CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Public Service Commission Chairman Charlotte Lane has given Suddenlink Communications until June 7 to submit a plan to correct insufficiencies in customer service.
Lane’s directive was announced Thursday following a Wednesday meeting with Suddenlink officials. The PSC has received nearly 1,900 complaints from Suddenlink customers about service issues since 2019.
Lane wants the plan to cover seven areas including: (i) how and when the company will open a call center in West Virginia; (ii) how and when the company will hire technicians and various other employees in West Virginia to service West Virginia customers; (iii) how the company will fix problems with incorrect 911 fees being billed to customers; (iv) how the company will accurately and timely process payments and credits to customer accounts; (v) how the company will fix billing errors; (vi) how the company will ensure late fees are accurately assessed; and (vii) identify who is doing the billing for the company.
Lane said issues with Suddenlink’s cable and phone service have gone on long enough.
“Customers deserve to receive the service they are paying for,” Lane said.
Suddenlink has approximately 350,000 customers in 31 West Virginia counties.
“Altice USA is proud to serve our Suddenlink customers in West Virginia and we are committed to providing high-quality service and support throughout the state,” a representative of Suddenlink parent company Altice USA said in a statement.
“We understand that some of our customers may have experienced some frustration particularly during the pandemic as the company adapted operations to ensure the safety of customers and employees. We continue to make major investments in our network, products and services, including the recent launch of our Smart WiFi 6 product and the roll out of our advanced Altice One entertainment platform. Our teams continue to work diligently to continuously enhance the service experience for our customers in West Virginia, and we will continue to communicate with the Public Service Commission about our ongoing investments in the State that benefit our customers.”