[X]
Write ReviewJump to 
10
Helpful
Votes
Votes
Charter Communications Complaint - Slow internet speeds - Internet
Complaint
FORT WORTH, TEXAS -- I have had charter for many years for my TV and Internet service. Until recently I would have the occasional problem but it was normally remedied in a few hours or at most a day. Overall, I was happy with them.
But the last couple of weeks my internet service has been slow to non-existent. This may be a coincidence but the problems seem to have started when they rolled out the free speed upgrade to everyone. I put in a call to charter on Friday 3/19/2010, described my problem, did the usual modem power off, wait 30 seconds, take the wireless router out of the equation etc.
In the end I agreed to a tech appt. between 10-12 on Sunday, 3/21/2010. On Saturday we get an automated call that our appointment was for 8-10 Sunday. Ok, mistake 1. But the guy comes the next morning and replaces a cable. At first it seemed better although I was not getting what I am paying for which is the 8mb, upgraded from 5mb. After the tech left I did some speed tests and it averaged less than. 5 mb. But from research I have done this is typical, things seem to work better after powering off and on, but soon returns to the previous behavior.
I talked to about 5 different people yesterday.
The tech said I could need to upgrade to a faster speed.
-Umm, I am not getting what I am paying for now, you want me to pay more?
One person told me to take all my PCs in for a diagnostics?
-So it is more likely that every PC in my house is the problem rather than yours?
The next person scheduled another appt for Tuesday. I argued that the tech should come back, but she said they had no more appointments for that day. I asked for a supervisor.
The supervisor just wanted to argue that it was my equipment's fault but did eventually transfer me to someone who seemed helpful, but as soon as they had me power off the modem and it would not go ready again she was unable to help. She noted there was an outage in my area and I would need to call back.
The final person who seemed really helpful said the outage was not in my area and agreed that tech should come back and would get the tech to do a rollback and would check with me in 30 minutes to be sure I had been contacted and also would check with me throughout the day....and then...wait for it...nothing after that.
The kicker....they have already applied a $35 service charge, plus taxes and fees to my next statement.
Conclusion, widely varying degrees of knowledge about their jobs. Shifting the blame to the consumer and making promises they don't keep seems to be the standard operating procedure.
But the last couple of weeks my internet service has been slow to non-existent. This may be a coincidence but the problems seem to have started when they rolled out the free speed upgrade to everyone. I put in a call to charter on Friday 3/19/2010, described my problem, did the usual modem power off, wait 30 seconds, take the wireless router out of the equation etc.
In the end I agreed to a tech appt. between 10-12 on Sunday, 3/21/2010. On Saturday we get an automated call that our appointment was for 8-10 Sunday. Ok, mistake 1. But the guy comes the next morning and replaces a cable. At first it seemed better although I was not getting what I am paying for which is the 8mb, upgraded from 5mb. After the tech left I did some speed tests and it averaged less than. 5 mb. But from research I have done this is typical, things seem to work better after powering off and on, but soon returns to the previous behavior.
I talked to about 5 different people yesterday.
The tech said I could need to upgrade to a faster speed.
-Umm, I am not getting what I am paying for now, you want me to pay more?
One person told me to take all my PCs in for a diagnostics?
-So it is more likely that every PC in my house is the problem rather than yours?
The next person scheduled another appt for Tuesday. I argued that the tech should come back, but she said they had no more appointments for that day. I asked for a supervisor.
The supervisor just wanted to argue that it was my equipment's fault but did eventually transfer me to someone who seemed helpful, but as soon as they had me power off the modem and it would not go ready again she was unable to help. She noted there was an outage in my area and I would need to call back.
The final person who seemed really helpful said the outage was not in my area and agreed that tech should come back and would get the tech to do a rollback and would check with me in 30 minutes to be sure I had been contacted and also would check with me throughout the day....and then...wait for it...nothing after that.
The kicker....they have already applied a $35 service charge, plus taxes and fees to my next statement.
Conclusion, widely varying degrees of knowledge about their jobs. Shifting the blame to the consumer and making promises they don't keep seems to be the standard operating procedure.
Comments:
Posted by steve_o_tx on 2010-03-29:
Update: I had another service call scheduled for the following Tuesday. This was cancelled due to an area outage, but I was never informed. Based on my recent experience Charter deserves all the negative comments they get.
Have switched to another provider. They wanted to change my mind, but too little too late.
Have switched to another provider. They wanted to change my mind, but too little too late.
Note: All comments are reviewed by a moderator before being published. Please be sure to read our guidelines before commenting.
Company Reps: Post your company response!
Recently Discussed:
- Having to Show Photo ID Just to Pay Cable Bill. - Paying Cable Bill
- Bait and Switch - Internet & Cable
- Charter bundle price gouge! - adding a phone to internet,and cable,2 year price guarantee
- Less Service for More Money. Stop Cable Blackmail!!! - Internet
- Charter Is Horrible - Customer Service and Pricing