Time Warner Cable has mass-emailed their customers in the northeastern U.S. about anticipated service outages expected from Hurricane Sandy, which is expected to move onshore between the Delmarva Peninsula to the south and Long Island to the north. The storm is expected to track west into central Pennsylvania and slowly move north between Rochester and Syracuse, N.Y., and then into Ontario and Quebec. Sandy will likely cause significant wind and rain until Thursday.

Forecasters are concerned about extensive regional utility outages caused by northeasterly winds ranging from 40-70 mph, atypical for a region that usually endures wind events from the west or southwest. Trees as far west as Erie, Pennsylvania are particularly vulnerable to northeastern wind gusts of this magnitude. The result could be extensive damage to overhead wiring and utility poles throughout the northeast, particularly in the highest wind areas along Lakes Ontario and Erie, across higher terrain areas, and in valleys that are oriented north to south.

The storm is expected to equal or exceed damage caused by 2011’s Hurricane Irene in some areas.

Dear Valued Customer,

Time Warner Cable prepares well in advance when severe weather threatens our area. We have deployed a variety of technical resources: generators, fuel, fiber-optic cable and specialized tools to strategic locations near the potential path of the storm, so we can respond immediately to any damage. We have also deployed specialized business recovery vehicles with food, water, supplies and tents for our technicians in strategic locations along the East Coast. The safety of our employees and customers is our primary concern as we prepare for this storm.

If you lose your Time Warner Cable services

If you call Time Warner Cable, our automated phone system will be able to tell you if we are aware of service interruptions in your area. If you call and hear that message, no further action is necessary. If your service is out and you don’t hear a message, you can report it through the system or by speaking with a representative at 1-800-TWC-HELP.

In severe weather situations, the first priority is to restore electric power. Time Warner Cable crews may not be able to access a repair site because of downed electrical wires or other unsafe conditions. As a result, customers’ electricity is often restored before their Time Warner Cable services.

Stay informed on breaking news by listening to your local radio station, watching TV bulletins and visiting our website regularly. You can also access our mobile site at m.timewarnercable.com in the event of a power outage. If you need assistance with your Time Warner Cable account during the storm visit us online at www.twc.com/help.

We encourage you to follow us on Twitter (@TWCable_Neast) where will be tweeting live updates about the storm and related outages.

Thank you,
Time Warner Cable

Telling Time Warner customers to get rid of the cable company’s phone service.

Best Buy employees in upstate New York are advising Time Warner Cable customers to dump Time Warner phone service and buy their own cable modem to completely avoid any additional monthly fees.

“We don’t have modems that will support Time Warner’s voice services, so basically any customer that has that bundle either has to make the decision to get rid of that service or deal with paying for that service every month,” said Syracuse Best Buy employee Drew Cacciola.

Cacciola told a Syracuse television station Time Warner’s supplied equipment is “old and refurbished” and that if customers purchase their own equipment, they will have the latest technology and won’t have to worry about ending up with another refurbished cable modem if the current modem fails.

“If [a new modem] breaks down you can get a new one you don’t have to send it back to them and you won’t get another refurbished one – you get a new one,” said Cacciola.

In fact, Time Warner phone customers do not have to cancel their phone service to avoid the modem fee, but they will be stuck with two pieces of equipment — a Time Warner-supplied eMTA that manages the phone service (with its Internet ports disabled) and the customer’s own purchased cable modem. For now, Time Warner is not charging customers for eMTA equipment used exclusively for its phone service.

Best Buy does not carry some of the models on Time Warner’s approved modem list, and the cheapest one WSYR reporters could find cost around $60, meaning it will take just over a year to recoup the cost of the modem.

Motorola cable modem

Time Warner Cable’s modem fee continues to create consternation for customers, especially when they learn the same piece of equipment used for both Internet and phone service costs $3.95 a month when used for broadband, but is free when used only for phone service.

Stop the Cap! reader Ben argued with a Time Warner representative trying to understand the reasoning.

“So, let me get this straight about the modem fee: If I have phone there is no fee but if I use the same modem to also get Internet, there is a fee?,” Ben asked.

Yes, came the answer. The explanation:

“About the modem fee: Our costs for Internet equipment keep increasing and unfortunately we could not continue to absorb the costs related to their purchase, maintenance and repair,” wrote a Time Warner employee named ‘Paul-E.’ “Leasing a modem ensures you have the most up to date and capable equipment to take advantage of our services as we offer faster speeds and additional functionality. These events sometimes require that we replace your current equipment to give you the best experience.”

Time Warner’s explanation for the new modem fee sounds plausible, but unfortunately for “Paul-E” (and the company),  much of it is demonstrably false.

Investors Business Daily reports the new $3.95 computer modem leasing fee could raise up to $500 million a year for the cable company.

“I would look at this as a price increase,” Bryan Kraft, an analyst at Evercore Partners, told IBD via email. “There are some questions that need to be answered before the impact on ARPU (average monthly revenue per user) can be reasonably estimated.”

Stop the Cap! took a look at Time Warner Cable’s financial reports and discovered the company’s capital expenses for its high speed Internet service (and cable modem equipment) have dropped for the third year in a row:

Time Warner Cable’s capital expenditures on customer premise equipment, including cable modems, has dropped for three years in a row.

Capital spending (as a whole) so far this year has decreased as a percentage of revenue to just 12% for residential customers. Time Warner has spent money primarily on extending service to potential business customers.

The need to charge you more for a cable modem is questionable when residential Internet service rate increases and customers gravitating to more expensive, higher speed services already deliver the company higher average revenue per customer without spiking their costs.

When the station relayed complaints about long hold times and busy signals for customers trying to activate their purchased cable modem, the response from Time Warner — don’t call on Monday or Friday or around morning or dinner time unless you are prepared to wait on hold.

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WSYR Syracuse Time Warner Cable modem charge 10-24-12.mp4[/flv]

WSYR in Syracuse covers the ongoing controversy with Time Warner Cable’s new modem fees, and a Best Buy employee tells Time Warner customers to get rid of the company’s phone service.  (3 minutes)

Despite a pledge to run this year’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., without a penny of corporate money, a new filing with the Federal Election Commission reveals Democrats raised millions from AT&T, Time Warner Cable, and several big banks and energy companies.

Convention officials originally promised the convention would be self-sustained without corporate money, but that promise was long gone with last week’s quiet report to the FEC. Millions arrived courtesy of a convention civic committee that openly welcomed corporate cash.

The Los Angeles Times reports New American City, which paid for hospitality and administrative costs, raised $19 million — nearly all from corporations.

Digging deeper into the FEC filings, Stop the Cap! reveals where some of the Democrat’s money came from and where some of it went:

• AT&T spent $175,475 on “delegate bags” decked out with AT&T’s logo and $123,087 on “catering for suites.” That was in addition to a straight $1 million cash contribution;
• Time Warner Cable handed over $600,000 . The cable company was also the premier sponsor of the host committee’s media welcome party;
• CenturyLink handed over $10,500 to the DNC via New American City;
• Google Foundation contributed $100,000;
• National Cable Satellite Corporation (parent company of cable-industry financed C-SPAN): $2,500
• Turner Broadcasting System (now owned by Time Warner (Entertainment)): $25,000
• Verizon Wireless handed over $50,000

While accepting the contributions violates the Democrats’ commitment not to accept corporate money, election observers concerned with the pervasive influence of corporate cash are not giving Republicans a free pass. With no restrictions on fundraising, the GOP raised nearly $56 million from AT&T and other telecommunications entities, big oil and gas companies, hedge fund managers, big banks, and wealthy individuals.

Time Warner Cable has changed account numbers for a number of their customers in upstate New York, creating a problem for those who failed to update their electronic bill payment service with the new number. Many of those accounts are now past due and Time Warner Cable is having trouble tracking the payments sent on behalf of the old account number.

The new account numbers are now in place for New York customers in Albany, Rochester, Syracuse, Watertown, and other nearby communities. Customers in Portland, Maine are scheduled to be assigned new account numbers the first week of November.

Time Warner Cable attached this notification letter to bills mailed in August and September to customers in Rochester, N.Y., and other upstate cities.

Stop the Cap! reader Charles dropped us a note noting his account went past due because his payment, sent by his bank under the old account number, has been cashed but never credited to his account. Time Warner Cable  customer service agents can no longer access his old account to see if the payment was misapplied, and won’t take his word for it.

Oops: A bill covering Sep. 28-Oct. 27 still reflects the old Time Warner Cable account number.

“I have to fax in something that shows the bank paid the bill,” Charles reports. “I’m surprised there was not some connection between the old account numbers and the new ones. The system could have at least made the connection, credited the new account number and automatically notified me (email would be easy) that the account number had changed.”

Area banks across western and central New York report there have been a significant increase in complaint calls over Time Warner’s demands for evidence of payment.  Typically, companies like banks and insurance companies changing account numbers will transfer payments sent under old account numbers and automatically apply them to the proper account. That is not happening with the cable company.

More irritating for customers is that Time Warner Cable did indeed notify customers in early September that their account number was going to change, but never bothered to share the new account number at that time so customers could take action with their financial institution. When billing statements dated for service as late as September 28 were mailed, they still reflected the old account number.

Customers who use the cable company’s own recurring auto-pay service were not affected.

You can now find your new account number under Time Warner Cable’s MyServices section, under the PayXpress Billing Center heading.

Customers with missing payments should call their local Time Warner Cable customer service center to begin an investigation and avoid any late fees.

[flv width=”480″ height=”288″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WGRZ Buffalo Time Warner To Add New Fee For Internet Users 10-16-12.flv[/flv]

Time Warner Cable continues tapdancing around whether its new $3.95 monthly modem rental fee is a hidden rate increase. WGRZ in Buffalo presses a spokeswoman on whether this is just another cable company money grab.   (2 minutes)