Helpful information about
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
Sun Prairie Info Site
Charter Cable Communications- Sun Prairie
Charter's motto: "We work hard, every day, to find new ways to charge you more money."
Charter Communications Administration
2701 Daniels Street
Madison, WI 53718
(800) 581-0081
1-888-438-2427
Charter StoreEquipment Drop-Off and Pick-Up
This info is not kept current. Go to this website for more info:
http://www.charter.com/locations#search
Monday 9:00AM - 7:00PM
Tuesday 9:00AM - 7:00PM
Wednesday 9:00AM - 7:00PM
Thursday 9:00AM - 7:00PM
Friday 9:00AM - 7:00PM
Saturday 9:00AM - 5:00PM
Reset your Digital Receiver: Call 1-888-438-2427.
Enter your home phone number, if prompted.
When the incredibly irritating female robot voice prompts you, say "RESET CABLE BOX"
Test your Charter Internet Speed: http://speedtest.charter.com/
How Connected is YOUR community?
Charter Communications: The company you love to hate.
1/22/2014
We have a chance to give Charter Communications some really tough competition in Sun Prairie but you have to contact your Alderman and the Mayor about this because they are in the process of deciding whether to go ahead with equiping the whole city of Sun Prairie with connection to a Fiber Optic Network:
"Sun Prairie officials this week began to debate the merits of a possible $27 million telecommunications investment with Sun Prairie Utilities that would bring fiber optic network capabilities to every home and business in the city....................................
The Motive Group is a Tennessee-based consulting firm with a background in utilities and next-generation broadband services. Representatives from the company have worked for more than a year with city staff and Utilities Commission members to explore the possibility of lacing Sun Prairie with fiber.
Fiber optics produces connection speeds upwards of 50 times faster than today's common broadband, improving triple-play services (internet, telephone, television) along the way, Ringley said."
Here is a link to the newspaper article.
This is a big deal if you have ever had problems with Charter Cable because what Charter needs is some real competition.
Jon Freund Sun Prairie Council Vice President says:
"So a couple of points of clarification/correction to this article:
1) this project doesn't cost rate payers $5 per month as is stated in this article (and a editorial by Mr. Mertes) based upon the plan presented - infact rate payers would benefit from a lower overhead cost that would be spread across existing and new utilities. In addition, when implemented automated metering will reduce truck roles and technology made available through this project will help the utility increase the reliability of the electrical system by knowing exactly/immediately when outages occur and can more quickly switch load to restore power.
Mr. Andres of Baker Tilley commented that should the fiber optic project plan fail and the remaining fiber optic debt be fully put on the SPU rate payers it would be $5 a month(the downside risk of this project) Baker Tilley was hired to do analysis of the project and provide "worst case" scenarios should the plan not succeed so decision makers could weigh the impacts of not only success but understand the risks in the unlikely event of failure.
2) this plan anticipates Payments in Lieu of Tax payments voluntarily be made to the city as telecom assets (which nearly all of the new assets are) are generally not subject to property taxation based on current state law. Over the 20 year life of this project - the city will collect $16-17M from these pilot payments of which a portion would be used to service the debt and a portion would be directed to the general tax revenues of the city. This breaks down roughly into 10M debt repayment, 2M in interest payments and 4-5M in unspoken for new revenue to the city.
3) In addition to PILOT payments - the city would also benefit from new businesses and residents that choose Sun Prairie as their home in part due to this infrastructure from people who value the distance learning/educational benefits to telemedicine which is an exploding topic requiring bandwidth currently not available to companies with high bandwidth requirements including technology, distribution and health care. Each new successful fiber project can demonstrate this new economic development opportunity and as a result of this business growth - it expands the tax base and offers a competitive advantage over all communities in Dane County today.
The intent of structuring the project this way is to ensure everyone wins - residents are able to access a technologically superior product at reasonable, competitive costs and expect a superior customer experience. Electric and Water Rate payers will have access to a more advanced and well managed electrical grid without substantial cost and building underutilized assets - CATV, Internet and Telephone will help pay for the fiber investment. The city wins with 4-5 M in new tax revenue."
Contact your Alderman today and tell him you want the Fiber Optic Network in Sun Prairie.
What Alder District do I live in? Click here.
Who is my Alderman? Click here.
5/11/13
Another typical Customer and Charter communication.
You: Click here to talk to a live rep by chat
A representative will be with you shortly.
Charter Customer Representative [Shilo] has joined the conversation
Charter Customer Representative [Shilo]: HI, ######! You've reached Charter Customer Care Video Support. My name is Shilo, your trusted advisor. How can I be of assistance?
You: I have two sets of saved favorite channels: Sports and Movies. How do I switch from one set to another with the remote? There is only one "FAV" button.
Charter Customer Representative [Shilo]: I would be glad to help you with setting up your favorite channels.
Charter Customer Representative [Shilo]: I know that your time is valuable. To get started, may I please have your full service address, including the zip code?
You: I don't need help setting it up. I have two sets of saved favorite channels: Sports and Movies. How do I switch from one set to another with the remote? There is only one "FAV" button.
Charter Customer Representative [Shilo]: I understand. For me to assist you further, may I please have your service address?
You: #### ############., Sun Prairie, WI
Charter Customer Representative [Shilo]: Thank you for providing the address, Edward.
Charter Customer Representative [Shilo]: Can I have the model of your cable box?
You: dcx3501-m
Charter Customer Representative [Shilo]: Thank you.
Charter Customer Representative [Shilo]: This is a Motorola Box, right?
You: Are there other manufactures with this model number?
Charter Customer Representative [Shilo]: We have Scientific Atlanta and Motorola boxes. DCX3501 is a Motorola box.
Charter Customer Representative [Shilo]: Motorola: here are the steps
1. Select the Save icon on the Quick Menu
2. Select the Favorites List you want to change
3. Select the Save icon to make Favorites changes
4. To add channels, highlight a channel and press OK/Select. The channel will then be designated as a Favorite
5. To delete channels from your Favorites Lists; select a favorite channel then press the OK/Select or FAV button to remove the channel as a Favorite
You can access the Favorites Lists by pressing the FAV button while watching TV.
You: I have two sets of saved favorite channels: Sports and Movies. How do I switch from one set to another with the remote? There is only one "FAV" button.
Charter Customer Representative [Shilo]: Are the 2 channels saved as Favorites?
You: Can you read???? I have two sets of saved favorite channels: Sports and Movies. How do I switch from one set to another with the remote? There is only one "FAV" button.
Charter Customer Representative [Shilo]: I am sorry.
You: Do you have an employee number?
Charter Customer Representative [Shilo]: The 2 channels should be there when you click the FAV button.
Charter Customer Representative [Shilo]: Yes, my employee ID is 359958887.
You: Thank you. No need to keep this going any longer.
2/2/2013
Charter Communications in Madison has pulled 15 channels from the analog selections, including: the Big Ten Network, Golf Channel, Travel Channel, C-Span, VH-1 and Oxygen.
Charter also announced that it will be phasing out analog channels altogether over the next couple of years. The analog channels have been available if you just plug your TV directly into the wall and you could get maybe 60 channels or so. Never counted them. You didn't need to have a cable box; all you needed was a Charter account. In the future, after this changeover, you will need a Digital Receiver Box for each TV. As of this day, boxes cost $5.95 each.
For me, this removes any future reason for sticking with Charter. We have five TVs and two DVRs and have only been renting three cable boxes. This will increase our costs by $23+.
Thank you Charter for freeing me from your being the only cost saving option for our household. Once this change is complete, we can compare your service with DISH and Direct TV. In our neighborhood you can see these satellite dishes all over the place; probably every other house.
6/25/2012
Took me two tries but I finally got some tech support that worked. I was having trouble with one of my HDTVs saying that the input was 720x480 ppi. I called Charter tech support and after finally getting past that absolutely irritating to distraction "robot" woman who wants to divert me from talking to anyone, I was able to tell a tech my problem. She said that this was a common question and that the answer was that the TV was telling me what the channel was actually putting out and that the signal from the station was like that. I talked with her for a while but she was adamant that there was not problem with the box setup.
I have two HDTVs and two of the same Charter Motorola boxes. I tested both TVs on the same channel. Same problem. Couldn't be coming from the station signal. I called again and got a different tech. Explained the same problem to him. He said there was a setting for the display resolution on the box. You momentarily turn the box off, on the box not on the remote, then you immediately hit the "setup" button right next to the "off" button. That brings up a menu where you can set your resolution.
You can only wonder how many people have less than the quality they are paying for, from their cable box, because this first tech did not know what she was talking about. Now my problem is that I can see that I have to replace my eight years older HDTV becasue the newer LED and Plasma TVs are so much better.
11/11/2011
So, I get up this morning at 5:30 am and I have internet, cable TV and telephone. About 30 minutes later I have nothing. No Internet. No cable TV. No telephone. This lasted for the next four hours. It happens so often. I would say, over the last two weeks, my internet and telephone have been down at least ten hours. How do you prove it? Charter will "give" you a minimal refund of the time you have lost to thier services being down, by the minute, but how do you track the time? They know the down time but I have not seen anything on my monthly bill to show me that I have received an automatic "credit" because their service was down. You have to know when the service outage occured and then go through the agonizing telephone prompts with their irritating female robot human inpersonator and then file an official complaint.
I have searched and searched for a utility that would track the up and down time for Charter, but have not come up with anything simple to use, until now.
This is for the more technically inclined but it will work. It involves creating two text files with your text editor and then using your Windows Task Scheduler to run the text files periodically. What you will end up with is a text file that shows your internet connection tests and the results along with the time and date. Should be good enough to nail this company for ripping us off for poor service.
Click here if you would like to get the Charter Cable Internet Connection Test Utility. This can also be altered to test any internet connection.
1/27/2011
| Question to Live Chat: Where is my Hallmark Movie Channel? |
Thank you for choosing Charter Chat Live! A Customer Care representative from Cable TV Support will be with you shortly. TTD Cristine C : Hi. Thank you for contacting Charter Communications. This is Cristine. How can I assist you today? Charter Customer: What channel number is the Hallmark Movie Channel for my subscription?
TTD Cristine C : As I check here on our channel lineup, that is the only Hallmark channel in your area.
|
7/17/2010
Just saw on Charter's website that they have a Rants and Raves Page. When I saw that they were going to post customer's Rants, I thought, "great." That really takes guts. Mmmmm.... not so much. What an incredible, incredulous joke that is. This has got to be written by a complete idiot. Do they not comprehend what a "Rant" is? In their magical world, the Rant cannot be discerned from the Rave.
| From Charter's Website: This Month's "Rant" |
"We want to hear from you! Each month Charter will select one of our customers' Rants and share it with our readers. If you have a very specific need requiring immediate attention, please contact our Customer Service team: www.charter.com/contactus Charter Connect® says... |
Yes! That is the RANT that gets posted! I wonder what chance I would have of getting my Rant's about Charter posted? Since they do not understand what a Rant is, I don't think I would get very far with them. What a joke that their very name is "Charter Communications". Somebody should communicate to them that there is a difference between a Rant and a Rave. And you get this same level of service whenever you call them. |
Rave for July! Charter Connect® says... |
Yes! This is the RAVE. Just what the heck is the difference? Well I guess they probably don't get any real rants sent to them so they have to use some Raves as Rants. Their service is just that good. And, just what are the odds that these are actually Charter customers or are they really Charter employees playing make believe? If anyone wants to submit a REAL CHARTER RANT, click this link. |
7/12/2010
I just stumbled upon your site trying to find an answer to an issue I've been having with their VCR Timing on the online guide. After frustrating myself to near apoplexy dealing with those brain-dead morons, I decided to try to find an answer elsewhere. Your site made me laugh with empathy and just wanted you to know that. I'm glad I'm not alone in my ever increasing hatred of this company. I live in IL and am stuck with these idiots until I move to a new town. I hope that won't be much longer...
Well, their DVRs are too expensive and I live on a fixed income, so that's not going to be an option.
Both morons I had online chats with tried to tell me it was my remote. Can you believe that?? (Actually, I'm sure you could!) LOL
It was all I could do not to call them brain dead morons to their faces.
I worked in Technical Support for a software developer for 10 years, another 7 in Development for software testing. I can usually empathize with these people, but not the ones that work for Charter. They have a script and don't deviate from it. It annoys me to no end!!
Much of the time, I don't even think they read what you write!
I guess I'll have to call and hope I talk to someone in the US and they can understand what I'm talking about.
Keep up the good work on the site! I've book marked it for future reference! (and thanks for your time reading over my issue!)
Joan
4/15/2010
See the chart, below, for connection access from 6 am to 7am on 4/15/2010. The black lines going down indicate NO SERVICE. NO CONNECTION. This was during a time, where, if you called Charter Cable and said you had no service, they would tell you that the problem was with your router or your computer. Don't like their service? Just go to the competition. Except there is no competition.
4/14/2010
So, how does Charter know if they have a problem with the internet? I think I have it figured out. If you are having trouble with your internet connection and are among the first people to call up to complain, you will be walked through, by an agonizingly irritating female robot voice, shutting down your computer, your modem and your router. Then, when that doesn't work after maybe 15 minutes of your wasted time, you will be put through to an actual human being, possibly in India or Mexico. If you can understand the person, you are lucky. Then they will walk you through the same procedure as the agonizingly irritating female robot voice did, which did not work. Then they will ask you if you have their router or if you have your own. If you have your own, which probably 99.9999% of people do, you will be told that there is probably something either wrong with your router or your computer. Its not their fault. Your problem. Hire someone to fix your computer or buy a new router.
If you just wait for a while and not call up for tech support, the problem will either fix itself or, by then, many stupid people will have called and, because of the number of calls from your service area, Charter will know that they have a problem and they will put a message on the telephone answer system saying that there is a problem in the area and they are working on it.
So, if your computer has a problem connecting to the internet and you didn't change anything on your computer or anything connected to the internet, you might as well just wait, because, 99 times out of 100, it is not going to get fixed any faster no matter what you do.
10:40 am: Finally a steady connection to the internet.
11:30 am: Spoke too soon. Down again. Isn't this great service? I think I will drop their service and go with the competition. Oh, yeah; there is no competition. If there was competition, there would be better service.
4/14/2010
Charter Internet down from about 8 pm through when I went to bed at midnight. Up again for a few minutes when I got up at 6 am. Got my email but was not able to respond to any of it because the Charter High Speed Internet is DOWN again. How fast is High Speed Internet when the internet is DOWN? Down now for the last 3 hours and counting.
3/31/2010
Excruciatingly SLOW internet all morning long, now, at 11:11 am, nothing. No internet. Try calling to see if this is ANOTHER outage and, while I get a dial tone with Charter Telephone service, when I dial, I get absolutely nothing. Then, after a minute or so, I get a dial tone again. Thank you Charter for this wonderful service that I am paying over $200 a month for. Just great.
3/12/10
At Charter Cable, Service is a JOKE! Its your fault. Its ALWAYS YOUR FAULT.
Got my new Charter Cable Modem yesterday and, since it said to immediately replace the old modem, I figured I had better do it soon. Its a pretty simple hookup. Power cord, attachment for cable from the wall and an RJ45 jack for computer hookup. Couldn't be simpler.
Except, after I got it hooked up and went through the registration process, on-line, it had to reboot. It did reboot and then I had no internet connection on any of my ten computers. I called for service and got someone that sounded like she was from some oriental country. Could barely understand her. Anyhow, she tests the modem and says it is okay. Has me go through some shutdowns and restarts. Still no connection. She asks if I have a Router from Charter. I say no, I have a Linksys router. She says that the problem must be with the router and I should contact the manufacturer. I said that all was working before I plugged in the new modem and she says that, since the router is not theirs, the problem is mine and not Charter's.
So, I hang up and go back to trying to troubleshoot the problem myself since I have been building computers for almost 15 years now and know a few things about them. I have ten in my house that I have built and maintain.
I go directly from the modem to one of the computers. Still no connection to the internet I call Charter and get a guy that can actually speak in English and does not sound like he is reading from a script. He tests the modem and says it is fine. He walks me through the same process and comes to the conclusion that the problem is with my computer. I said: All ten of them? I say that it seems like a coincidence that I plug this new modem in and now I have a router that doesn't work and I have ten computers that have a problem. I ask him if I can plug the old modem in. He says yes. I plug it in and reboot and I have internet again. He says, hmmmmm, must be the modem. He then suggests that I drive 25 miles, round trip, to exchange the modem for a new one. I say that they should install their own damned equipment and I aint going anywhere to get an exchange. My bill is over $200 a month and they should send someone out.
So, the only good thing about this is that they are sending someone out within the next four hours between 11am and 1pm. The bad thing is that they call and say that, if I do not have the inside wire insurance, there may be a fee for them to come out.
Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....................
Update:
Charter calls at 12:10 pm and says that the tech is going to be later than 1 pm. Is that okay? Do I have a choice? No. I ask her if there is some kind of penalty for them wasting two hours of my life and not showing up. She doesn't know. I ask if that would be something that she should know. She says that she is just a dispatcher and I would have to call after my appointment and find out.
Update:
So the Charter guy gets here and tests everything. He says that the new modem is not in the system. He doesn't know how it got sent to me without being in the system and doesn't know how it tested okay by the two so-called "techs" earlier in the day. He couldn't get it to work after multiple phone calls to the people that really know how to get things done. (Let me just say that I have never had a problem with any of these service people that actually come out to the house. They know what they are doing. It is the fake, pretend, make-believe "techs" that you get on the phone that are just a waste of everyone's time.) So, he finds another tech in the area and goes to him to get a modem that works. He comes back and installs it and after a couple of phone calls, my internet works again.
Total down time for me: seven hours.
Update:
Shortly after the service call, I get an automated phone message from Charter asking me to rate the serviceman. I answered all questions with high marks.
Question: Why don't I get to rate the incompetents that pose as "service techs" on the 800 call in number?
Question: Why don't I get to rate the auto/robot phone answerer when I first dial the 800 number and it tried to do everything it can not to have to put me through to a human being in some foreign country? If ten is good and 0 is bad, my rating would be minus 100,000,000...............................
3/3/2010
Thank you for choosing Charter Chat Live! A Customer Care representative from Cable TV Support will be with you shortly.
You have been connected to TTD Lindsay .
TTD Lindsay : Thank you for contacting Charter Communications. I'm Lindsay. How may I assist you today?
Customer: Where do I get the monthly channel guide for the madison, wis area
Customer: The printed guide
Customer: Used to be free. Changed to subscription
TTD Lindsay : I can definitely send the channel guide for you.
TTD Lindsay : Please verify the name, and the phone number listed on the account as well as the service address.
Customer: huh?
Customer: I had to sign into this thing with all my info
TTD Lindsay : I need to pull up the account.
Customer: Just tell me where I can sign up for it.
TTD Lindsay : One moment, please.
TTD Lindsay : Please stay online.
Customer: Give me a link
TTD Lindsay : I need to check my resources.
TTD Lindsay : Thank you for patiently waiting.
TTD Lindsay : To see the channel line up in your address, please access this link: http://www.charter.com/Visitors/Channels.aspx. In addition, if you want to know what programs will be aired in your favorite channels, please go to http://www.charter.net and click on the "Tv" tab on the upper right side of the main window; then, you'll be routed to another window wherein you'll be prompted to enter your Charter Account user name and password or, if you're not yet registered, you can just enter the ZIP code in your area.
Customer: I can see that you did not or not able to read what I asked. Please try again.
TTD Lindsay : I apologize for the inconvenience.
TTD Lindsay : One moment, please.
Customer: THE PRINTED GUIDE.
Customer: PRINTED ON PAPER. IT IS A MAGAZINE.
TTD Lindsay : One moment, please.
TTD Lindsay : I'm sorry to keep you waiting, but please allow me a couple more minutes to check my resources.
Customer: Lindsay: Why don't you ask someone that has been working there more than a year? They might remember that there was a free Channel Guide that was sent out every month. Charter, in trying to make more money off its trapped customers, decided to cancel the free service and make it a yearly subscription.
TTD Lindsay : If you want to have a printed channel guide, I need to process a form to the local office first.
TTD Lindsay : I need to pull up the account for me to do this.
Customer: Pull it up then.
TTD Lindsay : Please verify the name, and the phone number listed on the account as well as the service address.
Customer: So, you did not get all that info that I had to fill in in order to do this dialog? Is that correct?
TTD Lindsay : Yes.
TTD Lindsay : I can't see that on the screen.
Customer: What is the form that you will be processing? What is the name of the service that I am requesting? What is the cost? Am I to be billed for this by Charter? I thought that a third party was doing this. Isn't there a website where I can go to deal with them directly?
TTD Lindsay : I'm sorry to keep you waiting, but please allow me a couple more minutes to review my resources.
TTD Lindsay : Thank you for patiently waiting.a
TTD Lindsay : http://ask.charter.com/index.jsp?interfaceID=1&requestType=NormalRequest&source=3&question=How%20do%20I%20use%20the%20new%20on-screen%20guide%3F&id=962
TTD Lindsay : Please click the link above.
TTD Lindsay : Please let me know if you are still connected to this chat session.
Customer: Sorry but, if you would check the link before you sent it, you would see that that is just for the on screen programing guide. It would be nice to deal with someone that knew something rather than just someone typing into a search engine. I think that I pretty much have exhausted your capabilities.
So here is what this idiot Charter Telephone Call Center Dummy could not give me: channel guide magazine
http://www.channelguidemag.com/
11/9/09
Internet is down for two hours now but don't worry about calling and inquiring about the problem because the damned Charter Telephone is down too!! Saves the irritation of talking to an infuriating robot.
PS: Down a total of 2.5 hours in a row. And you don't need no stinking telephone.
11/1/09
Charter Cable increases its pricing. Basic Service Tier goes from $19.99 to $24.99.
Expanded Service Tier goes from $32 to $30.
High Speed Internet, 10mbps goes from $5 to $10.
10/3/09
Charter needs your money. How can they get more of your money? By taking away your ability to just plug your TV into a cable jack and get over 100 channels without having to rent a Cable Tuner Box. This is going to be the next Digital TV Transition and if you have a lot of TVs or VCRs or DVRs that you don't really need "Full" cable to use, you will need to rent a box from Charter in order to use them. Actually, this ability to just plug the device into the cable jack and not have to pay anything extra, is the only thing that has kept me a Charter Cable customer for so long. Once they take that away from us, it will be a lot easier for me to switch to a dish provider. Charter says that its treating this new, digital transition as a gradual process and has no plans, yet, to go all digital systemwide. A spokesperson said: "We have tried not to make any sweeping changes for our customers." That means it is just a matter of time. I'm sure they have their bean counters figuring how many people they will lose compared to how much more money they can make. Once the one outweighs the other, say hello a cable box for every TV/VCR/DVR that you want to use.
3/26/2009
Thank you for choosing Charter Chat Live! A Customer Care representative from HSD Support will be with you shortly.
You have been connected to TTD Cyril .
TTD Cyril : Good day to you! My name is Cyril. Thank you for contacting Charter Communications Support Team. How may I help you today?
Ed: I can't log into my email account.
TTD Cyril : You just found the best person who can definitely help you log in to your email account.
TTD Cyril : For verification purposes, can I please have the full name of the account holder, the phone number on the account, and the complete service address?
Ed: Ed, *******************************************************
TTD Cyril : Thank you for that. Please give me a minute or two while I pull up your account.
May I know who I am chatting with?
Ed: Ed
TTD Cyril : Hello, Ed.
TTD Cyril : May I have the Security Code on your account, please? I would advise you to please check your printed monthly billing statement, as the Security Code is located at the upper right portion. The billing statement must be dated November 2007 to the latest.
Ed: ****
TTD Cyril : Thank you.
TTD Cyril : As our new standard operating procedure, we will not be able to process any request if you can't verify your PIN. We will not ask for the security code anymore if you have a PIN. Your PIN will be asked from you the next time you chat with us as verification of your account.
I can see in your account that you still do not have a PIN. May I have your preferred PIN, please? I will create it for you. It must only consist of four numbers.
Ed: ****
TTD Cyril : Give me one moment, please.
TTD Cyril : Your PIN, ****, was created successfully. Please do not forget your PIN since this will be asked from you the next time you need assistance.
TTD Cyril : So, Ed, you mentioned earlier that you can't log in to your email account. I will reset your email password.
TTD Cyril : May I have your email address and a temporary password, please? The password must be at least eight characters.
Ed: **********@charter.net
Ed: password171
TTD Cyril : The email account was locked due to inactivity. Please call 1-888-438-2427 to have it unlocked.
Ed: Well what the hell use are you then?
TTD Cyril : I can reset an email password, but I can't reset passwords for inactive email accounts.
TTD Cyril : When was the last time you logged in to this email account?
Ed: What does it matter? It is my account. You have verified that. If I want to activate it, that should be the same level of security as resetting the password. Just one more demonstration that charter sucks.
TTD Cyril : Ed, please understand that we do not have the tools for that.
Ed: Just one more demonstration of the ineffective bureaucratic bungling at Charter. I will be so glad when Charter finally goes out of business.
12/31/08
According to survey by Forrester Research of 4,500 consumers, Charter Communication was found at the absolute bottom of the 114 companies surveyed in a dozen industries. Here are some of the highlights:
*It ranked 111th for its TV service with a score of 40 out of 100.
*It ranked 114th for its Internet service with a score of 32 out of 100.
*In a category ranked “enjoyability” it ranked 20 for TV and 16 for Internet service. Again this is out of a score of 100.
http://web1.forrester.com
From: http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE4BU09T20081231
"Besides newspaper companies, Charter Communications, the cable operator controlled by software billionaire Paul Allen, is high on people's lists of concerns.
The St. Louis-based company has long been the most indebted major cable firm, with net debt of slightly more than $21 billion as of September 30, and it has said that it might need to go into bankruptcy to deal with that burden.
President and CEO Neil Smit has focused on boosting revenue and operating cash flow, but to survive under its debt pile Charter has refinanced and extended its maturities every year since 2004.
"Charter is surviving by using debt exchanges to push back maturities," Gimme Credit analyst Shelly Lombard said in a recent report. "Even at the current revenue growth rate, Charter won't be able to grow into its capital structure." She predicts that the company might need to sell "a considerable amount of assets to avoid bankruptcy."
Just before Christmas, Charter said it asked longtime financial advisor Lazard to start talks with bondholders to boost its financial flexibility.
Other ratings agencies also suggested that bankruptcy might be the only way for Charter to work out its debt problems."
8/31/08 11:51am
So, I was going over my Charter Cable bill and looking at things that I could cut out and found some things that I could live without. I called charter and the automaton that answers the phone told me that it could see that I had recently called and was I calling about the same subject. I said "yes." I was immediately taken to someone that actually speaks good English and seemed to be at least one step up the intelligence ladder than the person that I talked to earlier this morning. She was going to work with me to get me a new Promo Package so I wouldn't have to cancel anything.
After a lot of questions and answers, she would give the the same package that I had had for $138.13 for six months and only up it to $143.75 but this time for 12 months. Well, this certainly sweetened the deal for me, since I have found no good alternative to cable TV, so I said okay. I also asked her if I had gotten credit for the 12 hours of Internet downtime three days ago an d4 hours the night before that. She said that I hadn't but she was prepared to give me a $5 credit. I took it. So, the person that told me, the other night, that I was going to get the credit, was lying to me.
I will be so glad when I can be pissed off at some other cable service.
What happened to the "No new package deals for three months" that I was told just a few hours ago? Who knows? Must have something to do with saying you are going to satellite and then calling back later on in the day.
8/31/08 8am
Just got my latest Charter Cable ebill. My payment has gone up from $138.13 per month to $147.83. That may not be the final raise either since it may only be for a partial month. Seems as though my 6 month "Promotion" has ended. (What a surprise since I am still waiting for Charter to respond to the complaint letter that I sent them back when this promotion started.) Charter said that they would not give me another promotion unless I upgraded my service to include their telephone service. I can just imagine what that would be like given all the downtime with the rest of their services. I got tired keeping track of all the down time. They said that I would now have to wait three months before I could take advantage of any promotions. It used to be that, when you called up and complained, they would give you a promotion rate for a year. Then they changed that to six months. Now they put the three month wait time in. Charter really, really loves you. They just love your money more. I am so looking forward to having some cable competition in our area.
6/25/08
Charter Cable has announced cancellation of its plans to spy on users of their internet service so as to be able to target them with ads based on their surfing. Charter had planned to begin the program this month in Fort Worth, Texas, Sun Luis Obispo, California, Oxford, Massachusetts and Newtown, Connecticut. Charter says that they are responding to customer concerns and that the protest from members of Congress, Rep. Edward Markey and Rep. Joe Barton as well as a letter from Attorney General Richard Blumenthal had nothing to do with their decision. They also say that "Our customers are always our first priority." Ya. If you believe that, I have a bridge I would like to sell you.
6/12/08
You will need a digital set-top box in order to view the Sun Prairie public access channels starting August 12th. Sun Prairie's KSUN-12 and KIDS-4 will be moved to where the sun don't shine in cable-land. Instead of being on the low tier of channel selection, where you only had to pay the basic cable fees, it is now on the very high end, 980-994, where you need to pay for the box in order to watch these channels. The one upside is that now the people who live in the Providence Subdivision might be able to actually watch these channels which, before now, were not available because they live too close to Madison and only receive madison Public Access channels.
5/21/08
Charter Cable has done the expected: they are canceling out of their cable franchise deal with Madison, Wisconsin and Sun Prairie can't be far behind. This means that Charter will not be subject to the city's franchise agreement which guaranteed a prime spot on the dial for the city's channels and delivered $419,000 annually to the city for community broadcasting. So, besides not having the funds for the community channels, even if the city comes up with the funds by itself, these channels could end up on a triple digit channel that nobody will find by accident as is the case now. Charter charged 63 cents per customer, each month, for public education and government channels.
5/19/08
Charter Cable is doing testing in four cities to see how effectively they can spy on your internet usage and then use that information to SPAM YOU WITH THEIR ADS. If you don't see anything wrong with this, you should. This is an invasion of personal and private information and they are doing it to harvest information so that they can display their ads that they have sold to advertisers. So, you will not be able to see the normal internet traffic but you will be detoured to view what they want you to view. This is an incredible misuse and control of the Internet and this should not be allowed to go forward at all. I'm not one for government doing a lot for me, but this is one case where they ought to step in and tell Charter: NO! They are selling a service to us: Internet access. They should have no right to interfere in our free usage of the Internet.
Charter has been struggling with a slumping stock price and is probably going to use this method of spying on you and yours to rake in extra cash. How about just trying to give decent service and maybe so many people would not be fleeing to satellite service? How about letting you talk to someone in this country when you have a service problem?
http://www.democraticmedia.org/
I'm probably the only person in Sun Prairie that is absolutely frustrated by Charter Cable. Then again, maybe I'm not because I see an awful lot of those Satellite Dishes all over the city. My problem is that I need fast Internet access and I have a too many TVs, a VCR and a DVR to have to rent or buy boxes for each so as to have Satellite access to each device. So, in that regard, Charter fills my needs.But, the lack of real competition leads to the lack of real caring about the customer.
Ever called Charter Cable because you have a problem? Ha! "If you want this, press 1." "If you want that, press 2, and etc." Then, when you finally get to where you think you want to be, you wait. When someone finally answers the phone, they might be anywhere in the world. The last call I made, two weeks ago, I was talking to some lady in Mexico, or so she said. Could barely understand her. I was trying to protest the charges on my bill. In late May, 2008,I had received a call from a telemarketer who was working for Charter. She told me the special rate that I was receiving for the last year, was going to expire. She said they would offer me the latest package which would include a free upgrade of my internet connection to the highest level. I wasn't that interested but since the package would be lower than if I didn't take the special offer, I signed up for it. Then, when I got my bill this month, I saw that I wasn't getting the free upgrade but, I was paying $5 extra per month for it. Anyhow, after talking to this lady that had a very heavy Mexican accent and didn't seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed and getting absolutely nowhere, I asked to speak to a supervisor. She put me on hold and then came back on and told me it wouldn't make any difference and that a supervisor would just tell me the same thing. I said I still wanted to talk to a supervisor, she put me on hold again and then came back and told me that the supervisors were all busy. I told her I would wait. She told me it wouldn't change anything. I told her to take off the super fast internet, that I didn't really want it and that I just took it because it would be free. She told me that, if she took it off, I would not be on the special and the cable would cost me even more. I finally gave up. This is what they want. They want you to give up or not to call at all because you know that this is the type of "service" that you will get. I ended up sending a letter to Charter complaining in writing. I expect the same lack of service by mail. Sent the letter on 4/2/2008 and I am still waiting for a reply on 5/9/2008. Did I expect any less? No.
Isn't it convenient that they hire perfect English speaking people to do their telemarketing but, when it comes to service, you get someone in Mexico that you can barely understand?
Here is a tip that you probably know of already: If your cable bill seems too high, call up and tell them that you are planning on canceling your service and going to Satellite Dish. Ask them what they can do for you. They will give you a better deal unless you are already getting it.
Just remembered: here is another gripe of mine. We live in Sun Prairie, right on the line with Madison. Instead of giving us the Sun Prairie local programs for government and for School athletic programs, we get Madison programming. Our local authorities have tired for four years to get this changed to no avail. Charter Cable just doesn't care and it goes to show that the local authorities have absolutely no power at all over this company. They do whatever they want.
Right now, the only hope we have of getting better service is when Verizon finally starts putting in their services. There is nothing like real competition to get you lower prices and better service.
If you have something you would like to add, please feel free to send it to me and I will post it on this page.
Check below to see what you really pay for Charter Cable. For some reason or other, even these telemarketers that speak perfect English cannot tell you what your final bill is actually going to be. All they can tell you is what the base rates are. I suppose it would help if they actually had computers at Charter, but apparently they don't.
Here is what I am paying right now, 4/20/08, with their "special": |
|
| Charter Bundle | $99.98 |
| HD Tier | $8.00 |
| HD Receiver Upgrade | $5.00 |
| 1 Additional HD Receiver Upgrade | $5.00 |
| Cable Modem Lease | $3.68 |
| High Speed Plus Upgrade (Which was supposed to be free) | $5.00 |
| FCD Admin Fee | $0.06 |
| Sales Tax | $7.03 |
| Franchise Fee | $5.37 |
| Total Due: | $139.12 |
| Remember when we got along with an antenna? | |
Since I can get absolutely no satisfaction from calling Charter Cable, here are my cable downtimes with Charter. They know when you are down but they make you call up and wait and then talk to someone in Mexico so that you can get a credit for the services that you pay for but you didn't get. They know that, if they make it so hard to do, not as many people will do it. They could just automatically give you a credit on your next bill, but does anyone expect that to happen?
Charter Cable Down Time |
||||
| Date | Problem | Internet |
Cable |
Duration |
| 4/19/08 | No service | X |
From very early morning until about 9am | |
| 4/20/08 | No service | X |
X |
Most of the day and into the night |
| 5/9/08 | No service | X |
From 3:49pm to 6:34pm | |
| 5/21/08 | No service | X |
From 11:44am to 2:17pm | |
| 6/30/08 | No Service | X |
From 2:30pm to 2:37pm | |
| 6/30/08 | No Service | X |
From 2:55pm to 6:17pm mostly out of service all day and into the evening. | |
| 7/10 | No Service | X |
From 11:55am to ? Up and down all day. | |
| 7/15/08 | No service | X |
Up and down all day. | |
| 7/24/08 | No Service | X |
X |
Down 10:40am. for 3 hours |
| 8/20/08 | No Service | X |
Four hours | |
| 8/21/08 | No Service | X |
12 hours | |
| Sorry, but I just can't keep ths up. They are down for some reason or other too often to keep doing this. Oh for some competition so they would be encouraged to improve their service. | ||||
4/23/08
I think every person in Sun Prairie would switch from Charter if we had any other options. How do we get Verizon or AT&T to meet these needs? Let us know what we have to do. We would like all of our services taken away from Charter.
Lisa