Customers can now contact Charter/Spectrum about streaming benefits

ALBANY — Customers will soon start to see the benefits of a settlement agreement between the state Attorney General’s Office and internet cable giant Charter/Spectrum, Attorney General Letitia James announced Tuesday.

The attorney general announced Dec. 17 that Charter/Spectrum, formerly known as Time Warner Cable, would have to pay out $174.2 million in a record financial settlement with its customers reached in state Supreme Court.

“Today, New Yorkers will start to receive the tens of millions of dollars and additional services owed to them due to the company’s failure to provide quality services to its customers,” James said in a statement. “In issuing the largest-ever consumer payout by an internet service provider, my office is proud to set a higher standard for the way that internet providers accurately market services,” James said.

Under the terms of the settlement, $62.5 million in refunds will be sent to more than 700,000 active subscribers, meaning each active subscriber will receive between $75 and $150. More than 2.2 million active subscribers will receive streaming services and premium channels valued at more than $100 million, at no charge, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.

The direct customer refunds alone are believed to constitute the largest consumer relief payout ever paid by an internet service provider in U.S. history.

Under terms of the settlement, Charter/Spectrum will reach out directly to eligible customers about compensation. Information for eligible customers on how to request streaming or premium services will be included in their March bills.

Subscribers should contact Spectrum to receive the streaming services, according to the attorney general’s office.

“We are issuing credits to certain eligible customers in New York state, in accordance with our agreement with the New York Attorney General regarding the former Time Warner Cable,” according to statement from Charter/Spectrum on Tuesday.

Streaming services will be available to about 2.2 million internet subscribers at no extra charge as part of the settlement.

Customers who don’t already subscribe to HBO or Showtime will have the option of selecting one of the services for a limited time. Internet-only subscribers will get one month of Spectrum TV Choice streaming service.

Charter/Spectrum serves the Columbia County towns of Ancram, Austerlitz, Canaan, Chatham, Copake, Ghent, Hillsdale, New Lebanon, Kinderhook and Stuyvesant. The company also serves Windham in Greene County.

To reach reporter Amanda Purcell, call 518-828-1616 ext. 2500, or send an email to apurcell@thedailymail.net, or tweet to @amandajpurcell.