Senate investigation: Time Warner Cable, Charter failed to refund overcharges

[Disir]

Time Warner Cable and its new owner, Charter Communications, have consistently failed to provide refunds to customers who the cable companies knew were being overcharged, according to a six-year U.S. Senate investigation.

The companies say they're working to make amends.

The investigation found that "Time Warner Cable and another company, Charter, made no effort to trace overcharges they identified and provide refunds to customers," said Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, in a statement. He is chairman of the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

Portman charged that their practice has been to pocket the money rather than correct their mistakes, something that he called wrong and unacceptable.

The subcommittee's probe reviewed how five companies — Charter Communications, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, DirecTV and Dish — identify and correct overcharges caused by company billing errors. Charter and Time Warner were the only two companies to not handle overcharges properly.

The investigation revealed that during the first five months of 2016, Time Warner Cable — the largest cable company in Ohio — overbilled as many as 11,000 customers in Ohio. Those overcharges totaled $108,000.

Time Warner Cable itself estimated that in 2015 it overbilled 40,000 Ohio customers for more than $430,000.
Senate investigation: Time Warner Cable, Charter failed to refund overcharges

One sucky company being taken over by another sucky company equals lots of suck.

 

[waltky]

AT&T agrees in principle to buy Time Warner for $85 billion...

AT&T agrees in principle to buy Time Warner for $85 billion: sources
Fri Oct 21, 2016 | AT&T Inc has reached an agreement in principle to buy Time Warner Inc for about $85 billion, sources said on Friday, paving the way for a blockbuster deal that would give the telecom company control of cable TV channels HBO and CNN, film studio Warner Bros and other coveted media assets.

The deal, which has been agreed on most terms and could be announced as early as Sunday, would be one of the largest in recent years in the sector as telecommunications companies look to combine content and distribution to capture customers replacing traditional pay-TV packages with more streamlined offerings and online delivery. AT&T, which sells wireless phone and broadband services, has already made moves to turn itself into a media powerhouse, buying satellite TV provider DirecTV last year for $48.5 billion. It also in 2014 entered a joint venture, Otter Media, with the Chernin Group to invest in media businesses, and has rolled out video streaming services.

Ticker and trading information for media conglomerate Time Warner Inc. is displayed at the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City​

AT&T will pay $110 per Time Warner share, or about $85 billion overall, sources told Reuters. That would make it the biggest deal in the world this year. Time Warner's shares rose almost 8 percent in regular trading, and a further 4.7 percent after hours, to $93.84, giving it a market value of about $73 billion. AT&T finished down 3 percent at $37.49. Time Warner is a major force in movies, TV and other areas, with HBO, CNN, Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT, TruTV, Turner Classic Movies, the CW network, New Line Cinema, DC Comics, Castle Rock Entertainment and other assets. Time Warner disclosed a 10 percent stake in video streaming site Hulu in August.

Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes rejected an $80 billion offer from Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (FOXA.O) in 2014, but sources said on Friday that the former suitor had no plans to renew its bid. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple Inc (AAPL.O) approached Time Warner a few months ago about a possible merger and has been monitoring its talks with AT&T. The agreement between Dallas-based AT&T and New York-based Time Warner could be announced as early as on Monday, according to the sources, who asked not to be named because the talks are confidential.

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