Apparently a winner of a
Charter Father's Day contest was promised a 65-inch HDTV as well as
free Charter
services for an entire year. Well after getting a call that he won and confirmation that they were getting the prizes they got another call that his 65-inch TV turned into a 42-inch. then it turned into a 19-inch. Wow! I hate Charter.
By Jean Cole
jean@athensnews-courier.com
On the Friday before Father’s Day, Chris
Lewis was standing in the kitchen of her Limestone County home when her
15-year-old daughter rushed downstairs shrieking, “Mama! Mama! We won
the big-screen TV!”
A few days earlier, Whitney had entered an
online Father’s Day promotion by Charter Communications in which,
according to the Web page, participants could win “a Giant HDTV” for
“The World’s Greatest Dad – Yours!”
Participants had to describe why they thought their fathers should win the TV.
“Whitney wrote that her dad gets up every
morning and works hard and comes home and works in the yard,” said
Chris, who proofed her daughter’s entry. “She didn’t say he was a
superhero – just someone who does what he is supposed to do. Maybe that
was why she won – because she told it like it is.”
Mike Lewis, Whitney’s dad, works at First Choice Printing in Decatur, where he binds books and makes deliveries.
Charter’s Web page stated that one lucky
dad would receive the grand prize – a 65-inch LCD, high-definition,
flat-panel television as well as free Charter HD service and the
Charter bundle, which includes Internet, cable television and telephone
service. Paying the tax on the television seemed to be the only hitch.
The Web page also states that four finalists would receive free Charter
HD service and the Charter bundle for one year. It was June 13 when
Whitney bolted into the kitchen of their Blackburn Road home to share
the news with her mother. Whitney, who will be in 10th grade at
Clements High School this year, had just spoken with Jeff Hatcher of
Charter’s marketing offices in Alabama and Georgia. Hatcher had told
Whitney he liked her entry best and that her dad had won the TV. He
also spoke with Chris and told her he needed Mike’s W-9 (an IRS form
used by a company to request your taxpayer identification number) and
Chris’ e-mail address.
Later that day, Hatcher sent the following e-mail message to Chris confirming the win:
“CONGRATULATIONS!
“It was great to speak with you and Whitney
today. I’m sure this is going to make for a great Father’s Day gift.
I’ve attached the documents that we spoke of and will need to have
these filled out and returned so that we can present Mr. Lewis with his
prize. Also, if you can think of a couple of days/times next week that
would be good for us to come out and deliver the TV, I will get with my
team to verify and we’ll get your Hi-Def set up! … Thanks for entering
Charter’s Father’s Day Promotion!”
After unsuccessfully trying to fax the W-9,
Chris mailed it to Hatcher on June 16. She called June 20 to see if the
form had arrived and was told it had not. She called again Monday and
reached Hatcher on his cellular telephone.
“When I asked if he had gotten the form, he
said he hadn’t gone through his mail yet. He asked if Misty Wade, his
associate, had called me,” she said. “Then he started talking about the
TV and said something about someone in Georgia and that the expense was
too much and that they wanted to give me a 19-inch instead but that he
was working on getting me a 42-inch. He said he would call his boss and
call me back.”
By Thursday, Chris still had not heard from Hatcher or his office regarding the television.
“I was so disappointed, mainly for Whitney
because she had been so excited,” Chris said. “Mike was angry because
when I told Whitney, she cried because her dad wasn’t going to get the
big TV. Now, I am getting angry because it’s just the principle of it.”
She feared Charter was going to renege on its promise.
Hatcher did not return telephone calls for
comment Thursday. A message on his answering machine said he would be
out of the office until June 19 but would be checking his messages. He
referred questions to Misty Wade, who also did not return a call for
comment Thursday.