Dangling a free prepaid gift card in front of folks’ faces is a time-honored method of getting people to switch services. But a number of cable customers who switched to Time Warner Cable because of the promise of a $300 gift card say the pay-TV provider has yet to make good on the promotion.



Time Warner Cable customers have shared their experiences and expressed their dissatisfaction with the company on a TWC Experience forum aptly titled “BEWARE – Cheated out of $300 gift card promised by TWC.”

Most of the stories start the same: the customer was promised a $300 gift card if they signed up for new services, paid their bill on time for 90 days, and entered a promotion code on a certain line.

But when they fulfilled the requirements, they say TWC refused to send them the card for a variety of reasons: they weren’t eligible, they didn’t sign up for the right tier, or the promotion had expired.

“I was promised a $300 rebate/gift card by TWC and they never sent it,” one customer writes, noting that he followed a customer rep’s instructions to a “T”. “Now they are saying I am not eligible and cannot get the credit card! I called twice before today, since it has yet to arrive and both customer service reps told me I was eligible and that I would be getting it but nothing arrived.”

When the customer called again he was told he was ineligible. He plans to file complaints with the Better Business Bureau and his state’s attorney general’s office.

Stop The Cap reports the back-and-forth about whether or not customers are eligible for the promo after being told they were and signing up for service goes back several years, with at least 50 customers filing complaints since 2011.

One customer says they have been dealing with the gift card issue for nearly a year.

“We were promised the $300 as part of a “deal” we negotiated with TWC in July,” the customer says. “We called in to cancel our services and were switching to DISH which was much cheaper.”

They were persuaded to stick with TWC after they promised the $300 gift card, and a rep got the deal okayed with managers.

When the couple received the card to register for their “reward,” it showed only a $150 gift card. After contacting customer service, they were told the additional $150 would be added to the card, however it never materialized.

Part of the issue appears to be the company varied terms based on customers’ locations.

For example, Stop The Cap reports that a $300 rebate offer targeting broadband-only customers who agree to buy a Triple Play bundle of services at $89 or higher is only valid if they are in California, New York City, the Hudson Valley, or New Jersey.

Additionally, the number of ways to be disqualified from the promotion are numerous, ranging from eliminating existing customers to being able to a requirement that customers prove they had video service via another provider.

“I have never received the promo code, I have called many times and have been put off each time, but I will not let this rest,” another TWC customer writes on the forum. “I did not go looking for something free to move my service, so I am due what was promised.”

TWC tells Consumerist that the company issued more than 100,000 reward cards to eligible customers in 2015.

“Customers who want to register or check on the status of their cards can go to twcbetterreward.com,” Eric Mangan, director of public relations for TWC tells Consumerist. “We want to make sure every customer who is eligible for a reward card receives it. Our care team works with these customers individually to resolve any issues.”

Have you had an issue obtaining your promised $300 gift card from Time Warner Cable? Share your story with us by sending an email with the subject “TWC Gift Card” to tips@consumerist.com.