Here’s what Matthew learned from his experience with Time Warner Cable: if you’re told not to return a piece of equipment that your cable company or ISP has issued you, don’t believe a word that they say. He was told that he didn’t need to return an aged cable modem, so he didn’t. TWC rewarded him with a collection notice and a huge hit to his credit score. How did he fix the problem so he could take out a loan and buy a house? The executive e-mail carpet bomb, of course. [More]
time warner cable
My Parents’ Time Warner Cable Installation Will Cost Either $3,000 Or $40
By 6.22.12
Taylor’s parents can get service from Time Warner Cable. Or maybe they can’t. Or maybe they can. Just calling up TWC the old-fashioned way eventually got her a response that it would cost $3,000 to extend the lines 500 feet to her parents’ house. Unfortunate, so she looked into other options…until typing in her parents’ address on a Time Warner ad, installing Time Warner Cable would be possible for $2,960.00 less than quoted. But a web form is one thing, and dealing with actual techs is another. No one at TWC seems to have any idea what Taylor should do now. [More]
DOJ Reportedly Investigating Cable Companies For Squashing Online Competition
By 6.13.12
The Justice Department is reportedly engaged in an anti-trust investigation into many areas where the cable TV industry might be acting inappropriately to try and quell competition from online video. Many consumers want to pick and choose what they watch, using services like Hulu and Netflix, whereas cable companies would like them to continue to pay for bundles of TV channels, even some they might not watch. [More]
Time Warner’s Copy Protection Might Just Drive TV Lover To Piracy
By 6.12.12
Instead of a cable company-provided DVR, Leon uses a TiVo. It gives him greater flexibility, since he can transfer programs to his backup hard drives to free up space, then transfer the programs back when he is woefully short on entertainment. Only the cable networks and Time Warner Cable don’t want us to be able to do this. Where Leon lives, every program that’s not on one of the over-the-air broadcast networks is copy-protected. He can’t copy any of these shows to his backup drives. It’s as if it were 1990, and every time Leon ejected a recorded TV program from his VCR, a cable company employee stormed through the door, confiscated it, unspooled the tape, and set it on fire. Only less labor-intensive. [More]
Time Warner Cable CEO: "There Are Too Many Networks"
By 5.24.12
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. [More]
5 Cable Companies Agree To Share Hotspots, But Will People Use Them?
By 5.21.12
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? [More]
Time Warner Cable To Expand Discounted, Capped Internet Plan. Don't Fall For It
By 5.4.12
In February, Time Warner Cable began offering lower-cost, capped Internet access to customers in some parts of Texas. Apparently this was a success, as the company plans to expand the option to other markets around the country. [More]
This Time Warner Cable Letter Epitomizes What's Wrong With Cable Industry
By 4.10.12
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? [More]
Time Warner Cable Offers $99 Wideband Service, But I Can Only Get It By Paying $109
By 4.3.12
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. [More]
Which Worst Company Contenders Force Customers Into Mandatory Arbitration?
By 3.21.12
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. [More]
Worst Company In America Round One: Comcast Vs. Time Warner Cable
By 3.16.12
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. [More]
Time Warner Cable Testing The Waters Of Metered Broadband Again
By 2.28.12
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. [More]
T-Mobile Asks FCC To Stop Verizon Wireless Spectrum Purchase
By 2.22.12
Still stinging from being left alone at the altar by AT&T, T-Mobile USA apparently doesn’t want to see any of its fellow wireless carriers making multi-billion dollar deals if it can’t. [More]
Time Warner Cable & MSG End Squabble, Allow Knicks Fans To Enjoy Linsanity
By 2.17.12
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. [More]
Time Warner Cable Is Really Anxious To See You Go
By 1.27.12
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. [More]
Cox Now Offering Bargain Cable Service For $35
By 1.25.12
In an apparent effort to woo new customers who only want the most basic of cable service and retain some current subscribers who are thinking of cutting the cable cord, Cox Communications has become the latest cable provider to jump on the low-price bandwagon, rolling out its $35/month TV Economy offering. [More]
Verizon Deal To Buy Spectrum From Comcast & Time Warner Cable May Not Be A Cakewalk
By 1.23.12
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. [More]
Time Warner Cable Has No Idea What It Is Supposed To Charge You
By 12.28.11
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. [More]
