Cable Company

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I have a 2 year contract with a cable company. I have called them to come out several times to investigate signal loss for our cable and internet. They determined that the lines were old and needed to be replaced. We do not receive about half of the movie channels we pay for and a handful of regular cable channels, plus our internet connection is pretty low and will drop out altogether. I have been trying to get someone out here to replace the lines since mid March. I have scheduled more than half a dozen appointments that they didn't keep. I want to know if I can break my contract with them since they are not providing the service we are paying for. Also, can I get reimbursement for the time we have not been getting our channels?

They are not providing service agreed upon so I think you should be able to cancel. If you can get back $$ from prior service times I would think that this would be limited if not available at all.

Billy V said:

They are not providing service agreed upon so I think you should be able to cancel. If you can get back $$ from prior service times I would think that this would be limited if not available at all.

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I don't need a complete refund, just what's fair. I'm not out to make a buck.

nicbeast said:

I don't need a complete refund, just what's fair. I'm not out to make a buck.

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I understand. But you should know the court's viewpoint is that you should try to mitigate these issues & terminating the contract earlier would have done this (to the point where the difference would be minimal).

I would have this as a counterclaim if they take you to court .. its just leverage at that point.

Billy V said:

I understand. But you should know the court's viewpoint is that you should try to mitigate these issues & terminating the contract earlier would have done this (to the point where the difference would be minimal).

I would have this as a counterclaim if they take you to court .. its just leverage at that point.

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I hear ya. I wonder if I could get them to credit my bill. Do you think I'll have to take them to court to get out of the contract? I'd like to avoid that if at all possible. Do you have any suggestions?

who is your provider?

justalayman said:

who is your provider?

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Charter Communications.

NO WARRANTY

EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS," WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. NEITHER CHARTER NOR ITS AFFILIATES, SUPPLIERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS OR CONTRACTORS, WARRANTS THAT CHARTER EQUIPMENT OR SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, PROVIDE UNINTERRUPTED USE, OR OPERATE AS REQUIRED. ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF PERFORMANCE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, TITLE, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR MERCHANTABILITY, ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED AND EXCLUDED UNLESS OTHERWISE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

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Information for California Residents Only:

Under California Civil Code Section 1789.3, California residents are entitled to the following specific consumer rights information:

(a) Contact Information. Customers can contact Charter at:
Charter Communications
Attn: Customer Care
12405 Powerscourt Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63131-3660
1-888-GET-CHARTER

(b) Complaints. California residents with complaints may also contact the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs in writing at: State of California, Department of Consumer Affairs, 1625 North Market Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95834 or by telephone at: (916) 445-1254.

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regardless what they say, due to laws in place, there is an implied warranty or merchantability. In other words, they can't simply take your money and say "Oh sorry, didn't you read? We don't actually have to provide you a service just because you paid for it". It doesn't work like that.

justalayman said:

regardless what they say, due to laws in place, there is an implied warranty or merchantability. In other words, they can't simply take your money and say "Oh sorry, didn't you read? We don't actually have to provide you a service just because you paid for it". It doesn't work like that.

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I wish I had a million eyes to roll at that quote. I guess I'll call that number, too. I've already contacted the BBB and Public Utilities Commission. I'm not sure what else to do.

it doesn't mean you don't have to take action to demand they abide by the legal requirements.



and just in case you think I do not have any idea what you are dealing with. Been there but when I got serious about it, it appears they took me seriously. I got a call at work and my wife said "who do you know or what did you do? There are 5 (FIVE) service trucks setting in our driveway with all 5 techs working on our cable. Just what did you threaten [our cable company- not Charter though] with to get this kind of response from them?"


btw: don't bother with the BBB. They are powerless to do anything other than tell them "somebody complained about you".

justalayman said:

it doesn't mean you don't have to take action to demand they abide by the legal requirements.



and just in case you think I do not have any idea what you are dealing with. Been there but when I got serious about it, it appears they took me seriously. I got a call at work and my wife said "who do you know or what did you do? There are 5 (FIVE) service trucks setting in our driveway with all 5 techs working on our cable. Just what did you threaten [our cable company- not Charter though] with to get this kind of response from them?"


btw: don't bother with the BBB. They are powerless to do anything other than tell them "somebody complained about you".

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OK. Now you KNOW I have to ask what you did! You can't leave it like that. It's cruel and unusual punishment!

believe it or not, not really much of anything and you are going to laugh but...

I threatened to have my service disconnected.

It must have been my tone of voice.

justalayman said:

believe it or not, not really much of anything and you are going to laugh but...

I threatened to have my service disconnected.

It must have been my tone of voice.

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~smh~

What the hell. I've tried everything else. I usually contact them via their chat so I have documentation of the conversations.

as Paul Harvey used to say:

and now for the rest of the story.

Our local cable company started as a small locally owned entity. It went through several iterations and owners as it grew. Eventually if was purchased by Comcast, the sole cable provider in my area. I had been a customer from the very early stages of the progression (15-20 years at the time of the troubles). Although not at the same address, as I moved, the account was transferred to the new address and continued.

I happen(ed) to like the Sci-Fi Channel a lot (a sci-fi fan) (they wrecked it in the last couple of years). It would seem that all through the week, I had no problem watching Sci-Fi but every Friday (and I mean every Friday) when the new episodes of the shows I watched would be on, I would lose Sci-Fi along with most upper numbered channels. I suspect it was due to a weak signal and an increase in viewers on Friday night.

So, like clock work; 8 pm, no Sci-Fi, I'm pissed and I'm on the phone. They came out within a day or two after that, plugged in their $10,000 power meter and said "well, it's not perfect but it shouldn't be a problem". Of course, since it wasn't Friday evening, I had Sci-Fi and the signal read adequate. After 3 weeks of piddling around and re-terminating everything and changing my service drop and claims "it's good now" only to find out Friday they were wrong, I snapped.

I called Comcast and I told them to fix the cable. I'm done. Come the next Friday night, there will either be a customer at my house watching Sci-Fi or they will be minus one customer. They offered discounts and promises. I accepted the discounts but re-stated; no Sci-Fi, no customer and that was it.

Come the following Thursday I get that call from my wife. That Friday I watched Sci-Fi.

Like I said; it was probably the tone of voice.

nicbeast said:

I hear ya. I wonder if I could get them to credit my bill. Do you think I'll have to take them to court to get out of the contract? I'd like to avoid that if at all possible. Do you have any suggestions?

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They might but not likely .. cancel your service & get a new provider...I would not bother with court on this one ... how long is left on your contract & how long did you have service problems? They did try to fix, eh...cable companies.