Member-only story
Charter uses bad credit threats to corral ex-subscribers
“Resubscribe or we’ll keep trashing your credit report.”
I’m more of a Charter-Spectrum hostage than a customer: I need the internet to earn my living, and my town (Burbank) has signed an exclusive deal with Charter, so I send them $134.99/mo for some of the worst internet in California.
It turns out that Charter doesn’t stop abusing you when you stop being a customer: the company is now sending threatening letters (“offers”) to ex-customers demanding that they sign up again on pain of a bad credit report.
That’s not how Charter puts it, of course. They say they’re extending a lifeline to ex-customers whose years-unpaid bills are in collection, trashing their credit.
But it’s bullshit. Ex-customers who’ve received these letter, like Steve Schklair of Altadena, don’t owe the company a dime. For Schklair, this isn’t an offer, it’s a threat.
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-10-12/column-spectrum-billing-threat
“A well-established credit history will more likely allow you to qualify for lower mortgage rates, better chances for credit cards and…
