I promised myself to be more understanding when it came to Charter following the installation of their DVR in our home last fall. I absolutely love the device and it makes the VCR that I had previously used seem like a raft in the age of space travel. It makes for far easier fast-forwarding through commercials and best of all allows me to record two shows at the same time, and even lets me start watching a show at the front end while the rest of it is being recorded. So with my real delight with the DVR I decided to try and cut Charter some slack for some of their other practices.
Some might suggest I am easily bought off, but the truth is I get tired of wrangling with Charter on the phone.
Until last night.
Starting in early April Charter TV placed a default channel to spin their digital service whenever a television set is turned on. You may have been watching CNN or Turner Classic Movies when the set was last turned off, but when it is turned on again the same endless loop of a commercial for their all-digital service runs.
While I can understand the need for such a thing prior to Madison going all-digital April 15th, I can not see the need for it as we close out the month. People know full well that there has been a change, and how to proceed. If not they can either call the company or perhaps really do not care about getting a signal.
But to subject everyone else to the need to change the channel from what it was last left on for perhaps another month (according to Charter) is simply ridiculous.
Last evening when I phoned Charter to complain about this nuisance I was directed to go into my system and make an override with the aid of the remote. Following the directions while the customer service representative was still on the line it was discovered that in fact I could not make the change. At which point I was put on hold and a couple minutes later informed that Charter was not allowing the override to be accomplished.
Which was odd because I was able to not be forced to see a box promoting another tier for sports programming that came up every time I turned on the set this month following the placement of a second box in our home. At that time I called Charter, as I did not want to see their ads and had no interest all in sports channels, and in a few minutes the problem was resolved. That attempt to get more money came to an abrupt end.
It should be that easy for all of us who followed the company’s instructions, got the box, are enjoying the digital service but do not wish to be bothered by the default channel.
The DVR is still awesome but I have lost the mood to forgive Charter for everything else.
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 
My husband and I have been Madison cable subscribers for almost 30 years. Charter isn’t the ORIGINAL owner of this cable service (2 or 3 other companies have provided cable services prior to Charter taking over.) It is rare when we call the company — or visit one of their offices — when we a) get information that actually helps us to solve a problem and/or b) deal face-to-face with Charter personnel who are polite and are service-oriented. Technical staff — the folks who used to come to your house — are polite and helpful. Other folks aren’t.
For a long time, I wanted to change over to U-verse. While we’ve heard good things about U-verse, we’ve also heard U-verse/AT&T raise prices on a very short timeline. Given that subscribers have no alternative but to “rent” a Charter digital receiver, my husband and I have become pretty good at solving our own problems. E.g., I’ve BEGGED for a new remote for the Charter converter box. When I’ve gone to a Charter office (at least 3 times), I’ve been REFUSED. I can no longer read most of the printing on the Charter remote. A call to Charter’s 800 number for the digital box brought us in contact with a nice young man who said we’d have to pay an expensive amount for shipping of a remote if we had it sent to us with the “free” digital box — a box we’ll have to start paying for in less than a year. So my $9 investment in a universal remote gets us what we need. And my husband and I will start examining our bill and, hopefully, find some Charter service we currently pay for that we can get rid of.
What ALL cable subscribers are dealing with is fallout from the move toward deregulation, something that gained “legs” during the Reagan Administration. Remember how consumers were to benefit from the innovation deregulation would generate? All my husband and I have seen is prices skyrocketing up — well beyond any rate of inflation — and a decline in customer service. With no one to ensure consumers have any kind of voice — or have someone who will help mediate bad treatment — we are all stuck. Frankly, this is one of the few times I hope Radio Shack or some other vendor starts selling digital cable boxes that consumers can buy.
I’ve always gotten right through to Charter and found them to be customer oriented and helpful……………..NOT!!!!!! (wish you had a bigger font!)
I’d pay money for a box that would record programming and would then be portable to any location that I’d like to take the box to (that didn’t have cable access). I have a love-hate relationship with Charter. I love their high speed broadband internet, but in this day of cheaper technology, why is it still almost $60 a month? I have dropped services every two years (when my “bundle” commitment expires) in order to keep my monthly bill under $200 a month. I’m thinking that next year at this time, I’ll be seriously considering dropping television services in favor of a Roku or other similar streaming options.