Safety and Customer Rights Printable Copies
Customer Rights and Other Important Information
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About Our Services
Consumers have a right to the information necessary to make sound decisions. Please call our Customer Care Center at (888) 438-2427 to obtain information about our products and services.
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Bill Disputes
You must notify our Customer Care Center at (888) 438-2427 within 30 days of your billing date of any billing discrepancies. You may also file a written dispute with Charter at:
Charter Communications
941 Charter Commons Drive
Town and Country, MO 63017
ATTN: CCA—Charter Phone
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Bill Payment and Adjustment
Your telephone bill with only current charges is due within twenty-one days of delivery; any past due balance is due immediately. Your payment is considered past due if not received by the date specified on the bill. A late fee of up to *1.5% will be assessed to any unpaid past due balance **each month.
A returned payment fee of up to $25.00 will be assessed for any returned check or declined credit or electronic payment. Additional charges may apply if further collection activity is required.
You may have your monthly amount due automatically deducted from a checking, savings, or credit card account. To sign up for this service or to obtain the hours and addresses of bill payment locations, please call our Customer Care Center toll-free at (888) 438-2427.
You have the right to your continued local telecommunications package as long as long as full payment for that local service is timely made.
*In North Carolina, the late fee of 1% will be assessed to any unpaid past due balance each month.
** In Massachusetts, the late fee will be applied once per late balance.
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Call Blocking Options
Refer to your Welcome Kit or call our Customer Care Center at (888) 438-2427 for detailed information on the call blocking options available in your area.
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Choice of Services
Charter Phone services are provided to consumers without discrimination as to race, color, sex, nationality, religion, marital status, income level, source of income, or from unreasonable discrimination on the basis of geographic location.
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Cramming - Charges on Your Charter Phone Bill
Placing charges on your phone bill for products or services without your authorization is known as cramming and is prohibited by law. Your telephone company may be providing billing services for other companies, so other companies' charges may appear on your telephone bill. If you believe you were crammed, you should contact the telephone company that bills you for your telephone service: Charter Phone Service at (888) 438-2427, and request that it take corrective action.
The billing telephone company will do the following within 45 days of when it learns of the unauthorized charge:
Notify the service provider to cease charging you for the unauthorized product or service;
Remove any unauthorized charge from your bill;
Refund or credit all money to you that you have paid for an unauthorized charge; and
On your request, provide you with all billing records related to any unauthorized charge within 15 business days after the charge is removed from your telephone bill.
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Credit and Deposit Information
A credit assessment may be required to establish service. If required, you will be asked for the necessary information or provided with alternatives if available. The result of the assessment process determines whether more information and/or an advance payment and/or COD (Collect on Delivery) are required. If an advance payment/COD is required, the amount is typically equal to the normal cost of installation plus the cost of one month of service.
If the results of a credit assessment indicate that an advance payment or COD is required, the finding is based on your social security number being associated with a joint credit history, and you disagree with that finding; you will be provided with the number to the reporting agency so you may attempt to resolve the matter.
At this time, Charter Phone does not require a deposit to establish or maintain telephone service.
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Customer Privacy and Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI)
This information can be found in the Welcome Book received at installation.
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Deferred Payment Plans
In some areas, if you are unable to pay the total charges on your bill, you may be eligible to enter into a payment arrangement. In order to be eligible you must have active Charter phone service. In most cases, you may have between one and three billing cycles to pay the past due balance. However, in addition to the deferred amount, you must also pay all current charges each month. As long as the terms of the payment arrangement remain met, your service will not be disconnected.
In some areas, once you agree to a payment arrangement plan, you may receive the terms in writing and must sign and return the agreement for it to remain valid and avoid disconnection. Whether verbal or in writing, if you do not meet the agreed payment arrangements at any time during the deferment, your service may be disconnected.
To determine if your area offers payment arrangements and to see if you qualify, please click here to chat live or call Customer Service toll-free at (888) 438-2427.
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Filing a Complaint
To file a complaint with Charter by telephone call our Customer Care Center at (888) 438-2427.
To file a complaint with Charter in writing, mail to:
Charter Communications
941 Charter Commons Drive
Town & Country, MO 63017
ATTN: CCA – Charter Phone
If handling of the complaint is unsatisfactory, you may request a review by a supervisor.
To file a complaint with your state agency, refer to the State Agency Contact List for the telephone number and mailing address.
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Restoration of Service
In order to have service restored, any outstanding balance must be paid. There is also a charge to have service restored once service is disconnected for non-payment, this may include installation and one month advance payment. If service is not restored within 60 days of disconnection, the restoration may be considered a new connection and subject to credit assessment, and COD (Collect on Delivery). Other conditions may apply. Please call our Customer Care Center toll-free at (888) 438-2427 to arrange for the restoration of service.
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Service Standards
Charter strives to maintain service standards as set forth by your state agency. Call our Customer Care Center at (888) 438-2427 with any questions about service standards. You may also contact your state agency for information about service standards.
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Slamming - Selecting a Telecommunications Carrier
Telephone companies are prohibited by law from switching you from one telephone service provider to another without your permission, a practice commonly known as "slamming."
If you are slammed, the telephone company that slammed you will do the following:
Pay all charges associated with returning you to your original telephone company within five business days of your request.
Provide all billing records to your original telephone company within ten business days of your request.
Pay your original telephone company the amount you would have paid if you had not been slammed.
Refund to you within thirty business days any amount you paid for charges during the first thirty days after the slam and any amount more than what you would have paid your original telephone company for charges after the first thirty days following the slam.
Your original telephone company is required to provide you with all the benefits; such as frequent flyer miles, you would have normally received for your telephone use during the period in which you were slammed.
If you have been slammed, you can change your service immediately back to your original provider by calling your local telephone company. You should also report the slam by writing or calling your state agency.
You can prevent slamming by requesting a preferred carrier freeze from your local telephone company. With a freeze in place, you must give formal consent to list the freeze before your phone service can be changed. A freeze may apply to local service, local toll service, and/or long-distance service. Your state agency can give you more information about freezes and your right as a customer.
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Special Services and Assistance
If you, or someone you care for, has a physical disability, please contact our Customer Center toll-free at (888) 438-2427 so that special actions needed to inform you of your rights and/or provide services may be discussed.
Hearing and speech impaired individuals with a text telephone (TTY) may access the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) to place calls by dialing 711 from your home telephone.
Some states offer assistance for low income, elderly, and/or other groups. To determine what, if any, assistance is available and qualifying criteria exists, Customer Care Center at 1-888-438-2427.
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Suspension/Disconnection of Service
Upon advance written notice, Charter Phone can suspend/disconnect your local telecommunication package and services for any of the following reasons:
- Failure to pay for tariff/regulated charges for local telecommunications services.
- Failure to comply with the terms of a payment arrangement plan.
Charter Phone can suspend/disconnect local telecommunication package and services without notice for any of the following reasons:
- Service is installed, connected, or reconnected without authority.
- Where there is evidence or suspect of tampering with Charter's equipment.
- Theft of service.
- Any other efforts to defraud Charter.
Non-payment of an amount under dispute will not be subject to suspension/disconnection until the resolution of the dispute if the amount is then deemed due..
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Telephone Solicitation
There are certain protections for a person who receives a telephone solicitation at a residence.
A telephone solicitor must:
identify himself or herself by name;
identify the business on whose behalf he or she is calling;
identify the purpose of the call; and identify the telephone number at which the person, company, or organization making the call may be reached.
A telephone solicitor may not call a residence before 9:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. on a weekday or Saturday or before noon or after 9:00 p.m. on Sunday. If a telephone solicitor uses an automatic dialing/announcing device, the machine must disconnect from your line within 30 seconds after termination of the call.
Exceptions: The requirements above do not apply to telephone solicitations made at your request, solicitations made in connection with an existing debt or contract, or calls from a telephone solicitor with whom you have a prior or existing business relationship.
If you use a credit card to purchase consumer goods or a service from a telephone solicitor other than a public charity (an organization exempt from federal income tax under the Internal Revenue Code §501(c)(3)), the seller must:
offer a full refund for the return of undamaged and unused goods within seven days after you receive the goods or service (the seller must process the refund within 30 days after you return the merchandise or cancel your order for undelivered goods or service); or
provide you with a written contract fully describing the goods or service being offered, the total price charged, the name, address, and business phone of the seller, and any terms and conditions affecting the sale.
If you have a complaint about a telephone solicitor whom you believe has violated this law contact: your state agency.
Another law requires a telephone solicitor to make every effort not to call a consumer who asks not to be called again and/or who has registered with a Federal or State Do Not Call program. Complaints relating to a violation of this law are investigated by your state agency. If you have a complaint about repeated solicitation from a telephone solicitor you have asked not to call you again, contact your state agency:
Be advised that you may have additional rights under federal law. Please contact the Federal Trade Commission or the Federal Communications Commission for further information on these additional rights.
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Your Service Representatives
For billing, repair or other customer service needs please click here to chat live, call toll-free at (888) 438-2427 or dial 611 from your home telephone.
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Note to California Customers regarding Your Privacy Rights
California law requires Charter to provide to Customers, upon request, certain information regarding the sharing of personally identifiable information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. As mentioned above, Charter does not share information with unaffiliated third parties for their own direct marketing purposes. However, Charter may share personally identifiable information with some same-branded affiliates for those affiliates’ direct marketing purposes (subject to restrictions in the attached CPNI Policy). If You make a request by phone or on-line, Charter will provide You with the number of its same-branded affiliates in California and a list of personal information that it may have shared with some or all such affiliates.
We make every reasonable effort to protect Your privacy as described in this Privacy Policy. Nevertheless, Your personally identifiable information may be disclosed in the process of rendering our services to You or as required by law. For example:
Your name and/or telephone number may also be transmitted and displayed on a Caller ID device unless You have elected to block such information. Please note that Caller ID blocking may not prevent the display of Your name and/or telephone number when You dial certain business numbers, 911, 900 numbers, or toll-free 800, 888, 877, or 866 numbers (where available).
Charter may publish and distribute telephone directories in print, on the Internet and on disks. Those telephone directories may include Customer names, addresses and telephone numbers, without restriction to their use.
Charter also makes Customer information available through directory assistance operators.
Charter may also provide Customer names, addresses and telephone numbers to unaffiliated directory publishers and directory assistance providers for their use in creating directories and offering directory assistance services.
Name, address, and telephone information in telephone directories may be sorted, packaged, repackaged and made available again in different formats by anyone.
We take reasonable precautions to ensure that non-published and non-listed numbers are not included in our telephone directories or directory assistance services, or any third-parties’ directories or directory assistance services, although we cannot guarantee that errors will never occur.
We will disclose personally identifiable information about You without Your consent and sometimes without notice to You when required by law in order to comply with a valid legal process such as a subpoena, court order, or search warrant, for example. If we receive such a request, we will notify You before responding, unless we are prohibited from doing so by law. Valid legal process may require us to disclose or allow access to personal information such as Your account, billing, payment and calling records, and may also require us to allow governmental entities to monitor Your calls and callers as well as general call usage. We may also use or disclose personally identifiable information about You without Your consent (a) to protect our Customers, employees, or property, (b) in emergency situations, (c) to enforce our rights in court or elsewhere, or directly with You, for violations of service terms, conditions or policies and/or (d) as otherwise required by law, for example, as part of a regulatory proceeding.
We reserve the right to collect and disclose information in collective or aggregate formats, such as ratings surveys and other statistical reports, which do not personally identify You. We may use Your personally identifiable information to better understand how the service is being used, to improve it, and for performance measurement and security purposes, including to determine whether there are violations of any applicable policies and terms of service.
In the event we (or our affiliates) engage in a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, Customers’ personally identifiable information will, in most instances, be part of the assets transferred. If, as a result of the business transition, this Privacy Policy will be changed, Aggregate information may also be transferred in connection with a business transition.
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State Agency Contact List
| |
Telephone Number |
Address |
| Alabama Public Service Commission |
800-392-8050 |
POB 304260, 100 N. Union St. RSA Union, Suite 838 Montgomery, AL 36130 |
| California Public Utilities Commission |
800-649-7570 |
505 Van Ness Ave. San Francisco, CA 94102-3298 |
| Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control |
800-382-4586 (within CT)
860-827-2837 (TDD only) |
Ten Franklin Square New Britain, CT 06051 |
| Georgia Public Service Commission |
800-256-2397
800-282-5813 |
244 Washington Street, SW Atlanta, GA 30334 |
| Illinois Commerce Commission |
800-524-0795
800-858-9277 (TDD only) |
527 E. Capital Ave. Springfield, IL 62701 |
| Louisiana Public Service Commission |
800-256-2397 |
602 North 5th Street,12th Floor Baton Rouge, LA 70802 |
| Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy |
800-392-6066 |
One South Station Boston, MA 02110 |
| Michigan Public Service Commission |
800-292-9555 (within MI) |
POB 30221 Lansing, MI 48909 |
| Minnesota Public Utilities Commission |
800-657-3782 |
121 7th Place E., Suite 350 Saint Paul, MN 55101-2147 |
| Missouri Public Service Commission |
800-392-4211 |
200 Madison Street, POB 360 Jefferson City, MO 65102-0360 |
| Nevada Public Utilities Commission |
800-992-0900, Ext. 4-6101 |
1150 E. William Street Carson City, NV 89701-3109 |
| North Carolina Utilities Commission |
919-733-9277 |
4326 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-4326 |
| Oregon Public Utility Commission |
800-522-2404 |
550 Capitol St NE #215 POB 2148, Salem OR 97308-2148 |
| South Carolina Public Service Commission |
800-922-1531
803-737-5230
800-922-1531 |
POB 11263 Columbia, SC 29211 |
| Tennessee Regulatory Authority |
800-342-8359 |
460 James Robertson Parkway Nashville, TN 37243-0505 |
| Texas Public Utility Commission |
888-782-8477 |
POB 13326 Austin, TX 78711-3326 |
| Virginia State Corporation Commission |
800-552-7945 (within VA)
804-371-9206 (TDD only) |
POB 1197 Richmond, VA 23218 |
| Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission |
800-562-6150
800-416-5289 (TDD only) |
POB 47250 1300 S. Evergreen Park Dr. SW Olympia, WA 98504-7250 |
| Wisconsin Public Service Commission |
800-225-7729
608-267-1479 (TDD only) |
POB 7854 Madison, WI 53707-7854 |
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