Charter Spectrum Disconnect policy is engineered to rob customers. Other

Who said I never had financial issues?  It is how you handle your issues that makes the difference.

Do you have other bills? Did you contact your other companies to see what could be worked out before you became delinquent? Did you just decide to not pay this company? Did you talk to them before you became late?  Did you see if they would accept a partial payment?

Do you have a credit card you can pay them with?  What about friends or relatives? You are talking a small amount for a couple of days. If you didn't want to ask any of them then that is your pride getting in the way.

As a last resort, what about a Payday loan? While I would never normally suggest a payday loan.  But for what should be a bill under $100, a 1 or 2 day loan should be significantly cheaper and more convienient than having to pay a reconnect fee and be without service.  By the way if your bill is over $100 that goes back to an original statement that perhaps you have services with them you could cancel to save some money.

The company holding to their policy is not a RipOff, the fact that you seem to have inferred things into the policy was an error on your part. Now this isn't to say that they can't make exceptions. If they do that is great, but if they don't it does not make it a RipOff.  One other thing to think about, with many companies if you have your service disconnected, they may require a deposit to get the service turned back on.  So in addition to the past due amount you may have to come up with another couple hundred dollars.  Just another thing to think about to get you to think what you could do to get this handled.

I realize it is ideal to pay bills on time, and I do my best to budget my money so that happens.  Unexpected medical expenses have made that hard.  The account is less than 30 days past the due date.

If you would actually read my account, before passing jugment, you would have all this information. I am so glad you have never had financial problems. I wish you continued good fortune. 

Oh yes THEIR policy is unfair. This may be a shock for you but the only time you would be subject to any sort of "disconnect policy", is when YOU are delinquent. You pay your bill on-time like you are supposed to and you have no issues. Too bad you didn't read all of the terms...

From their site

Late Fee: If your account is 30 days past due, a reminder message will be included on your monthly bill. If your past due balance remains unpaid, you may be charged an applicable late fee in addition to your past due balance at Charter’s then current rate. If your account remains unpaid your Services may be disconnected. You can avoid incurring late fees by paying your monthly bill promptly. Any late fees assessed are not considered interest or penalties. Charter expects that you will pay for Services on a timely basis, and Charter does not extend credit to customers.

Nowhere in those terms does it state you can't be disconnected before the 30 days is up, the only thing date specific is that you will receive a "reminder".  I also highlighed the last sentences that may be of interest to you.

The other thing you failed to realize in your Sub-Prime attitude.  If you are approaching 30 days late, you have known about this bill for at least 60 days, and actually more since this is a bill you know you get EVERY month.  You say your bill varies, but if it does I would bet never more than a few dollars.  If it is more than a few dollars, then what is changing?  

If this is required for your work this should be a TOP priority for payment.   According to their website, their standalone Internet Service is around $45-$60/month. If you are saying that you don't have a single other expense you can trim or remove to make this payment then you have much bigger issues than an Internet Bill, and probably need to start looking at a 2nd(or 3rd job) to make up this difference. Oh and if you say that your bill to them is more than that, does it include other services? If so then ending those services may be just the ticket to get you back on track.