Our Charter Communications Saga Seems To Be Coming To An End

Upon returning home from a day of running errands, we walked into our house to finds that someone had called and left a message on our answering machine. The call turned out to be someone higher up in Charter Communications food chain. The message left for me mentioned their receipt of the Better Business Bureau written complaint that I had file on line at the BBB web site. My complaint had been approved by the BBB a couple of days ago and the BBB sent it to Charter Communications...I believe the corporate offices.
Yesterday evening this Charter Communications representative and I discussed the issues and the issues were resolved.
We will be getting our $50.00 refund and it will be applied to our next Charter Communications statement.
There was an additional issue that I discovered yesterday before talking to this Charter Communications representative.
Last week Veronica and I got up early so that we would be one of the first in line at our locale Charter office in order to turn in one type of table top box and get a different one.
We were 3rd in line and were able to get service at the counter in a very reasonable length of time once the doors opened.
When we were turning in our large box, we asked for a smaller one that had an HDMI hookup in the back of the much smaller units. We were told that they did not have any more of the smaller units but instead we could have a new DVR box "free". there was no mention that it would be free for only 12 months and then there would be a charge. The rep at the counter just said "free". The rep went into out account on her computer and switched out the equipment that we current had with this new "free" DVR. I just received my new Charter statement and lo and behold...I had been charged the usual $6.99 for my first DVR that we have had for a long time, the $19.99 DVR Service and then another $6.99 was charged for the supposedly "free" box.
I mentioned this to the Charter rep that I was talking to about the original issue. She told me that the box was "free" as far as us being charged for it for the first 12 months but after that we would incur a monthly $6.99 charge. This rep stated that we would get a credit for the $6.99 that we have paid on this extra DVR and it would be applied to our next Charter Communications statement.
This phone call conversation addressed and resolved all current issue with Charter Communications.
It is really a shame that I had to spend my valuable time trying to get Charter Communications to do the right thing...something that they could have easily handled much earlier.
Hopefully this will be our last issue dealing with Charter Communications.
I am currently looking into the possibilities of dumping Charter and going with either DirectTV and Dish. I know that DirectTV has a bundled package that includes Cable, Telephone and Internet.
I will check prices and compare those prices with services offered to what we currently have with Charter. Might keep the Charter internet service because they will be doubling up speed with no additional cost to its customers. But of course I have learned my lesson with Charter as far as "free" anything. I am sure that this doubling up of internet speed will cost us a bundle of money once the "free" runs out.