CenturyLink Cable company

[bobsheckley]

We subscribed to CenturyLink in 2/2014. Signed a 2 year, fixed price, contract for $125/month.
Went on vacation for 10 weeks starting in 5/2014. Took advantage of the vacation policy, which reduced the monthly charge while we were away.
Returned in 7/2014 and started regular service. The July bill arrived with a balance due of $200+. I called CL and got the bill adjusted to $125. August bill arrived with balance due of about $180. Got the bill adjusted to $125. September bill had balance due of $140. Got it adjusted to $125.
This process has continued thru the current month. I was always assured that it is not correct. Yeah, right!

I have settled for $155 as I was told the "2 year plan" is no longer available.

I was finally told yesterday that when a customer returns from vacation, the plan starts over, and all previous discounts are lost. What a devious way to do business.

I may not have taken the "vacation option" and continued to pay the $125/month, if I had know about their policy.

I plan to look at other options. Hope this note helps someone.

[TNLAKEPANDA]

Why would anyone sign up on a Contract with a cable company??? Century Link is the only cable company that does that. Dump them fast or you will be stuck in an endless loop.
No contracts on Brighthouse or Comcast/Xfinity. Do not get phone service through the cable company. You can get it for free as long as you have high speed internet. Why would you pay $30++ a month for a phone line.

[theorem painter]

Century Link did the same to us. There was no contract but we were told that the pricing was good for 12 months. Because we were snow birds we were told we basically would have the same pricing for 18 months. NOT. They will tell you anything that will get you to agree to use their services. It is so unethical.

[tuccillo]

You might want to call back and ask what the current "deals" are. If you are unhappy, ask for a supervisor. This may not yield a better result but it is worth a try. The first people you speak to may not be empowered to make you happy. A supervisor may be able to apply a "good customer" discount. The technical support folks have given me a discount on the spot for what was essentially a miscommunication. Be persistent but polite and ask to have it escalated. I have found CenturyLink to be pretty reasonable but who you talk to does matter.

We subscribed to CenturyLink in 2/2014. Signed a 2 year, fixed price, contract for $125/month.
Went on vacation for 10 weeks starting in 5/2014. Took advantage of the vacation policy, which reduced the monthly charge while we were away.
Returned in 7/2014 and started regular service. The July bill arrived with a balance due of $200+. I called CL and got the bill adjusted to $125. August bill arrived with balance due of about $180. Got the bill adjusted to $125. September bill had balance due of $140. Got it adjusted to $125.
This process has continued thru the current month. I was always assured that it is not correct. Yeah, right!

I have settled for $155 as I was told the "2 year plan" is no longer available.

I was finally told yesterday that when a customer returns from vacation, the plan starts over, and all previous discounts are lost. What a devious way to do business.

I may not have taken the "vacation option" and continued to pay the $125/month, if I had know about their policy.

I plan to look at other options. Hope this note helps someone.

[Paul & Elaine]

Century Link did the same to us. We signed up for a 2yr price guarantee of $121 per month. The bill was never the same each month and we also had to call to get it adjusted. After about 5 months we were told they would no longer make any adjustments. Then each month the bill would go up and now it is up to $168 per month. I will be calling them next week and if a lower rate cannot be agreed to I will be dropping them soon.

[paulat585]

We subscribed to CenturyLink in 2/2014. Signed a 2 year, fixed price, contract for $125/month.
Went on vacation for 10 weeks starting in 5/2014. Took advantage of the vacation policy, which reduced the monthly charge while we were away.
Returned in 7/2014 and started regular service. The July bill arrived with a balance due of $200+. I called CL and got the bill adjusted to $125. August bill arrived with balance due of about $180. Got the bill adjusted to $125. September bill had balance due of $140. Got it adjusted to $125.
This process has continued thru the current month. I was always assured that it is not correct. Yeah, right!

I have settled for $155 as I was told the "2 year plan" is no longer available.

I was finally told yesterday that when a customer returns from vacation, the plan starts over, and all previous discounts are lost. What a devious way to do business.

I may not have taken the "vacation option" and continued to pay the $125/month, if I had know about their policy.

I plan to look at other options. Hope this note helps someone.

Thanks, I am deciding right now.

[goldseekur]

Hello Fellow Villagers,

If you are looking for an alternative to Century Link or Comcast, Brighthouse is available south of CR 466A. We do not have any contracts and most of our bundle campaigns with cable & internet do have a 2 year price assurance. Also we have seasonal plans for customers where you can put your services on hold from 2 - 9 months. So restrictions apply. For more information feel free to call or email me below.

Is Brighthouse ever going to come up above CR466?

[tuccillo]

I can only go by my experience. They gave me a 1-year guarantee on internet only and billed me the correct amount every month. I called them a couple of months ago to see "what was new" and they offered a new 1-year guarantee for higher internet bandwidth for a lower price and they have been billing me the correct amount. I currently pay $45/month for 40Mbits/sec download and 20 Mbits/sec upload including the router lease fee and all taxes/fees. I work from home and it makes sense for me to lease the router. I had a few issues with the router freezing but they provided a different router and the system has been rock solid since.

Why would anyone sign up on a Contract with a cable company??? Century Link is the only cable company that does that. Dump them fast or you will be stuck in an endless loop.
No contracts on Brighthouse or Comcast/Xfinity. Do not get phone service through the cable company. You can get it for free as long as you have high speed internet. Why would you pay $30++ a month for a phone line.

[buzzy]

I can only go by my experience. They gave me a 1-year guarantee on internet only and billed me the correct amount every month. I called them a couple of months ago to see "what was new" and they offered a new 1-year guarantee for higher internet bandwidth for a lower price and they have been billing me the correct amount. I currently pay $45/month for 40Mbits/sec download and 20 Mbits/sec upload including the router lease fee and all taxes/fees. I work from home and it makes sense for me to lease the router. I had a few issues with the router freezing but they provided a different router and the system has been rock solid since.

Interesting. They keep sending me notices that I am a "techie" and should upgrade. I am at 10mb/s now. It's OK, I'd like 20 but do not want to pay any more. I may just call them to see if there's a deal at the higher level. Thanks for the tip.

[tuccillo]

Depending on where you are located you may be able to get better internet performance. I am an an area with fiber to the house. The move to higher bandwidth was driven by bad reception on my Voice-over-IP phone and the suggestion that better upload performance would help. I went from 700Kbit/sec to 20 Mbits/sec upload and thing did get better but that could be a coincidence. The price drop was partially due to auto bill pay (automatic credit card) but the price did drop when going from 10 MBit/sec to 40 MBit/sec download.

Interesting. They keep sending me notices that I am a "techie" and should upgrade. I am at 10mb/s now. It's OK, I'd like 20 but do not want to pay any more. I may just call them to see if there's a deal at the higher level. Thanks for the tip.

[Shimpy]

These cable companies are just like Sirius/XM radio. Every year it comes time to renew my contract to keep it running in my car and motorcycle I have to call and tell them I want to cancel. They ask why and I say "too expensive". They then offer it for 1/2 price and I'll say "no, still too expensive". They will then offer it at 70% off and I take it.

[dave from deland]

Hello Fellow Villagers,

If you are looking for an alternative to Century Link or Comcast, Brighthouse is available south of CR 466A. We do not have any contracts and most of our bundle campaigns with cable & internet do have a 2 year price assurance. Also we have seasonal plans for customers where you can put your services on hold from 2 - 9 months. So restrictions apply. For more information feel free to call or email me below.When are you going to expand North of CR 466a?. I have Brighthouse at my home in DeLand and would like to have it in my Village house. I am South of SR 42 and North of 466.

[Fraugoofy]

Please come to Lynnhaven, Brighthouse!

[weaverk65]

When we moved here 4 years ago, Comcast was the only option we had (North of 466). The customer service got SO bad at Comcast, we jumped at Century Link as soon as it became available. We've had some ups and downs on service and billing, but still so much better than Comcast could ever hope to be. Century Link has worked with us and let us "renew" our original pricing so we believe it is also much less than Comcast. Had some recent service issues and they came yesterday (a Saturday) and rewired the house and cabling to the outside box. Also replaced DVR and a set top box. We felt the technician went above and beyond to ensure we were satisfied with the service. Very happy Century Link customers now for almost 3 years.

[Hancle704]

Have had Centurylink for more than 2 years. There was never a signed contract. Some discounts were for 6 months and I have to wonder when some of the posters initially "signed their 2 year contract" did they make it clear that they were seasonal residents and would be looking to suspend service during the 2 year period? I have found Centurylink reps a lot easier to reach and speak with then my last few years with Comcast. there have been some adjustments in prices for some of their premium packages, but I am still paying $50-60 a month less for Prism bundle than what Comcast was charging me for the same service. I would never go back to Comcast even with their frequent direct mail offers of great rates and gift cards. Don't have any idea if Brighthouse has any plans to offer service north of CR 466.

[Pat Walkey]

Comcast bill kept going up each month so I switched to CenturyLink at pre tax $114.39 per month for 6 months then $126.39 for the next 18 months for cable and internet. First bill after correcting all their errors ended up at 125.42 pre tax. Fraudulent billing right up front which they will not correct. Internet is worse then Comcast. So how does Sumter County The Villages allow these bad cable companies to continue in the Villages?

[tuccillo]

I use CentruryLink for internet only and have had a few technical issues that were pretty quickly addressed. The performance and reliability have been fine. I had a few billing issues that were quickly handled. When you talk to a representative, take notes and tell them to make an entry as to what was agreed upon. Ask for their employee number and escalate to a supervisor if you aren't happy.

Comcast bill kept going up each month so I switched to CenturyLink at pre tax $114.39 per month for 6 months then $126.39 for the next 18 months for cable and internet. First bill after correcting all their errors ended up at 125.42 pre tax. Fraudulent billing right up front which they will not correct. Internet is worse then Comcast. So how does Sumter County The Villages allow these bad cable companies to continue in the Villages?

[Philip Winkler]

Hello Fellow Villagers,

If you are looking for an alternative to Century Link or Comcast, Brighthouse is available south of CR 466A. We do not have any contracts and most of our bundle campaigns with cable & internet do have a 2 year price assurance. Also we have seasonal plans for customers where you can put your services on hold from 2 - 9 months. So restrictions apply. For more information feel free to call or email me below.

When will you be coming to North of 466A?

[mixsonci]

Sorry, but I find Brighthouse is not much better than the others as far as price. I am paying $316 a month. I have only 1 whole house DVR (only records 2 programs) and 2 regular boxes, plus phone and internet. I also have a security system which is only $34 a month. I find this extremely high. Others on this forum have stated they have 5 boxes (record 5 or more programs) and have wireless and high-speed internet and pay almost $100 less than me.

[tuccillo]

I don't know how much "bundling" of services saves you so I don't know the net cost of phone but that is one area where you may be able to save money. I use a VoIP service, Ooma, for $3.50/month.

Sorry, but I find Brighthouse is not much better than the others as far as price. I am paying $316 a month. I have only 1 whole house DVR (only records 2 programs) and 2 regular boxes, plus phone and internet. I also have a security system which is only $34 a month. I find this extremely high. Others on this forum have stated they have 5 boxes (record 5 or more programs) and have wireless and high-speed internet and pay almost $100 less than me.

[dalecrenshaw]

We subscribed to CenturyLink in 2/2014. Signed a 2 year, fixed price, contract for $125/month.
Went on vacation for 10 weeks starting in 5/2014. Took advantage of the vacation policy, which reduced the monthly charge while we were away.
Returned in 7/2014 and started regular service. The July bill arrived with a balance due of $200+. I called CL and got the bill adjusted to $125. August bill arrived with balance due of about $180. Got the bill adjusted to $125. September bill had balance due of $140. Got it adjusted to $125.
This process has continued thru the current month. I was always assured that it is not correct. Yeah, right!

I have settled for $155 as I was told the "2 year plan" is no longer available.

I was finally told yesterday that when a customer returns from vacation, the plan starts over, and all previous discounts are lost. What a devious way to do business.

I may not have taken the "vacation option" and continued to pay the $125/month, if I had know about their policy.

I plan to look at other options. Hope this note helps someone.

This happens to us all the time with Century Link. I have to call them every month to have something taken off my bill that they have falsely added. I have been charged 2 times in this past year for late payments. I called and pointed out to them that the bill says when the payment is due, and when the payment was received. In both cases, the payment was received before the due date. So, they took the late charges off. When I realized I couldn't trust their billing practices, I started paying attention to the bill and looked up my past bills. I was stunned to see that they had been charging me $10 a month for the entire year, for internet protection, which I had not ordered. So, I had that removed. Then they started charging me for Caller ID & Call waiting on my phone, which I did not order. This goes on and on. I have written several letters of complaint and have never received an answer back. Terrible unethical practices and terrible customer service!

[Schinus]

Century Link is an incredible company to do business with, NOT !! I had so many issues with their PRISM system that I thought I would start documenting them last fall. To date I have had 28, yes 28 issues since then. Some required calling them and some were nuisance type that would require a re-boot or switching channels momentarily to stabilize audio warble or freeze frame. Their service guys are great but their system is terrible for me. Last week we lost TV, Internet and phone service for 24 hours. The tech blamed it on another tech who he said made a mistake on the trunk upstream the previous day. I found out later that at least one other house on this street had the same issue with them. Tech told me there aren't any more good fiber optic cables on our trunk. He had to switch me to an unused line to restore service. I know there are others who just put up with poor performance. Maybe it would improve if Century Link was truly aware of all the issues. I just really don't want to tolerate poor service any more and I truly believe they just don't care. To you who are considering them just be cautious. Maybe I am an isolated case but I seriously doubt it.

[Ashokan]

We are moving to Village of Hillsborough next month. What options do we have for cable/internet/phone company? In Ohio we had a bundle with Time Warner, but I understand TW doesn't service The Villages. Any specific advice will be appreciated.

[golfing eagles]

We are moving to Village of Hillsborough next month. What options do we have for cable/internet/phone company? In Ohio we had a bundle with Time Warner, but I understand TW doesn't service The Villages. Any specific advice will be appreciated.

IMHO, for what it's worth:
Comcast sucks, it always has sucked, and it always will suck.
I had to decide between Centurylink and Brighthouse, and after checking both out went with Centurylink.
The other posters are correct---if you get a discount deal but put the service on hold if you are away for months, you have to start over. But no big deal, just complain a bit and they'll give you your original deal. There are service outage issues with all the providers, a lot had to do with ongoing new construction and adding hundreds of homes to the backbone of the system, this appears to settle down as construction in an area finishes. Customer service has been fine, I have had no issues with "funny billing". Haven't looked a brighthouse recently, but my original impression was that they lacked a lot of the sophistication and features of Centurylink. Don't fret too much over this, just don't sign a 2 year deal and you'll be free to switch if you don't like the service

[dewilson58]

I use CentruryLink for internet only and have had a few technical issues that were pretty quickly addressed. The performance and reliability have been fine. I had a few billing issues that were quickly handled. When you talk to a representative, take notes and tell them to make an entry as to what was agreed upon. Ask for their employee number and escalate to a supervisor if you aren't happy.

Have you tested your internet speed????..........wondering what results you had.

[tuccillo]

I test it every now and again. It is always where it should be; 40 megabits/sec download and 20 megabits/second upload. They have higher (and lower speeds) available including 100 megabits/sec and 1000 megabits/sec (1 gigabit/sec) if you have the need.

Have you tested your internet speed????..........wondering what results you had.

[dewilson58]

I test it every now and again. It is always where it should be; 40 megabits/sec download and 20 megabits/second upload. They have higher (and lower speeds) available including 100 megabits/sec and 1000 megabits/sec (1 gigabit/sec) if you have the need.

:coolsmiley:

[TNLAKEPANDA]

One more reason NOT to use Century Link!



We subscribed to CenturyLink in 2/2014. Signed a 2 year, fixed price, contract for $125/month.
Went on vacation for 10 weeks starting in 5/2014. Took advantage of the vacation policy, which reduced the monthly charge while we were away.
Returned in 7/2014 and started regular service. The July bill arrived with a balance due of $200+. I called CL and got the bill adjusted to $125. August bill arrived with balance due of about $180. Got the bill adjusted to $125. September bill had balance due of $140. Got it adjusted to $125.
This process has continued thru the current month. I was always assured that it is not correct. Yeah, right!

I have settled for $155 as I was told the "2 year plan" is no longer available.

I was finally told yesterday that when a customer returns from vacation, the plan starts over, and all previous discounts are lost. What a devious way to do business.

I may not have taken the "vacation option" and continued to pay the $125/month, if I had know about their policy.

I plan to look at other options. Hope this note helps someone.

[justjim]

Why do all these various Cable Companies "Jack" customers around on their service? The answer, of course is obvious, because they can and it is still very profitable.

This industry is not regulated like other utilities (electric, gas) but othe other hand competition was suppose to keep prices low and be best for the consumer. How has that worked out?

As one not in favor of too much government regulation, Iam beginning to question if Cable companies shouldn't be regulated. They are necessary in today's modern world.

[tuccillo]

I believe we are in a good position in The Villages. If you live south of 466A then you have 3 choices for internet access (CenturyLink, Comcast, and Brighthouse) and 5 choices for TV services (the above plus DirectTV and Dish). In addition, you can "cut the cord" on TV services. With all these choices, you can shop around. The new reality is that new customers get better deals than existing customers but you can usually negotiate the "new customer deal" with some persistence after your first year (when your "new customer deal" expired). You just have to be willing to call every year to get a better deal. I have not found this to be unpleasant.

Why do all these various Cable Companies "Jack" customers around on their service? The answer, of course is obvious, because they can and it is still very profitable.

This industry is not regulated like other utilities (electric, gas) but othe other hand competition was suppose to keep prices low and be best for the consumer. How has that worked out?

As one not in favor of too much government regulation, Iam beginning to question if Cable companies shouldn't be regulated. They are necessary in today's modern world.

[tuccillo]

There are those of us who have been quite happy with CenturyLink. Just as there have been folks who have been quite happy with Comcast, Brighthouse, DirectTV, and Dish. If you have access to CenturyLink via fiber to the house, I think it makes a lot of sense to use CenturyLink because it is one less cable entering your house for a lightning strike to jump onto.

One more reason NOT to use Century Link!

[Ashokan]

Thanks!