Charter responds to grand jury investigation

A federal grand jury wants more information on how Charter Communications accounts for disconnected cable subscribers, the cable company acknowledged today.

A grand jury from the U.S. District Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Missouri issued a subpoena requesting “documents relating to the company’s current and disconnected customers, and its policies and procedures relating to the capitalization or expense of various costs and related matters,” the company said in a press release.

Charter responded that on Feb. 11 it had announced an increase in its reserves for uncollected customer accounts receivable as of Dec. 31 of last year; that it had tightened its collection policy and procedures relating to these marginal customers; and that it expects to remove approximately 120,000 marginal customers from its basic customer account in the first quarter of 2002.

It also said it updated this estimate and reflected the disconnection of 145,000 marginal customers during the quarter in its 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31.

Charter said it planned to “cooperate fully with the subpoena.” Government officials are looking more closely at how cable companies state subscriber figures in the wake of Adelphia Communications financial implosion and subsequent bankruptcy earlier this year.