Time Warner Cable - Road Runner - Road Runner Turbo - Adelphia Time Warner Cable Charged $17/mth for Service Never Provided! Columbus Ohio

Hello,
In October of 2006 Time Warner Cable took over our local cable and internet system for Adelphia. At this time, all Adelphia accounts were trasnferred over to Time Warner.

We had both Cable TV & High-Speed Internet through Adelphia and when transferred to Time Warner we did not change anything.

With Adelphia we were also on paperless billing. We would login to the website to check our account balance, make payments, etc.

Well, when we transferred over to TWC we never started recieving a bill and couldn't login to their website or to Adelphia anymore. We didn't think much about it -- we would get a call every couple of months from Time Warner asking us to pay our bill and we would. This bill seemed much higher than normal but we were too busy to give it much thought.

Then, in November of 2007 we got such a call and made the payment. However, a few days later we were called again and told we never made the payment.

At this time we faxed in the statement from our bank account showing the payment was made and didn't hear back so we assumed all was clear.

Then, in early December someone showed up to DISCONNECT our service. They said we had not made a payment so we again printed out the proof and they left without disconnecting the services they provide.

To follow-up I called Time Warner and asked about our payment. At this point I thought I might as well ask about the increase in our bill since I was spending time on this anyhow.

They again said they had no record of the payment and said they would (once again) look into it. In the meantime we would discuss my bill and why it seemed so much higher.

Well, when they took over the account they tagged on something they called Turbo for $17/mth. They told me I had been getting a much faster internet connection of 15MBps vs. 3.5 - 5MBps...

I said I never agreed to any such thing and they said, "the best we can do is refund you for the past two months". I was livid, after being charged for 14 months for a service I had not agreed to they were going to refund me for TWO MONTHS!?

This explained to me why they never sent a bill as seeing an itemized statement would have exposed the scheme right away.

I said that NO WAY was I not going to be reimbursed for the full amount and they got rude with me and hung up.

So, on a hunch, I called up their technical support and asked about my internet connection. I was given permission to tape the call so I did...

Well, tech support told me in very clear terms "you have BASIC service". I asked "Do I have turbo". "No", they replied. I asked what my speeds were and they said "Your max download speed is 3.5 - 5.0Mbps" so I asked again, "are you SURE I do not have Turbo or any other speed increase"... "No" said the Time Warner tech, "you do not have Turbo".

So, there you had it. I did not even HAVE the service they were charging me for without my permission.

I dug up some old DSL Reports and other speed tests and verified that my speed has always been below 5MBps. It is normal with the pipeline of the internet to get speeds of less than you max, but with 15MBps you should definately get more than 4MBps through multipule tests. Nope. Never through my testing history did I get anything about 4MBps.

So, I called an spoke to a Time Warner supervisor about my issues. They were after providing yet more information able to find the payment they were claiming I had never made.

They then tried to claim "you do have the Turbo service but it has been not-working in your area for the past two months". Well, I NEVER agreed to any such service but also I had the DSL Reports (and others) to show that the service has NEVER been working.

They, in the end, have agreed to apply my payment (duh!) and give me a 6 month credit on Turbo. I have yet to accept the offer as I am insisting I should not have to pay for 8 months (the remaining, no refunded) of a service I did not agree to any also was not getting.

I will follow up with either the good news that Time Warner has taken responsibility and fixed the issues and provided me with a full credit or with the bad news that they continue this pattern of poor customer service and over billing.

Also, since they flat-out said that the Turbo service has not been working I am telling everyone who is serviced out of the Columbus office (Greater Ohio Area) to call and demand a refund for any "Turbo" charges from the past two months. They have admitted it is not working.

But, if you ask me, it has never been working and the whole thing is a sham. Also, all Time Warner customers demand a copy of your bill and check for any charges you did not agree to when you joined. If you see ANY such charges then contact them right away and get your refund.

Look for my follow up soon. I hope Time Warner does the right thing and this can have a positive ending for myself and Time Warner Cable.

Chris
Bryan, Ohio
U.S.A.

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