Hearing Recap: Customer Service and Billing Practices in the Cable and Satellite Television Industry

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held the hearing "Customer Service and Billing Practices in the Cable and Satellite Television Industry" to review billing and customer service practices in the cable and satellite television industry. The hearing reviewed the Joint Staff report, "Some Cable and Satellite Companies Do Not Refund Customer Overcharges" and the Minority Staff Report "Inside the Box: Customer Service and Billing Practices in the Cable and Satellite Industry". Witnesses included Tom Karinshak, Senior Vice President, Customer Service at Comcast; John Keib, Former Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Residential Services at Time Warner Cable; Kathleen "Kip" Mayo Executive Vice President, Customer Operations at Charter; Rasesh Patel, Senior Vice President, Product Management at AT&T Entertainment Group (DirecTV); and Kathleen Schneider, Senior Vice President, Operations at Dish Network.

Ranking Member Claire McCaskill (D-MO) slammed cable operators for customer service at the opening of the hearing. Ranking Member McCaskill's report outlined the issues addressed and problems discovered related to a year-long investigation and based on information supplied by pay-TV companies. "All of the companies in this investigation have increased their prices since 2011, with the cost of some packages increasing by as much as 33%," said the report, "while all of the providers notified customers of upcoming price increases, this notification was not always effective."