L.A. Consumers Sue Time Warner Cable
Angry Subscribers Eye Class Action Over Internet Snafus
By Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 12/3/2006 7:00:00 PM
As Time Warner Cable began its system consolidation in the greater Los Angeles area, it posted a promise on its local Web page: “Let's start with the most important fact: Your service will not be interrupted.”
Those words are now being used against the company in a potential class-action lawsuit, filed Nov. 22 in Los Angeles Superior Court. The suit, filed on behalf of subscriber Toby Miller, asserts that the company's actual performance made a mockery of that promise.
The civil suit accuses the cable operator of breach of contract, fraud and deceit, and negligent misrepresentation, among other allegations.
INTERNET OUTAGES
A portion of Time Warner's high-speed Internet customers suffered outages, which, according to the lawsuit, lasted as long as two weeks, when the operator began changing former Comcast High-Speed Internet customers to the new owner's Road Runner service. Those accounts had to be physically moved from Comcast-owned servers to Time Warner systems.
The lawsuit asserts that the No. 2 U.S. operator failed to devote sufficient resources to ensure that customers' service would not be affected during the changes it is implementing to absorb the operations of Adelphia Communications, which it acquired, as well as the local systems it is taking over as part of a related system swap with Comcast.
One of the plaintiff's attorneys, Alexander Rufus-Issacs, said the problems were exacerbated by consumers' inability to get a live operator on the phone and by an automated answering system that made it as difficult as possible for subscribers to get answers for their problems.
Time Warner Cable did not comment on the suit.
Mark Harrad, senior vice president of communications at the cable company, did note, though, that integrating the Los Angeles cable systems is one of the most complicated operational mergers that has been done anywhere.
Time Warner Cable has gone from 15% of the greater Los Angeles marketplace, representing 350,000 customers, to 75% of the market, serving 1.9 million customers. The new owner inherited three different video-on-demand platforms, three distinct customer service phone and back-office systems, 16 headends and 69 hubs.
The company is trying to harmonize operations, which in the end will provide ease of use to consumers, as well as easier billing and marketing for the company. Time Warner Cable acknowledges the glitches and is fixing them so that they don't recur, he added.
But in the lawsuit, complaintants argue that affected consumers should receive refunds of all their bills, with interest.
Rufus-Isaacs said lawyers are looking for other potential named plaintiffs and are researching the size of the potential class. But language in the suit might limit class consideration to residents of the city of Los Angeles.
The complaint notes that the city's customer service standards mandate that a provider automatically provide credits when a service is out more than 24 hours. Another problem: those standards apply to cable services and federal court rulings have determined that Internet service is not the same as a cable service, and thus is not subject to municipal regulation.
NOT ENOUGH PUBLICITY
The suit notes that Time Warner Cable honors consumer requests for credits for service problems, but asserts the company doesn't publicize that fact, so not all eligible consumers received compensation.
Harrad said the company has provided a variety of compensation, noting that he couldn't offer specifics because of the pending suit.
“Our standard operating procedure is to try to keep our customers and their loyalty by making appropriate amends,” Harrad said.
The suit requests a jury trial, refund of the bills paid during the two months when service was disrupted, plus damages, attorneys' fees and court costs.
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my family started cable service with time warner in march 2007 i have a list of every customer service rep. down to the supervisors I have the times, dates, employee numbers. at this point I could write a book on the lack of service I have received. if it were a movie it would be a HORROR movie. I will stop here cause I can use more then 7,000 characters to describe my experiences. so who ever is down with a class action lawsuit count us in.
The Reynolds Family
marvlyn harrison - 9/19/2007 8:53:00 PM EDT -
cont. from below;
only one problem the custiomer service supervisor at the Santa Monica Office says my 90405 zip is not ready for phone Service. WOOOOW, but wait ten minutres later she tells me a technician is scheduled to hook up one of my #s 8-22, now shes confused , she admits the left doesn't know what the right is doing, why not both my #s i asked- Her answer" who knows", but it least she is trying to help me and seems to understand my frustration. Who does know?
Larry Arreola - 8/21/2007 5:50:00 PM EDT -
I wanted to package my phone service with Time Warner- I could get unlimited long distance and save around $50 a mo. so I also upgraded by cable to digital cable with HBO. My phone service was to be cut over to the the same existing #s from Verizon on 7-13-07, delayed to 7-31, my verizon phone service was disconnect by TW on 7-31, only TW was not ready to hook up my phone. So they promised me 8-8, then delayed to 8-18 in which i stayed hiome to meet them , they didn''t show, now it is suppose to be 8-22-07, only one problem
Larry Arreola - 8/21/2007 5:42:00 PM EDT -
Time Warner is the worst cable service I have ever had. They turn ur service off without cause. I would like to get a class action lawsuit going if any one else feel this way. The customer service is the worst you can not speak to anyone higher up in management you just have to deal the the reps. who seem not to know much of anything. The reps. in the office where you pay your bill will lie to you so that they can get your money and then they turn off youre service. PLEASE HELP LET''''''''''''''''S GET IT STARTED
Pat Hines - 6/25/2007 11:59:00 AM EDT -
Is this still a pending suit? We have had such crappy service from Time
Warner. They shut off our service becuase they screwed up and sent
someone out to cancel it when we were upset that the service we had
initially gotten was so lacklustre. Then, I stayed home from work one
day for them to get things cookin' and they were about 30 minutes late
after I had waited for them for 5 hours already. THEN after they shut
off the service again for not processing my check I gave them, my
boyfriend left work early to wait for the service person... who never
showed up. Again, we stayed home during the work day, leaving early
from work to be greeted by a cable service person who was brass, rude
and made us feel like all this was a burden on HIM!!! We had
complained to Time Warner and even asked for that $20 credit for
them not being on time the first round and not showing up at all the
next. $40 in the big scheme of things should be a big deal when THEY
screwed up, right? Unfortunately, we were once again met with "We
can't do that. The driver said he called and nobody was there." Ummm,
not so, but if that's why we're so upset, you can go ahead and believe
that! If we lived in an apartment building that allowed satellite, we'd
have dumped TW already. I'd love to have gotten that $40 for the
frustration we went through, not to mention the lost time at work and
the bottle of aspirin I needed for the headache!!!
Erika C - 6/14/2007 2:52:00 PM EDT
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