Poor Quality with Charter Cable TV and Internet Service

A little background on my Charter Cable experience. I have had both my cable TV service and internet service with Charter Cable since June 2009 and have had nothing but problems ever since.

My wireless modem crapped out after 1 month so I have to plug in directly, my internet signal drops at least 5 times a week for 10 to 30min at a time, the cable signal drops a few times a month for up to 45 min at a time, their guide is always wrong and if I want to check the guide around midnight well good luck seeing descriptions because it takes them up to 30min to populate the episode descriptions for the next day.

All that, plus the volume level on each channel is different, their commercials are annoying and they always seem to cut off commercials in the middle of them.

Charter Cable has Horrible Customer Service

First off, I have to say, I have not dealt with a customer service representative as bad as the one from Charter Cable that I just had in a long time. I used to work where I received customer complaints so I understand where the caller is coming from. I understand the frustration when they have a simple question and just want an answer and the person on the other end just wont answer it. I also understand that sometimes the tier 1 support customer service representative just may not have the authority to do what is being asked by the customer. Most of all, I know that a pleasant attitude will go a long way in resolving the situation and making an angry customer happy.

Now that being said,  I received a billing statement today May 21, 2010 that that said:

• Previous Balance: $0.00
• Balance Due:        $82.73
• Due Date:           5/28/2010
• Late Fee Date:     6/03/2010
• Final Notice Before Disconnect!

Just looking at that, how can they be threatening to disconnect my service if I have no late charges, the bill isn’t due till 7 days later and isn’t late till 13 days from now? I go online to check my billing and see I have all my payments up to date but there is a late charge. How can there be a late charge if all my payments are up to date? I decided to call Charter Cable customer service to find out whats going on.

From the beginning the representative had a negative tone. Maybe she had a bad day at work, maybe she has personal issues in her home life, what ever it was it’s no excuse to give a customer a negative attitude.

She goes on to tell me I owe $196.00 including late fees. At this point I’m really confused as to how it suddenly jumped to such a high number. She insisted I was late and and was snapping that I pay my bill. I tell her I have the history of my payments from their online payment system up in front of me and in the 11 months (since June 2009) that I have been a customer all my payments add up. I asked her to show me where the late fee was because if it has only been 11 months that I have had service, and there are 11 payments accepted, then there can’t possibly be a missed payment. I guess that was too hard for her to figure out because she got even more upset and told me look you’re late you need to make a payment. This went on for about 15min where all I wanted was for her to show me which month was missing a payment. Finally she mumbles maybe there was a processing problem on their end but that I was still late and I need to pay my bill and then hung up on me.

I called back and this time, I get a very helpful gentleman who easily looked over my account and said that I wasn’t late and that I am current and had no idea where the other person got her numbers from. At this point I was content and decided to go online and make my monthly payment like I always do because I didn’t want to pay the “convenience fee” to make a payment on the phone with the customer service rep. Sadly I should have made the payment with them, but more on that in a minuet.

Charter Cables Online Billing System is a Rip Off

I log into my online billing system with Charter Communications and go to the “one time payment” option to pay my bill. I choose to manually make my payment each month because with all the problems I have had with Charter Cable; well honestly I just don’t trust them to set up an automatic withdrawal payment and this is the perfect example as to why.

I fill in the amount to be paid, my credit card information and hit send. I get my confirmation number and everything looks fine. I go back to my recent activities section and I notice there are 2 payments to be processed from the 1 payment I just made. I didn’t click the button twice, I didn’t refresh the page or resend the information. Their system literally processed my payment twice. Even the confirmation number for the payment was the same. If I made 2 separate payments then there would be two different confirmation numbers right? Obviously their billing system screwed up.

So now I’m back on the phone, for a 3rd time tonight with Charter Communications customer service, telling them the situation and asking them to cancel one of the payments because I did not authorize the second one. The person informs me that they are not capable of canceling the payment. I tell them it was just made, they haven’t even processed it and that I did not make two payments, their system made a mistake and I would like one of the payments canceled. Again she tells me that because I made the payment online; which is Charters preferred way for customers to make payments, they are not capable of canceling my payment. If I had made the payment over the phone (for an additional convenience fee of course) they then would have been able to cancel one of the payments. What a sneaky and convenient way for them to steal money from their customers.

I find this hard to believe that they can’t remove this payment just because it was made online so I ask to speak with her supervisor. After a 10 min hold the customer service rep comes back on the phone and says they can not cancel the payment. At this point, with all I have gone through I decide to be a little more stern with her. I tell her “I asked to speak with a supervisor, not to be told an answer to a question, please put me through to your supervisor.”

Poor Service from Charter Communications Supervisor

Suddenly the supervisor is available and pics up the phone. I tell him the situation, that their system took an unauthorized payment from me and that I would like that canceled. He tells me he can’t do that. The normal procedure is for the customer to fax over a copy of their billing statement that shows the double payment and then put in a request to have it refunded. Considering there is a “normal procedure” for this type of “mistake” only leads me to believe that this is not anything new and that they have had this problem of double billing before.

I proceed to tell him I do not have access to a fax machine, I do not have a billing statement because the charge hasn’t gone through yet and that I don’t want it to go through because I am on a very tight budget and can’t have any extra charges or I’ll be thrown into the red. The manager continues to just tell me about the normal procedure. I tell him that obviously if that is the normal procedure and this isn’t a normal situation then there must be an alternative procedure. How can they have the ability to cancel the payment if I made it over the phone but can not do it because it was a technical issue on their online billing. He admitted that there was an issue with their online billing and that he will put in a service ticket for IT to look at it but refused to cancel the payment, I have to wait for it to go through. Again so they can get their greedy hands on money that is not owed to them. Probably in hopes that the customer will forget about it or feel that the situation is hopeless and just let them keep the money.

Out of curiosity I ask where he was actually located and to my surprise he says Mexico City. I asked him if he thinks its right for a company to knowingly have an online payment system that double charges its customers and then is not able to cancel the payment until they already take the money out, and that the only way they can refund it is if it is made over the phone but they charge extra for that service and really pressure the customer to make the payment online which gives the possibility of the customer being charged twice?

I guess he finally understood that it’s a rip off and admitted that it wasn’t right but he was not authorized to cancel the payment. I asked for his supervisor or who ever was authorized to cancel it and of course, he was “in a meeting” and suddenly hung up on me.

After all the effort’s Charter Communications go’s through to take unauthorized money from their customers, and the only person, in another country, that is able to cancel the payment is in a meeting, at 7:30pm on a Friday night seems just a little too convenient and highly unlikely to me.

Bottom line is that Charter Cable has horrible customer service and customer support and obviously, getting a payment stopped or canceled through Charter Cable is an impossible task. I can only hope I’ll be able to cancel it through my credit card company before Charter gets their greedy little hands on my money.

Anyway, sorry for this rant but I had enough and this all had to be said. Time to look up packages and rates with Direct TV.

5Zigen

5Zigen has proven themselves on the track in numerous JGTC and N1 Endurance races, in real world situations where every little bit of extra horsepower or gas mileage management makes the difference in being the first to win or the first to loose.

5Zigen doesn’t reserve this mind set only for their race cars, they build it into every component they make for the amateur and professional racer.

5zigen ProRacer ECON Review

The ProRacer ECON from 5Zigen is no exception. It is designed to boost the electrical output of your cars battery, improve power distribution and helps to provide more stable electrical current (about 130% of normal electricity) to the ignition. This helps to improve gas mileage and keep a steady current needed to power all the electronics that are necessary to run a championship race car or that high power stereo in your daily driver all without sacrificing any power.

Our friends over at WiredOnHonda.com have done an excellent review of this product so be sure to read the full 5Zigen ProRacer ECON review to learn about the increase in fuel economy and installation, complete with detailed instructions and pictures.

As seen on Modified Magazine, the annual WiredOnHonda.com/ProTunerParts.com K&N meet will be held at K&N Headquarters located in Riverside, CA on July 25th, 2010.

Media appearances from industry leaders such as Import Tuner, Honda Tuning, Super Street and others will be there interviewing and shooting cars. Live music from DJ Versed and an ever growing vendor list which includes confirmed vendors such as 5zigen, Torco Oil, Norm Reeves Honda and SmartWax with the beautiful models from GXS Motorspots this is car show is set to be a solid kick off for the Summer show season.

Those interested should view the official thread for all the details. Don’t miss out on this event!

The Honda performance R&D mad scientists must have been working over time to create such an amazing beast of a race car. Using what they have learned from over 30+ years of racing experience in all forms of auto racing and with the famous JGTC Honda NSX-GT as its predecessor, the Honda HSV-010 GT is set to be the dominant force on race tracks across the world in 2010.

About the Honda HSV-010 GT Performance

The HSV-010 GT, which stands for “Honda Sports Velocity”, is a front-engine rear-drive Super GT race car. Built to surpass the already legendary cornering ability of the NSX-GT, the frame was reinforced to be more rigid for better handling.

The engine used is the HR10EG, a 3.4-liter V8 engine used in Formula Nippon cars but optimized for Super GT, which produces “500 or more” horsepower, and “392 or more” Nm of torque, according to a press release from Honda.

Two of the most noticeable features of the HSV-010 GT is the ever familiar Honda exhaust tone produced from an 8-4-2-1 exhaust manifold and single muffler design and the fairly dominate wing and short rear overhang protruding from its rear end.

Contrary to speculation, the wing is not a part of a new aerodynamic design. In fact, the entire aerodynamic performance remains at the 2009 NSX-GT level so that leaves room for some serious aerodynamic development still to come.

Fans of the Honda / Acura NSX will remember the sad news when Honda announced that due to the economy, the production of the NSX was being discontinued in an effort by Honda to focus on mass-produced vehicles instead of the limited edition ones.

Had Honda decided to continue production of the NSX, the HSV-010 GT would have been the next-generation model. True Honda enthusiasts can only hope that one day we will see the NSX resurrected and a production model of the HSV-010 GT becomes available to the masses.

But what makes this Civic Type R stand out from his older brothers is that this one is being featured in the 2010 ARC Australian Rally Championship by Honda Australia. With a Mugen tuned engine and a Rally Racing suspension set up, simply put this car is amazing.

Enjoy this Honda Civic Type R Rally Car Shakedown video of the car in action on the track before the start of the Australian Rally Championship season.

Well friends, Honda is at it again proving why Honda will always be light years ahead of everyone else with their newest invention, the Honda’s U3-X Personal Mobility Prototype.

Honda’s U3-X Personal Mobility Prototype

The U3-X Personal Mobility Prototype stands at 25 inches high and 6 inches wide with a fold out butterfly style leather seat up top and two small foot rests that fold out from either side. The U3-X is able to move forward or backwards using the main wheel and is equally able to move left to right and any direction in between with the use of smaller wheels mounted to the larger main wheel. Powered by a lithium-ion battery that as of now holds a charge for about an hour is the perfect new device for personal transportation and far more impressive then the over hyped Segway.

Using what they have learned from ASIMO, the U3-X Personal Mobility prototype balances itself by the use of accelerometers and sensors that detect the rider’s center of gravity and make adjusts itself constantly to keep the rider and the U3-X in perfect balance. Steering is just a mater of slighting leaning in the direction you wish to go.

You can learn more about the U3-X Personal Mobility Prototype by visiting Honda’s official announcement here. In the mean time check out these videos of the Honda U3-X Personal Mobility Prototype in action and Honda, if you’re listening, I’ll take mine in classic Championship White with a nice Type R badge on the side.

JDM for those who don’t know stand for Japanese Domestic Market so unfortunately none of the cars seen here are easily available for sale in the US but you can find JDM aftermarket parts for your Acura Integra or Honda Civic and make it as close as possible to pure JDM perfection.

I checked when I got to work and saw everyone else was still receiving the original organic SERP report layout. Once again I came home just now and saw I am still receiving the new layout and figured id post up some screen shots of it. Is this a test? A sneak peek at how Google Caffeine will look?

Original: notice where the right arrow show number of searches and my location, the search box is much larger and the options listed on the left hand side.

Original: showing more with the number 9 position showing more options and more then the regular 10 results

Original: notice the related search suggestion box

Now notice the options with the first “More” option selected:

An finally notice the options with the 2nd “More” option selected:

While surfing the web and looking for literature to read more on and expand my knowledge, and with the help of a very close friend, I came across the Science of Mind website and publication.

I won’t dive into to much detail here but after reading and for the longest time, wanting to change and go forth in a new direction I’ve decided to embark on a journey of self growth and enlightenment. A journey to learn more about my surroundings and my environment. To learn more about dreams and the energy that is within all living things.

While most everyone in the county is aware of the scarce employment opportunities job seekers face, there’s another, more silent problem people are finding themselves in. That is the problem with student loan consolidation and debt.

Whether its a private school, public university, community college or a tech school, going to college is a very expensive endeavor and not everyone can afford it.

That’s where student loans come in. Companies like Sallie Mae and AES have been offering student loans to help people go to college for years, usually at a decent rate. But lately, even these major loan companies are feeling the crunch of the economy and have raised their rates and requiring inflated repayment plans.

Its not uncommon for recent college graduates, who were told they would be paying anywhere from $50 to $120 a month after graduation to be facing student loan bills in the $300 to $600 range all of a sudden. These higher bills, combined with the lack of available jobs to pay them is making student loan consolidation a more favorable option to consider.

About Student Loan Consolidation

While the idea of a consolidating student loans sounds like a simple quick fix, not doing your homework can get you in more debt and trouble then you would think. There are many loan consolidation companies out there that boast they have the lowest student loan consolidation rates around but be sure to read the fine print.

Student loan companies, such as Sallie Mae do offer their own consolidation programs for both federal student loans and private student loans, which is probably your best bet when it comes to the best possible rates and not ruining your credit history.

Student Loan Forgiveness

Let’s face it, receiving a college education is more important then it has ever been. The state of our economy has made finding a decent job, let alone a great paying job more difficult then most people could have ever imagined. In light of the recent Bank Bailouts, student loan bailouts have been a popular idea that has been floating around the country. Although the idea of a student loan bailout does have a following, it doesn’t seem like this will be a reality anytime soon; school loan consolidation seems to be the only available option for the time being.

The massive amounts of layoffs across the country these past couple years have resulted in the job market being flooded with seasoned professionals gunning for the same jobs as freshly graduated college students.

Remember, the main problem is that while the amount of people looking for work has increased, sadly, the amount of available jobs has decreased significantly and at times the only deciding factor in who gets the job is the one who has the college degree.