Hearing outs TV overcharges
McCaskill-071307-18356- 0038
Representatives for Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter, DirectTV, and Dish Network, which together provide programming to more than half of all American households and more than 70 percent of American pay-TV subscribers responded to committee findings that the providers charged a host of fees that were not prominently displayed in advertised pricing, required customers wishing to cancel their service to speak to “retention specialists” who were incentivized to not allow cancellations, and — in the case of two companies — overcharged consumers nationwide by millions of dollars without any system for tracking or refunding those charges.
For the first time, representatives of our nation’s largest cable and satellite companies are testifying together before the U.S. Congress about their customer service and billing practices.
They appeared because this subcommittee has broad jurisdiction to investigate issues which affect the American people.
Few other industries touch as many Americans as the companies that provide them with television. We found that customers are being charged a host of fees that are not included in advertised pricing, some of which are for programming that used to be included in a customer’s video package.
We also found that, just as many customers have long believed, some of these fees, like the HD and DVR service fees, aren’t a true reflection of the cost to the company of the service, but rather are based on the revenue goals of the company, and the price a customer is willing to stomach.
The bipartisan investigation has resulted in findings validating deep frustrations expressed by consumers in polls over recent years. Customers were being charged fees that were not prominently displayed in advertised pricing, some of which were for programming that was previously included in a customer’s video package.
Customers calling for help on their accounts faced agents whose job it was not just to solve the customer’s problems, but to sell them additional services — and customers calling to cancel or downgrade service were required to speak to retention agents who were specifically trained and financially incentivized to prevent the customers from canceling and downgrading.
On refunds, Time Warner Cable and Charter made no effort to trace equipment overcharges to their origin or provide notice or refunds to customers. Charter estimated it overbilled customers by at least $5.3 million annually. During the past six and a half years, Time Warner Cable overbilled its customers nearly $12.5 million.
As a response to the subcommittee’s investigation, Charter and Time Warner Cable agreed to issue a credits for thousands of customers who were overbilled, and Comcast provided additional guidance to its retention representatives about allowing customers to cancel without argument.
