SOUNDING OFF:

After being forcibly made to change my basic telephone service from Time Warner for $16 a month, I elected to go with AT&T; in November and called Time Warner in mid-November requesting a finalized bill.

On Dec. 22, I received the December bill from Time Warner for full service from Dec. 13 through Jan. 12. I paid the Nov. 13 through Dec. 12 bill and was due a refund.

What is disturbing about this Time Warner bill was a) They totally ignored my service terminating in November, b) never sent a finalized bill for November and c) sent me the December bill Dec. 22 for immediate payment by Dec. 28.

This last “nail” caused me to examine all my past monthly bills received from Time Warner, and all were mailed to me within seven days of the due date. I think this is outrageous that customers are given fewer than seven days to pay a utility bill.

Then I was told that Time Warner is not covered by the same rules as a California utility is. This is also the reason the Public Utilities Commission said it is powerless to confront Time Warner about denying thousands of Costa Mesa customers basic phone service for $16 as they have had for years under Comcast.

On a positive note, I switched from Time Warner cable TV to DirecTV.

Since then I have had a) no TVs going black and white every day, b) no TV pictures breaking into “black squares” hundreds of times per day, c) volume varying from channel to channel and within a channel when Time Warner inserts its commercials and d) a lower bill!

Time Warner is not providing the level of service to Costa Mesa that is available from other vendors.

My current phone and TV service are far superior than those previously provided.

Wake up, Costa Mesa.

LLOYD MCDANIEL is a retired computer engineer who lives in Costa Mesa.