What Happened To Free Cable-Box Offer?

(MCT)

Cable television isn’t an essential utility like electricity or water, but for many people it comes close.

Cynthia Moore of Ashford doesn’t work, doesn’t drive a car and suffers from lupus, an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and tissue damage.

“There are times when I am completely bedridden,” she says. “TV is my only distraction in those times and without it I’m literally left looking at the ceiling. These times can go on for weeks on end.”

Stress, she says, is not good for her lupus condition. When channels suddenly disappeared from her basic-cable lineup in mid-July, she called her provider, Charter Communications. The explanation: Channels were going digital, moving to higher channels, and were only viewable with a set-top box.
his digital transition happens everywhere, not just in Ashford and not just by Charter Communications. Like other cable providers, Charter offers a free set-top box for a specified time (usually a year) before charging a monthly fee (usually about $5). Then the cable providers cash in on newly formed digital “tiers.”

When the customer service representative told Moore about the box-for-a-year offer, she arranged a ride to the closest Charter office from her social worker the next day. Before she left, she called Charter again to confirm the offer. The social worker, she says, also called.

But when they arrived, no one at Charter had heard about the offer. She left without the box and called Charter’s customer service. Now, she says, Charter tells her she’d have to pay for a higher-priced tier of channels to get the box for a year free or start paying for the box immediately.

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