topic Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service in Electronics

Question About TWC And Phone Service

Jordan2 — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 19:29:01 GMT

My elderly mother has the double play Internet and TV with TWC. They try to get her to take the triple play to include her phone. She has a landline phone and is with Verizon. She pays $90 some odd dollars a month. With the triple play she would pay what she is paying now for the double play and then no Verizon bill. I don't if she should stick with what she has or save money. Does anyone have their phone service with TWC, and do you like it? I also wonder if you don't like it can you easily go back to Verizon?

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

ValuSkr — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 19:44:57 GMT

My family in Western NY all have TWC triple-play (phone, cable, and internet), and I think they're okay with it - as much as anyone ever is with his/her cable provider, no matter who it is. As you know, the savings are significant by putting all three services under the same provider. I have triple-play with Verizon, formerly had it with Comcast. One thing to consider since your mother is elderly: Generally speaking, if the power goes out, your cable goes out and so does your phone. You should confirm that with TWC. Verizon provides a battery backup unit that keeps your phone going for eight hours during a power outage. I don't know if other providers do that. Of course, if your mother has a cell phone, this isn't such an issue.

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

terrier3 — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 19:46:41 GMT

I worked for TWC for 16 years and NEVER got the phone service. If your cable goes out, you will also lose your phone line.

If your mom is elderly, a phone that works might be more important than saving money!

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

glb613 — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 19:48:25 GMT

Negotiate with Verizon and see if you can get the bill reduced.

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

sunshine45 — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 19:49:46 GMT

most modems for the phone service have a battery backup......i think ours lasts for about 10 hours or so with comcast if the electricity goes out. you might want to check in with that if she doesnt also have a cell phone.

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

donovan — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 19:58:10 GMT

If her cable goes out, I think her phone will go out too. One of the reasons I won't combine my services with TWC no matter how many times they call me.

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

susan kay — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 20:03:20 GMT

jordan2, I have had cable, internet and phone service through TWC for a number of years. It is true that on occasion, service is disrupted for a short time---less than an hour--or for a longer period of time. Other than that, I don't know that their phone service is better or worse than a competitor. I don't think that switching to TWC and/or back to Verizon would be a big problem. There should be minimal downtime.

I would add that if I were fortunate enough to have an elderly mother, I would make sure that she had a phone back-up plan with a cell phone. I've purchased one of the Tracfones with 1,400 minutes for under $100.

For the situation that you are in, I would do what made my mom comfortable. If she feels comfortable with her current landline and doesn't want to switch, I wouldn't do it. An elderly mom's comfort doesn't have a price. If she feels she wouldn't mind trying TWC phone with a possible cell phone to use (wouldn't hurt her to carry a cell phone with her when she goes out of her home), then you two can decide which options works best for her needs.

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

Jordan2 — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 23:13:14 GMT

Thank you everyone for your replies. I know she does have the battery backup in the basement from Verizon. She use to have a cellphone but doesn't anymore. It was really a waste of money because she is always with a family member with a cellphone and she would never have hers on anyway! I'm thinking she is better off the way she is now. I just may call Verizon and ""threaten"" a switch to see if they can do better! I know they weren't happy when I cancelled her cellphone.Thanks again.

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

Lynnj — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 00:59:05 GMT

I don't have the triple play with TWC, rather it's with Comcast. The phone with cable works just as good as phone with any other company. With cable, if power goes out you can still have phone service. Just can't use a wireless phone. During the outage, the phone you use need to be connected directly to the phone jack. There should be a phone jack somewhere on the wall near where the cable modem is located. The cable cord and the phone jack are right next to each other, come from outside of the house, and both then run to the modem. I keep an old phone in that room (not connected) but if the power goes out I connect that old phone to the phone jack. All is fine. Considering your mom's bill is $90 per month with Verizon, I would switch to the TWC triple play. That's a huge savings over the course of a year.

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

Stray — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 01:03:33 GMT

The problem with TWC with a phone is that the line does do down with cable issues. This is especially dangerous if a medic alert is attached to the land line. We had this issue last week. I live in a high rise and some have TWCphones and others Verizon. The outage occurred Friday and residents called their prospective vendors. TWC came Saturday morning and corrected the problems but Verizon did not come until Monday. This was important to us as we do have seniors in the building who do live alone and their medic alerts connect via landlines.

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

Lynnj — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 05:05:50 GMT

On 3/16/2015 stray770 said: The problem with TWC with a phone is that the line does do down with cable issues. This is especially dangerous if a medic alert is attached to the land line. We had this issue last week. I live in a high rise and some have TWCphones and others Verizon. The outage occurred Friday and residents called their prospective vendors. TWC came Saturday morning and corrected the problems but Verizon did not come until Monday. This was important to us as we do have seniors in the building who do live alone and their medic alerts connect via landlines.

I've mentioned this before on other threads, but the medic alert systems already have the capability to be turned wireless. This way a landline would not be needed. It could be connected, wirelessly, to any phone number such as a cell phone. These people should call the medic alert company amd tell them that they need a wireless adapter installed on the system. They should say they are getting rid of their landline, and going to use only a cell phone for calls. (They don't actually have to get rid of the landline, just use that as reason for need of a wireless adapter). Once the company installs the adapter, it will receive the same signals, but will use the cell phone number for purposes of contact, just in the same way they would have used the landline. Personally, I think it is much safer to have this type of set up. Who knows when power will go out, or how long it will last? Or to your point, once it's back on, how long for the company to restore services. Medical attention could be needed at any time during all of that. If they had the wireless adapter installed, regardless of power outage, they would receive medical attention if needed.

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

adelle38 — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 05:15:15 GMT

I switched my 90 year old mom's phone to TWC a year ago and it's saving her $50 a month plus she pays nothing for long distance. She loves it and has never had a problem unlike when she had her Verizon land line. She particularly likes having caller ID on her television. I've had the triple play for years and have been very happy. They do a battery back up so there's no need to worry about losing phone service if cable is out. I highly recommend the switch.

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

caspie — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 05:19:18 GMT

I, too, have all three from TWC and haven't had a problem. Not to mention, you can't beat the savings! I gave up the "regular" phone company years ago...

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

Jordan2 — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 18:31:09 GMT

I called Verizon today and the only discount they offered was to get their triple play. I might as well go with TWC as I have 2 of the 3 already.

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

ValuSkr — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 18:43:28 GMT

On 3/17/2015 jordan2 said: I called Verizon today and the only discount they offered was to get their triple play. I might as well go with TWC as I have 2 of the 3 already.

I think that's a good approach, given the $$$ you'll save. Be sure to ask about a battery-powered backup for the phone in case of a power outage. Failing that, you can get your mother a simple, inexpensive cell phone.

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

MomOf4 — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 18:57:51 GMT

I would say stay away from TWC at all cost!! One of the worst companies ever!!

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

redtabby — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 18:01:57 GMT

My mother has the TWC phone service and has had minimal problems. She also has an ATT pay as you go cell phone that costs her $100 year as she rarely uses it. The mobile phone is a good backup in case the cable would go out. If your mom has a cell phone that she can use if the cable goes out switching to TWC would work for her, too.

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

JGalt — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 03:13:12 GMT

If you want to stick with the Verizon landline, call again asking for a rate reduction. I was able to reduce my rate to about $45. Nevertheless, I eventually wanted to reduce my monthly expenses again, and so switched to the TWC triple play. I have saved a lot, with dropping Verizon, and a much better rate from TWC.

However, I'm very unhappy with the TWC service now. My internet now is super slow. It works once it gets going, but my computer and all tablets take so long to get to a website, that I constantly have timeouts and have to keep trying repeatedly to get to a website. I think the modem/router they switched me to must be the culprit. All I know is this problem started with getting a phone line through TWC.

Also, know that you cannot fax with the TWC phone system. I wish I hadn't had to get rid of the Verizon landline, but I had to reduce the monthly bills.

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

makeup addict — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 03:27:58 GMT

Im enjoying the triple play with TWC.sound quality is as good if not better than a landline. I had magic jack for three years and decided to try TWC. I have their turbo internet tier since i work from home. No problems with phone. I kept my same phone number. Very pleased with TWC services thus far.

Re: Question About TWC And Phone Service

Stray — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 04:22:27 GMT

Thank you for the information about use of wireless with a medic alert. I had heard that was possible. The problem may be that some of our seniors are reluctant to change but I do think most have cell phones given to them by family so I will suggest it to them.