Charter Communications ripoff waste of time the business that doesnt give a dam Cleveland Tennessee
My cable Internet, and TV, installation experience with Charter.
Good morning, or afternoon. This is in reference to the quality of service, or lack of same, which I have received from Charter Communications.
On October 2nd or 3rd I went to the Cleveland,TN office to have cable Internet service established on Harrrison Pike. I was told that it would be installed on October 7th, 2002 at 1:30pm. To make sure that "I" was there at that time.
On October 7th around 4:00pm I called to find out if they were going to show up or not. About 4:30pm I called called again to find out when the installers quit for the day, and was told they would show up to install it sometime that day.
At 6:00pm, (4 and 1/2 hours late), the installer R.D.Davis showed up with a cable TV box and remote control. He promply hooked it up, gave me the remote, took my check for $ 31.00, and left.
I asked if there was an ID and password needed to log onto my Internet account, and was told that I would need to call the toll free number provided in my kit. I went to his truck as he was preparing to leave and asked him for the number, which he said he did not have.
There is NO toll free number provided with the kit.
I got the number from calling other Charter offices.
When I did get Technical Support on the phone I was told that they would have someone out between 8:00am and Noon on October 8th. At 11:30am I called yet again to find out if anyone was going to show up. Lori told me she would have the same R.D. Davis come back out.
At 12:45pm another installer Doug showed up and went to work getting the cable Internet set up. By 1:10pm he left with the cable box and remote control that the other installer had put in.
He said that that was why he had come by, and I quote "They just told me to come by and pick up the box" Again still no Internet service.
He told me that the cable modem was not pre-provisioned that I would receive a phone cal in 20 to 30 minutes that he was done for the day, and that it would be done from the office.
Doug called at 1:35pm, and again at 1:40pm. He then told me he would have someone else come out.
At 4:30pm I called Charter again to ask if Motorola's cable modem was supported, thinking I would have to go buy one since this one was not working. I was transfered to a supervisor, whos name I did not get. He told me that he would get with his supervisor and get someone to come out and check the signal strength. He also said he would call me back and let me know about when it would be. He never called to this day 12-9-02.
At 6:00pm another technician showed up and managed to get the modem to sync up. However it would still not connect to the Internet. At about 6:45pm another technician arrived and found the problem after a bit of checking around in the settings. They both left at about 7:10pm.
So finally after 29 and 1/2 hours after the installation was scheduled it was up and running. BUT THE HEADACHES DIDN'T END THERE !
Turns out that DSL is faster than cable here so on the 10th I returned the cable modem to the Charter office and told them I would keep the cable TV extended service but was not happy with the Internet service and was canceling it.
A couple days later someone showed up with a piece of paper for me to sign showing I wanted the "extended" TV service.
On the 22nd they cut off my cable TV service. I called them on the 23rd at 12:30pm to find out what was going on and was told they thought I said I didn't want the sevice.
The woman said she would get someone out to turn on the "BASIC" service and hung up before I could tell her AGAIN that I had the "EXTENDED" service.
That's it the next time they screw up my service and I have to call to get it straightned out it will be to CANCEL my service. I don't have the time or desire to keep trying to do business
with a company that operates like this.
Well on the 24th I called to find out why it hadn't been turned back on and was told it wouldn't be until the 25th. I told her that I didn't tell them to turn it off in the first place, and that if they couldn't get it back on by 5:00pm not to bother. They didn't so at 7:00pm I went to the store and bought a amplified antena and hooked my tv's up to it.
They told me I would get my $31.00 back. No check, instead a bill for November my accountant paid by mistake. Then another bill came on 12-9-02 for the month of December.
I called and they told me they turned it back on on 10-27-02 after I had told them not to bother. She asked if I wanted it left on or turned off. I told her to turn it off that I haven't been connected to it since 10-24-02.
Final notes.
The service of those who took part rated as follows.
R.D. Davis....poor to say the least, aside from being 4 and 1/2 hours late he made no attempt to provide services needed.
Doug....tried and I could see efforts being taken even afer he left and was off for the day. So I can understand him not completing the job.
The other 2 technicians (whos names I failed to get)....was very good. They completed the job, and considering my network setup in a reasonable amount of time.
The woman who "thought" I said I wanted to cancel my TV service. I believe her name was Lori was obviously NOT paying attention to what was being said.
Summary.
The technicians appear to be in too much of a hurry to get from one job to the next to complete one job at a time. And that some could use more training on TCP/IP configuration in as it pertains to their job duties.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
I hope that it may be useful to you, I will send it to several Charter personel, and will post it on the Internet in the hopes that management will receive it and will review it.
Have a great day.
Sincerly
Tim
Cleveland, Tennessee
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Charter Communications
5 Updates & Rebuttals
ben
madison,Wisconsin,
U.S.A.
what kind of computer, what kind of wiring
#6Consumer Suggestion
Thu, January 23, 2003
hi:
i have worked as a cable tech for the last couple of years and i have a degree in mech engineering. i hear stories like this all the time. some are the installers fault (not enough training, running late, etc.), some are the companies fault (bad dcts/modems, their csr gave you bad info, etc), and some are the customers fault (copper braid coax, improperly designed splitter network, cheap amps that block the reverse, etc.).
i am wondering what kind of wiring you used in the house. did you run all the lines to a central point in the house. what kind of computer do you have. what operating system are you using.
contrary to what most people think, digital cable and high speed data (modem) need a specific signal strength that requires certain high grade splitters and high quality cable (rg 6). i cannot tell you how many homes i have gone to where the sub is like "yep, this will be an easy one for you since i ran all the lines." only to find out the lines are copper braid rg 59 with 500mhz splitters daisy chained from one outlet to the next with an old compaq computer running windows 95 with no nic and no os on disk.
the cable company wants your business as a new customer...check out their stock value. most of the installers work as contractors like myself and we dont get paid if we dont do the job.
my advice to you and all other customers with cable or satellite is not to do any wiring unless you know what you are doing (which i am not saying is you). if you are not happy with how an installer wants to wire your house, simply tell him you want a supervisor to come out. i work in madison wisconsin and we have very few problems here unless it is an mdu or an sdu with finished basements. good luck and let me know if this helps.
as far as dealing with the csrs at charter, i know where you are coming from. they dont make any money and there is such a high rate of turnover, it is difficult to find qualified people. i would always request to speak with the superviso anytime you have a problem.
ben
madison,Wisconsin,
U.S.A.
what kind of computer, what kind of wiring
#6Consumer Suggestion
Thu, January 23, 2003
hi:
i have worked as a cable tech for the last couple of years and i have a degree in mech engineering. i hear stories like this all the time. some are the installers fault (not enough training, running late, etc.), some are the companies fault (bad dcts/modems, their csr gave you bad info, etc), and some are the customers fault (copper braid coax, improperly designed splitter network, cheap amps that block the reverse, etc.).
i am wondering what kind of wiring you used in the house. did you run all the lines to a central point in the house. what kind of computer do you have. what operating system are you using.
contrary to what most people think, digital cable and high speed data (modem) need a specific signal strength that requires certain high grade splitters and high quality cable (rg 6). i cannot tell you how many homes i have gone to where the sub is like "yep, this will be an easy one for you since i ran all the lines." only to find out the lines are copper braid rg 59 with 500mhz splitters daisy chained from one outlet to the next with an old compaq computer running windows 95 with no nic and no os on disk.
the cable company wants your business as a new customer...check out their stock value. most of the installers work as contractors like myself and we dont get paid if we dont do the job.
my advice to you and all other customers with cable or satellite is not to do any wiring unless you know what you are doing (which i am not saying is you). if you are not happy with how an installer wants to wire your house, simply tell him you want a supervisor to come out. i work in madison wisconsin and we have very few problems here unless it is an mdu or an sdu with finished basements. good luck and let me know if this helps.
as far as dealing with the csrs at charter, i know where you are coming from. they dont make any money and there is such a high rate of turnover, it is difficult to find qualified people. i would always request to speak with the superviso anytime you have a problem.
ben
madison,Wisconsin,
U.S.A.
what kind of computer, what kind of wiring
#6Consumer Suggestion
Thu, January 23, 2003
hi:
i have worked as a cable tech for the last couple of years and i have a degree in mech engineering. i hear stories like this all the time. some are the installers fault (not enough training, running late, etc.), some are the companies fault (bad dcts/modems, their csr gave you bad info, etc), and some are the customers fault (copper braid coax, improperly designed splitter network, cheap amps that block the reverse, etc.).
i am wondering what kind of wiring you used in the house. did you run all the lines to a central point in the house. what kind of computer do you have. what operating system are you using.
contrary to what most people think, digital cable and high speed data (modem) need a specific signal strength that requires certain high grade splitters and high quality cable (rg 6). i cannot tell you how many homes i have gone to where the sub is like "yep, this will be an easy one for you since i ran all the lines." only to find out the lines are copper braid rg 59 with 500mhz splitters daisy chained from one outlet to the next with an old compaq computer running windows 95 with no nic and no os on disk.
the cable company wants your business as a new customer...check out their stock value. most of the installers work as contractors like myself and we dont get paid if we dont do the job.
my advice to you and all other customers with cable or satellite is not to do any wiring unless you know what you are doing (which i am not saying is you). if you are not happy with how an installer wants to wire your house, simply tell him you want a supervisor to come out. i work in madison wisconsin and we have very few problems here unless it is an mdu or an sdu with finished basements. good luck and let me know if this helps.
as far as dealing with the csrs at charter, i know where you are coming from. they dont make any money and there is such a high rate of turnover, it is difficult to find qualified people. i would always request to speak with the superviso anytime you have a problem.
ben
madison,Wisconsin,
U.S.A.
what kind of computer, what kind of wiring
#6Consumer Suggestion
Thu, January 23, 2003
hi:
i have worked as a cable tech for the last couple of years and i have a degree in mech engineering. i hear stories like this all the time. some are the installers fault (not enough training, running late, etc.), some are the companies fault (bad dcts/modems, their csr gave you bad info, etc), and some are the customers fault (copper braid coax, improperly designed splitter network, cheap amps that block the reverse, etc.).
i am wondering what kind of wiring you used in the house. did you run all the lines to a central point in the house. what kind of computer do you have. what operating system are you using.
contrary to what most people think, digital cable and high speed data (modem) need a specific signal strength that requires certain high grade splitters and high quality cable (rg 6). i cannot tell you how many homes i have gone to where the sub is like "yep, this will be an easy one for you since i ran all the lines." only to find out the lines are copper braid rg 59 with 500mhz splitters daisy chained from one outlet to the next with an old compaq computer running windows 95 with no nic and no os on disk.
the cable company wants your business as a new customer...check out their stock value. most of the installers work as contractors like myself and we dont get paid if we dont do the job.
my advice to you and all other customers with cable or satellite is not to do any wiring unless you know what you are doing (which i am not saying is you). if you are not happy with how an installer wants to wire your house, simply tell him you want a supervisor to come out. i work in madison wisconsin and we have very few problems here unless it is an mdu or an sdu with finished basements. good luck and let me know if this helps.
as far as dealing with the csrs at charter, i know where you are coming from. they dont make any money and there is such a high rate of turnover, it is difficult to find qualified people. i would always request to speak with the superviso anytime you have a problem.
Michelle
Summerville,Georgia,
U.S.A.
The Cleveland office needs more Consumer Relations training.
#6Consumer Comment
Sat, December 28, 2002
I too have experienced the wrath of the "Charter" experience.
On July 24, 2002 A rep (A. Kinnebrew) came to my home. He hooked up 2 digital receivers and a cable modem.
At this time (in black & white) I signed up for the Digital Leadership Package. Their top of the line channels and internet service! Price written on contract by their rep... $109.99
Great deal huh? ... Just wait...
On July 25 (next day) Kinnebrew came back out because he had ran out of cable boxes and needed to get more. (I have 4 in my home)
On July 27 Kinnebrew came out again because 2 of our boxes stopped working. Said the boxes were preprogrammed for so many days and if paperwork is not keyed into system in time they are disabled. Now mind you, this is 3 days after the initial sign up.
Within the next few days, I realized that the modem they provided (WebSTAR/Scientific Atlanta) was not what I wanted to use. I had problems right away with it.
I went to the store, purchased my own modem and installed it with ease. I configured my own Outlook. Called Charter told them to come pick it up (since we don't have a local office). I also requested again for the 4th box I had been waiting for.
On Aug. 21 a man named Virgil M. came out. He brought me the last & final receiver and p/u the modem. At the same time he also wrote up an install invoice spelling out the services of cable, internet speed and price (109.99)
Now, installation was free and d**n well better have been since my husband ran the cat5 wire for the cable internet and ran new cable wire from the main junction box outside to each tv. (helps him being an electrician)
The only thing any of these techs had to do is carry the boxes in and plug them up! Gee, do you think that is something I could have done? Their last step was to turn in the paperwork on time before my boxes were disabled... yeh right.
Now it's time for the statements to start rolling in each month.
1st month was ok.
2nd month it started...
My service was re-entered into the computer shortly after the visit from Virgil on 8/21.
At this point my Internet speed was downgraded to silver (for some reason) and my rate remaind the same. This went on for a month. Numerous calls after calls. Just when we think we have it straight, the next statement is here...
Now, I have my Gold service back, just at a more expensive price.
When I made that dreadful call I was told that they could not give me the complete package at that price. Regardless if I had it in writing.
Don't you think they would make us stick to our contract and now they won't. How ludicris is that?
On Oct 5 I get charged with a partial month of service. WHAT?
I called yet again... was told every time I make a change to the account it has to prorate the charges. What a mouth loud of crap. I know better. Besides the fact that I hadn't made any changes....THEY DID! and it was decreasing my service and charging me MORE money per month.
During the trying calls I was able to speak with Jan in the Jasper office, somewhat helpful but still she had to pass my account off to someone else, said her supervisor was heading to the Cleveland office & she would fax my info so it would be waiting there for her! (NEVER HEARD FROM THE SUPERVISOR)
Also spoke with Crissy, twice within a two month span... after a little info, she actually remembered my account and was apologetic that it wasn't resloved! (Thank you Crissy) (the ONLY sign of compassion from the company to this date)
It's into November, still waiting for my bill to get straightened out, still waiting for the RETURN call from Charter... hah.
Finally, 11/15 I get thru to Pat at the Cleveland office, "Head of Accounting", ok, I have a chance.
Nope, no such luck. I faxed her all of the work orders I had, explained all the troubles we had. She didn't give a rip what I was saying. She was as cold as a dead fish.
I explained to her that the payments we made each and every month were what the Charter reps had been telling my husband to send.
Now we are getting nailed with late fees (3.80 EVERY MONTH) and some Reconnect fee, which at NO time had our service ever been interrupted!!! Nor ever close to it...
At this point in the game they say we still owe them an extra 65 dollars (roughly).
Sure, I can pay it, but I don't feel I should have too, since their reps were poorly trained and don't understand what they are doing or saying!
I asked Pat "Head Accountant" in the Cleveland Tn. office if this was her account & she was going thru this how would she feel???? No answer.
To sum it all up...................
It's Dec. 28th (5 Months into this) and ANOTHER cable box is down. ALL 4 HAVE HAD TO BE REPLACED AT THIS POINT, (per Charter)
Internet service has been down a total of 7 days - on & off... no compensation (of course)
My bill is STILL not straightened out.
Suppose to be getting a credit for the "dish buy back" deal each month, sometimes it appears, sometimes it doesn't!
No end in sight to this ridiculous situation!
HARRISON PIKE --- I FEEL YOUR PAIN
Charter is suppose to give you a 20.00 credit if they don't show up on time for a scheduled appointment! (per their home page) (words by Paul Allen) Do you have a guess at to how many hours I have spent over the last 5 months waiting on them to show!!!!
Thank you for taking the time to read all of this, heed our warnings...