyalty and not need to give you those worthless movie channels as enticement to join them.

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Site Survey Delay? What Gives?
By -

WURTLAND, KENTUCKY -- TWC is unfortunately the only Internet service provider available for our area, since I live in a part of the country where the phone lines are so old, they do not support DSL yet. I'd gladly use slower DSL from my current Verizon phone company versus using ANY internet provided from a cable company. But I am forced to use the dreaded cable co. I DO NOT want cable TV since I live on a hill and pick up digital broadcast signal very well, and I am happy with the choices of 18 channels I receive from free TV. Besides, TV on demand is available free through the internet anyway!

Either way, I need internet, so have decided to bear down and call TWC, roughly around November 2008. I called a "number" found on their web site.. I guess for everything, so you have to wade through menu after menu not really sure you're going to the right place since it seems this number is really for existing customers wanting to add or change something. I later found another number for new services.

I wasn't on hold for very long when an operator answered asking where I'd like to be transferred. I said I needed new service and she transferred somewhere, and another representative answered. I then told her I was interested in having internet service installed at my home and I explained my situation, about building a new house, where 4 virgin power poles were installed, and was interested in seeing if cable could be run to my house.

She explained that she would have to put in a request for a site survey to see if internet was even available in the area and scope out the demographics. I jokingly explained that we were the only ones on the street that didn't have their service, so I said that was fine and I thought all would be well. She told me that a service representative would call me probably within the next few days, no later by the end of the week with information they found on the site survey and to schedule an install if I chose to go ahead with it.

Mind you, I called Tuesday. Friday came and no call. I called the following Monday, and the new customer service representative said there was "no log found" for the service request but that this didn't mean there was not one in the system. Funny I thought, as I think MOST companies use some sort of central database to log customer requests. I agreed to wait a few days anyway.

Days went to weeks, and on Dec 30th, 2008, I called them again to set up another service request for a site survey. This time I was given a ticket number, something that wasn't given to me before. I wrote it down on a sticky note, and put it a very safe location on my desk. I again was told that I should hear from someone in the area by the end of the week.

Friday rolls around, no calls. I wait again until Monday and call again. This time the representative says there's nothing showing up in the computer. She never once asked me for any such number, and was pretty much going to let me off the phone because she couldn't help me with this request, UNTIL I suggested that she should use this "ticket number I was given during my last conversation". Of course, no good with that either, but at least the service request was in their computer this time. She then proceeded to explain that I should give it another week due to the Holiday. I agreed, and waited a week like I was told. However, again no calls.

I called again the following Monday. Nothing but the same results. "There wasn't anything back yet in the computer" was explained to me. But the service tag number was still active.. I figure either the people around here are lazy, or they have trouble finding a house, where I gave specific directions to, and my mailbox even has directions on it since my mailbox seems to be on a main road and is easy to find. The lady was nice, and told me that she would forward this to her supervisor, and that he/she would personally contact the area's service center. Who knows what will come from that.

I hate to even wonder what Customer Service would be like IF I ever decide to become a TWC customer. My family live close by and they all have TWC, and have had decent service with the internet itself. But from my experiences, it makes me shudder with the thought of possible long hold times on the phone for services that do not work properly or shoddy workmanship from the lazy contracted third-party installers.

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