Time Warner Cable Settlement

Written by nickel - 4 Comments

I was paging through Time magazine this past weekend and ran across a full page legal notice near the end… If you were a Time Warner cable subscriber between January, 1994 and December, 1998, you may be eligible for free cable TV services as part of a class action lawsuit settlement. In short, Time Warner apparently sold personal information for marketing purposes without first disclosing this practice to their subscribers, and they ended up getting busted for it.

While they didn’t admit to any wrongdoing, they did agree to a settlement. So here’s the deal… If you’re eligible for the settlement and still a subscriber, you can pick either: (1) one month of any additional Time Warner Cable service that you don’t already have, or (2) two free Movies On Demand. If you’re an eligible former subscriber, you can pick either: (1) one month free of any Time Warner Cable service with free installation, or (2) you can give your settlement benefit to someone else. And depending on how many people respond, your might receive double free services. For details, check the settlement web site.

So let me get this straight… They deny having done anything wrong, and then they make the whole thing go away by offering to install cable in more homes? Sounds to me like they should try to get in more trouble.

Published on February 1st, 2006 - 4 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
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Comments (scroll down to add your own):

Yup, I got a notice about this. I’m eligible for a couple of free pay-per-view movies or a month of some premium service. Both of these would require a couple of things. First, I would have to still be one of their customers. I am, but not everyone is. And second, I would have to be renting a cable box, which I’m not.

I’m sure that the lawyers who “represented” me in this class action lawsuit got paid in cold, hard cash. Instead, I’m eligible for services I can’t use.
Comment by Dale — Feb 6th 2006 @ 12:09 pm
My girlfriend received some stupid Rent 1 Get 1 Free coupons from Hollywood Video when they erroneously charged people late fees. What a ripoff, I don’t know why this was an acceptable “payback.”
Comment by jim — Feb 6th 2006 @ 1:29 pm
Even more ludicrious is the fact that nobody associated with the lawfirm representing the class counsel nor the information provided in the Class Action Claims Administratior’s Website can or will confirm or deny whether or not that future activity which originated this lawsuit in the first place, was included in the language of the settlement so that subscribers would win something for this effort that exceeded the legal fees paid to the lawyers for such a shabbyily negotiated settlement.
Comment by Michael — Aug 10th 2006 @ 4:45 pm
Worse, if they changed to Comcast(ic!, I have a different definition than their commericals), like in my case, I get a huge check of $5. Wow, I would have preferred the discount on my bill. Than again, perhaps it’s because if I call for their services they increase so much everything cost me more then the $5. It’s amazing how lack of competition is a great means of overcharging customers (or should I say, rip off. (No, perhaps it’s competition in cahoots, ie. light companies in TX, deregulation, HA!) Enough said.
Comment by nikkiO — Jun 27th 2008 @ 3:38 pm