Time Warner Cable CEO: "There Are Too Many Networks"
If you scan through your cable/satellite guide and see diminishing returns from the growing number of channels being made available to viewers, you're not alone. In fact, the head of a company that makes an awful lot of money by selling customers on all those channel choices says he's on your side.
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5 Cable Companies Agree To Share Hotspots, But Will People Use Them?
For years, a number of the larger cable-based Internet providers have placed WiFi hotspots around the country for their customers to use when not in the comfort of their own home, but you had to find a hotspot operated by your ISP. Today, five of those companies — Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, and Cox Communications — have announced that their customers will all soon be able to all use the same hotspots. But will people use them — and will this actually make some of the problems worse?
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Study: Cable Bills Could Reach $200/Month By 2020
Right now, the average monthly cable bill — not including any bundled phone or internet services — is around $86. But industry analysts say the non-stop slap fights between cable companies and content providers is only going to send that price soaring in the years to come.
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This Time Warner Cable Letter Epitomizes What's Wrong With Cable Industry
Do you think Ford would ever send you a letter suggesting you give Toyota a try? Or would McDonald's ever shoot you an e-mail telling you to check out the lovely Burger Kings in your new neighborhood? Of course not. So why would the cable industry not care which company you choose?
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Time Warner Cable Offers $99 Wideband Service, But I Can Only Get It By Paying $109
After seven years of subscribing to Time Warner Cable's broadband internet service, Consumerist reader Matt saw that TWC was offering upgrades to its wideband service for the tempting price of $99 per month... well, sort of.
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Which Worst Company Contenders Force Customers Into Mandatory Arbitration?
As we sifted through the mountain of nominations for this year's Worst Company In America tournament, we noticed a trend of readers who cited companies' mandatory binding arbitration clauses as a reason for nominating. And while it's businesses like
AT&T and
Sony that have made all the headlines for effectively banning class action lawsuits, there are a
lot of other WCIA contenders who are forcing customers into signing away their rights.
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Worst Company In America Round One: Comcast Vs. Time Warner Cable
Finishing off this week of blood-drenched business battles is a pairing between two of the largest — and two of the least-favorite — cable companies in the country. The fight is scheduled to begin anywhere between 2:00 and 5:00 p.m.
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(mine)
Time Warner Cable Testing The Waters Of Metered Broadband Again
It's been nearly three years since Time Warner Cable
dropped its much-derided plans to roll out metered broadband. Now the company thinks the time might be right to give it another go, but this time it would be an option for customers looking to save a few bucks.
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Time Warner Cable & MSG End Squabble, Allow Knicks Fans To Enjoy Linsanity
While New York Knicks fans have been enjoying the sudden success of point guard Jeremy Lin, a lot of them haven't actually been able to watch the games on TV thanks to a lengthy dispute between Time Warner Cable and the MSG Network. But now they won't need to wait for the highlights on the evening news to enjoy the Linsanity, as the 48-day staring contest has come to an end.
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Time Warner Cable Is Really Anxious To See You Go
Jack has been a customer of Time Warner Cable for a long time, what with the virtual monopoly in his town and all. He never really had any complaints until he was getting ready for his upcoming move. He dutifully called in a week and a half before the move, so his TV/Internet/phone package would be turned off at his current home, and installation set up at the new place. So, naturally, they turned off all three services at his current place the very next day. He complained, and they turned them back on. Then a Time Warner rep called up to "fix" the problem, flipping a switch to turn off all of the services. Again.
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Verizon Deal To Buy Spectrum From Comcast & Time Warner Cable May Not Be A Cakewalk
While AT&T was failing horribly at attempting to amp up its 4G network by buying T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless was busy making deals with cable companies to snap up unused and underused spectrum. And though insiders initially believed VZW's purchases would glide across regulators' desks since cable companies are not competitors in the wireless world, a new report claims the spectrum sale may get a more thorough looking-into than had been expected.
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Time Warner Cable Has No Idea What It Is Supposed To Charge You
Consumerist reader Stephen is a Time Warner Cable customer who is considering ditching cable TV and opting instead to use services like Hulu and Netflix for his video-based entertainment. So one would think that a simple chat with TWC would inform him of exactly how much his bill would be if he dropped cable and switch to internet-only. One would think that, but one would be mistaken.
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Comcast, Time Warner Cable Give Up Dreams Of Becoming Wireless Powerhouses, Sell Spectrum To Verizon
Over the last decade, cable companies have done a decent job of picking up ground in the home phone market, and many have attempted to make inroads into selling wireless data services. But it looks like two cable titans have given up their dreams of becoming wireless wonders, as Comcast and Time Warner Cable have sold billions of dollars of spectrum to Verizon Wireless.
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While Getting House Financed, TWC Dings Score With Unauthorized Credit Report Pull
Shawn is peeved. He's in the middle of securing financing on a new house and the last thing you need during that time period are any surprise people looking at your credit report. These inquiries can bring your score down. But he got exactly one of those, a "hard" one, thanks to an unauthorized peek-a-boo Time Warner Cable decided to do on his credit report when called them up to ask about reducing his cable package.
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Time Warner Cable Admits To Screwing Up Thousands Of Bills This Summer
An Ohio woman was downright ticked-off when she picked up her cable bill in August, only to find that her invoice for the phone, internet and cable bundle had jumped from $89.95/month to $179. And it looks like she wasn't the only one.
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TWC Supervisor Told CSR To Stop Giving CPR And Get Back To Work, Employees Allege
After local news began investigating the death of a Time Warner Cable customer service rep, they made a shocking discovery. According to several sources at the scene, after the woman slumped at her desk, a co-worker began administering CPR, but was told to stop and get back to the phones by a supervisor.
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How To Say No To Arbitration With Your Cable Company
Here's something neat. Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cablevision/Optimum actually let customers opt out of arbitration when they sign up. If you don't want to give up your right to personally sue them in a court of law and be forced into a kangaroo court overseen by a judge whose fees are paid for by the company you're suing, Cablevision will let you. The caveat is that you have to tell them within 30 days of signing your contract. Here's the links and relevant contract language to opt-out:
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With Neighb's 'Net Down, Super Holds TWC Node Hostage. Ransom: Free Cable
In the middle of reports of widespread Time Warner Cable outages in New York's East Village late this week, one building supervisor has decided to hold a local cable node hostage. This node controls cable and internet not just for his building, but several others on the block. His price for access? Free cable.
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Three Weeks Without Internet Access: No Hurry From Time Warner, And No Credits
In the six years she's lived in her current apartment, Kate hasn't had any major problems with Time Warner. Now Her Internet access has been out since the beginning of September, despite a modem replacement. They're sort of giving her a whole decade's worth of major problems all in one go. When Kate mentioned that she needs Internet access to look for jobs, one rep helpfully suggested that she change providers.
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It Took Four Appointments And A Call To The Police To Get My Time Warner Cable Internet Installed
Consumerist reader William recently moved into a newly built house in New York City and his only available choice for an internet provider is Time Warner Cable, meaning that even after three unsuccessful attempts to get his building hooked up with web access, he had really no other choice but to roll the dice and make a fourth appointment. Unfortunately, the fourth time was most certainly not the charm, as William was forced to call the police to get the combative tech to leave his property.
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What Would You Want To See On A Cable Customers' Bill Of Rights?
Over at our former sibling site Gizmodo, they have cobbled together what they believe is a list of the basic rights any cable customer should have when it comes to service, billing and selection. We wanted to throw it out there to see if you agree.
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Time Warner Cable Expands With Purchase Of Insight Communications
Time Warner Cable, the nation's second largest cable operator, will soon get a little bit larger, announcing today that it has acquired Midwestern television operator Insight Communications for $3 billion.
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Time Warner Calls Back With Sweet Deal After Man Cancels
Another reader has written in to say that after they canceled their Time Warner service, the cable company turned around and offered them much better rates if they would stay. In both this one and the one earlier this week, Time Warner Cable said that because of "special circumstances," they were able to offer a sweet retention deal. In this case, $67/month for two years, down from $150.
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Report: Record Number Of Cable Customers Cutting The Cord
Hear that snipping sound? No, it's not
squirrels nipping at your FiOS cord. It's a record number of Americans cutting ties with their cable and satellite providers.
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TWC Is Surprisingly Cool About Cutting Monthly Cable Bill
Reader Wonder_Kat is amazed at how TWC went out of its way to stop her from canceling cable service by letting her get it for only $15/month.
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TWC Tech Saves Boy From Drowning
Usually just getting a cable to tech to show up at the right time is worthy of a trophy, but last week a Time Warner Cable went above and beyond the call of duty and saved a 7-year old's life.
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Could Free Internet Porn Lead To Higher Cable Bills?
While mainstream content providers
continue looking for ways to put their videos behind paywalls, there is no shortage of adults-only footage available online for absolutely no cost to the viewer (or so we've been told). But could this fleshy free-for-all end up causing your cable to company to look at increasing your monthly bill?
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EECB To Time Warner Cable Gets Collections Agency Off My Back
For several months, Consumerist reader Jeff has been stuck in billing hell with Time Warner Cable as TWC has been trying to invoice him for $450 worth of equipment he never leased in the first place. After being assured several times that he didn't have to pay that part of the invoice, he — of course — ended up receiving a notice from a collections agency.
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TWC Ends Chat When You Ask Them To Honor To On-Time Guarantee
In New York City
you are entitled to a free month of service if the cable guy doesn't show up on time. It's part of the franchise agreement the cable companies have with the city. But here's a chat transcript showing what happens when a informed consumer tries to claim their credit from Time Warner Cable...
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Cable Companies Finally Realizing They Might Have Priced Themselves Into A Corner
What has cable company executives losing sleep at night? It's certainly not thoughts on how to improve customer service or billing. But it's also not Netflix, Hulu, BitTorrent or any other obvious customer siphon. No, cable suits confess, it's actually the fact that a growing number of Americans find themselves too poor to pay to watch TV.
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Eugene Mirman Reads His Letter To Time Warner Cable
This is a video of comedian Eugene Mirman doing a dramatic reading of his complaint letter to Time Warner Cable that he paid for to have
published as a full-page ad in a couple of local papers in Brooklyn. In the preamble, he helps to explain why, as several of you pointed out, the letter came off as rambling and discursive, as opposed to the more straight-shooting approach we usually advocate here. "I could write them an angry letter and someone would get it and think I was crazy," he tells the audience. "I didn't want that. I wanted them to
know I was crazy."
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Customer Takes Out Ad In Papers To Publish Complaint Letter To His Cable Company
A Time Warner Cable customer decided to express his frustration with the cable company in a unique way, by running his complaint letter as an ad in several papers. That man was Brooklyn comedian Eugene Mirman, who is also the voice of Gene Belcher on FOX's Bob's Burgers. Here is that letter:
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Time Warner Plans Flixster-Based Cloud Service That Lets You Upload Your DVDs
When cable company execs unwind at home, probably in front of Netflix-streamed videos like most everyone else, they no doubt daydream about ways to seize some of Netflix's market share-gobbling momentum. After all, it seems the old "overcharge for hundreds of channels no one really wants so they can get the few that they do" plan is losing steam. An idea cooked up by Time Warner Cable, though, seems so promising it must be too good to be true.
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Warner Music Group Sold For $3.3 Billion
Billionaire investor Len Blavatnik will pay $3.3 billion to acquire Warner Music Group, which is currently owned by a private investment group controlled by Warner chief Edgar Bronfman. While $3 billion may seem like a high price to pay for a money-losing company with $2 billion in debt, Blavatnik faced competition from over a dozen other bidders, including Sony, Live Nation and Bertelsmann.
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Liveblogging A Time Warner Cable Installation On Yelp
Ted in Brooklyn wanted a visible public record of his interactions with Time Warner Cable. He decided to liveblog his experience, somewhere that people might actually see it. That place was a review on Time Warner Cable's New York City Yelp page. He updated the page as events became more convoluted and Kafkaesque. There are a lot of updates.
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Networks Demand To Be Taken Off Time Warner Cable's iPad Streaming App
Some content providers didn't see it as an honor to be included in Time Warner Cable's
TV-streaming iPad App. In fact, some, such as Fox, saw it as unauthorized use of their content and sent the company cease and desist letters.
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Worst Company In America Sweet 16: BP Vs. Time Warner Cable
It's the oiler versus the spoiler in today's WCIA Sweet 16 match-up!
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Time Warner Charges Guy $16.4 Million For Cable
If you thought your cable bill was outrageous, get a load of the $16.4 million Time Warner Cable charged an Ohio engineer. Unsurprisingly, his presumably automatic credit card payment for the bill was rejected due to insufficient funds.
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Meet Your Worst Company In America Sweet 16!
After eight days and 16 first round battles, the WCIA steel cage is littered with the bones of those companies not crappy enough to continue on in the tournament. But the thrill of victory is fleeting for the remaining combatants, all of whom must square off again if they hope of crowning themselves the Worst Company In America!
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Time Warner Cable Has A Problem With Worst Company In America: We Used Their Old Logo
Someone at Time Warner Cable has a great sense of humor — or perhaps none at all — about being in this year's
Worst Company In America tournament. A rep for the company wrote to take issue, not about its inclusion, but with our use of an outdated logo.
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Worst Company In America Round One: Time Warner Cable Vs. Facebook
Only one of this afternoon's combatants has been the subject of an Oscar-nominated movie. Apparently, two hours of customers sitting on the phone
not being helped by Time Warner Cable customer service isn't as thrilling as the story of a site that lets 500 million users share baby photos with friends and all their personal info with sketchy app developers.
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Free Calls To Japan From AT&T, Verizon, Comcast And TWC
Several telecommunications providers are giving US customers free long-distance calls and texts to Japan. AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and TWC are all waiving charges. AT&T is giving 60 minutes of free talk time between the US and Japan until the end of the month. Verizon is offering $0.00/minute rates between the two countries until April 15. Comcast is giving away free calls to voice customers through April 11. Time Warner Cable is giving digital phone customers free calls to Japan through April 15. A helping hand for those looking to connect with a friend, colleague or loved one over in Japan.
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Time Warner Cable iPad App Is Great For TV On The Go... But Only In Your House
TV lovers, rejoice! The future of legal, licensed television watching is here, and it's....incredibly locked down! Time Warner has introduced a beautiful new iPad app that lets you log in with your Time Warner Cable username and password and watch TV anywhere on your iPad. Well...as long as "anywhere" is "in your house, or on the wireless network of another Time Warner Cable customer, as long as you yourself have a cable package from Time Warner at home." So much for mobile.
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Here's Your Lineup For Worst Company In America 2011!
For the sixth year in a row, we asked Consumerist readers to send us their nominations for our Worst Company In America tournament. And this year's response was the greatest by far.
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NYC Parks To Get Free WiFi, At A Price
New Yorkers are slated to get free wifi in 32 public parks next year, but it will come with a pricetag. Park users will get three 10 minute sessions per month, and after that pay 99 cents a day. The money goes to Time Warner and Cablevision, who agreed to provide the wifi as part of the city agreeing to renew their cable-tv franchises for 10 years. Public advocates promptly slammed the deal as the privatization of a public good.
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80% Of AOL's Revenue Is Subscribers, 75% Of Whom Don't Need It
A
New Yorker profile this week details how 80% of AOL's revenue comes from subscriptions, and, according to an ex-AOL exec, 75% of those users are people who subscribe to the dial-up service and don't need. Basically we're talking about folks who have another kind of ISP and don't realize that you don't need to pay AOL anymore if you're just using it for email. The group can be further divided into two sub-groups, the old, and the lazy.
Here's a step-by-step process for canceling AOL and saving some cash while still keeping access to your AOL email account.
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Comcast, TWC, DirecTV And Samsung Enter Unholy Partnership Inside Your TV
Hate your cable set-top box? So does Samsung, apparently. They've cut deals with Comcast, Time Warner Cable and DirecTV to offer various features that will allow you to watch TV either without a box, or access your cable subscription through an app on the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
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Time Warner CSR Agrees Their "Soul Being Sucked Away"
Rachel shares an interesting transcript of a chat she had with Time Warner. She was complaining about how Time Warner automatically raises its rates every year, and, in the end, got the CSR to confirm that they felt their soul was "being sucked away" from having to explain this policy so many times.
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Oops, My Time Warner Installer Accidentally Upsold Me!
Alex has a Time Warner DVR, but never asked for one. He tells Consumerist that the installer brought one to his home and connected it to the main TV instead of a cable box, but without installing DVR service. Because Alex and his roommate never asked for it. He'd be inclined to write this off as a simple error on the installer's part, but he knows three other households in different parts of New York state that have had strangely forgetful cable installers.
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Time Warner Cable Keeps Bugging Me, Brags It's Immune To Do Not Call Registry
Julius thought he was protected against telemarketers by signing up for the
National Do Not Call Registry, but a gleefully irritating Time Warner Cable rep informed him that this isn't so. Because he's a subscriber, TWC is allowed to toss telephonic sales pitches his way. Businesses with an established relationship with customers can phone them up to 18 months after their last transaction.
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The Time Warner Cable Tech Will Show Up On Time... If You Pay $190/Month
Tired of waiting for the cable guy (or gal) to not show up during the vague four-hour block you'd been given when you made the appointment? Thankfully Time Warner Cable is about to start a premium service that will let the cable tech blow off a more specific appointment for just $189.95 a month.
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Is A Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy Attacking My Time Warner DVR?
Micah has an unusual problem with Time Warner Cable. He tells Consumerist that his DVR simply refuses to record two daily programs that he likes to watch. Those programs?
Countdown with Keith Olbermann and
The Rachel Maddow Show. A Time Warner technician could find no problems with the DVR itself.
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TWC: Saying "Upgrade" Connects You To Live Person. "Downgrade" Disconnects Call.
A Raleigh, North Carolina woman is complaining that when you call Time Warner Cable the automated voice response tree is a little haywire. When you say "upgrade" it connects you to a live operator. But when you say "downgrade," it disconnects your call. Funny how that works.
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Comcast Offers You $25 To Take Phone Survey, Gives You Number For Time Warner Cable
Consumerist reader and Comcast/Xfinity subscriber Amy recently received a promo in the mail from the folks at Kabletown asking her to take a quick survey, for which they would send her a $25 check. One hitch — the number on the mailer sent her to a Time Warner Cable operator.
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Cable's Losing Subscribers Faster Than The Cowboys Are Losing Games
In an exodus that would make Moses proud, cable customers are fleeing their costly monthly habit for greener pastures.
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Reminder: TWC Customers Can't Get The Xbox 360's ESPN Love
Xbox 360 owners who've fired up their console since Monday were treated to a mandatory update that prevented them from getting their Halo Reach on for 5 to 15 minutes. The waiting was worthwhile to Xbox Live Gold members, though, thanks to the streamlined interface and enhanced search features to the Netflix app, as well as access to ESPN 3 programming.
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Time Warner Cable Rep Tells Me Company Doesn't Solve HDMI Problems (Updated)
Aaron couldn't get the HDMI port of his Time Warner Cable DVR box to work. When he went to customer service with the problem, he says the rep told him TWC provides HDMI as an option to customers but does not support it.
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(Lani)
I Refuse To Bow To The Altar Of Holy Envelopes
Lani is doing what it takes to guard as much as possible against identity-swiping mail thieves. Time Warner Cable sends Lani return envelopes with unprotected holes to show the address, but this is one customer who refuses to play the game, modifying the envelopes until they're secure enough to send:
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Time Warner Cable Customers To Finally Get ESPN3 Access Next Monday
It's been more than a month since Time Warner Cable and Disney
ironed out their differences and announced that customers of the cable company would be getting access to ESPN's online portal ESPN3. Now we finally have a date — Oct. 25.
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Time Warner Cable Says It's Deprogramming My DVR From Afar
Seth gets the pleasure of rescheduling all his DVR settings thanks to an update Time Warner Cable is rolling out.
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Time Warner Changes Customer's Phone Number, Forgets To Mention It
If there's one thing you can depend on with Time Warner Cable, it's that if you call for technical support, someone is going to ask you to reboot your modem—even when the problem is that TWC changed your phone number without warning.
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Cable Companies Agree To Pay NY Customers For Late Service Calls
In a joyous-for-customers agreement straight out of a Seinfeld episode, Cablevision and Time Warner Cable cut a deal with New York's City Hall that requires the companies to give customers a free month of service if a technician arrives late to an appointment.
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Man Gets Time Warner Bill Lowered More Than He Even Thought He Could
Nathan was paying $48.99 for Time Warner Cable internet and saw they were advertising the same service at $43.99. It wasn't very hard to find, they put it right on his bill! When he called up to ask to get the same rate, they told him he could only get it if he bundled it with cable TV. So he hung up and called back again, using a different Time Warner Cable number.
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Time Warner Cable Reaches Deal With Disney, Customers To Get ESPN 3 Access
On the last day of the NFL pre-season, football fans are rejoicing — or at least the ones who subscribe to Time Warner Cable. The company has finally reached an agreement with Walt Disney Co. that will keep Disney-owned channels like ESPN from being blacked out during the first week of the the NCAA and NFL seasons. And TWC customers will now have access to ESPN's online video portal ESPN3.
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Time Warner Cable & Disney To Kiss And Make Up Before Football Season Starts
With only days to go before the NCAA and NFL football seasons kick off, many Time Warner Cable customers have been worried that their cable provider wouldn't be able to hash out an agreement with Walt Disney Co. and that they'd be without ESPN when they needed it most. But it looks like that crisis will be averted and the companies will work out their differences soon.
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Time Warner Cable Keeps Making My Favorite Channels Digital Exclusives
Don is one of the old-school holdouts who refuses to upgrade to digital cable, and says Time Warner Cable is making him suffer for the choice. The provider took BBC America off his programming level and moved it to a digital tier.
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Heart Attack Patient Has No Phone Going On A Week, Time Warner Botches Repairs
Thomas is on the 7th day without Time Warner Cable phone service, which is a bit of a problem since his mother just had a heart attack. They've promised multiple times to come out and fix it, and either broken those promised appointments or only partially fixed the issue.
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Time Warner Cable And The $12,000 Installation Fee
Time Warner Cable wants to charge $12,000 to install cable and internet for a customer in the remote town of Lee, MA. The town's Board of Selectmen, however, are having none of it. They say that Time Warner Cable in in breach of their contract, which requires them to install cable in any house that already has electricity and telephone service.
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Time-Warner Cable Tells Soldier He's Getting A Refund, Then Threatens To Ding His Credit Score
Consumerist reader Bill is in the U.S. Army and has been calling Fort Bragg, NC, his home when he wasn't in Iraq. Recently, he was given orders to relocate out west, which meant it was time to pack up the family and — among other things — transfer his cable service. Unfortunately, since Time-Warner Cable doesn't service his new location, he had to cancel. But what started out as a simple solution that would net him a $64 refund quickly degraded into cancellation fees and threats of inflicting pain on his credit score.
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Cable Companies Could Save Money By Flagging Certain Customers "Not An Idiot"
Cable companies could be saving lots of money and pissing off fewer people if they implemented special "this guy is not an idiot" flags on their tech savvy customer's accounts, argues the NeedCoffee blog.
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How Long Should I Wait For Time Warner Cable To Hook Up My Internet?
Isaac signed up for Time Warner Cable internet at the beginning of the month. And he waited. And waited. And the company pushed his start date back again and again and now tells him he'll have to wait nearly two weeks from when he signed up for a tech to visit him.
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(amazon.com)
Hurt Locker Lawyers: Time Warner Cable Hearts Pirates
If you're one of the 5,000 "John or Jane Does" accused of illegally downloading copies of The Hurt Locker, and your ISP is Time Warner Cable, you may be safely airlifted out of the battle zone. According to the law firm representing Hurt Locker producer Voltage Pictures, TWC is "a good ISP for copyright infringers" because it won't hand over the names of its customers as quickly as the lawyers would like.
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BillShrink Shows You How To Save On Cable Bills
This morning,
BillShrink delivered a karate chop to the cable cabal with a new service, currently in beta, that shows you how to get the best cable/tv/satellite/dish package for the best price.
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Verizon Blocked Me From Switching To TWC For A Year
Donald chuckled at yesterday's post about someone whom
TWC blocked from switching to Verizon because Verizon did the same to him when he tried to leave it for TWC.
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TWC Goes The 'If You Won't Have Me, You Won't Have Anyone' Route
Cold callers who work for cable service providers are known to be hard sellers, but Time Warner Cable stepped a few miles over the line by disconnecting a potential customer's Verizon service and sending a technician to install TWC service — all this after the customer repeatedly turned down TWC's overtures begging them to switch over.
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How I Won A Billing Battle With TWC
Marcus is rightfully bragging about how he was incorrectly billed by Time Warner Cable, then fought the long, steady fight and came out victorious. It was of course a tougher, longer and more annoying struggle than it should have been. But hey, all's well that ends well.
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TWC Has Left My Cable Dangling Because My Neighbor Isn't Cool
Joseph says Time Warner Cable can't get his service working again because it's too difficult to access his house. He needs cooperation from a neighbor but can't get it.
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Email Addresses For 3 TWC Execs
Not that Time Warner Cable would execute anything less than superb customer service, but just in case the unthinkable happens, Marcus has tracked down some e-mail addresses to some Time Warner Cable higher-ups. Clip and save for your next Executive Email Carpet Bombing run.
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Worst Company In America Elite 8: Bank Of America VS Time Warner Cable
Things are really starting to heat up. Bank of America has already breezed through match-ups with Citibank and Walmart, and now only Time Warner Cable with their
"metered broadband" stands between the mortgage giant and the Final Four.
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Worst Company In America 2010 Sweet 16: Time Warner Cable VS HP
Oh no, the computer doesn't work! Again! Is the internet out? Or is the laptop on fire? It's a battle of service vs hardware.... to the death!
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Cable Providers Rushing To Broadcast Tiger's Return To Golf In 3D
It would be so easy to make jokes about Tiger Woods' club and balls being seen in 3D. But it's not gonna happen. Regardless, in spite of the fact that about 4.2 people have purchased 3D TVs — and that golf is probably the least interesting sport to televise, let alone in 3D, cable companies are lining up to broadcast the Masters golf tournament in its three-dimensional glory.
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Worst Company In America 2010: Charter VS Time Warner Cable
It's time for two major cable companies to put the gloves on. In one corner, Time Warner Cable, which has drawn the ire of lawmakers and consumers alike for its love of
"consumption based billing," an idea so wildly unpopular that they had to put it on hold before people got the pitchforks and torches out.
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Time Warner Launching WiFi Hotspots In NYC
Earlier today, Time Warner Cable announced their plan for placing WiFi hotspots in NYC that will be free to subscribers of their Road Runner internet service.
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Time Warner Wants $30 To Cancel My Cable
In an effort to save some cash during these troubled times, Travis decided to get rid of his cable TV subscription. And when he called up Time Warner to give them the bad news they said fine... that'll be $30.
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VIDEO: Time Warner Cable Sorry For Showing Playboy Footage On Kids' Channels
The folks at Time Warner Cable had lots of apologizing to do yesterday after viewers in some parts of North Carolina were treated to footage of naked ladies on what are listed as two different children's channels.
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List Of Subscriber Fees Shows What You Pay For Channels You Hate
After the spat between Cablevision and Disney invaded the Oscar telecast last Sunday, the fees channels charge cable companies (who then pass them along to you) have come into the spotlight. All Things Digital posted a list from industry analyst SNL Kagan that shows the wholesale prices each channel charges cable companies for their product.
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Time Warner Cable: Thanks For Ordering Cable, But We Won't Have HD Boxes Until June
Reader CJ decided to order cable after not having it for several years. Turns out Time Warner Cable in LA is out of HD cable boxes... until June.
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HBO, Verizon Fios Team Up For 'HBO Go' Online Service
While most of the major TV networks and several basic cable channels have been ramping up the amount of programming they make available online, premium cable channels have steered clear of the Internet. That could change with today's announcement that Verizon Fios and HBO have teamed up to create HBO Go, a service that makes the pay channel's offerings available online.
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Why Won't Time Warner Fix The "Old, Overtaxed" Wiring In This Neighborhood?
Alex from Rochester, NY, says every year around this time his Road Runner high speed access slows to a crawl, and stays that way until April. It occasionally happens at other times throughout the year, too. Unfortunately, Time Warner won't fix the problem. Alex says one technician who came out to look at the issue told him, "The wires were installed when Adelphia provided service, and they haven't been upgraded since." Another one told him, "The problem has been going on for years, and management knows about it, but enough people don't complain."
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Road Runner Rep Acts All Weird About Request For Upload/Download Speeds
Richard sent us this screen capture of a chat he says he recently had with a Roadrunner CSR. I can't figure out why the CSR would withhold bandwidth stats from a customer, nor why she would capitulate so quickly when Richard asks for her supervisor. Maybe that's one mean supervisor.
Hey, Time Warner Customers, Ready To Pay For Fox?
Customers of Time Warner Cable may consider themselves the victors in the battle between their cable operator and the Fox network. After all, the two sides came to a
last-minute agreement on New Year's Day guaranteeing that TWC customers will still be able to catch up with Homer Simpson, Walter Bishop and Jack Bauer. But guess who's gonna pay for that? Here's a hint: It's not Rupert.
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FOX Did Not Pull Its Programming From TWC, Food Network Pulled From Cablevision
After much lambasting and ballyhooing, FOX agreed to keep arguing with TWC over what it charges for the cable company to carry its programming — without pulling the shows as it had threatened to do. Cablevision customers, however, are going to go without Food Network and HGTV.
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ISPs Trying To Scare You Into Buying More Internets
How much bandwidth does the average consumer need? Well, according to the totally unbiased folks at America's major Internet service providers, more than they're probably using now. According to Time Warner, Grandma needs Roadrunner with PowerBoost in order for you to send her photos. And AT&T thinks you need at least 3 mpbs to use Facebook. What?
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This Customer Is Not Impressed By Time Warner Cable's Revamped DVR Service
This past summer, Time Warner Cable introduced a new DVR service to subscribers. The New York Observer noted at the time that some of the changes—namely the "Start Over" feature that lets you watch something from the beginning even if you just switched to it—were nice. At least one customer, however, doesn't agree. In fact, now that he's given the revamped service a 4-month trial run, he's ready to
list the problems with it, some of which sound suspiciously anti-consumer.
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Developer Finds Security Hole In SMC Router Provided By Time Warner Cable
—>If you didn't provide your own wireless router when you signed up for Internet access from Time Warner, you may have been given an SMC-branded modem/router combo that turns out is ridiculously easy to break into. More »
Why Won't Time Warner Take This Nice Old Lady's Money?
—>Steve in northern New York is having a problem with Time Warner. He would like it if they could install service at his mother's newly constructed house. Time Warner not only doesn't want to take her money, they can't give her the best deal available because her house is too new. More »
Ex-Time Warner Employee's Zombie AOL Account Finally Put To Rest
—>You may remember Jennifer, who we wrote about on Wednesday. She suddenly started receiving collection notices for an AOL account she hadn't paid for since 2000. Her situation has since been resolved, and serves as an important reminder about accounts and benefits when changing jobs. More »
Cable Providers Stream Shows Online, Require Subscriber Authentication
—>How are cable providers reacting to the threat posed by online streaming of shows? Forget bandwidth caps for now—how about online access to cable programs, limited to cable subscribers? More »
It's like the dot-com boom is finally over. Time Warner is spinning AOL off into its own company once again by the end of the year. AOL will get most of the terrible customer service in the divorce. [Bloomberg] More »
TWC: Thanks For The Tips, But This Is Just A Marketing Tool
—>Kevin wrote to us about a friend who took up a Time Warner Cable rep's Twitter request for advice on improving customer loyalty. What followed was an amusing exchange that made it clear TWC was tweeting up the wrong tree. More »
Time Warner Gives You $1,271, Won't Take It Back
—>Melissa isn't sure why she has a $1,271.25 credit from Time Warner Cable, but there it sits in her account, baiting her to order a slew of pricey extras. Melissa asked Time Warner to reverse the credit, figuring the random payout had to be a mistake. "We can't fix it," they told her. "It's an error on our part. Enjoy!" More »
Time Warner Shuts Off Heavy User's Account With No Warning
—>While they've temporarily shelved metered broadband plans, Time Warner is cutting off, with no warning, the accounts of customers who they deem have used too much bandwidth. One such customer lives in Austin, TX, one of the original markets slated for metered broadband. Stop The Cap has the story, and an excerpt is inside. More »
New York Representative Goes After Time Warner's Metered Broadband
—>Rochester, NY is one of the expanded test areas for TWC's new metered broadband program, (along with Austin & San Antonio, TX, and Greensboro, NC.) The people of Rochester are especially upset about the change, including their representative, Eric Massa, who had strong words for Time Warner. More »
Time Warner Cable Expands Metered Billing To Four More Cities
—>If you live in Rochester, NY, Austin or San Antonio, TX, or Greensboro, NC, your broadband access from TWC is about to be capped. The company is expanding its trial run from Beaumont, TX to these additional four cities, where TWC broadband customers will have to choose one of the company's tiers of service—anywhere from 5GB to 40GB per month. DSL Reports notes that all five markets lack Verizon's FiOS as an option, and TWC faces little to no competition from other providers. More »
Time Warner as a whole reported a 4th quarter loss of $24.2 billion today. The cable unit, which lost $8.16 billion, suffered as people canceled subscriptions due to the economy. Yowch. [NYT] More »
Time Warner Calls You In Another Dimension, Or Something
—>Kushal wants to know how Time Warner verifies the call logs for its installer technicians, because when they say they call, his phone doesn't ring. More »
Secret Phone Numbers And Email Addresses To Reach Executives At 101+ Companies
—>Inside, email addresses, phone numbers, and addresses for over 100 different companies to inject your customer service complaints into their corporate executive offices, and get it well on the way to success. More »
Video: Whoopi Wants Her DirecTV Fixed, And Sherri Wants To Speak To Your Supervisor
—>If you've ever wanted to see the rants from angry Consumerist tipsters brought to life by the woman who played Patrick Swayze in "Ghost," here ya go—although Sherri Shephard is actually a bit funnier, describing how the Time Warner CSR makes her go to an evil place. Seen here is Shephard letting out the evil because of the CSR who tells her, "Well my supervisor is going to say the same thing." Video clip below. More »
Please Time Warner, Change The Name On My Bill
—>You might think driving to a Time Warner office, filling out transfer forms, and copying your IDs—twice—might convince Time Warner to change the name on your bill; but you would be wrong. More »
A man who spammed 1.2 million AOL customers was sentenced to 30 months in prison yesterday. Now how will we ever find out how to make bigger p3nz? Oh wait, here comes another spam... [CNN Money] More »
Listen Time Warner, The 60-Year-Old English Teacher Didn't Order $1,400 Of Porn
—>Time Warner wants reader Nancy, a 60-year-old English teacher, to pay $1,400 for ordering porn—including 17 flicks supposedly viewed on a single day. Nancy didn't order the porn, and has no clue how the charges were associated with her cable box, but one useless Time Warner representative suggested: "maybe your dog ordered them." More »
Costa Mesa may follow L.A.'s lead and sue Time Warner Cable for shoddy service, too. [Broadcast Newsroom] More »
AOL Tops MSN Money's Customer Service Hall Of Shame
—>Earlier this week, MSN Money published the results of a national Zogby poll they commissioned on who delivers the worst customer service. The winner was AOL, ranked "poor" by 47% of respondents, while Comcast came in second with 42% suckage. Sprint ranked third at 39%. More »
Former Time Warner CSR Arrested For ID Theft
—> A woman in Cincinnati was arrested this week and charged with two counts of identity theft and two counts of theft, for allegedly stealing the credit card information of a customer who was paying a bill in November 2007. Time Warner fired her when the investigation started and it appears no other customers were affected, but it's a good reminder to stay on top of your credit report at all times. More »
We Are Not Impressed By New York City's Proposed Cable Consumer Bill Of Rights
—>New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson has proposed tying a Cable Consumer Bill of Rights into the 10-year franchise renewals Time Warner and Cablevision are expected to sign later this year. The proposal would force cable operators to disclose information about their expenses and service goals—which sounds nice and important on paper—but wastes an unrivaled opportunity to end the cable operators' most hated practices. More »
Time Warner Delivers Modem, Cockroaches
Maybe Time Warner needs to include a decontamination protocol when it transfers reusable equipment between customers.
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Tired Of Your Entrenched Service Provider? Consider A Local Alternative
—>Few consumers realize they can ditch their monopolistic service providers in favor of local, independent telecoms that often offer similar services at competitive rates. These smaller outfits depend on service, not size, as reader Sharpstick recently discovered:
In the Charleston SC area we are fortunate to have local a internet / phone / cable provider called Knology that has made customer service an art form. More »
Best Internet, TV, Phone Service Providers
—>Lots of companies are pushing deals for their bundled internet, tv and phone plans, but which are best? Consumer Reports surveyed its readers and here's how they ranked the service providers: More »
Warner Bros. Goes Blu-Ray Exclusive
—>Warner Bros. rolled up its sleeves in the format war today and announced that it was discontinuing support for HD-DVD after May 2008. More »
NFL Surrenders: Giants-Patriots Game To Be Simulcast On NBC, CBS
—>After threats from US Senators and general hue and cry from sports fans, the NFL has caved and will allow NBC and CBS to simulcast the upcoming Giants-Patriots game in which Tom Brady and the boys may become the first team to go undefeated since the Miami Dolphins first did it in 1972, and the first team to go 16-0 in the regular season. The game will be available nationwide. More »
NFL: "You Can Have The Patriots Game If You Agree To Binding Arbitration." TWC: "Bite Me."
—>The NFL has offered Time Warner Cable the option of entering into binding arbitration in exchange for "free" access to the much-anticipated last regular season Patriots game after two U.S. Senators threated to reconsider the NFL's anti-trust exemption if it didn't make NFL Network games available to more viewers. Sadly for the NFL, Time Warner Cable has decided to decline this generous offer to screw themselves. More »
Local Franchise Authorities Keep Cable Operators In Line
—>Cable companies must constantly prove their worth to local franchise authorities. The authorities grant the cable providers permission to operate, and can whip them into action for failing to meet basic customer service standards, as reader Darren shows. More »
Comcast Sues The NFL For Breach Of Contract
—>Comcast has sued the NFL for breach of contract alleging that the league is breaking its contract with Comcast by encouraging the cable giant's customers to switch to other providers. More »
Apple, AT&T, Sued Over Visual Voicemail
—>A firm called Klausner Technologies has just announced that they are suing both Apple and AT&T for patent infringement over the iPhone's "visual voicemail" feature. Klausner Technologies has already sued VOIP provider Vonage and AOL/Time Warner for the same darn thing, and both companies chose to settle and license the technology from Klausner. More »
FCC Chairman Takes Aim At Cable Monopolies
—>Newly emboldened FCC Chairman Kevin Martin plans to wield the Cable Communications Act of 1984 to shatter the cable industry's anti-competitive practices. The proposed regulations would give consumers flexible, diverse programming at cheaper rates, while capping the cancerous growth of conglomerates like Comcast and Time Warner.
The commission is preparing to take steps to make it less expensive for rivals of the largest cable conglomerates to buy their programs — so that, for instance, a satellite company would find it less expensive to purchase programs by the Turner Broadcasting System, a unit of Time Warner. More »
Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Tells People To Cancel Comcast, Time Warner
—>Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones respectfully requests that you cancel Time Warner Cable and/or Comcast for not letting you have the NFL network on regular basic cable. More »
An Excellent History Of The Evil DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Monopoly
—>NFL Sunday Ticket is like amazing delicious super crack. From the ability to watch whatever game your fickle heart desires, to the hypnotic decadence of "The Red Zone Channel," NFL Sunday Ticket is well, radical. More »
Time Warner Offers $30 Credit To Apologize For Hammering Through Wall, Drilling Through Floor
—>A Time Warner installation tech searching for a cable line hammered several holes in reader Christos' wall, and then drilled a few more in his floor. When the random destruction failed to produce the wire, the tech crept downstairs and split Christos' neighbor's line. Now Christos can only watch the channel selected on his neighbor's cable box. More »
Executive Email Carpet Bomb Scores Direct Hit On Time Warner
—>Reader Clayton launched the feared Executive Email Carpet Bomb against Time Warner executives after learning that the cable installation he scheduled for this week would not occur until November. Within an hour of launching the EECB, Clayton received a call from Time Warner promising to reschedule his installation for this weekend. Clayton's EECB: More »
Are Bundled Packages A Threat To Privacy?
—>The L.A. Times read the privacy policies of several bundled service providers and found that they are feverishly monitoring their subscriber's activities. With the ability to monitor internet, phone, and television preferences, bundled service providers are able to track nearly every aspect of their subscriber's digital lives. While Google retains personally identifiable for less than two years, some ISPs like Time Warner cling to your data for an astounding fifteen years in order to "comply with tax and accounting requirements." It gets worse.
There are red flags to be found in each telecom provider's privacy policy. A close reading of Time Warner's policy reveals: More »
Time Warner Repairman Jailed For Sexual Assault
—>If a creepy Time Warner repairman says he wants to 'be with you' while on a service call, you probably shouldn't let him back in your house. After making the comment, Steven James Hernandez was dispatched back to the house to fix a problem outside; instead, he decided to bang on the 28 year-old woman's door. From KENS 5:
Police said the banging at the door lasted at least 15 minutes, and the man at the door was Hernandez. More »
Is Warner Bros. Filming Audiences In An Attempt To Stop Piracy?
—>Here's the creepiest complaint we've received in a long, long time. Reader Sam says he was filmed by a security guard contracted by Time/Warner during a recent showing of The Invasion at an AMC movie theater. More »
Time Warner To Launch Various Crippled DVR-esque Services
—>Time Warner is launching a service that works sort of like a DVR, but doesn't let you fast-forward—or skip the ads. More »
Time Warner Charges You $0.23 For The Coupons Included In Your Bill
—>Time Warner charged Nick $0.23 for the Home Shopping Network coupon included in his monthly bill. The "Adhsn fee" listed on his bill was an oversight, according to a Time Warner representative, who defended the omnipresent charge as something that is usually "just bundled somewhere else." Nick writes: More »
Despite Crisp Cable Service, Time Warner Insists There Is No Wiring In Your Building Whatsoever
—>Time Warner refused to transfer Jim's account information to his new apartment because they claimed, despite the crisp and clear signal he received, that his apartment was not wired for cable service. Time Warner insisted on dispatching a contractor, who, after verifying that Jim's line worked perfectly, decided to do some unnecessary work so he could get paid. Jim writes: More »
Time Warner Disconnects Your Cable, Claims You Already Moved
—>Time Warner tried to convince Ryan that he had already moved after prematurely disconnecting his cable service. Ryan hadn't even told Time Warner he was moving. His house's new owner, who hadn't yet finalized his purchase, merely told Time Warner he wasn't interested in their services. Ryan writes:
My wife and I have been subscribers of Time Warner Cable (digital cable + internet service) for over 3 years. We haven't had problems as big as most, but we've still had our issues here and there. Yesterday's happenings, however, take the cake. More »
Your New Time Warner DVR Comes With Porn!
While some of us might consider it "added value" to receive a Time Warner DVR that was already 20% full of the porn that we would eventually be collecting anyway, some people have children and/or don't feel like watching "Hole Diggers 2." Shocking, we know.
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Comcast Does Away With "All Day" Waiting
Comcast has begun narrowing the window of time customers have to wait for technicians, says the Wall Street Journal. More »
Sabotage! AT&T Claims Time-Warner is Cutting Their Cables
—>"AT&T filed a lawsuit Dec. 8 in a district court in Bexar County, Texas, against Time Warner Cable's San Antonio division, alleging that the cable operator engaged in "a methodical invasion of facilities owned, operated and controlled by AT&T Texas" while installing voice service at apartments and other multiple-dwelling units in and around the city. In its lawsuit against Time Warner Cable in San Antonio, AT&T alleges that: "Cable technicians trespassed on AT&T facilities and cut or disconnected wires in network interface devices." More »
Is Sylvester Stallone Taking Over Your TV?
Well, this is totally impossible to confirm, but we just got a complaint from a reader saying that their DVR was recording Sylvester Stallone movies all on its own. They think this might be some sort of sly promotion tied into the new Rocky movie.
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Time Warner Doesn't Know Your Secret Question
—>Sometimes, we like getting emails that just jettison the reasonable consumerist tone and plunge right into bilious, invective-laced ranting. Emails like consumerist S.K.'s account of a recent dialogue he had with Time Warner's clueless Roadrunner CSRs. More »
Lifehacker Suffers Trifecta of Crappy Cable Companies
—>Adam Pash, Lifehacker associate editor, moved into a new apartment and signed up for Adelphia internet connection, which promptly had mad troubs. Which is understandable. Adelphia is bankrupt. More »
Exclusive: Time Warner Dissolves Houston Division of Texas-Kansas City Cable Partners
We just got sent this internal announcement announcing Houston's Cable Partners annihilation. More »
AOL Founder 'Sorry' For Time Warner Mating
—>It's uncertain to whom AOL founder Steve Case, looking as boyish as ever, directed his apology, but he's, "Sorry" for AOL's merger with Time-Warner (TW). Not that the merger occurred, no, they will always have those hot Savannah nights, but he's, "disappointed and frustrated that it hasn't developed in the way that we all hoped at the time it could." More »
The News is Incredibly Newsy
• Reporter buys a cheap Dell and opens every spam and suspicious file to see how much malware and viruses he can get before Geek Squad declares it a total loss. [
Wired]
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AOL is Giving Up The Ghost
—>Like the wounds of the ten children a year who plummet into holes in the ground filled with the jagged shards of discarded AOL cds, America Online is just hemorrhaging money and subscribers these days. More »
The Cableman Strikes Thrice!
—>We think we've discovered the Rosetta Stone of cable company installation stories. More »
DirecTV Loses Customer Over Hi-Def, Doesn't Care
—>Chuck from Brooklyn, "one of the lemmings who bought a HD TV recently" writes that he's "puzzled by the nonchalance with which [DirectTV] let me switch over to their mortal enemy [TimeWarner]." More »
America Online Gets A Sex Change, Still Looks Like a Man
—>America Online Inc has officially renamed itself AOL, following TimeWarner Inc's renaming of its internet component to Time Warner Cable. More »
AOL Gets Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher
s denizens. The results will be documented and used to create original programming, AOL Keyword "I pay for this service, so thanks for messing with me and my time, Time Warner douchebags."
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Time Warner CEO Helps Customer on Street Scare Time Warner Employee
From the NY Post (purportedly; We couldn't find a link, but we're dumb.)
January 4, 2006 — TIME Warner CEO Dick Parsons stuck up for one of his customers during a stroll down Seventh Avenue on Monday morning. Hedge fund manager Jeff Green was on his cellphone arguing with a Time Warner Cable customer service rep when he recognized Parsons on the street and walked over to him. Parsons patiently listened as Green recounted how he'd gotten up early to pick up a new cable box in person - thus bypassing a $30 installation fee - only to find out the office was closed when he'd been told it would be open. The service rep, who wasn't being especially cooperative, suddenly changed his tune and agreed to waive the installation fee when Green informed him Parsons was standing next to him and was sympathetic to his plight.
Clearly the answer to our customer service problem is to create
more CEOs. As many as one per customer. (
Thanks, David!)
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