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.

He writes:

Recently I had a nice LONG battle with Time Warner Cable in regards to the rogue $89.90 that went missing as a ‘credit’ to my account. After several talks with CSRs and our local office, it has finally been resolved. Here is the breakdown of the whole scenario. Oh, and if your wondering, yes I wanted to bust a gasket on how ignorant the CSRs were, but surprisingly remained calm on the phone.

Feb 20th, 2010 – Ordered Time Warner bundle (two year price lock) online for $89.90 to have setup done on March 1st, 2010 (the day I was to arrive in Cleveland). Got charged $89.90 and thought that was a good deal.

March 1st, 2010 – Ended up giving TWC wrong address (oops, my bad – it was next door’s address, LOL) and promptly got rescheduled for March 3rd. Okay, no problem I thought.

March 3rd, 2010 – Installer comes in at time promised (surprise!) and installs our cable, however during this whole time he’s bad mouthing the cable company. First thought is “Well then why the HELL you working for them?”. Other than that, everything works fine, no problems.

April 2nd, 2010 – Get first bill……..$204.28. I thought to myself “Okay, double month charge, no big deal” right? No….wait, something is missing….and is added. Oh yeah, the $89.90 CREDIT that had already paid! Not to mention there was no notice given to me in regards to a “$9.95 Video Installation Fee”? Called Time Warner Cable, they cannot find any payment made towards the account (*insert boggled face here*) and suggest I get a copy of my bank statement and go to the nearest payment office to get it credited. “Hmmmm….okay”

April 9th, 2010 – Obtained bank statement through mail (please note that when I moved here, I was a little short on cash, so my parents were kind enough to assist on the initial payment of this service, so I had to obtain THEIR bank statement in which they live in WA state). Went to the payment center. The lady behind the desk says she can’t find it, the bank statement isn’t helping and that they need a Transaction Reference Number (?????)….consider me now frazzed, but I kept my tongue about me, which surprises even me. I knew it wasn’t HER fault is probably why.

April 13th, 2010 – First complaint filed with the BBB.

April 14th, 2010 – Get a call from Deandra (x3362) and she was either running rampant or something because she was NOT all there. She first screws up ANY numbers that come flying out of her mouth, but says that a ‘the charges were reversed on the card’ for some odd amount which was not the $89.90. I told her that my parents had CANCELED that card and that I wanted the $89.90 credited to my account like it SHOULD be. Either way, we hung up with the issue not resolved.

April 22nd, 2010 – Escalated the issue to the BBB again AND the FCC.

April 23rd, 2010 – Deandra (x3362) calls AGAIN *joy of joys I was thinking to myself*, and is actually calm and collected today *faint*. She states that she apologizes and that a check was mailed out, but she could put a stop payment on it and credit to the account, ALONG with refunding the $9.95 video installation fee AND give me a credit for 1/2 the fee (something like $48.53). Okay, NOW we finally got somewhere.

All in all, my first bill went from $204.28 down to $55.90 for the first month. Oh, I’ve also attached her apology note that was directed through the BBB resolution center.

Maybe next time the reps will think twice before messing with customers! Oh, and on the 24th, I decided to do an EECB (which is how I got the updated email addresses) to notify them of their CSRs being such idiots. Apparently the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree if on vacation mode they give you other email addresses as well!

What’s your greatest billing victory over an uncaring, mistake-prone corporation?

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.