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A Spectrum truck is parked at Charter Communications' office on Fair Lakes Road in DeWitt. Charter is not extending promotional discounts offered to cable television customers by its predecessor, Time Warner Cable.

(Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com)

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Former Time Warner Cable customers say sharply higher prices from Charter Communications' Spectrum brand are making them cut the cord or at least think about it.

Dan Beecher, of Camillus, said he called Spectrum twice after his monthly bill for internet, television and phone service jumped from $153 to $187, a 22 percent increase.

"Each time, they said, 'Gee, there's nothing we can do for you,'" he said. "They said, 'Oh, you were on some special promotions that have expired and we don't operate on promotions.'"

Even worse, one of the Spectrum customer service reps he spoke with told him that his bill will go up another $20 in July when the one-year free period for the four digital converter boxes he has expires.

Beecher said he was looking into switching to Dish Network, DirecTV or over-the-web television services such as Sling TV and PlayStation Vue.

He was one of several hundred syracuse.com readers who responded by emailing, calling or posting comments on our story Thursday on legacy Time Warner Cable television customers fleeing Spectrum's higher prices.

Charter, which bought Time Warner Cable a year ago, lost 100,000 cable television customers in the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period last year. The company said the loss was mostly among legacy Time Warner Cable customers who left after the discounted pricing packages they enjoyed with TWC expired and Charter's higher-priced Spectrum plans kicked in.

Charter told syracuse.com that it's sticking with its policy of only offering "promotional" deals to new customers and that it expects the loss of customers to slow.

"We believe many customers will find that Spectrum packages are a better value and competitively priced," the company said.

Here's a sampling of what readers had to say about their recent experiences with Spectrum:

* Kathleen Bertrand, of Camillus said she she switched her television service to DirecTV after Time Warner Cable told her her bill would go from $164 to $197 in July, when her annual promotional plan expires.

"Every year, I'd have to call for a promotion," she said. "But now, they just say, 'This is your price and that's it.'"

She said she even drove to Time Warner Cable's office in DeWitt, hoping that a face-to-face meeting with a customer service representative would produce a different result.

"I said, 'I know it's not your fault. It's corporate, but you can't do this to people,'" she said.

The plea didn't help. So she called DirecTV, which sent an installer out to her house Monday morning.

* John Balek, of Scriba, said his cable bill just rose $30, from $189 to $219, a 16 percent jump.

"Hated Time Warner and wished we had another choice," he said. "As the old saying goes, 'Be careful what you wish for.....you MAY get it.'"

* Wayne Norton, of Liverpool, said his bill went from $117 to $159 two months ago. When he called to ask about the increase, he said a customer service representative told him he "should be paying even more" and that his bill will be going up to $229 in July.

"Time Warner Cable would work with you," he said. "They'd customize a package for you. When I called Spectrum, they just said, 'Sir, if it's too much, you can cancel.'"

So that's what Norton is going to do. He said he's going to buy an antenna to get local stations over the air, buy internet service from Verizon FIOS for $70 a month and maybe subscribe to an inexpensive over-the-web television service.

* "cuseratheart" said he dropped Spectrum after his bill rose $40 from $137 to $177, a 29 percent increase.

"I handed in my equipment two weeks ago," he said. "We are now using the antenna that came with the house in the attic and using PlayStation Vue. For internet and streaming TV, we pay $90. Don't miss Spectrum at all."

* Jake Delahunt, of Mesquite, Texas, said he cut the cable after Spectrum upped his bill from $125 to $165 and is now trying out Sling TV.

"I'm really upset," he said. "I was a Time Warner Cable internet customer for 10 years and a TV customer for three years. Time Warner was pretty easy to deal with, but Spectrum was cut and dry. It's their way or no way."

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