Cable Co Threatens Past Customers to Get Them to Return

Is this simply misleading or is it illegal?
www.lehtoslaw.com

[@davidstrohl]

In 2003, I had internet service with Comcast. When I moved, I returned Comcast’s cable modem to their service center. I was given a receipt with a warning from the Comcast rep who took it. She told me to hold on to the receipt, because they might say I didn’t return it later. I did just that. Five years later, I started receiving letters from Comcast stating that I owed them $215 for said modem. I tried my best to clear up the matter, explaining that I had returned their rented property. It all came to a head when they reported it to the credit bureau. I called my lawyer who filed suit against them. Then they wanted to let bygones be bygones. I said no, and sued them for $10K. They paid after I sent them a copy of the receipt for the returned property. These companies are relentless, and they’ll try their best to grab cash from you even if you owe them nothing. Keep all receipts!

[@roxcyn]

Good you sued them!

[@gentlerain3245]

now if they wouldve caught you WITHOUT that receipt that credit dent wouldve stuck on you harder than gorilla tape and the fees and accumulated late charges too, imagine 5 years of late fees to a $200+ bogus charge. All large companies commit fraud nowadays, no exceptions.

[@roxcyn]

@@gentlerain3245 - They would have just let it sit in collections. I've seen countless people say the same thing as OP that they returned all equipment and they refused to credit their account.

[@portialancaster3442]

As a former Comcast customer I have two words for them, Evil Empire.

[@gentlerain3245]

@@roxcyn and what does Collections department do exactly? Oh right, either get the money or ruin your credit. Its exactly what I said with a wrapper around it.

[@MarjaMariachi]

Illogical. If i'm such a deadbeat that I haven't paid my Spectrum bill in years, why do they believe I'm gonna pay them if I come back?

[@klyvemurray]

Is this not extortion pure and simple?? As in making unfounded threats in order to obtain an unfair business advantage?

[@quintrankid8045]

Came here to read this comment, leaving happy. Also, sounds like it might contain a threat of libel or slander.

[@davidbeaulieu4815]

Yup

[@judgmentcareUSA]

Absolutely ! Threats to damage one reputation and character are extortion.

[@randystegemann9990]

I think when the company says I owe them nothing, I would ask for that in writing or record the phone call. The next "veiled" threat I get from them might result in a lawsuit. When I moved from Denver, I cancelled my cable service, paid my final bill and gave them my forwarding address in Seattle. Six months later, I got past due notices for my unpaid delinquent bill from these geniuses. They knew I was now living in Seattle, but were still charging me for service in Denver. I called them and was transferred to several different customer "service" people. A half hour later, I had explained the issue to someone who finally understood instead of asking when I would pay for service I was no longer getting from them. Unfortunately, I was expected to type this up and send it to them. This was almost forty years ago before there was such a thing as email. I just ignored them after that and never heard from them again. Cable is so wonderful. I now have a dish.

[@scarpfish]

Ditched my cable seven years ago. I don't miss it.

[@rowynnecrowley1689]

Here's a crazy notion, Spectrum. Don't suck, and people won't cancel their service, and you won't have to bully them to come back.

[@Zulu55far]

The letter sounds like a mob owned business that is offering customers to come back or else.

[@barnabusdoyle4930]

Cable companies don’t report your accounts to the credit bureaus unless you don’t pay. There is no positive credit implications to having a cable account

[@ColdestElm]

Since we're on the subject of spectrum... Have you got any stories on HOAs buying a bulk contract for cable internet/tv service? My HOA pretty much forced us to sign up with spectrum. Any time there is an issue with service we just have to suck it up. The whole situation has been nothing but trouble.

[@Trainwheel_Time]

I guess they figure that if you're dumb enough to buy a home where an HOA is present you're dumb enough to put up with their other money making schemes...

[@WheresHerb]

So you live in a place that tells you how to live? Did you get HOA permission to write this post? I bet they monitor your internet too.

[@TheKuptis]

If you decide to buy a home in an HOA (which is ludicrous since it's your home but you're allowing someone to tell you what you can and can't do on your own property which is like listening to a backseat driver) then you deserve all the suffering they dish your way.

[@darrennew8211]

Did you go to the board meeting when they made that decision? Do you even vote for the people running the HOA?

[@WheresHerb]

@@kbar3612 HOA's exist because some people like being told how to live . I don't know about you but I like being able to paint my house whatever color I want, build whatever size deck/patio I want, put a swing set up, etc. All without permission. Paying taxes is one thing but taxes plus HOA fees? Pay fees for people to tell you what you can and can't do on property you pay for? Nope that's not right.

[@fearandloathingintraffic6679]

Roku has turned big cable into 419 phishing scammers. Gotta love it. Next they will tell you that they will deposit a large sum of money from a recently deceased executives will into the account of all renewing customers.

[@billyboy969]

FICO credit bureau should have never been allowed - denies due process.

[@harryshector]

Veiled threat? That seemed pretty blatant to me.

[@MementoMori-kn4dh]

Sounds like he really tried giving the benefit of the doubt

[@gorillaau]

Steve is probably being a little careful here.

[@TheSighphiguy]

he said "veiled", and then 30 seconds later read "Blatant". hes a lawyer. they will say whatever is necessary to confuse you. client and opponent alike.

[@richardkenan2891]

If it were only going out to customers who actually were being reported for delinquent bills, it would be acceptable. Sending it out to other people is blatant extortion. Telling somebody you're going to stop doing something bad to them that you're not already doing, only if they do what they want, is a pretty clear threat to *START* doing it if you don't do what they want.

[@leonxl]

@@richardkenan2891 it obviously went out to the guy as mistake. It’s clear to anyone with a brain that these letters are meant to those who do actually have a debt.

[@cassiopeiaclark9260]

Any reasonable person would see this as a threat, extortion, or blackmail.

[@badcp455]

Reasonable people are rare these days.

[@JediYutu]

It's absolutely legally a threat. It's also a violation of the fair credit act.

[@technoxtreme178]

This is an "opportunity to reconnect" with a class-action lawsuit.

[@crazylarryjr]

First thing I thought was #1. This is harassment and #2. this is grounds for a class action

[@abrahamlincoln9758]

@@crazylarryjr Oh! No! Not at all. Spectum has a RIGHT to make up false credit delinquencies! The entire credit system is based on OPINION and not FACT!

[@knerduno5942]

F those class actions. The victims only get a $5 coupon while the attorneys rake in millions.

[@ChickenPizza]

Class actions are just a cheap alternative to settling a boatload of individual suits. That's why you waive your ability to sue them if you don't opt-out. I wouldn't be surprised if the companies themselves secretly initiate these class actions against themselves just to remove your ability to personally sue them.

[@mage1439]

@@knerduno5942 What do you expect? Even if the lawyers took 1% the victims would still only get a pittance due to sheer numbers. The point of a class action is to punish. Anybody other than a lawyer that thinks they can profit off one is dumb.

[@AdmiralKnight]

I have to call the same companies every day for my job and it's always made me laugh how every time I call I get the "We're experiencing a higher call volume than normal" spiel. Literally every time. Seem to me that this is just your normal call volume and you just suck at managing it.

[@markstevens1729]

That message allows them to maintain half staff and explain it that way.

[@gorillaau]

This contempt toward the customer is a problem across the world. "Your call is important to us." Liars! If it was important, you would have more support staff to answer the call, or allow me to leave the number for you to call me back.

[@stevebabiak6997]

@@MamaMOB - since moving the customer service phone center to India was a money saving move, you’d think they might have some extra in the budget to hire a few more representatives overseas, to better serve the customers. But then that wouldn’t save as much money …

[@grandmajane2593]

@@gorillaau - I usually hang up when they tell me that. It really annoys me when a supplier calls me and says its time for me to reorder my supplies. I say ok and then they tell me to press one for the next rep.. Then the phone says, "your call is important--------please hold" . Then I hang up.. Its really silly because they are the ones that called me in the first place. I have to go thru this routine to get a particular medication I take. (every 3 months).

[@eliasthienpont6330]

As a building superintendent FDNY gave me an 'inside number' that bypasses 911. I posted that number on a red sign right by our switchboard. When the FDNY came around to inspect our building they were delighted to see that. This is 911 Emergency. For English please press 1, for Spanish please press 2, For Korean please press 3. (Presses 1) For Fire please press 1, for police please press 2, for an Ambulance please press 3, for all other emergencies please press 4.

[@peterallen4605]

I went to college in Bethlehem, PA. One of the few places in the country with two cable providers (one of which was the first in the nation). If you ever had a problem, they always answered the phone promptly and had the problem fixed very quickly. If you ever needed a technician, he would be there in under an hour. Why such great service? Because the other companies technician could be there getting you set up on their cable service in a little over an hour. Competition is a wonderful thing.

[@joeschmo622]

Which is why cablecos are granted monopoly status in certain areas. Eg, Comcast in Lawn Guyland. Only real alternative is Verishit/FIOS which is classified as phone, not cable.

[@PAHighlander24]

My grandparents were customers of that historic cable company in Bethlehem when they bought their first tv in the early 1950s. Without it they had no reception due to the city being located on the north face of South Mountain, with the mountain blocking the signals from the Philadelphia stations, and they were too far from the NYC stations. The cable then gave them the stations broadcast from Philadelphia and NYC, and was inexpensive. Philly only had the 3 network affiliates then, and NYC had the 3 networks plus 3 independent stations which carried a lot more kids programs, old movies, and the various NYC sports teams. We grandkids loved watching tv at their house!

[@peterallen4605]

@@PAHighlander24 Yup, it was actually started just north of there. As bad as South Mountain is for reception, the Blue Ridge is worse. Amazing what a guy in an electronics store can do running a cable up to an antenna on his hunting cabin on the top of the mountain.

[@PAHighlander24]

Great memories from my youth!

[@runed0s86]

Rcn was poggers when I had it

[@somewhat.random]

The truly amazing part of this story: someone opened mail from Spectrum. I see the Spectrum logo on anything, and I tear it up and throw it away unread.

[@taradaves3096]

Exactly

[@Harry-zz2oh]

@@taradaves3096 I never get Spectrum mail. It is not available in my area but we have "Comcast" to deal with.

[@damnitChadwick]

Same

[@bluewombat]

I've gotten the same letter at least once a week for more than 3 years, even when i had Spectrum (both cable and internet and later just internet). Congratulations, you've qualified for this special offer of 44.95 per service when you choose 2 services or more, or something like that. Gee, thanks, i feel special, that was the price when i first signed up with you online back in 2018 and i was brand new in the country and no one knew i existed 🤣 The amount of money they waste on trash like that is mind boggling.

[@FuckKamalaHarris]

😂 same

[@stephd2607]

AT&T told me to bring my equipment in to any UPS store and they would check it in. Guy behind the counter says “hold on to that receipt, they’re going to say you didn’t turn it in”. So I did and sure enough 5 months later I get a call saying I owed $ because I didn’t return the equipment. So I said “funny you should say that, I was warned you would do this so I have my receipt right here. Do you need a copy for your records?” They updated it and I never heard from them again.

[@VanderbiltMr]

Same here. I thanked the UPS person, it makes sense they would want to head that off. AT&T is sort of a faceless entity making it easy to harass you.

[@jeffreygrimm2361]

This is 100%!!!!! Comcast threw crap on my credit report. From a year earlier. It was just flat out pure luck I had and found the receipt. Normally after that long I woild have thrown away that receipt

[@catberts6499]

Comcast kept charging me after I returned rental and they said it was my fault I didn't say the exact words. I know they are just trying to rip people off. I at least caught it early and only had 1 month charged before settling, but yes, keep all paperwork, write or tape all conversations with cable companies.

[@jbutler8585]

All the more reason to never, ever take leased hardware. Buy your own, and if you ever suspect that it's faulty then trade boxes with a buddy for a week to find out.

[@karenstauffer1524]

Comcast claimed I didn't return their box. I had the receipt. Then I returned my Mom's and same thing happened!

[@jayp224]

That’s a pretty creepy letter. Spectrum is resorting to mafia tactics.

[@Nickle314]

You should see the BBC letters in the UK. Spectrum is a bunch of amateurs.

[@hughgordon6435]

RICO???

[@slipfirep40]

Tell us more...

[@BeingMe23]

Nope.. They are bribing the customer. If it was a threat they would Suing or charging other fees.

[@vinrico6704]

You giving the mafia a bad name... Lets go Brandon.

[@craigwiester9177]

My mother had a cable service that included a particular channel she liked. One day she got a letter, "To serve you better, we have moved (the channel you like) to the premium service so, if you want to keep seeing it, you have to upgrade." She called them saying she wanted the cable removed. "Yes, Ma'am, when do you want it removed?" She replied, icily, "I will never send you another check. Do whatever you want." Yay, Mom!

[@cmorris9494]

Comcast was going to charge me $100 extra a month for BBC America because it became premium. I told them I don't need the channel that badly. I dropped them when I moved out of the apartment complex. I was only allowed to get Comcast at the complex. I never did get bbc America back on when I went to Verizon. I really didn't need it.

[@ynptrip]

@@cmorris9494 Why would you want it anyway? Its the most biased, one-sided, advocacy-instead-of-journalism pile of social engineering crap on the airwaves.

[@drwisdom1]

Years ago my friend bought a brand of tampons. They reduced the number in a box requiring her to buy two boxes at a time. She contacted the manufacturer and they wrote back "We did a customer survey and they wanted less in a box." We wondered if they had pointed out they were going to get less for the same price.

[@illusoryknowledge9307]

@@cmorris9494 Surprised BBC America is even a cable channel. Last I recall, it came on after PBS on your public antenna channels back in the day.

[@fyurileblanc7206]

@@ynptrip perhaps because he liked it? one person's trash is another person's treasure. when we are trying to hear both sides of an issue, we often listen to liberal biased stations AND conservative biased channels. people have the right to listen to whatever they want to listen to and don't need your permission.

[@SierraTangoGuns]

I would've sent a letter back. "You've worked hard to build a large company. I'm gonna give you this one courtesy chance to pay me five million dollars. Otherwise I'll file a lawsuit for fifty million and we'll see what happens."

[@Alverant]

Will the debt removed just be with Spectrum or all debt? I have a mortgage I'd love for Spectrum to remove.

[@Mewse1203]

I had the same thought 🤣

[@suednonymous8587]

Maybe he should sign up and then sue when they don't move his debt. If he doesn't have any debt with Spectrum there's probably a reasonable argument that it's perfectly reasonable to believe they're offering to remove other debt as an incentive to sign up.

[@Nickle314]

Reminds me of the UK. A company was offering, we pay your mortgage for a year for the sale of a new house. Guy checked it out, signed up. Then the company discovered he had taken out a 2 year full repayment mortgage. Went to court. They claimed that you couldn't get a 2 year mortgage. He showed that he had done this in the past, and won. A 50% discount on the sale price.

[@Mewse1203]

@@Nickle314 lol, backfired

[@gavnonadoroge3092]

@@Nickle314 did it mention what place allowed for 2 year full repayment mortgage?

[@PAHighlander24]

Isn’t this called extortion??? Reminds me of the high school bullies to whom other students had to pay protection $ to use the stairs or get a beating. Now we know where the bullies ended up working after graduation - cable companies!

[@tjsbbi]

Yes I was waiting for Steve to use that word. It is the definition of extortion.

[@AdrenalineandEpiphany]

And police officers, politicians, judges......bullies seek to control others, so they seek power over others.

[@rhondakendrick2563]

F--- THEM THE BS HAS TO STOP

[@diveforknowledge]

What high school did you go to that bullies attempted to extort money?! Never seen that anywhere outside of movies and cartoons.

[@PAHighlander24]

@@diveforknowledge Brooklyn NY 1969

[@NevilofMars]

I was transferred from a Federal Government office in California to one in Pennsylvania and my wife was to join me a few months later. My wife contacted the cable company and asked them to cancel our service. She was told no, the account was in my name and I had to do it. I called the company and the lady I spoke to told me I had to fly back to California to cancel the service, in person, at their office. There was no other way to have the cable service canceled. This angered me a mite. I told the lady to take notes and pass them to the cable company chief engineer or head plant (technical term for cable service running in the city) supervisor what I was going to tell her. I said, after I get off the phone with you, I will call my wife. I will tell my wife to go to Radio Shack and buy a cable signal amplifier, a 20dB one (pretty strong amp). I would tell her how to measure and cut an antenna for the 121.5 MHz Search and Rescue (SAR) frequency, connect the cable to the amplifier, and then connect the antenna to the amplifier. After she assembled the parts it would then be a transmitter, transmitting a signal on an emergency communications frequency. I would tell my wife if a cable tech wanted to go into the house to fix the problem, she was to refuse and tell him to leave our property or she would call the police and report a trespasser. I would call the FCC in the nearest office and report a HUGE, cable leak interfering with the SAR frequency and if the cable company did not fix the problem, they would be fined by the FCC. I asked the lady to read back her notes, telling her I wanted to be sure she had everything I told her. She did, I politely said good bye and hung up. 10 minutes later, I get a call at my office. The cable company rep tells me, they have canceled my service and would send a bill to my house.

[@MH3GL]

THIS is how you handle problems!!! Thank you for that information, sir. Will be storing that somewhere, as it may come in handy some day...

[@xonx209]

It's more likely you would be fined by FCC.

[@user-ii3vn8tn3q]

@@xonx209for what? He didn't actually DO anything.

[@tacticallemon7518]

@@xonx209doesn’t matter, the threat accomplished what it was meant to

[@NevilofMars]

@@xonx209 No I, or my wife, would not. The FCC holds the cable company responsible for any leak from their plant. Even if the leak is caused by the customer. This is why I told the lady I was talking to, to tell the plant engineer what I threatened to do if the account was closed.

[@ironox8480]

"That's a nice credit score ya got there. Shame if something happened to it." Spectrum 2021

[@MmmmmmmmmmmMm15]

There needs to be a federal law against malicious gaslighting

[@sarajuanaict]

I agree these kinds of stories really burn my banana

[@DocHellfish]

The federal government wouldn't want to be sued that hard.

[@privatecitizen1246]

Lol then fox news and every other news channel would go out of business

[@highonimmi]

@@privatecitizen1246 found the dingdong. as an independent i noticed ya had to point out one news channel by name then bunch the rest together. y'all make me chuckle.

[@ajm5007]

@@highonimmi Well there's only one news channel (still in existence) that has actually lost SEVERAL FEDERAL LAWSUITS for doing the very thing we're talking about, so it's 100% appropriate to single out that one. You're clearly the dingdong here. There's nothing wrong with singling out one channel when it's the ONLY channel proven in a court of law to have done it.

[@mr.nonamanadus4463]

I worked for a propane company that lost track of a huge pile of inventory. We are talking 100's of 1,000 & 500 gallon tanks and over 500,000 liters of propane. I was finding tanks all over the place and even saw o e tank out in the middle of a pasture with nothing around it, not even a road. Calling in the serial number, it was nine years since it was last filled. Not surprised by anything companies lose track of.

[@erikarabie]

Dammit Bobby

[@MyTube4Utoo]

"We're gonna make you a deal you CAN'T refuse." Tommy Two Guns, Spectrum Rep.

[@heretoforeunknown]

My local cable company made an offer I could refuse since after reading all the small print the actual monthly cost was 50% higher due to hidden taxes and other revenue enhancements.

[@TheKuptis]

Satellite TV companies took the same approach. Now internet companies are starting to follow suit.

[@jupitercyclops6521]

It's all about their negotiated area monopolies.. I remember being late on a payment & the cable guy came by & told me he was there to turn off my cable, but if I payed him a cash service charge, he'd leave it on. The look on his face was priceless when I told him "No thanks. You raise the price every month & it's full of static anyway. Do me a favor & turn it off"

[@jbdragon3295]

The f up thing is most of those so called taxes are not taxes for the government. It’s just taxes that go to Cable company. So not really a tax.

[@ThereIsNoOtherHandleLikeMine]

Taxes are not a cost. They are a tax.

[@ThereIsNoOtherHandleLikeMine]

@@jbdragon3295 "Taxes that aren't taxes" ARE NOT CALLED TAXES.

[@i_am_thatguy1504]

This is the price of allowing monopolies to exist. I've had similar experiences with some heavy hitting Banks. Once they own everything and they are considered above the law they basically think they don't have any rules they have to abide by.

[@Attmay]

This is why usury is a sin.

[@lucialuciferion6720]

Reminds me of 'you will own nothing and be happy'. The consequences will be dark misery for all , except those who will 'own it all'. Lefties think this will be blooming utopia.

[@aluckyshot]

@@lucialuciferion6720 fun times ahead! You will do better than most.

[@talisikid1618]

Exactly.

[@adamlynch9153]

Lol I don’t even have cable or internet. Just phone service and work computer.

[@AsdyThePriest]

Charter Spectrum was the main internet provider in our area. I say "was" because a fiber company just rolled into town last year, laying down infrastructure and sending out advertising. I was speaking with the new company's tech during our fiber install, and they're doing 30 installs a day. Which doesn't seem like much, but they've been doing this level of hookups since October. They've had a few of their techs hop from Spectrum's ship over to theirs, and brought with them the stories of how much of a panic Spectrum's local branch is. Supposedly, they're expecting to lose at least 50% of their residential business in the area to this new company. Stories like this one you're covering are already being passed around the community. Everyone's advising each other to get receipts for last bills, confirmation of closed accounts with zero balances, receipts/tracking for returned routers, and either saving those in a filing cabinet or scan them into an email account or cloud drive.

[@the_once-and-future_king.]

In the UK that would be classed as 'obtaining money with menaces'.

[@jimBobuu]

The people enforcing that TV license seem pretty menacing.

[@tcm81]

@@jimBobuu I heard it said once that the UK is a country where the police are polite and waiters are rude. In the US, it's the other way round.

[@oakwoods55]

@@tcm81 you’re wrongly informed friend. It’s the other way round.

[@the_once-and-future_king.]

@@jimBobuu Yep. Scare tactics are their method.

[@TheJohnboyhunter]

@@jimBobuu In the UK a TV licence is required to watch broadcast tv and the BBC are publicly owned and funded. Its completely different to a privately owned cable company threatening your livelihood over non existent debts. Also countries all over the world have a TV licence, I'd much rather it be an upfront payment than just an extra tax, as it is in some countries. At least here if you can prove you don't ever watch TV, then you don't have to pay it. If it's just another tax, you have no choice. Just so you know, I don't watch any TV but I still happily pay for my TV licence.

[@phubble1877]

Haven't had TV in over 15 years, I was paying around $50 a month for basic service and thought it was too much. Live in Washington, Comcast in Atlanta withdrew $500 from my checking account this year. I called security at my bank and got my money back.

[@philwood9760]

Never allow any company access to your checking acct. Water company wanted mine so they wouldn't have to send me a bill. They never got it.

[@g00gleminus96]

When you cancel your subscription then make sure you also cancel any & all pre-authorised access to your account. Make sure there is a tag on your bank account that alerts the bank that the cable company is owed zero dollars. If that means you have to go to the bank and do that in person then DO IT!

[@nicodemous52]

Just one reason I never allow automatic payments. I also never let any site "save my information for a faster experience next time"...

[@adamlynch9153]

Yeah I have never had cable or internet. Never since I moved out of my parents anyway. I have my phone service my work computer I just use at the library or at work.

[@mapachem4828]

@Tom They can have your account number but the right to take money from it they don't unless you gave them that permission in the past by signing off automatic debit. I don't understand how the bank could allow that if you didnt gave them permission to do it, it's a very serious security breach if the bank does something like that.

[@Woodie-xq1ew]

2:00 I was about to comment is the letter from a cable company or a mob boss?

[@jeffflowers5489]

there used to be a time when sitting through commercials paid for the programming. now you have even more commercials and you pay $180+/month.

[@roxcyn]

And when cable came out, they advertised no commercials. That didn’t last long. 😂

[@kitsiewr]

I just couldn't take it anymore, cut them years ago. I miss the TV we used to have, but not the garbage offered now.

[@caligulathegod]

There was NEVER a time when cable meant no commercials. I've had cable since the mid-70s and the earliest stations were just TV stations from other cities. Even WTBS was just a local station out of Atlanta. HBO or other premiums were the only commercial free programming.

[@roxcyn]

@@caligulathegod - When we had it in the 80s none of the cable channels had it. Now over the air channels maybe, but they really didn’t so I’m not sure why you said never. Perhaps it depended on your cable company or location. I remember when they would shut the channels off at midnight. How times have changed, though.

[@roxcyn]

@@kitsiewr - Agreed. With the free options, why would I even pay for cable?

[@gecko235]

California's Rosenthal Act (the state version of the FDCPA) applies to original creditors collecting debts on personal and household services. It sounds like this guy and anyone else receiving the letter might have a cause of action against Spectrum for deceptive practices in debt collection and advertising.

[@bikkiikun]

Not just that, but also blackmail, fraud, intimidation and racketeering. He should file criminal complaints against whoever signed the letter and the company.

[@roxcyn]

And a potential violation of FCRA as they wouldn’t be reporting an account correctly. I would seek a consumer attorney who specializes in creditors.

[@staresce]

It looks like the one who's financial reputation is going to be trashed is Spectrum.

[@panderberg44]

@@staresce their Reputation precedes them. They are absolutely horrible. I have been trying for 2 years to get refund of 24.00. They claim each time I call the check will be in the mail Pronto. Still waiting.. guess what Verizon now has a 10.00 charge each time you talk to a human

[@scotttild]

It is also slander, unfair business practices, violation of the consumer protection act and the fair credit reporting act just to name a few.

[@brianarakel9197]

My brother died in Boise...I was the executor of his estate. He had a cable contract. I tried to end the contract and settle the estate. The cable company said he didn't pay his bill. I told them he couldn't pay...He is dead. They said he voided their contract. Sure enough, as creditors DIRECT TV!! was there ready to collect. Heartless...

[@Tugela60]

Contracts carry on when you are dead, it is up to the estate to settle any outstanding amounts as per contract.

[@chrisruskai9341]

@Tugela60 cable contracts are usage based though.

[@blairhoughton7918]

​@@chrisruskai9341They don't care if it's being used. It's enabled.

[@Tugela60]

@chrisruskai9341 No they are not.

[@oldretireddude]

The cable company can probably hurt the credit score just by making periodic inquiries as to his credit?

[@H33t3Speaks]

Bingo.

[@the_once-and-future_king.]

Wouldn't them doing that without authority be highly illegal?

[@marc-andreservant201]

Making multiple hard inquiries does hurt the customer's credit, which is why federal law strictly prohibits checking someone's credit without their consent. That and you're not allowed to snoop into someone's private data without their consent. The courts would tear the cable company a new one if they did that.

[@slipfirep40]

Cable Co.s do a soft pull on the credit, which just provides them the score alone, and does not effect the credit score. Hard Pulls, the kind performed by a credit provider, does effect the credit, but requires consent. If a company did this repeatedly unlawfully, they would be in deep Cacao. I've never heard of a cable Co doing a hard pull

[@stevekatz3032]

@@slipfirep40 There is an exception to the Fair Credit Reporting Act prohibition of pulling a hard pull of a credit report without ex[press permission, and that would be "to aid in the collection of a debt". It would be a logical extension of that to assert that there must be a legally enforceable debt to attempt to collect, though.

[@jrbpit1]

Reminds me of the old SNL skit about switching phone carriers, when the new carrier agreed to kill someone if the customer switched.

[@SC-dm1ct]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZoXFepJnjdR9hJI

[@gorak9000]

@@SC-dm1ct Thanks for the link. That's SNL from before my time - I had never seen that one before, but that's a pretty good skit!

[@candicebeebe6688]

Good one !!!!!!!!!!!

[@techstuf4637]

Spectrum has never let me down! I welcome their envelopes in the mail, which are ok for scraping the occasional dog turd off the sidewalk.

[@rmhartman]

"What are you, an attorney?" "Yes." (*surprised pikachu face*)

[@simplywonderful449]

So Spectrum's ability and technology is SO LIMITED that they DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO OWES THEM MONEY? Wow. I can see a big settlement from this stupidity. These dishonest cable companies are hoping people will forget that receipt or that they returned the cable box. And if they DON'T have the receipt as a customer, the company KNOWS it can extort the person, since most people wouldn't know what Steve knows.

[@Attmay]

Tyrannicide is your duty.

[@woopimagpie]

I'd say they do know, they just either didn't bother or were too incompetent to link the list of people who get the letter to the list of people who actually owe them. The whole thing is utter lunacy really - what sensible business would willingly court the return business of known bad creditors and skirt the fringes of legality in order to do so? It's not the dumbest idea I've ever heard from corporate management, but it's Top 5. They must be truly desperate if they're resorting to that level of stupidity. It's time they either got new management (and new direction along with it) or went out of business (which seems like the the more likely outcome).

[@xaenon]

You're assuming it's an issue of competence. It isn't. This is a deliberate strategy to badger you out of more cash. Cable and Satellite-TV services are f__king bandits.

[@drl5002]

The morons probably just sent a form letter to all past customers whether they owed money or not.

[@HBP2]

makes them easy to hack :)

[@konagirl805]

I live in a small rural town. When you call the local ISP with a problem, they say "we can be at your house in 5 minutes if you'd like to show us the problem in person." It's great.

[@kurtschlarb9762]

Wow.

[@iMadrid11]

I doubt it. Driving out to your house in a small rural town would take more than 5 minutes. Since houses are more spread apart.

[@konagirl805]

@@iMadrid11 The ISP office is 2 miles from me. I should have wrote exurb, not rural... I live in an exurb which is semi rural.

[@darktheories1758]

@@konagirl805 My cable company hates me but thank good there is medical weed in this state

[@wlonsdale1]

That's not cheap!

[@garvingray]

I think Number 4) scam part of this letter is: If you are a past customer and you owe them money, why are they making you such a great offer to return, considering that in their books you are already a deadbeat previous customer

[@jeremyshand9187]

Cause someone who owes you money but stops spending is worst off......they want the monthly payments

[@VorpalBunnysRevenge]

They can then publicly that they have more subscribers, thus making the stock appear more valuable. When it gets high enough, the execs cash out for more money.

[@Superman679]

I got rid of cable over 10 years ago and haven't looked back or missed any shows or movies since

[@Harry-zz2oh]

I watch the local news but I need the cable since I live in the county and all the news channels are in another state (Texas). I seldom watch the serial shows but my wife loves to watch certain ones. Football is a hit or miss event.

[@SovereignStatesman]

My dad had cable, but when he died I just ignored the bills until they cut off service. I also threw their cell-phones in the trash.

[@greenscreekgirl]

We gave up cable about 4 years ago, we haven’t missed it at all! It really surprises people when you tell them you do not watch TV, they act like we’ve cut off a limb. We have Amazon prime and Apple TV but we don’t use it much, occasionally we will watch a movie but it’s on our time. We spend a lot of time reading and talking.

[@Deviated09]

@@greenscreekgirl agreed here. I have a couple streaming services and i have an antenna for local news channels. I can get 95% of what I'd like to watch on those and paying 1/4 as much. Best thing i did was getting rid of mainstream cable. Nearly no commercials too!

[@Wolfie713]

"I got rid of cable over 10 years ago and haven't looked back or missed any shows or movies since" I beg to differ, you've missed plenty of shows and movies. 😉

[@hughbrackett343]

It sounds like mail fraud to me. I'd send all of the information to my neareat Postal Inspection Service. Also, what the heck happened to offering a free year of HBO or some other premium channel to tempt you back?

[@jeremymiller1645]

I've been dealing with this same crap, they keep claiming we owe them equipment fees. We owned all our equipment, they have turned us in to 3 different collection agencies. They turn us in to one, we dispute it and they dropped it. They have turned us in to a second, we disputed it and it got dropped. We are now on the third... they claim we owe them a cable modem and a route.

[@russhall1414]

Wow, now we know what cable company to NOT DO BUSINESS with.

[@Vykk_Draygo]

I mean, they are all pretty much the same.

[@robertbennett2796]

Spectrum owns brighthouse so watch out

[@russellhltn1396]

Oh, like we have a choice? Who are you going to go with if you can't put up a dish?

[@russhall1414]

@@russellhltn1396 So, are you saying that extortion is acceptable if you have no choice? Monopoly at it's finest.

[@russellhltn1396]

@@russhall1414 I said nothing of the kind. I said that many do not have a choice in who to go with. At least not without paying a lot more. What I want to know is where the state AG is.

[@4945three]

In 2002, the United States Department of Justice investigated the company, leading to the indictment of four former executives in 2005 for improper financial reporting related primarily to the inflation of cable subscriber numbers to improve financial figures. History repeats.

[@judgmentcareUSA]

This time around it calls for CRIMINAL PROSECUTION of the responsible parties. Prison time is required to send a message. In PA up to 7 years in prison and $15,000 per offense.

[@shaunclarkson7131]

The Gov really needs to stop worrying about killing businesses that operate on a basis of illegal behavior. Employees will find new work, just as if they were terminated, and the services they provide if wanted, will be provided by another company that sees the increase of demand, as per the normal operation of capitalism. It helps nobody for the government to go lightly on corporations that operate as if the law does not apply to them.

[@jemhobbies]

@@shaunclarkson7131 except by going light on those corporations they will continue to donate to the politicians who are going light on them. Follow the money

[@GeorgeVCohea-dw7ou]

Too big to fail! Cable companies are some of the most monopolistic corporations within the United States, but everyone seems to, incorrectly, believe this same about every social media site they get frustrated with. They never bother to revisit their internet connection options, until they're stuck in the middle of a must solve conundrum, when it's already too late! kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4OVnZqurpKbqrc Breaking up big cable should be a priority and prosecuting the ones who accept and facilitated exclusivity deals would be wise.

[@zatoth13]

It is insanely illegal to do this stuff

[@JonathanMandrake]

Honestly, that deserves fines in the millions

[@PegasusMerc]

Billions. Spectrum and similar companies rake in cash for doing basically nothing until forced to maintain their own malfunctioning infrastructure.

[@brewted]

Jail- things will never change until CEO's start going to jail.

[@daveb5540]

I ALWAYS get a receipt. When my dad died I turned in his keys(2) in to the branch bank where he had his account. I asked for a receipt, and the person helping me said we don't give receipts for this. I insisted, and had the branch manager, write me one on their letterhead. Guess what almost a year later I get a letter from the bank (HQ) telling me I only turned in one key and owed them $100 because they had to have that special key remade. I called and told them I had a receipt for the 2 keys and to figure it out...end of story. Without that letter I would have had no proof of what they said.

[@TheKuptis]

Somebody at the bank probably lost one of the keys and someone else told them not to fret since they would just bill the previous customer.

[@daveb5540]

@@TheKuptis Yep, they had no Idea I had Proof.

[@FR-tb7xh]

Good for you for insisting on a receipt. I do, too, for anything important. I’m a cynic. That kind of key is super important, and anyone with one should know it. Further, there’s a finite number of boxes and there’re often waiting lists to get them. Translation, any given box will likely contain valuables at any time. So my first thought was that someone at the bank’s end may have stolen the ‘missing’ key, with the intent to access it any time later. Were I a branch manager, I’d keep records of ‘missing’ key incidents and cross reference them with new hire dates.

[@rhondakendrick2563]

110 %

[@lisashiplett7659]

Never let something leave one hand without receiving conformation for it with the other hand.....WELL DONE !!!!

[@snrcontrollers4376]

Saying you're going to "cease" doing something you're not actually doing isn't misleading, it's outright fraud.

[@malforthtcumberland7850]

I had cable service in Miami FL, which I then cancelled to move out of state. I returned all of my digital gear and notified them to cancel. They kept sending me bills and after 3 months referred to collection. The cable provider said "we never got access to your apartment to disconnect the actual wire, you've been getting analog cable the whole time and owe us for that." They followed up with "that's the oldest trick in the book, turn in your gear and think you can have regular cable for free..." I don't know if anyone else had moved in to my old place but I really don't think it was my problem. I eventually told them it was "a federal offense to mail a fraudulent invoice" and that shut them up, lol.

[@arcanondrum6543]

People told to "hate government" don't realize that large corporations are pushing them to feel that way. Your description paints a tiny picture of what would happen... I'M KIDDING, they'll just take your house.

[@scottbehr5690]

They don't need access....apartments are called " MDU'S. Multiple dwelling units..each building has one central box that gets disconnected....

[@arcanondrum6543]

@@scottbehr5690 Well, true. But they didn't need access regardless of the structure. For a house, it's at the street (on the pole). You pointed out the MDU. It was a lie, they lied.

[@DanEBoyd]

@@arcanondrum6543 Large corporations are pushing the government into something much more malicious.

[@arcanondrum6543]

@@DanEBoyd Indeed.

[@cyclemadness]

Back in the 80's, small town America, my mom missed the deadline for paying the cable company by 1 day. They shut off the service. She called them, and they wanted $100 to come out and turn it back on. Good bye cable. I didn't really watch TV for the next 2 years.

[@ThePresidentialTouch]

You didn't miss anything.

[@horsefly1020]

They did that to me I just went up the pole and plugged it back in.

[@drizzo4669]

When I switched cable companies, a representative of the company called me and asked me why I switched. I said because they wanted to drill a hole in my wall to mount a new unit, the new company didn't need to. The guy on the phone proceeded to call me poor; say that I probably lived in a basement with no bathroom. Said I should should try and steal wifi like everyone else in my neighborhood and then hung up on me. At some point during the week, they must have sent someone over to my house to sabotage my wires because when the new company came to install he said "all the wires had been ripped out of the locked box on tge side of the house" and he would need to rewire everything. This didn't cost me any money but it turned a 30 minute install into a 3 hour install.

[@catsbyondrepair]

It was the cable companies wires

[@TheMurlocKeeper]

@@catsbyondrepair - ...on private property. It's still vandalism, whatever way you look at it. That could have gotten them sued if OP had the mind to. I know I would have!

[@jimmieroan9881]

yeah it's frustrating but those cables and wiring belong to the cable co. and they have a right to remove them, oddly for years when the cable companies first started and there were only a few they actually shared some of the cables, ive lived in the same house for over 50 years and still have old telephone wiring and a few cables that were used by different companies several times.

[@John-209]

Extremely predatory practice, they’re going after people with lower credit scores putting the stuff in their heads that they might owe money,that’s some bs

[@abrahamlincoln9758]

They probably figure if jerks can scam for vehicle warranties, they might as well get in on some shady stuff too if it makes them a ten cent profit.

[@D70340]

And other companies will be watching this closely. Hang in there folks, more shake downs in the future!

[@adriaandeleeuw8339]

In some Jurisdictions that sort of shakedown is called "demanding money with menaces"! In those Jurisdictions is is a Criminal matter!

[@AdrenalineandEpiphany]

Extortion is a crime all around the world my friend

[@kurtschlarb9762]

One of the happiest days of my life was returning DVR box, remote, and modem to Spectrum. They claimed I owed another $189.00 for "other" boxes they left on my porch 6 years previous. I laughed so hard at this I almost had an accident. Then I went to my mom's house and returned all her stuff to these idiots. I had cable for 40 years. It was great for years. Then they got greedy. Where I live they hardly had competition.....until now.

[@kendraressler4497]

My family never had cable and still don't. Hearing these horror stories makes me appreciate that my parent avoided the hassle. With streaming services on the rise, I think cable companies have to rethink their business structure or face extinction.

[@clevelandnative7175]

I’m old to remember when you could plug your tv into any outlet and automatically get something like 7 channels.

[@patraic5241]

You can still do that. You just need a digital antenna. They cost about $50 bucks.

[@clevelandnative7175]

@@patraic5241 seriously, I did not know that was even a possibility. I’ll have to tell my sister. Thanks

[@patraic5241]

@@clevelandnative7175 Anytime. Us buckeyes need to stick together. I'm in NE Ohio too. :)

[@clevelandnative7175]

@@patraic5241 I’ve been in SoCal for 33 years, but I’ll always be a Berean.

[@dsloop3907]

And the tv channels stopped broadcasting at 1 am.

[@scooterlarry9919]

If they are making a threat to collect on a debt is illegal and you can receive compensation. If they are trying to collect a debt that isn't owed, that is another illegal tactic that can cost them. Obtain an attorney that deals with debt issues.

[@jamesodell3064]

That could end up as a class action lawsuit.

[@quixadhal]

My problem with ISP's is that they never inform their customers about maintenance, scheduled or otherwise. They have email addresses for every single customer. They have phone numbers for most of them. It would be trivial to implement a system to send out a notice when a scheduled maintenance is going to occur in your area, even if it's just the day before.

[@edbiernot4852]

Start a class action lawsuit Steve

[@pain_weaver]

Class actions are not beneficial to the people harmed.

[@TheKuptis]

Only people who get justice in a class-action lawsuit are the lawyers from the windfall pay they receive if they win.

[@shekharmoona544]

This is literally a lawsuit in the making.

[@peterkiviat9969]

Blackmail and extortion are much more efficient than cold calling.

[@whendricso]

"You have worked hard to build a great future for your family. Would be a *shame* if something happened" - Spectrum cable

[@dontlookmeinmyeyeswhenudan5241]

Sopranos

[@karenstein8261]

Having left cable with a sour taste, such an approach would be counter-productive. The approach screams “extortion,” and inspires me to seek ways to strike back. “A good score .... “ sounds a lot like the “It would be unfortunate should something bad happen” shakedown.

[@d.e.b.b5788]

The problem remains, that many areas only have ONE high speed internet connection, so they have you over a barrel. We have Suddenlink and Frontier; but the Frontier is only DSL, which runs at sub 1Mbps speeds 90% of the time, often as slow as 100 kbps. So, basically useless, because it times out while trying to load a website. Suddenlink costs 2 1/2 times as much, but has essentially a monopoly so we have no choice. 10Mbps with a 100 GB cap, for $80 a month, no tv, nothing else. And of course, they trottle you when you get to about 80GB, trying to force us to upgrade to a more expensive plan.

[@CAsnowman]

@@d.e.b.b5788 I agree it’s like that everywhere and it’s BULLLLLLSHIT. Especially when their service is still slow and they are also slow to fix any problems even if it’s their fault

[@gorak9000]

@@d.e.b.b5788 That is pretty bad. I pay $60/month for fiber gig/gig with unlimited bandwidth! Used to have Frontier here too, but I'm in an area they bought from Verizon Fios, and then 2 years ago sold to a local company. Frontier was ok technically, but their customer service, bs "fees", and billing issues were a continual nightmare. Only right at the end before they sold off were there technical problems because they stopped doing maintenance.

[@wpeale71341]

Steve, you say the competition in the cable business is fierce? Where I live, there is zero competition in the cable industry. The whole area is divided up into territories and 2 companies do not compete with each other for customers. This is great for the company but it is a living hell for the customer. I pay 100 dollars a month for the medium service plan for cable internet alone. I dropped my cable plan because my bill kept creeping up towards 200 a month. For what? 160 channels at best I could care less about? Packages fail to offer a satisfactory listings of channels at an equally affordable pricing plan. I can get what I watch elsewhere using 3rd party companies for WAY cheaper than the highway robbery prices the cable company was trying to extort me for. That is the biggest issue in the cable industry is self imposed monopolies that eliminate competitive pricing in the market. The only person being screwed is the customer.

[@ncdogg425]

The cable company will "rent" you a cable modem/router @ $15 a month. The modem will pay for itself after 7 months. It's all profits for them from then on. Buy your own modem/router.

[@fyurileblanc7206]

i rent, and with good reason. yeah buying one would be paying for itself in 7 months (that is a rather high price to pay) but then your warranty is only what? a year? and often it goes out after that warranty is up. then there is the fact that the company often will tell you that their software is not designed to work with any but approved routers. and you get one you like and boom, they "upgrade" and you can no longer use the router you bought. and yeah, you can get an "extended warranty" - but have you ever tried to cash in on one when your equipment - any equipment- went out? nah, worth renting to avoid all of the aggravation. they routinely upgrade my equipment at no extra cost.

[@Vykk_Draygo]

That pisses me off so much. $15 a month for a piece of crap modem and router. It's no better than a scam.

[@tyree9055]

@@fyurileblanc7206 I always bought my own after initially renting one. Never had an issue with my modems going bad (not counting the lightning strike that fried it all), but I never had any issues with them trying to pull those stunts with me. My providers were: - Time Warner Cable (5 years) - Comcast (5 years) I haven't used cable at all in the last 10 years because I found it's not worth it. I get better on KZbin! 😅👍

[@travelnc2g]

@@fyurileblanc7206 buy an energy efficient one. You will save the cost in lower electricity bills. The one they rent is the cheapest highest energy use one they can buy. They dont care about your bill. Touch the box. Is it hot? You are wasting energy.

[@LucasJackson_37]

That is if it's a new modem and not one that paid for it's self years prior.. I bought my own modem and router and used it with several different cable companies with absolutely 0 issues.. with the monies I've saved I've saved the small initial investment 50X over..

[@sittingindetroit9204]

I had two upstairs cable boxes that I never used. Went on line and found how to return them and did. The cable company kept billing me for them so I called them after the 2nd billing. I told them I had the receipt and they agreed they received them but said I didn't get permission to return them so they continued billing me. I pointed out that there web site didn't say you needed permission to return the equipment and they said they would stop billing. I of course then asked about the previous billing and she said there was nothing the could do. I asked to be transferred to the service disconnection department to cancel my service and all of a sudden, she could take care of the prior billing errors........

[@troy3052]

sounds like huntington bank I just dealt with.

[@robertbennett2796]

No demand to speak to a manager or a lawyer immediately they need to be sued into oblivion

[@henrydillard6217]

Sounds like b.b&t bank...

[@somebodyelse6673]

I'm really curious how a business handles it when their Customer Service asks if you're a lawyer, and you say YES. Do they panic and run for a supervisor? Do they disconnect you? Are they afraid to disconnect you?

[@earlsreid4130]

No, you just make sure you don't say anything stupid that will have lawyer filing a lawsuit. As a former Spectrum rep, I hated getting customers who were calm and had their shit together. The majority of the screamers and idiots I didn't mind one bit.

[@Dredi]

Back when I was working in a callcenter, in the event the customer was a lawyer or made any reference to a legal case of any kind we'd have to politely end the call and have our legal team take the case over. Varies a bit between industries and companies though I'm sure.

[@alexknight4682]

@Earls Reid why did spectrum love throttling internet?

[@volkswagenginetta]

Current rep. Video repair. I answer billing questions. You don't treat the call any different. A lawyer isn't going to be contacting me. If they are contacting me it's purely for clarification because they have access to everything that I do. A lawyer knows they would need to go through the proper channels of notice by talking to our legal team or whoever handles that stuff.

[@MrClobbertime]

@@alexknight4682 To get people to pony up for a higher priced package.

[@badbiker666]

My daughter used to work as a phone representative for Spectrum. She was able to quit when her husband finally graduated and received a substantial enough boost in his pay that they were able to start working toward having a baby. She was happy to be out of that environment because her management set up rules to ensure that she could never satisfy her metrics and succeed. Things like a rule that says you can never hang up on a customer - BUT - you are required to keep your average time on each call to a minimum. If you go over you are subject to "retraining," There was the opportunity to pass the call off to a supervisor or technical support operator, BUT the time it takes for the manager or IT tech to answer counted against her. So she could be on another call with a new customer while at the same time her first call was on hold and every second - literally - counted against her. It was bullshit and there were many more examples of that kind of "damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't" kind of crap at Spectrum. She is so happy to be rid of that garbage.

[@coop5329]

sounds exactly like what medical insurance companies do to the employees who handle their claims (cough, cough, Anthem, cough cough)

[@thewaywardwind548]

> Never had any dealings with Spectrum. It's an interesting rule that doesn't apply across the board. I get hung up on all the time.

[@Winter_Fritz]

We played a game like this called beat the clock. No matter how fast you go the DI skips numbers and you still are screwed

[@TheEudaemonicPlague]

When I cut the cable some years ago, they never asked for the box back. I'm still getting internet, but not video. I have no use for the thing, but I also have a "gateway" box that the police took (my son did something stupid online), and AT&T demanded $100 to get a replacement...as far as I'm concerned, now the original box has been returned, it's mine, since I paid for it....probably paid more than it's worth, anyway.

[@cycleboy8028]

Glad you were outside the Statute of Limitations. But what if they had sent this at year 5.5? Who keeps receipts for returned equipment that long? Most people stash the receipt for about a year, then are cleaning out files, or their desk, haven't heard anything about it, and ditch the receipt. Sounds like a nice scam to randomly pop up years later and make claims.

[@ridingwithairbubble1694]

Hehe, I keep my receipts for this very reason and I know where they’re located. Hade a similar situation happen to me although no threat, they just wanted their equipment back. I dug out the receipt from several years back and that was the end of it. It was a cable modem that I was renting until I found I could buy one that basically paid for itself. I was still their customer at the time. I moved to the boonies so I’m on fixed wireless internet and satellite tv…both for less than half of my last cable company. I still get letters wanting me to come back at an address they don’t even serve.

[@cycleboy8028]

@@ridingwithairbubble1694 Well aren't you Mr. Responsible-Shoes. :P Yes, you should keep this stuff in a file somewhere... chances are most don't.

[@ridingwithairbubble1694]

@@cycleboy8028 worked for the USG, learned early. Thank goodness for scanning technology nowadays 😝

[@kimpulsipher647]

I do. They are a problem, and I keep there stuff for 7 years.

[@Uberragen21]

I have all my receipts going back a decade. I pay all my bills online and making a pdf of the payment is quick and easy.

[@mwduck]

Cable TV is dying. Everyone under 40 is cutting the cord and streaming.

[@348loadedlever3]

It’s higher than 40

[@jenniferh1416]

Agree that it's a higher age range because I know them. Some never switched to streaming content either as there's plenty of content like this channel.

[@AprilFriday-de6vm]

I’m nearly 50 and I don’t think anyone I know still has cable. We ditched ours more than a decade ago. Utter waste of money.

[@robertpetrovich6776]

When Spectrum sent me a bill for someone else's cable they told me they had too many customers to keep accurate billing records

[@missouribob7850]

A couple of decades ago I was looking into getting cable. The website for our only cable provider did not list what channels you got for the different packages. So I called the company and asked. They said that they change the stations and packages so often that they can't keep the website updated and would mail me a brochure. I questioned that concept and the Customer Service Rep told me that is the script they have to tell people. A few days later I got a really nicely printed brochure of the different packages and stations. Think about that. Rather than update the website they were printing up thousands (?) of brochures every time they changed their lineup.

[@richardtodd6843]

This seems like a great video for a state Attorney General to watch and act on if they enjoy getting positive publicity. Cable companies have long been the least-liked utilities in most surveys of Americans. There may be lots of federal regulation of cable companies on macro issues having to do with programming contracts and the likk, but the feds do little on the average consumer's end. Cable companies were at first regulated by localities, primarily over rates and service levels and often with localities granting local monopolies, but the feds, in collusion with the cable companies, usurped rate authority an left it to the cable companies, which caused rates to soar while eliminating localities' financial ability to regulate any other aspects of business. This may have been good in eliminating cable companies' prior habit of sometimes bribing local councils to win franchises, but brutal for customers since many were lucky to have even two choices of provider, much less 3 or more.

[@isabelbeagle1949]

I had spectrum for cable and internet. I dropped them because I work from home and the internet was awful. I moved to another provider but when the prices went up I moved to streaming service. I was paying over 200 a month for internet and cable and I barely watch TV.

[@jamesalderman4162]

Since the "didn't return your cable box" company was clearly violating the law, I'm betting you could have sued them at little cost to yourself and end up costing them $10-20K in their own attorney fees, plus making them pay your own hourly rate too when you win. Easy money grab if you wanted to go after them.

[@cryam6428]

"Who may have debt." MAY? If they cannot clearly flag who does or does not owe them money their bookkeeping sounds like it needs auditing by IRS.

[@dsbennett]

When I returned my Comcast equipment, the store refused to issue a receipt! He said it was against company policy. After much argument, the guy made up a receipt but refused to sign it. More arguments. He finally signed it. Wow. What a bunch of scamsters.

[@jimnaden5594]

This makes me happy that I have never ever paid one dime to a cable or dish company just to watch TV.

[@overanDownUnder]

7:43 I had the same thing happen with Comcast back in Utah in 2003. Luckily, I had kept the box return receipt in a junk drawer. That was a happy smug day. 😊

[@charleswieand4445]

If I had the reciept I would let them go to court then show reciept to judge

[@overanDownUnder]

@@charleswieand4445 unfortunately I was trying to purchase my first home, this had been recently placed on my credit. I had to take care of it-get it off of my record, or have proof it was an invalid debt in order to obtain my first time home buyer’s mortgage, grants etc. otherwise, you’d be damn sure I’d have made them spend so much money to collect (collection/lawyers/court) I’d have had the same smug look on my face producing the receipt in court vs what I had to do.

[@MishaSims]

Comcast can kiss my ass because they’re doing this to me right now. I’m not using my credit for anything so I’ll wait 7 years and remove it from my credit

[@yurisonovab3892]

An old friend of mine spent years fighting with Spectrum reporting him as delinquent on debts The thing is, he never had a contract with them in the first place. He just lived in a dorm where the owner had a contract

[@stevekole9796]

There's nothing like going to the corporate offices and issuing an ultimatum! Steve

[@jtandme-ot9cl]

Seems to me, the FTC might be interested in hearing this!

[@barrysmith9648]

The FTC is not interested in hearing something they have been actively ignoring for decades.

[@GEMS_NEXT]

They don't care.

[@HalkerVeil]

I would agree, but they caused the problem. They're not going to investigate something that will ultimately makes it's way around to "we made a mistake" by putting cable companies in this situation and allowing it to happen. We need an agency that investigates the agency that handles the agency.

[@davidlafleche1142]

Anything with "Federal" in the title is corrupt with bribes and kickbacks.

[@proudliberal24-sv1wo]

Wife and I bought a house in 2002 and the cable was turned on already. The local cable company put commercials on TV stating that anyone who had illegal cable would be prosecuted. I called the cable company and told them to turn it off, because it was active and I was not the subscriber. They told me that since I did not turn it on, they could not turn it off. We watched free cable TV for about 5 years and one day it was cut off.

[@alansmith4734]

I was expecting it to be from Comcast! =(

[@Alverant]

If Spectrum gets away with it, Comcast will try.

[@greatnortherntroll6841]

Comcast/Xfinity... My absolute Favorite company to HATE!

[@IMOO1896]

Wow, hope there’s some kind of resolution available to the customer, to bring Spectrum to justice. They are strong arming!

[@tomw8647]

@@stefanfrankel8157 the AG probably took campaign contributions from the 'private utility' companies....

[@grandmajane2593]

I think that is a common occurence with cable companies. I had Charter Communications several years ago try to tell me I didn't return a cable box. I learned from that to hold on to those receipts for dear life.

[@computernerdtechman]

I wonder if the Consumer Protection Agency can do anything about this. This does sound like a threat or shakedown.

[@minproceng1218]

35+ years ago I had cable TV service with a major cable company in Connecticut. I was laid off my job and took the opportunity to move back to Colorado. As part of my move preparation, I took my cable box to the local office and turned it in. I was told that I happened to do so on the last day of my billing cycle so there would be no additional charge or credit. After I was in Colorado, I started receiving statements from the cable company showing 2 cents credit (forwarded from my old address by the post office). These continued for at least 18 months (long after forwarding orders were supposed to expire). Then, without explanation, the 2 cent credit turned in to 3 cents debt! And those statements (bills) came for many more months. And every one of those statements cost the company at least 18 cents postage. Amazing how much money automated accounting systems can waste. Also interesting that the Post Office kept forwarding those statements for at least 3 or 4 years.

[@rogueFactor]

imagine how many years those statements would be getting forwarded for, now that DeJoy is chillin' in the fat chair.

[@missouribob7850]

Scores of years ago when all business was done via mail I used to purposely overpay some accounts by five cents. The company would send me statements for a year saying that they owed me a nickel. Then at some point send me a check. :)

[@patk4351]

If you paid the two cents to make it go away that may keep the statue of limitation open and they could turn around and hit you with a big bill for some made up thing.

[@spvillano]

@@patk4351 debt does not hinge upon a preexisting credit. Indeed, it's the polar opposite of a positive balance.

[@jdstep97]

So glad I never had cable in my own name. After leaving home for college, I never got it. Now, I have no need or desire for it. Why? I stream everything I want to see. No need for cable.

[@ericlondon2663]

Always keep receipts. Always keep records for up to ten years (if not forever, such as a deed, etc.)

[@fissiongrubbs]

Long time ago I used to subscribe to cable. Kept getting bills that were never ever the same price, and were always "due now", which came across as arrogant. One time a bill slipped under the frig, cable got cut off. Peeved, I went in and asked them when my bill was due. They replied with some time frame, and I said, "But the due date is being kept secret from me so how can I be expected to pay on time, and when I don't you charge me? That is unfair". All they did was print the due date on later bills. Got rid of that aggravation and put up an antenna. Saved up enough to buy a computer from doing that.

[@boogalookid9562]

and this episode is why I subscribed. a real life lawyer, letting everyone know he's had real life regular people problems too.

[@crazylarryjr]

I would call up the cable company and say, "Stop harassing me or be sued". A one time threat like this can be construed as a harassment (especially if you have no charges with them) and this could easily turn into a class action

[@drwisdom1]

Spectrum: Don't you see it is not a threat, we are doing you a favor by panhandling you.

[@MikinessAnalog]

"It's normally something you can measure with a stopwatch, not a calendar" I just died LMAO