Charter Communications Consumer Reviews - Page 5

First let me say, that I am so glad to have found a site where I can complain. I have looked everywhere on the internet for an email address for charter, but cannot find one. OK,,,, Let me start back at the beginning. My family moved into a new home, 3 miles from our old residence where we had Charter service. We had the bundle plan (phone, internet, cable). My first request for Charter was to simply transfer my account and plan to our new home.

The only thing that Charter has been able to accomplish is to turn off all services at our old house. For the past 10 weeks I have been trying to get service at our new house. Charter is the only internet service that we have in our area, so I have no other choices. I have talked to over 15 'representatives' from Charter, I have 6 installers out to my house and still......NO Service!

I have been told that we are serviceable, that the hook up pole is less than 400 feet from our house. I have been told that our house is not serviceable because our house is more than 400 feet from our house. I have been told that the cable can be buried to reach the pole and have a good connection and that the contractor would come bury it, and 4 times, no contractor came out. I've been told everything possible excuse that can be offered. But still no service. So why can't a house that is 400 feet (?) away from a service accessible connection cannot receive service??

Charter does not know their heads from their butts. No one can ever give a straight answer, cause no one knows what to say if it isn't written on an index card in front of them. No one is willing to find out, or to actually use their brain and do some real thinking to find out true solutions. I want to contact someone in the company who can help me, but even that is impossible. I checked all of your possible email address's for Charter, but none of them get me to someone who can help. Thank you for the opportunity to vent and maybe get some advice.

CONNECTICUT -- I have to say that I save a lot of money each month when I chose to bundle my Charter services: internet/cable/voice over IP. The savings was substantial. The phone service was better than I expected - very little echoing. The internet is quick and rarely down. I have not experienced the problems that others have experienced on this site. If I did, I'd already be gone. I know it can be a nightmare if the services don't work properly - it's not going to matter how much you save if you can't log in.

My biggest complaint is the customer service if you are unlucky enough to call into one of their call centers who is not stateside. I just had an horrendous experience of dealing with someone in India who was trained ONE WAY. It's as if they are reading out of a manual and just parrot back what they are reading. They have very little technical experience, therefore cannot really troubleshoot.

This one representative left me on hold because I asked him to transfer me to another representative who was trained properly who could help me. I've been through this before and know when to speak to a "second level." Usually, that's about a minute and a half into the conversation. He left me on hold then called back on my home phone and called me an "idiot" - then hung up. When I called Charter to make a complaint - they apologized - they were stateside - and they were able to fix the problem immediately.

Now, I'm getting up on my saltbox. When are US companies going to 'get it' that offshoring is not the answer Along with the service of goods provided, customer service is an integral part of keeping the customer happy and maintaining a sustainable business. I get the impression that these off-shored contractors feel very entitled yet they are unprofessional, know nothing nor do they care about someone in the US who can't get online.

The unemployment rate in my area is 6.5% and climbing. Do US companies really feel that by compromising good technical support (that will improve their bottom line) for the almighty dollar is the way to go? I agree with posters here that say keep these positions in the US where they belong. Or, if they are going to offshore, make sure that the call centers are staffed with people who can speak English well and have good technical expertise - if not - then PLEASE bring these positions back to the US!!!

JACKSONVILLE, OREGON -- I have been a charter customer for a few years. I lived in one place and then bought a house and moved. When I moved, I notified Charter of the move and they told me that it was no sweat. They would transfer services, billing, etc to my new address.

I pay my bills online, on time and I paid from February through September and it has consistently been credited to my old address. And I have been cut off of my internet and cable TV three or four times while I try to get the customer service, managers of customer service, the billing department, the resolution department and anyone else they transfer me to. I have faxed proof of payments. And it was not discovered that the bills were being credited to my old account until July 2008. I was assured that the payments would be credited from now on to my correct account.

April - paid twice for services - did not receive a repayment from old account as promised. May - paid twice for services - did not receive a payment from old account as promised. June and July - paid twice for services, did not receive promised repayment for paying twice. August - credited to old account. Had to pay for services two times with the promise of repayment for what was credited to my old account.

Reported Charter for fraudulent billing practices to the Attorney General of Oregon. September - credited to old account. Had to pay for services two times with the promise of repayment for what was credited to my old account. October - credited to old account. Repayments sent to old address therefore, I have not received any repayment from Charter. October - arranging for another mode of television services and internet services.

BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA -- I just moved back to Boone, NC to finish my degree. I am exactly 1 week free of cancer, as I had major surgery last week in Charlotte. I also am a single mother. I was sure that one of the ONLY things I would never have to worry about during my transition to a new home would be Cable! I was very wrong!

First, I contacted Charter and created an account for service. After they were extremely rude, I decided to cancel the service before they ever even came to my home to set up. I chose to go with another service instead, which I have actually never dealt with before. By the way, they have been very patient while trying to resolve the issue at hand.

There is a box outside of my complex that has a lock on it. The cables INSIDE the box belong to the Homeowners Association. Charter has REFUSED to come out and unlock the box, claiming that it is their property and they will NOT come out to unlock the box due to a "competition issue." This has been a series of phone calls for 4 hours!!! Upon speaking to the owner my roommate learned that if they do not come out and unlock the box the only other option is to cut it off. This is RIDICULOUS!!! I never would have thought that I would even need to be dealing with an issue such as this. PLEASE beware.

Charter Communications... trying to have a Monopoly in Boone? I think so. It's not fair and it isn't right. I highly advise anyone reading this to think about whether you want service from a company such as this or whether it's really more worth it to refuse their unspoken claim to be the only option in this wonderful town!

GEORGIA -- I have had Charter for years. The product is OK, I have phone, internet and cable, but their customer service sucks!!! Over the last 14 months I have not been billed the same amount ever in 2 consecutive months. I am not talking about changing taxes and all the BS at the end of the bill which can alter a few bucks from month to month. I am talking about the base rates for the items I buy.

I call every month to correct, get promises of closure, send them the correct amount (not the billed amount) and wait for the other shoe to drop. I keep records of who I talk to, what was said and promised, and what happens (usually nothing). I finally found the CEO's info and sent him an itemized list with the above info. He had "Andre" call me to fix it. Andre promised me a new set amount for 12 months. First bill after Andre called was too low, by about $40. What am I stupid? I paid that and again sat back waiting for the other shoe (next bill) to fall.

The next bill was close but about $8 more than we talked about. Maybe those add-ons and taxes??? So I had been waiting to add HD for my new TV, afraid to stir the pot. The most recent bills weren't right but they were close and I was anxious to use my new TV to its fullest. I call to set up HD. The subcontractor arrives to install the new box and has in his hand a contract to have a credit card number held hostage for the new more expensive box. If that were all I probably would have consented although I was pretty pissed that no one had mentioned this when setting up the appointment.

But on reading the contract it also gave the right to tap into that card for unpaid billing. UH UH!!! NO WAY!!! Their billing sucks, I am not giving them a way to take whatever they want, so I send the guy packing and am pissed. The supervisor at customer service says "we won't do that though, it's only for the HD box" but I say "It's a contract, doesn't matter what your policy is, what matters is what's on that paper I sign!!" I can't believe I have put up with this crap this long. DirecTV here I come. Isn't the PSC or FCC or someone ever going to hold these guys responsible, or get us some competition??

PEPPERELL, MASSACHUSETTS -- Recipe for how to treat a customer badly: Have an internet address that ends in .net (Charter.net). This will help to make sure that they don't need to deal with the complaining public. Get the Customer Support Agent to try to sell the "Bundle" package (like they don't send me enough junk email already). Use up (actually waste) as much telephone time as possible - with the hope that the customer will never call back. There are no shortcuts to get to a real person... you have to go through this 5-8 minute process each time that you call.

Painful step 1: Dial the Charter number (888-433-2427) and get prompted to press 1 for English, then wait for a long list of options. I pressed "3" for something that I was guessing was Customer Service... I was lucky, I guessed right. Painful step 2: Listen to some long automated survey that reviews what kind of problem that you might have, then choose another option. Painful step 3: Listen to a long automated (and really stupid) list of suggestions that try to fix your problem without talking to somebody.

Painful step 4: If none of the unlikely automated suggestion are valid, then you are prompted to say "Agent", and then you wait, and wait, and wait, and wait (maybe a 1/2 hour or possibly get disconnected). When I called back, the Agent said, "I'm sorry, but sometimes that happens." Once you do get an Agent, many of the questions are repetitive, irrelevant, and demeaning. I called on a Monday, and the Agent said that I should have a technician by this coming weekend. But, I might get someone to come out sooner. Isn't this comforting?

And finally, the Agent informs you that you need to listen to a message or your Service Call will be cancelled. The Agent will transfer you to an automated message that last about 4-5 minutes and repeats many of the things was already said: like, somebody needs to be home for the appointment, don't let your pets near the technician, call if you want to change your appointment, etc. Just generally wasting time. OVERALL - ABOUT A 40-MINUTE PAINFUL EXPERIENCE.

BUNKIE, LOUISIANA -- I've been dealing with customer service people for over 18 years and I can honestly say Charter Communications is the worst Company I've ever dealt with. To make a long story short (I'll try to anyway), here goes... I've had cable with them since 10/07, and to sum it up, I've experienced over 6 missed appointments, over 35 hours of airtime used on my cell trying to reason with these people, been hung up or "accidentally" disconnected over 13 times, overcharged on several bills, one CSR actually had the nerve to tell me "You need to learn how to read your bill and stop calling us for foolishness."

This is no way for anyone who spends their money for ANY service to be treated. They say anything to get you off the phone and out of their hair. And just last week, they cut my service off AFTER I paid them their money. When I talked to a CSR, she told me my service would be fully restored, but since my service was disconnected, they no longer have satellite service in my area. It was off for only 4 days!! What a load of crap! Now all I have is "extended" basic cable. If I wanted basic cable, I wouldn't have had Satellite service in the first place! And half the time, the damn thing doesn't work.

They made me wait two months for service I ordered in October, then when I received, they sent me used equipment I wouldn't send to my worst enemy. This company doesn't know anything about respecting the customer/consumer. They treat us like crap and then on top of that want to charge us for it??!! Anyone thinking about dealing with Charter, I strongly suggest you stay away from these lowlifes and get a dish instead! Take it from one of the MANY displeased customers.

LAKEVILLE, MINNESOTA -- Charter is bad news! If they were not the only company in the area, I would not use them! Don't waste your time! You will never get the service or answers you deserve! My Moxi box has not been working for a week now. When I attempted to do a live chat with a customer service rep on Sunday, they said they were sending a signal to my box and it would be up and running within 15 to 30 minutes. Well that wasn't the case. So I called Monday morning and they said they would do something else of course via their remote location, and I was told it would be working when I got home. Well guess what, once again they were WRONG.

So I called again and we scheduled a time for them to come out to the house to look at the box. Well it was Monday and the soonest they could make it out was Friday. Now, their office is less than a half mile from where I live. However I learned a couple months ago, do not go into their office. They help you receive there is worse than anywhere I have ever been! So I took half of Friday off because they said they would be out to the house between 1 -“ 5 pm. Nice window of time! So I sat at home waiting and waiting and waiting. Guess what, no one showed!

So I called in a little after 5pm, because it is Friday night and I do not want to sit around my house all night waiting, and guess what I got for an answer. They told me they called to let me know they were on their way and I didn't answer. They said they called twice and when there was no response they cancelled the appointment. OK, here's the kicker: they called my work phone! Of course no one would answer you numb nuts, you called my work phone and I am supposed to be at home, which I was, waiting for you. So tell me who thought up this brilliant idea?

So the appointment has to be rescheduled, and we will see what number they call next time! Ugh, they are terrible! Not to mention they only bill you every couple months, so you better pay close attention paying your bill because before you know it you could be months behind. Don't waste your time going into your local office because they can't help you and don't waste your time calling customer service because they are not any better. I guess your best bet is to find a different service provider because you will never be happy with their service, which is way overpriced!

RENO, NEVADA -- I called Charter on 4/14/07 to transfer my service on 5/3/07 to another home. After 6 hrs on the phone and getting the resident that lived there to call and put in a shut-off notice, they finally agreed to put in a work order to transfer my service. On 5/3/07 the tech came out and could not hook up the phone, they said I needed another modem and to call customer SVS which I did another 4 hrs on the phone (cell phones cost minutes), I finally got the phone on with some manipulating of the system.

Then on 5/9/07 I found out that the phone no longer worked, called C/S again another 4 hrs as was told that a disconnect was put in on 5/2/07 (that was to transfer my SVS). I was told that the next morning I would get a call from corporate - never happened. I called corporate, they connected me to some phone Liaison Kevin. He said he would look into it and call me back - still no call. My husband works with a guy that's wife works for Reno Corporate, she called me and said that my number is still in possession of Charter and she would have the whole problem solved the next day.

This is now 5/10/07, 3 hrs on the phone, the next day 5/11/07 I called her back at a local number and she called me back and said that Monday 5/14/07 she would have an emergency work order put in and my phone should be on no later than 5/14/07, well that day came and went, called corporate again - transferred me to phone Liaison Kevin gave him her number he promised to call me back.

Called AT&T lost phone number but at this rate if I call everyone and give them my new number I will only spend about 2 hrs got new phone number phone will be working today. DO NOT GET CHARTER SVS. I WILL SAVE MORE MONEY GETTING EVERYTHING THROUGH AT&T - even the tech at charter said that he would never get any charter SVS.