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Senate Report Says Charter, Time Warner Cable Overcharges Its Customers (broadcastingcable.com)
According to an investigation by a U.S. Senate, Charter and its new subsidiary Time Warner Cable have been overcharging customers at least $7.2 million per year for equipment and service. Time Warner Cable over-billed customers nationwide an estimated $639,948 between January and April period this year. This projects the sum to a yearly total of $1,919,844. Charter admitted that it overbilled its customers by "at least $442,691 per month." A report on BroadcastingCable states:The study found that "Time Warner Cable estimates that, in 2015, it overbilled 40,193 Ohio customers a total of $430,393 and 4,232 Missouri customers a total of $44,152," while "Charter estimates that it has annually overcharged approximately 5,897 Missouri customers a total of $494,000 each year. Charter does not provide service in Ohio." The report also said that Charter and Time Warner Cable have taken steps to correct the situation as a result of the investigation.
Of course Charter and TWC cheat their customers. Who else could they cheat?
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
There should be a 10x penalty for billing errors, or some other type of real teeth.
Inevitably this stuff leads to a fine that costs less than the infraction profited, and maybe a class action lawsuit that might resolve after several years with tiny vouchers for the class members.
Short of campaign finance reform to cut out the root of the problem (lawmakers beholden to companies instead of the electorate) I don't see this or many other problems ever coming close to resolving.
Monopolies in utilities like internet access should be regulated as monopolistic utilities.
Senator: "I am shocked—shocked—to find that cheating is going on in here!"
Lobbyist: "Here is your cut, sir."
Senator: "Oh, thank you very much."
Corporations are not people, therefore crime is not criminal, and nobody goes to jail. They can steal with impunity, and when they pay their fines, that's just the kickback to the folks who grant them their monopoly. Lobbyists bought and paid for this contractual arrangement while we were voting for shills.
Welcome to the pig fest.
Hulu, Netflix, etc are too difficult for normal people to use? Since when? It's a rare person who has trouble using a web browser these days.
Now, if you want to watch shows on your big screen TV there's lots of cool techy options that are... almost completely gratuitous. Plug an old computer into the back of the TV, fire up the web browser, and watch away. Old laptops with plenty of power can be smaller, cheaper, and quieter than some cable boxes, to say nothing of things like the Raspberry Pi. And a small wireless keyboard and mouse make for a perfectly adequate remote... though I'd love to see a mouse designed specifically for the job, with at least extra buttons for volume, mute, pause, and on-screen keyboard activation. Not terribly difficult for a tech to set up, but there's no reason you couldn't make one that acted appropriately right out of the box.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.