Optimum

After nearly 15 years as a customer, I am terminating my relationship with Optimum due to persistent technical failures, the recent unauthorized financial charges, and the lack of accountability with customer service.
For over a decade, I have experienced sub-par connectivity at my location. While Optimum techs claim it is modem problems, it has been well-documented by independent subcontractors that the external junction boxes and lines leading to the street are in significant disrepair.

Despite frequent service drops, your technicians repeatedly replaced modems rather than addressing these known infrastructure issues. Furthermore, I was forced to upgrade to a 1G plan at $126 per month simply to achieve speeds exceeding 100Mbps.
The primary catalyst for this termination, however, is the mishandling of my account throughout January 2026. Following my standard $126 payment on January 5, unauthorized charges of $275 and $108 were withdrawn on January 8. These withdrawals caused multiple overdrafts on my small business account that went well beyond the threshold of those covered by draft protection.

$35 draft fees for each $0.70 parking meter quickly added up to several hundred in overdraft fees because of these unauthorized payments. Despite spending hours with four different representatives over the course of a week, the company has refused to take accountability. Two people claimed that the charges were for Netflix and an upgrade to 1g (which I already had on the account). The Netflix was unauthorized and supposedly free to existing customers in my area.

Neither would return the funds claiming that the charges weren't from Optimum at all - even after admitting to the upgrades. They literally admitted they could see the charges while simultaneously saying Optimum was not responsible for the charges to my account. One representative even exacerbated the issue by removing existing credits on the account, claiming my monthly bill would increase to $184 due to his own clerical error. When I addressed the obvious - that I was calling to have payments reversed and now I am leaving with an increased bill he said "There's nothing I can do about it."
Because of these confirmed unauthorized charges, my bank has filed a fraud claim to recover the funds.

The charges have been confirmed from my bank and are all going to Optimum, despite billing and customer service claiming they are not. After some of the overdrafts being covered by my personal funds and the bank returning a few, I am currently facing $150 in bank overdraft fees and $85 in late fees from other vendors resulting from this situation.
Regarding the recent bill I received for $432, I will not be paying for these unexplained and unauthorized charges. I would like to thank you for your bad business, it has motivated me to transition to a new provider, NYC Mesh, which has successfully provided the reliable coverage that Optimum failed to deliver. My neighbors would also like to thank them because as of our latest Tenants Association meeting, 8 apartments have signed up for NYC Mesh after hearing my (and other apartments') stories of greed, fraud and negligence over the years.

Should they continue to pursue the $432 charge or fail to rectify these billing errors, I am prepared to escalate this complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the FTC, and the FCC, as well as share my experience with my social media followers. This was not a clerical error or mismanagement, it was fraud.

After being a customer for 2 years I moved and needed to cancel my Optimum TV and cell service. It took my 4 phone calls, 5 different people, 2 1/2 hours on the phone and for what?

I just wanted to cancel.

The sad part is they took a prior customer who never had a problem with them before and they turned me into a person who not only will never ever again deal with these people but I will go out of my way to ensure that everyone I know who wants either cell phone or internet service to stay as far away as possible from them.

Being a business owner myself I can see where the problem is. They believe that if they delay you long enough, make you go through agony cancelling, you will just hang up and allow their charges to continue.

I remember that President Trump once made it part of his agenda that he wants as law if a consumer wants to cancel, the company should have no long delay in process. In today's day and age, it should be a login to your account and simply click a button to cancel. That's it.

No marketing offers. No tricks. No games. Just a goodbye and good luck.

So be warned...

their Director or Marketing should be fired. Their Director of Retention should be fired. Their President should be fired.

...

and just be warned... if you start doing business with them you will regret it at some point unless you die and your next of kin has to deal with them then they will.

For over 30 years, I have been a loyal customer of Optimum, subscribing to their Internet, TV, landline, and cell phone services. Like many others, I was attracted by their compelling offer to switch to fiber opticsa promise of better service at a reasonable price.

However, shortly after making the switch, I found that the cost of my monthly bill nearly doubled, leaving me feeling deceived and trapped.

Unfortunately, this isn't an isolated incident. Many Optimum customers have faced the same dilemma, lured by initial deals only to experience substantial and unexpected price hikes just a few months into their service. Optimum's practice of offering competitive introductory locked in rates, only to increase them significantly is unethical if not illegal.

According to consumer reports, Optimum consistently ranks poorly in customer service and billing transparency. Their widespread practice of mid-contract price increases is not only unfair but also erodes customer trusta vital component in consumer-provider relationships.

Reports from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) highlight that the telecommunications industry receives thousands of complaints annually regarding misleading billing, and Optimum is often cited.

Customers should be able to trust that their provider will honor the stated cost of service at the time of agreement. Transparency and honesty are essential in maintaining a fair and competitive marketplace. We urge Optimum to reform their pricing model and commit to transparent billing practices, ensuring no surprise charges.

Optimum must address these unfair billing practices.

These changes are critical in restoring customer trust and establishing a reliable service structure. By signing this petition, you join in demanding that Optimum cease this exploitative behavior and adopt fair, transparent practices that respect customer loyalty and fairness.

Complaints against Optimum have been filed with FCC, FTC and State Attorney General offices by many of these petition signatures.

We recommend that you sign and share this petition to demonstrate our unified support.

As the number of signatures expands, so does our influence in securing the benefits initially promised by Optimum. A collective effort is essential in advancing our shared goals.

https://chng.it/s2YYrJGJCn

I made the mistake of trying to get myself installed with fiber optics since my service was going steadily off and downhill. Every time I call I get a new story and Im holding on waiting for them to do their job for at least 30 minutes.

I called about five or six times already. The best part is I cannot get to first base with these people. None of them are from this country of course and all of them dont know what theyre doing. In that order.

One of them told me that my bill would go up $100 after the installation. The next one told me that I would have to have it installed and I held on for 30 minutes and finally told him forget it. I have things to do. I cannot begin to tell you how terrible this company is I would never ever ever recommend them to anybody.

do not I repeat. Do not get involved with this company. Call FiOS Verizon and have them do it. I gave them my phone number for callbacks.

I talk to them about what my problem is and I got no response. I hope the CEO can read this someday. I really do because this company is unbelievable.

At this point. It is so disgraceful what happened to our Cable vision in New York City.

It's been 7 days since the first attempt at installation. I say 'first attempt' because they sent a 'Co-ax' technician, even though my building is fiber.

So, 4 days later, another technician came and, in theory, installed it properly. That was Tuesday. On Thursday, midday, the internet disappeared. They sent another technician on Friday who showed up, literally, 1 minute after the 3-hour window they gave me.

He also, in theory, fixed the issue. Today is Saturday, day 8 of being a customer, and I am once again without internet. I called to cancel this service as installation has been a miserable failure, but the company that prides itself on customer service has no facility for me to cancel after 6:00 pm on a Saturday. So, they are sending another technician tomorrow, Sunday.

I am now fully expecting them to fail yet again (and ideally) leave with the router. Just for the record, after the third time I called to complain, I threatened to cancel my service and they offered me 4 free months and dropped my price for the months after that. None of which means anything if I can't get internet. I have been a customer for 8 days, a total of 192 hours, and I only had working Optimum internet for 42 of those hours, 24 of which I was asleep.

I work from home and am required to be logged on a VPN through a bridge to an AS400. If I'm not logged in, I'm not getting paid.

Thank goodness I kept my Verizon router (and service), which continues to provide consistent internet when plugged in, as a backup, as I would have lost the pay for those days. If any of the executives at Optimum ever read this, understand that the experience of trying to become your customer has been akin to aversion therapy.

In NJ certain locations, Optimum is the only choice for service and therein lies the first problem. I have had no choice but to switch between them and Verizon for 30 years.

Monopoly companies need to be monitored more closely by their oversight agencies. People are literally paying $400 a month to watch TV, and it's insane. I moved into a retirement community to lower my overall bills to survive, and they raised my Internet 50 percent in two years. And to make matters worse, the call center reps in Indonesia, Mexico, India, and Jamaica are indecipherable.

The amount of time alone one must devote to this is also insane. I have called corporate and sent letters; they will never correct the abuses in this market unless they are threatened with fines. Everyone complains nothing is ever done.

People have to suck up the inconvenience of the time it takes to switch and just do it. They are predators and I think it's disgusting.