Complaint Review: Time Warner Cable

I also used to work for TWC. It is VERY important to hold onto your receipts. I hope you still have the receipt from when you returned the equipment. I know that disconnects are last on their priority list, so if someone is living in your old residency, they are enjoying cable now for free until they can find time to disconnect the service. As a customer service rep, sometimes I had to schedule disconnects over a month out. However, when it came to disconnecting my service (when I left the company) somehow they found someone to come out to my home within a week!

If you have been waiting so long that you're receiving collection letters, that is unacceptable. I hope you are keeping records of all actions that you're taking.

I agree that they are very frightened of the competition.

It was probably an illegal hook-up because @ time warner, you are up for non-pay around 2 mos of non-payment. It was either that, or you were mistaken & just got excited when you saw LOCAL channels.

This is to show just how smart TWC really is.

Back in 1993, we bought a HUD home in Orlando. It had obviously been an FHA/VA repo as all of the appliances, shelves and window treatments were missing when we moved in (no problem, house was only 3 years old and in great condition). We moved in on 4/13/93.

Whenever I move, one of the first things I do is hook up the entertainment center so we can at least have music while unpacking. This time, I also hooked up the TV to the cable jack.

Got the stereo going, and just for kicks, I turned on the TV. Lo and behold we had cable service (including HBO basic!). This house had been unoccupied for at least four months (last tenants were probably evicted in December 1992). We had NOT called TWC to come hook up the cable.

We never did call TWC, and for almost 7 years, we enjoyed free cable service until we sold the house in December 1999. Technicians had come out to our house several times over the years to upgrade equipment and lines in our cable box out in the front yard (we shared a common box with 3 other houses), but never once did we lose service.

This just goes to prove that TWC does not handle shut-offs well. Although I'm sure the prior tenants did not call to shut off the cable, after a few months of unpaid cable bills, TWC should have shut it off for non-payment. We have not had service at any of our other homes from TWC since, thank god.

In 1999, I terminated my service with Time-Warner Cable in Orlando Florida. I paid the bill and returned all their equipment.

A month or two later, I get a bill from TWC saying that I owed them over $300 for all the equipment that they claimed had not been returned.

Luckily for me I kept the receipt which had the date, time, and customer service rep's signature on it. I scanned and printed-out the receipt (in living color) and sent it with a very nicely worded note telling them to stuff it.

Moral of the story: Save your receipts!! You never know when a utility might try to bill you for something you are not responsible for!

Hey Michael,

Actually, I used to work for the Charlotte division of Time Warner as a Customer Retention Specialist. All this went down after I left the company for a better job - so don't quote me company policy and procedure - I know it quite well.

Obviously, I didn't make myself clear in my post, so I'll spell it out for you and everyone else.

1. I took my box and turned it in.
2. I told them to completely disconnect my cable service.
3. They said okay.
4. They continued to bill me.
5. I refused to pay the bill, because it covered the dates and billing cycles after I had told them to turn it off.
6. I have spent hours and hours on the phone telling them to quit sending me a bill.
7. They refuse to credit my bill until THEY decide to go disconnect it.
8. They've now sent it to a collection agency (even though they have been notified that I no longer live there and the service is still active).
9. It's now going on my credit report.

The plain and simple fact is that NO company can continue to bill a customer for a product or service that they have returned, refused, or asked to be cancelled.

I saw this on an almost daily basis when I worked at Time Warner - and it isn't just the Charlotte division. The Greensboro NC division did the same thing to my wife right after she left the company.

I don't know if they just try to screw ex-employees or everyone - but it is WRONG and ILLEGAL.

I have sent multiple letters to Time Warner Cable's corporate offices (right down the road in Charlotte), the Cable Franchising Authority in Charlotte, and here recently, the North Carolina Attorney General's Office. Perhaps he will help me get this issue resolved.

Time Warner is full of lies and deception. I know - I sold in to them for a while. They are literally afraid that the satellite companies, the FCC, and local governments will destroy their empire. Why else would a company put out so much 'disinformation' and attempt to attack anyone who stands in their way?

Hey Michael,

Actually, I used to work for the Charlotte division of Time Warner as a Customer Retention Specialist. All this went down after I left the company for a better job - so don't quote me company policy and procedure - I know it quite well.

Obviously, I didn't make myself clear in my post, so I'll spell it out for you and everyone else.

1. I took my box and turned it in.
2. I told them to completely disconnect my cable service.
3. They said okay.
4. They continued to bill me.
5. I refused to pay the bill, because it covered the dates and billing cycles after I had told them to turn it off.
6. I have spent hours and hours on the phone telling them to quit sending me a bill.
7. They refuse to credit my bill until THEY decide to go disconnect it.
8. They've now sent it to a collection agency (even though they have been notified that I no longer live there and the service is still active).
9. It's now going on my credit report.

The plain and simple fact is that NO company can continue to bill a customer for a product or service that they have returned, refused, or asked to be cancelled.

I saw this on an almost daily basis when I worked at Time Warner - and it isn't just the Charlotte division. The Greensboro NC division did the same thing to my wife right after she left the company.

I don't know if they just try to screw ex-employees or everyone - but it is WRONG and ILLEGAL.

I have sent multiple letters to Time Warner Cable's corporate offices (right down the road in Charlotte), the Cable Franchising Authority in Charlotte, and here recently, the North Carolina Attorney General's Office. Perhaps he will help me get this issue resolved.

Time Warner is full of lies and deception. I know - I sold in to them for a while. They are literally afraid that the satellite companies, the FCC, and local governments will destroy their empire. Why else would a company put out so much 'disinformation' and attempt to attack anyone who stands in their way?

Hey Michael,

Actually, I used to work for the Charlotte division of Time Warner as a Customer Retention Specialist. All this went down after I left the company for a better job - so don't quote me company policy and procedure - I know it quite well.

Obviously, I didn't make myself clear in my post, so I'll spell it out for you and everyone else.

1. I took my box and turned it in.
2. I told them to completely disconnect my cable service.
3. They said okay.
4. They continued to bill me.
5. I refused to pay the bill, because it covered the dates and billing cycles after I had told them to turn it off.
6. I have spent hours and hours on the phone telling them to quit sending me a bill.
7. They refuse to credit my bill until THEY decide to go disconnect it.
8. They've now sent it to a collection agency (even though they have been notified that I no longer live there and the service is still active).
9. It's now going on my credit report.

The plain and simple fact is that NO company can continue to bill a customer for a product or service that they have returned, refused, or asked to be cancelled.

I saw this on an almost daily basis when I worked at Time Warner - and it isn't just the Charlotte division. The Greensboro NC division did the same thing to my wife right after she left the company.

I don't know if they just try to screw ex-employees or everyone - but it is WRONG and ILLEGAL.

I have sent multiple letters to Time Warner Cable's corporate offices (right down the road in Charlotte), the Cable Franchising Authority in Charlotte, and here recently, the North Carolina Attorney General's Office. Perhaps he will help me get this issue resolved.

Time Warner is full of lies and deception. I know - I sold in to them for a while. They are literally afraid that the satellite companies, the FCC, and local governments will destroy their empire. Why else would a company put out so much 'disinformation' and attempt to attack anyone who stands in their way?

I work for the credit and collections department in the Rochester, NY Time Warner Cable division. Here, we interrupt addressable equipment as part of our adverse action steps. The billing will continue until disconnection by a technician at the service address itself. It is necessary for the billing to continue so that our system can "age" the balance every month and assess late fees. Your bill will be automatically corrected when either of the following situations are met: 1) Your service has been terminated at the service address, or 2) A payment of a least your minimum quoted amout has been made.

If you did not have addressable equipment, then the representative put a "stop bill" comment on your account when you informed them of your decision to disconnect so that the system has a date to backdate the balance to. Then the same steps as above would apply.

Once the final disconnect has been completed, any unpaid portion of your bill could be referred to an outside collection agency, whereas an agency fee is assessed and included in the balance reported on your credit report.

I recommend contacting your TWC credit and collections department for their exact procedures as every division is operated independently of others. Each may use different billing systems, and may be subject to laws different than those here in New York Sate.

The preceeding was not endorsed by Time Warner Cable in any way. They were my private opinions.

I work for the credit and collections department in the Rochester, NY Time Warner Cable division. Here, we interrupt addressable equipment as part of our adverse action steps. The billing will continue until disconnection by a technician at the service address itself. It is necessary for the billing to continue so that our system can "age" the balance every month and assess late fees. Your bill will be automatically corrected when either of the following situations are met: 1) Your service has been terminated at the service address, or 2) A payment of a least your minimum quoted amout has been made.

If you did not have addressable equipment, then the representative put a "stop bill" comment on your account when you informed them of your decision to disconnect so that the system has a date to backdate the balance to. Then the same steps as above would apply.

Once the final disconnect has been completed, any unpaid portion of your bill could be referred to an outside collection agency, whereas an agency fee is assessed and included in the balance reported on your credit report.

I recommend contacting your TWC credit and collections department for their exact procedures as every division is operated independently of others. Each may use different billing systems, and may be subject to laws different than those here in New York Sate.

The preceeding was not endorsed by Time Warner Cable in any way. They were my private opinions.

I work for the credit and collections department in the Rochester, NY Time Warner Cable division. Here, we interrupt addressable equipment as part of our adverse action steps. The billing will continue until disconnection by a technician at the service address itself. It is necessary for the billing to continue so that our system can "age" the balance every month and assess late fees. Your bill will be automatically corrected when either of the following situations are met: 1) Your service has been terminated at the service address, or 2) A payment of a least your minimum quoted amout has been made.

If you did not have addressable equipment, then the representative put a "stop bill" comment on your account when you informed them of your decision to disconnect so that the system has a date to backdate the balance to. Then the same steps as above would apply.

Once the final disconnect has been completed, any unpaid portion of your bill could be referred to an outside collection agency, whereas an agency fee is assessed and included in the balance reported on your credit report.

I recommend contacting your TWC credit and collections department for their exact procedures as every division is operated independently of others. Each may use different billing systems, and may be subject to laws different than those here in New York Sate.

The preceeding was not endorsed by Time Warner Cable in any way. They were my private opinions.

I work for the credit and collections department in the Rochester, NY Time Warner Cable division. Here, we interrupt addressable equipment as part of our adverse action steps. The billing will continue until disconnection by a technician at the service address itself. It is necessary for the billing to continue so that our system can "age" the balance every month and assess late fees. Your bill will be automatically corrected when either of the following situations are met: 1) Your service has been terminated at the service address, or 2) A payment of a least your minimum quoted amout has been made.

If you did not have addressable equipment, then the representative put a "stop bill" comment on your account when you informed them of your decision to disconnect so that the system has a date to backdate the balance to. Then the same steps as above would apply.

Once the final disconnect has been completed, any unpaid portion of your bill could be referred to an outside collection agency, whereas an agency fee is assessed and included in the balance reported on your credit report.

I recommend contacting your TWC credit and collections department for their exact procedures as every division is operated independently of others. Each may use different billing systems, and may be subject to laws different than those here in New York Sate.

The preceeding was not endorsed by Time Warner Cable in any way. They were my private opinions.