Charter

Pros: It is just another mediocre/worse cable tv provider.
Cons: Terrible bad attitude about customer service. Avoid if at all possible !!

Was watching an animal documentary today on tv in santa cruz county, california, and the channel went black. Why not call the long extension tree 800 # you might ask ?

What is the point! The could not care less woman at the other end of the line will want my ssn again,,,and after all that,,,she wont fix the problem with the poor reception of the cable channel. I know because I did this the previous week.

If you can , avoid Charter cable, like the plague.

Pros: None
Cons: Poor service, outages, ignorant rude techs & customer service

Customer service is the worst ever. Rude, ignorant, uneducated people--need I say more. Technicians are no better. They have no clue what they're doing and basically read responses out of a manual. They can't think on their own. I've had my Internet access go down countless times as well as cable outages. If I had choices (I can't get satellite where I'm at) I'd jump in a minute. I can't wait for the phone company to offer cable access in my area.

Pros: None
Cons: Service, selection, price

Due to its monopoly, being the only cable provider in St. Louis that's not satellite, Charter thinks this gives it a license to rip off its customers and treat them like dirt. They are ridiculously overpriced and have a horrible selection. They charge you for things you did not ask for and then lie about it. This is the worst experience I have ever had with any company. Everyone in customer service is completely incompetent and not helpful at all. They repeatedly gave me the wrong information and then charged me for it. This is an awful company and I would never do business with them again.

Pros: none
Cons: too many to list...see above comments.

We've had the misfortune to be saddled with Charter for our cable service (TV) and broadband Internet for over 4 years, and cannot understand how any company can stay in business with such terrible products and customer service...oh, yea, they're a monopoly!
TV reception is terrible, but just try to get someone to come out to take a look. They raise your rate on a regular basis, so I just call every 6 months and get the newest "special" so my rate will stay somewhat within our entertainment budget. The thing that bugs me the most is their automated phone solicitations that advertise pay-for-view fights, etc. I've called 5 times now to get these calls stopped (they're always right when I preparing dinner and a real nuisance), and the last service rep yelled at me to calm down. The frustration comes from not having more options available so that the free market can eliminate such poorly run companies. If I had another option, I'd certainly dump Charter, but I don't....and they know it. If you have any other choice besides Charter, I advise you take it...I wish I could!

Pros: Good Service and Helpful Staff
Cons: Home repair services come out of northern California 30 miles away.

I have been using Charter for about five years now and have not had any major problems with them. There was one clerical error in billing that took me about two weeks to clear up but other then that they have been pretty good. I live in a pretty remote area of southwest Oregon and most of the services here are a little weak so I have to give Charter some extra credit for the work they do here.

I have basic cable with high-speed internet and the quality of service has been worth every bit of the $54 per month that I pay for those services. I only wish I could pack up the service and take it with me when I have to move.

Customer and technical service could be a little more friendly but I can let some of those things slide as long as I know they are on the job helping me with any problems that I may have with the service.

I would recommend them to anyone moving to this area.

Pros: only option
Cons: terrible service, high prices, poor choices

Just moved to St. Louis and tried to get cable through Charter. Have spent more than 3 hours on the phone, total. First, installation came and found a defective "tap" on the cable line. This was supposed to be fixed that day, but waited until the next day. Once cable was on, no HD channels (which we had ordered). Also, had ordered DVR service but this was not installed, either. Another one hour phone call. Charter tried to charge us to fix the original problem. Also, pricing a bit less than ideal (around $150 a month for basic cable and middle internet service). Specifically, however, the phone service was relatively inept, with the service people ignoring what you say and speaking from a script, making inappropriate transfers, and taking a long time to come back from hold.

Pros: definitely not
Cons: too dumb to make it as con men

when they finally restored my internet and full cable service (the problem was signal strength from THEIR lines, as it is 99 or 100 percent of the time) (why do they need to come in your house before they check the signal strength? they could at least do your laundry or something useful while inside), my Charter On Demand was not working. I was told to sit at home for three hours (this costs me more than one month's cable service) so another guy can come inside and GET THIS - tell me that I have to unplug the power cord to my cable box and plug it back in.

Then, the phone rep tried to sell me Charter's internet phone service. Since my internet was out for two weeks while they dawdled, I answered that if I wanted that kind of phone service I would move to Albania and sign up with the Albanian phone company. If they could just add electrical power supply to their internet they could make people wait for two weeks for the lights to come on because they refuse to check the signal strength outside before coming in your house.

Pros: NONE
Cons: Price, service, reliability? hahaha. They stink.

I've had nothing but problems out of them. I have phone and internet via cable. Sometimes one goes out, sometimes both. Sometimes minutes, sometimes hours, sometimes days. There is NO EXCUSE for this kind of total crap service. Their online help is totally worthless. They'll tell you to call them, which would be fine except that's why I messaged them over the net, my phone is out, AGAIN. Their phone help isn't much better. If you go thru the whole tapdance you'll be on the phone with them for 30-45 minutes. Oh, and they'll ask for your account number. Like people keep their account numbers on them? I just give them my name, address, etc.., scream at them to get it fixed and hang up. It's costing me nearly $100 a month for all the aggravation and worthless service I can stand. Every Charter phone should come with a free cell phone just so you can call them and cuss them out. Do yourself a favor, stay away from Charter. They suck. AT&T may be my only other option.

Pros: Professional customer service reps
Cons: Unreliable service, pricey

We have had Charter Communications ever since they took over Marcus Cable in our area. In the last month, we have had nothing but problems with the digital picture breaking up so badly that several channels are impossible to watch or listen to. I have had to watch another television that does not have a digital box. I have called countless times, they have resent the signal (at which time I was told to shut off the receiver for 20 minutes) and have sent a technician to our house. Nothing seems to fix the problem permanently. Since they are the only cable company in town, I am ready to go to satellite!

Pros: Had Charter internet service for 4 months - no problems.
Cons: Overseas call centers, poor English, dropped calls, VERY frustrating experience.

I had placed our internet service on hold while we were away for the winter. In the spring I called to cancel altogether. A month later I found they charged my credit card for a full month of full service. Many calls to their useless call centers (overseas, poor English, dropped calls) brought no satisfaction. I wrote to corporate HQ; today I received a call - no satisfaction ! He said there was a limit on the hold, which had expired before my cancellation. No one ever told me there was a hold limit when I arranged it.

Pros: Already connected and no equipment charge. No reconnect fee.
Cons: Poor customer service and unwilling to correct mistakes.

I had seasonal service with Charter at my summer home and every year I disconnect in the fall. Of course they bill ahead so they always owe me a refund. This year their refund check bounced because they had stopped payment on the check and reissued. After many phone calls I was told I had requested the check be mailed to a different address and so it was my fault and they refuse to pay the return deposit fee of $20.00. Both checks were sent to the same billing address! They refuse to respond to by BBB complaint and although the customer service responded to my letter to the CEO they have yet to get back with me and tell me the result. I will not be reconnecting this year and will instead use satellite!

Pros: they forgot a extra cable modem that im holding randsome
Cons: poor channels, poor tech service, poor service, high prices higher support prices, rude

i have been with charter for a while now and i must say suck dont quite fix the word from the very beginning with the cable tech taking a week to get here then leaving the connections laying on the ground wich i had to fix out of pocket then to find he cut all the other room wiring, then i get into it with the techs trying to fix a problem with my tv turns out it was a bad box yep paid for than one to noooooow i get told by a tech i have bad signals in my house that i dont cause well im online right i had service with charter before in wash state and it was the same game poor channel selections high prices and poor service and they do this knowing they can and we as consumers have no choice but to ether do net fix wich i do and is great or no cable and have you seen the outside antenna option yea 3 channels depending on how the wind is blowing so what is one to do

Pros: there is nothing good to say...
Cons: everything about this company is a con...

Charter has some of the worst customer service i have ever encountered. i have been hung up on, refused to speak with a manager, and when i finally was able to they were rude and just kept repeating the same thing over like a broken record. our bill has been for a different amount each month. and not a single bill has been for the amount that we were quoted. they did not even get the installation price right (it was $40 more than they quoted us and they had the wrong equipment)! do everything you can to avoid Charter.

Pros: Fast Internet, problems rare
Cons: It ALWAYS takes days to resolve problems.

I have been with Charter for years and have had very few problems. HOWEVER, whenever I have had a problem, getting it resolved is a major undertaking. The biggest problems are customer support and getting someone to correct the problem. The service reps are not rude, just not helpful. They have never been able to resolve any of my problems. Then they tell you they will have to have somebody come look at it...in FOUR DAYS!!! So when you do have a problem, be prepared to be without cable/Internet for a long time.

Pros: Almost better than Radio. (Unless your favorite ball team is playing)
Cons: Read the review

Only choose Charter if you have no other choice for the following reasons:

1. Poor phone service. They are pushy and rude. If you want information they will constantly try to sell you.

2. Poor visual quality using standard or digital service. Whether you use a regular 27" TV, or an HDTV, the results are the same, mediocre picture especially on larger displays. The truth behind their "digital" service is that few of the channels are true digital. I have a receiver that detects and switches digital sources. When flipping through the channels of Charter cable I noticed that it only detects digital audio capability on a scant few channels.

3. Unreliable/confusing billing process. You will definitely be assessed mystery charges, just plain eroneous charges, and everything in between at some point during your time with them. Some months they won't bill you at all and then make you pay double.

4. Unreliable internet service (in my area). There will be times (hours at a time) when our high speed internet does't work. We Can't explain it, Charter can't either.

5. There is no HD availability in our area.