How to get your refunds and free channels from the Charter Spectrum settlement

by HN porter of tech4today.net

Charter Spectrum will pay $174 million fine in New York state and New York state customers will see $62.5 million in refunds after a settlement over claims that the internet provider defrauded internet subscribers. The settlement which was announced last month by attorney general Barbara Underwood is the largest consumer payment by an internet provider to date in US history.
Charter Spectrum aslo agreed to provide customers with several months of free HBO or Showtime as part of a record settlement with the state. The company will be notifying customers over the next few months if they are eligible for the refund, however, there is no word on how much the individual amount refund will be.
If you are wondering if you qualify for a refund or free premium cable, here's what you need to know:
About 700,000 active Charter customers are in line for a direct refund of $75, according to the Attorney General's office. Of those customers, 150,000 are set to get an extra $75 — or $150 total.
To qualify for the $75 rebate, a customer must have:
• Leased a modem or WiFi router from Charter or Time Warner that was inadequate; OR
• Subscribed to a Time Warner Cable internet plan that promised speeds of 100 Mbps or higher.
To get the extra $75 rebate, a customer must have had a slow modem for two years or more. Add it all up, and those refunds total $62.5 million.
However, some customers have already received refunds for slow modems. Those subscribers won't get an extra refund, according to Underwood's office. It is also still unclear exactly which models of modems or routers will qualify for the refunds. The refund doesn't apply to customers who owned their own modem or router unless they subscribed to a Time Warner plan of 100 Mbps or higher.
Charter Spectrum has 120 days to notify eligible customers and distribute their refunds, according to the settlement so you as a customer don't have to do anything but sit back and wait for them to contact you. Charter said it basically inherited some of the issues with Time Warner and has made many upgrades to the cable system -- which Underwood acknowledged in the deal.
"We look forward to continue providing the best TV, Internet, Voice and Mobile products to our customers, and to bringing broadband to more homes and businesses across the state,” Charter said in a statement Tuesday.
If you get both your internet and cable through Charter Spectrum, you will be getting free HBO for three months or six free months of Showtime. If you only receive Charter internet service, you'll be entitled to a free month of the company's Spectrum TV Choice — a service that lets you stream broadcast television channels and your choice of 10 other channels.
Internet-only customers will also get a free month of Showtime. Like the refunds, Charter has 120 days to notify eligible customers of the free premium channels or streaming service.
If you're a cable and internet customer and subscribe to both HBO and Showtime through Charter already, you're not eligible for the free months, according to the Attorney General's Office. But you still could get the rebate money.
"Not only is this the largest-ever consumer payout by an internet service provider," Underwood said, "returning tens of millions of dollars to New Yorkers who were ripped off and providing additional streaming and premium channels as restitution – but it also sets a new standard for how internet providers should fairly market their services.”
Source

WGRZ