Senate Panel Investigating Cable, Satellite Customer Service Issues

Executives from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter, DirecTV and Dish Network are expected to appear at a Senate hearing on June 23 into cable and satellite company customer service practices, including billing, fees and refunds.

The hearing will be held before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which has been examining customer service practices in the industry and plans to conclude the investigation this fall.

The committee chairman, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and its ranking member, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), are leading the hearing.

In a joint statement, they said that “consumers in every corner of the country share common experiences about fending for themselves against customer service and billing practices by TV providers that are at best confusing, and at worst deceptive.”

They noted that a recent survey by the American Customer Service Satisfaction Index found that pay-TV was ranked near the bottom of 43 industries studied.

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