Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Time Warner Joins Comcast and Charter Communications in Competition for the Sleaziest Service of Cable TV providers

I had noticed my Time Warner Cable bill was creeping up month my month.  I have just TV service and it had reached $76 a month.  I called TWC (Time Warner) to see what they could do.
They offered me a rate of $49.95 a month for the service.  I accepted that.  I then received the next month's bill and it was in excess of $86.00. What is going on here. I called TWC yesterday to try to get it straightened out.  I had to wait over an hour to get to a customer service representative.  They explained to me that there was no $49.95 program available and that I would have to pay the $86.00 for the previous month. I told them to remove the equipment.
   Today I received a call from Jessica from TWC who wanted to know if there was anything they could do to get back in my good graces.  I explained that I don't like to deal with sleazy companies that lied.  Jessica offered the $9.95 package to me and offered to rebate me $110.00 off the next months bills to compensate for the over billing. They also have a vacation program that will reduce the bill to $5 when I am away on vacation, which happens a lot to me.

Lesson learned. Don't be afraid to cancel your service as the threat to get the plan you want from your cable provider.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

US Postal Service has their Thumb on the Scale

I went to the local Post office today with a large envelope with 7  letter size pages inside. I needed to put postage on it.  The line was too long, so I went to the automated machine to buy the postage since there was no line there.  I put the letter on the scale and pushed a few buttons. It asked me to verify the weight: 1 lb. 1.2 oz.  That couldn't be right.  A regular first class letter can easily handle 4 page under an ounce.  7 pages, even with the large envelope couldn't weigh more than 2 ox.

I took the envelope off the scale and the weight registered exactly 1 lb. I put the envelope back on and it weighed 1 lb. 1.2 oz. again.  I started over again and got the same results.

I got in line and waited about 10 minutes to get to the clerk.  I explained the situation and asked them to take the machine out of service so that others wouldn't be overcharged for using the machine.  They said they would get around to it when they had time. Right now there was a line that had to be taken care of.

I got the correct postage from the clerk, mailed the letter, and left the post office.  I called the weights and measures department of the State department of Agriculture.  They informed me that they have no jurisdiction over the Postal Service. They suggested that I call the Postmaster.  Of course, the Postmaster never answers the phone.  There is always the complaint form at the USPS.com site.  I remember the last time I used that and it took weeks. Oh well, caveat emptor at the USPS.

UPDATE

I went to the Post Office again today, Feb 2, 2015.   It has been about a year and a half since my last visit.  Whatever I have written above can still be said for today's trip with the only exceptions being that the letter weighed 3.4 ounces, but the machine said 1 lb. 3.4 oz.  I've heard that the Post Office was slow, but this takes the cake.   Criminal.

I have now contacted the Postmaster, Customer Service, Consumer Affairs, Office of the Inspector General, Fraud Division, and Postal Inspector. All to no avail.  I guess the US Post Office is immune to these criminal activities. I have also tried the local Law Enforcement, State Law Enforcement.  The only thing I can think of that remains is the FBI.  Seems like a waste of resources to bring in the FBI, but I don't think I have much choice. More later when I get some results.