Complaint Review: Time Warner Cable North Carolina - Kannapolis Nationwide

     I am beyond livid with Time Warner Cable. I live in the Charlotte, NC area ( Kannapolis NC to be exact ). I have had Time warner cable for a few years now. They are my provider of cable tv, and internet ( Road Runner ).

     September of 2011, I moved from my previous house to another and called Time Warner to request change of service. I was previously in a contract ( price lock ) for a period of time but that had since expired and upon informing them I was moving and changing service address, the rep was telling me about the packages they were offering. I did not want another contract being I had so many problems in the past with Time Warner and found it next to impossible to get them to honor their end of the contract.

      Instead, I was enticed with a nice offer which was not a contract but none the less, a very reasonable monthly plan. For my TV, DVR and highest tier Road Runner, I little over $58 a month roughly. However, in order to get that promotion and prior to service being switched to new address, I had to bring my account balance current which is understandable. Most utilities are the same way. [ thats how they get you when your moving, in order to switch service to new address which you HAVE to do because you rely on it, they have you pay what you owe before they will switch your service ].

        I paid what was owed and moved into new place Sept 15, 2011. Same day, a Time Warner Tech came out to make sure all was connnected. The house is old and was already pre-wired for cable so no new outlets needed installed.

       November 2011 when i got my bill, it was well over $200 in which they charged me installation fees and switching fees etc etc etc...This royally ticked me off because no disclaimers where mentioned. No one told me about all of these fees and I feel it should be mentioned up front.

       Never the less I paid for the first month at new address ( near $60 - understandable ), but I did not understand all the other fees and charges. Not to mention it stated I owed a "prior" balance from the old address which I was forced to pay in order to have serviced transfered. After speaking to at LEAST 7 reps on the phone in a 3 hours time frame. I finally got a rep that seemed to understand my frustrations and stated she would give me credit ( near $200 ). I know how Time Warner cable reps do not like to notate accounts so I asked her specifically to PLEASE note the account for future reference, I asked her name and extension and wrote that info down.

        Around the first half of December 2011 - I made another payment for a months service and mid December, I get a new bill still showing over $200 bill. NOTHING HAD CHANGED, NO CREDITS, REFUNDS OR ADJUSTMENTS.

         2 weeks ago, I called Time Warner Cable and I swear I was on the phone from 10:30ish until around 4pm non stop. Im sure I spoke to every call center rep at the Charlotte NC call center at least once, After speaking to everyone their and no one else for me to speak to, they connect me to a call center in South Carolina. I informed the reps in Charlotte that my account should have been credited, I gave them the name of the rep I spoke with and her extension. I was told, "sir, you are giving us the first name of a rep , without a last name it's impossible to track that person down and the extension you are giving us is not an extension we have". 1. When you are told upon each call, "for customer satisfaction, all calls may be monitored for quality assurance", is that a lie? 2. I know for a fact each time you call Time Warner, there computer pings your call and it shows each time you had called and what rep you last spoke with, yet, they are telling me, without giving them a last name, it's next to impossible to track the rep down I last spoke with??? are you kidding me?

         At this time, I was so beyond words. I can honestly say i have NEVER been so upset at reps on the phone. Id rather have spent the day answering collection agency calls attempting to collect a debt, than to have to go through that again!

          I demanded, each time, for the rep(s) to transfer me to a supervisor. I informed them i would NOT speak to ANYONE else, whom was not a supervisor. Each time, the rep would say, "please hold while I transfer you to a supervisor"..( on hold from 10-25 minutes ) then a new rep answers as if it was a new call just coming in. They asked for all my personal info, once verified, proceed to tell me, "sir, i see you owe a prior balance of $200 plus, are you calling to make a payment today?".

         Of course I would then have to go through the WHOLE freaking story/problem from the begining. AND AGAIN demand to speak to a supervisor.  [ repeat ]..this went on literally 7 hours. Finally, the last call i made was to demand they turn my service off RIGHT NOW!! i would not be paying another dime to that company for the troubles they have put me through that day. The rep would , of course, then transfer me to the escalation / retention dept. ( my roomate is the one who told me, "call them and tell them to turn your service off now, then, I guarantee you'll get a supervisor " ), he was right! however -

         After going through the whole spill again, I was connected to a rep in South Carolina Call center and was on the phone with him for 45 minutes. He seemed to understand my frustrations, and concerns, and was very apologetic on the phone for all the trouble, and as well, stated he would give me some credit for all the problems. I informed him, as I had all the previous reps, prior to moving, i paid what was due. I informed him, i HAD to have paid what was due or they wouldnt have transfered my service as they stated and i wouldnt have been able to get the monthly deal i got.  He asked if it was possible for me to get a banking statement from that month, showing that was in fact paid, that if i could, he could then go in and manually give me the full credit. I told him , "give me your fax number and it'll be at your desk in 10 minutes".. He gave me his fax, his name, his extension yada yada.. I thought to myself, "thank god, im finally getting somewhere"...

           I went online to my banking statement online, printed the invoice that showed I paid the amount in September they had no records of. I faxed the document to the number given. 20 minutes later, I called Time Warner back and asked to be transfered to the extension provided. WHAT DO I GET? , "sir, there is no such extension in our call center".. After explaining to him 20 minutes ago I sent a fax, OBVIOUSLY i spoke to someone and wasnt imagining the conversation - he then found the fax and read the notes anddddd transfered me to the queue but i did not get to speak with the same rep whom gave me the fax number, I did speak to a supervisor who informed me they did get the faxed document and would forward it to the billing collection dept and someone would call me within 24 hours.

           The next day, I get a call, ( a collection call that is ) from Time Warner informing me I had a previous balance of $200 plus, how would I like to take care of that!!!!!!!!I informed THAT rep to refer to the notes and fax i sent the day prior. "oh yea Mr. Hadden, I see that, and im calling to let you know we have not forgotten you, and to let you know that it is still being reviewed and i should hear from someone very soon regarding the matter ". ***yea right***

           That was over 2 weeks ago - To date, January 2, 2012, I have yet to get a follow up phone call or an adjustment to the account. I did find it extremely funny that a little over a week ago, i got a letter from Time Warner Cable thanking me for calling with my problems and they are glad they were able to assist me. That letter supposedly came from the president of Time Warner with a rubber stamped or pre printed signature. The funny part is, that letter did not have a forwarding / return address, no email address and no phone number. You KNOW Time Warner Cable is a pretty bad company when they speak for you in saying things like, "we are glad to have assisted you " and assume the problem was resolved, yet, leave you know forwarding phone number to that big time executive the letter supposedly came from.

          It is such a shame, Time Warner is a big monopoly in the area with not a lot of competition which is why they have the attitude there **** does not stink and they can do no wrong, { and of course if they do, to bad, DEAL WITH IT OR , shut up!}..I refuse to do the ladder . I just had a conversation with my roomate about this and told him, "what are you going to do, one person with a problem against a giant, they do not care, just a number. Yet I believe in the power of word of mouth, to which, that is my story and Im glad i could vent. In doing so, hopefully, others whom have had similar problems will come forward and express there stories, than, Time Warner will turn the singular numbered complaints into plurals which hopefully, will result in better customer care and training. My experience is: the reps working for Time Warner in the Call centers are just keeping seats warm and collecting a paycheck. In these times, to many people need jobs and are willing to earn a paycheck, Time Warner should learn from this.

          With technology, it's only a matter of time when there services are no longer needed from the multitudes. Until then, what can we do? pay the man and hope for the best i guess.