n-rd

Hey kids. Let me tell you a little story about Internet access in NYC. One of your options is Time Warner cable, you should avoid this like the plague. Here’s why.

On March 8th 2008 I was planning to move from my apartment Hell’s pantry Manhatten to a Bay Ridge apartment. Since I’d set that date I thought it a good idea to have all my services there waiting for me. Little did I know my friends, little did I know. Being an existing customer I called figuring it would be simple, just tell them the date and where. Nope. Not so much. Turns out the person living there before had some delinquent account. I assure Time Warner that I’m not that person since I am an existing customer, but to no avail. They insisted that even though I was already paying they needed to see a copy of the lease to make sure I wasn’t cheating them out of money. After several phone calls in this vein I relented and faxed in my copy of the lease with the appropriate information blacked out. Upon calling back to inform them of this, they could not find the lease for a good 20 minutes and once they did couldn’t figure out how to change the account properly informed me that I would have to go to the 23rd st office.

Those who know me, you would think I would have had enough and switched. Turns out I learned something about myself during this whole ordeal. I will suffer a good amount of pain for uninterrupted internet access. Or in this case minimally interrupted internet access.

I head to the Time Warner service center one evening after work. Wait 1 hour to get a representative who has no idea how to fix the account and asks if I would mind waiting for the lady next to her otherwise it’s not going to get done right. Again, I allow this to go on and wait another half an hour. This women, very nice, sits with me for the next 20 minutes and straightens everything out. Even taking my light hearted jokes as I point out that I’m living with my girlfriend just in case Time Warner has any problem with me living in sin. Told her I’m moving on March 8th shut it off then, at last a hook up appointment scheduled for March 11th. At my new address.

March 11th rolls around I take a day off work and I’m just hanging out waiting out the 8 hr window the cable guy has to show up. He comes around 2, nice enough guy, checks the cables in the back, unhooks my router and hooks it into my mini despite my pleas. Then proceeds to ask me to use my cell phone so he can call into the service center and activate it. Now, I found this a bit odd, but I just assume he did it to link the number with the account. Or more that he didn’t want to use his own minutes. We’re hooked up and working. Finally this is all done.

But wait, there’s more. I know you’re on the edge of your seat and here’s where it gets good. On March 10th I was auto-billed to my credit card that I used for the previous account. Great I thought they even moved my auto-bill pay. Despite their front line gestapo account people, they’re on the ball. Then around March 12th I get a bill in the mail for the new account. Oh there’s that other shoe. Seriously you didn’t just charge me for my old account, they sure did.

I call the customer service line:
LaShawna: just go to the bill pay website and change it there.
Nope, won’t let me log in because my account is no longer valid.
Nick: After about 30 minutes of explaining the situation again, “Ok Let’s get this straightened out for you, we’re going to ” Phone hangs up.

Next comes nameless customer service rep, who is just asked for a supervisor. Wait 30 minutes on the line for a supervisor then hang up and call again. Next customer service rep, is a call center in India where she can’t make head or tails of the fact that Time Warner bills in advance and that I was double charged, let’s try the supervisor line again. Another 30 minutes later I hang up and try again, this time I got Kim.

Kim, listens and comprehends exactly what I’m saying. She works with her supervisor to get the problem resolved. Honestly I think she was new. She didn’t have any of the attitude that previous customer support people have had. She gives me two numbers, one as confirmation for the turn off or carry over of the automatic bill pay, the second to refund the money for the double charge.

Finally, this is over.

HA! You thought it was over. Seriously dude, I’ve a bridge for sale wanna buy it?

Turns out, that money she refunded me was the deposit for my cable modem. Even though I’d not turned in my hardware, but kept it for my new location. $25 deposit that shouldn’t have been refunded.

I call to find out via the automated system that I still owe them X amount of dollars. I’m fed up now and I find a Consumerist post about dealing with Time Warner Cable. I know, I’m just as shocked as you are that other people might have had some problem. I mean honestly we can see the level of professionalism and quality up to this point.

I call this number and I get sent to Genie(jennie), who didn’t sound like she wanted to be there, let alone listen to the last month that I’d spent talking to Time Warner Cable. However, the first thing she did do was make sure that Time Warner got it’s hardware deposit back. Not be concerned with my happiness as a customer, not hear what brought me to calling her number, not how she can refund the money just deducted from my account as a double bill. She made sure that Time Warner cable got their $25. Good work Genie. After she decides that my cable wasn’t turned off on the 8th, but was instead turned off on the 12th to prorate the amount they billed me for, she informs me that the best she can do is give me one month credit, and only offers that after I asked about it.

She then informs me that she’ll have to run anything else by her Supervisor who will be back on the 1st. Well kids, here we are on the 7th. Way past the 1st last time I checked. So I call that same number back.

This time it’s Nancy. Nancy flat out refuses to listen to my problem since Genie is already on the case Nancy doesn’t want to hear it. I should wait for Genie(Jeanie) to call me back, and that they’ll both be back Tuesday the 8th. This all sounds so vaguely familiar. The punchline to this one is, upon asking Nancy whether she thought I was being unreasonable she said yes. When I asked her if she thought it was OK to pay a company 44.95 and be doubled billed and treated like this, she refused to continue the conversation and gave me her supervisors number when prompted for it.

I’ve had enough for today though, so I’m going to wait to see if they call me back tomorrow.

Stay tuned, don’t buy Time Warner products, and thanks for listening this has been very therapeutic for me.

This entry was posted Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 2:11 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.