Complaint Review: Charter Communications - Internet

I am a former employee for charter cable I worked as a representative. I was trained as well as all other reps to tell customer who are making a replacement payment etc, that the first payment when it reaches the billing department will not be destroyed or mailed back and that it will be sent through and there is no way to stop it and that it will be credited to the account. The rep that told you (or your husband)that it would be destroyed was not doing their job right and also any over payments could have been credit back to you through the local office which it appears that they werent doing their job right either which was usually the case of the local offices in which we rep were constantly cleaning up after.

Yes, the person on the phone probably did tell your husband that the original check would be destroyed when they received it, however, did you stop and think about how impossible that would be? You've got a bunch of clerks opening mail, inputting payments and processing checks. There's no way in all those people anyone is going to take the time to look for your one check amongst the thousands they are processing. Quite simply, if nothing else, they don't have the time to do so. If you're ever replacing a payment for anything, for any reason, call your bank and put a stop on the original check. Yes, there's a fee involved, but if you can't afford for the charge to go through twice, chances are that fee is a lot less than your check was. This is, quite simply, a live and learn experience. However, if you professionally and courteously ask, it may be possible for someone from Charter to write a short note on company letterhead basically stating that you had a payment to them that went through twice and they understand that while this was not Charter's error, that this MAY have had an adverse effect on your other checking transactions. In addition, get a copy of both checks from your bank. The one that was created over the phone and your original. Showing them to your creditors will help them to understand what happened. Note the wording I suggested above though, it's important. No company will take responsibility for having caused this situation because they would then be liable for all charges you or anyone else occurred because of it. It's not going to happen. BUT, they may be willing to write a simple letter of explanation so that when you go to each of the folks where a check bounced you can show them the letter, give them a copy for their files, and make the check you wrote them good. Now, if you haven't done it yet. Call or go to each of the businesses where a check bounced. Apologize for it having happened and let them know when they can expect you to make it good. Do not hide from them, don't make them call you. Be up front about what happened and what you're going to do about it. Anytime there's money involved, and most times even if there's not, treat it like a business. Act like you are a business and behave in a professional manner, be courteous and respectful and above all else, be upfront about what's occurring. That more than anything will help to preserve your good name among the local businesses. Last, but not least, if the amount of the overpayment is more than the amount of one month's average bill, they should be able and willing to have a check cut to you for the overage. You have the right to request those funds be returned to you. Good luck, it'll take a little bit of work, but the strings will slowly untangle.