Time Warner Cable will compensate customers in Buffalo, N.Y., for service outages resulting from a mid-October storm that left up to two feet of snow on the ground.
Customers who reported problems with their landline phone service can also claim a credit on their next bill, Verizon Communications spokeswoman Heather Wilner said. Outages that last longer than 24 hours are good for a daily credit, she said.
Credits for phone service are equal to one-thirtieth of the monthly rate for each 24 hours of the outage, according to the New York State Public Service Commission.
Time Warner Cable isn’t obligated to give refunds unless the outages are the operator’s fault, PSC spokesman Gary Davidson told the Buffalo News. “If they do on their own, that’s great,” he said.
Time Warner Cable will give pro-rata credits for its television and Internet service. For example, a consumer with a $100-per-month bill would get about $16.50 for a five-day outage. Customers need to report service problems and face longer-than-usual hold times.
“We do have a significant number of down cable lines,” Time Warner Cable director of customer care Jeanne Coleman told the Buffalo News. In addition, some cable facilities lack power needed to pump signals to neighborhood homes, she said.
”It’ll probably take a good couple of weeks to get [repairs] completed,” she said.
