Yesterday I got home and my cable was out. It does happen sometimes so I didn't really worry about it. Then I looked at my mail and the check that I had sent to my cable company was returned to me. I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and called the cable company (which I also have my internet through). They informed me that they turned off my service because they haven't received payment for 3 months.
I pay my bills online and sent them a check every month but it seemed to take them almost a month to cash the checks that I send in so I wasn't expecting either my November or December payments to have cleared yet. The check that I received back was my October payment. Apparently they changed their billing address and I thought that I had modified it online but I guess that I didn't. I explained the situation hoping that they would re-connect it right away but they could have cared less.
I was informed that to restart the service that I would have to pay for the 3 months of service including a $100 re-connect fee. I asked them if they take credit cards hoping that I could just pay it over the phone. They told me that they do not and that I have to send in the payment and once they receive it that they will schedule someone to come out to re-connect my service which total would take about 2 weeks if I sent the check right away. I told them thanks but no thanks.
I called Charter and am getting digital cable, cable internet and my phone service for $99.00 per month (about the same as I pay now) and will get more channels. The only drawback is that I am losing the premium channels. I never paid for them and I think that it was the mistake of the cable company but I certainly wasn't complaining.
This is actually going to be a bonus for me. I will now receive On Demand TV for free as well as BBC America which is one of my favorite channels that I didn't receive on the rinky dink cable company that I was using. And if I really want to I can get a DVR for $15 per month. Oh the temptation!
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9 comments:
You got ripped off by your last cable company. I usually am very forward with people when I am asking for what I want so they get the message.
Good job Rachel for standing your ground :-) Another blogger friend to make me jealous with a DVR - I SO want to have one! haha
GRRR with cable. Some of that happened to me too. I signed up to pay my bills online, but I thought I'd still get paper bills. After two months it dawned on me that I hadn't gotten a bill from them, then I turned on the TV and they had shut off my cable. I tried to reason with them about expecting a paper bill..they apologized insincerely and still charged me. Bastards.
A $100 reconnect fee? You gotta be kidding. I'd tell them where they can reconnect THEIR cable.....
OH my, that's almost what happened to me!
Except I was at fault. I noticed that despite paying every month, my bill kept getting larger. Finally I investigated and found that while I WAS paying the bills online every month, I was also paying the WRONG account!
Luckily it was my old account and I've been credited so I don't have to worry about paying for the next three months or so. But still! How stupid am I?
I think the sorts of services that have competition should be a little more forgiving. You know, if they had just worked with you, they wouldn't have lost your business.
Get the DVR if you can swing it. Mine is the new love of my life.
DVR is amazing, definitely worth it. Although isn't Tivo only like $12 a month. But I guess you have to buy the Tivo box, so nevermind.
I loooove my DVR. Never miss General Hospital now :)
Sorry you lost your cable though. It's such a hassle.
Thanks for the comment the other day. I checked out the website and it is helpful.
Thanks :)
Anon1~ I was forward and let and they got the message. They just didn't care.
Reformat ~ I am soooo tempted to ask the cable guy tonight if he has an extra one in his van.
Tara ~ I live in a state where they have not de-regulated cable service yet. The area that I live in offers 2 so I switched to the other one.
Playtah ~ If I wasn't so nice I might have told them that.
Wanderlust ~ People make mistakes all the time. At least they were very accomodating to you.
l.b. ~ I am soooo tempted. I do know that I can get it any time I want with no additional fees other than that monthly fee so I might just do that.
Eric ~ I thought TiVo was only about $6 per month. Makes this deal look much more appealing.
Moment ~ I never even thought about soaps. I watch Days sometimes but it really only takes one episode to make up for the 4 months that I have missed. I would probably only watch on Fridays since that is the only day that anything happens.
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