Comcast, Charter to testify at Senate hearing on bad customer service

(credit: Getty Images | chargerv8)

When US lawmakers hold public hearings about the cable TV and broadband industries, their main goals are usually to criticize regulators and try to strip the Federal Communications Commission of its consumer protection powers.

But in an unusual twist, senators are actually planning to force cable companies to explain why they offer such poor customer service. US Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) yesterday announced a hearing in which cable TV and satellite TV companies will answer questions about "practices involving billing, fees, refunds, and other customer service issues."

Comcast, Charter, Time Warner Cable (now owned by Charter), DirecTV (owned by AT&T), and Dish Network were all called to testify at the June 23 hearing of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. These companies account for more than 70 million TV subscribers, more than half of all US households, and over 70 percent of homes with TV service, the senators said.

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