"I've been stealing cable for 15 years!" "I'm sorry, let's credit you..."

[Wenchie]

Have to say this, but add that I didn't steal it... they accidentally gave it to me!

Signed up for digital cable and high speed internet a year ago... Got a promotion where I had a big discount on the cable and internet package.

Six months later, the promotion was up, and they raised the rates. No problem, I knew that was going to happen.

Two weeks ago, I went to transfer service and they told me that I was only paying for the cable? Ummm... WTF? Turns out that whoever originally set up the billing didn't have the right code for the package deal, so they put it in as the digital cable for the total amt of the promotional price and then $0 for the internet. After the 6 months, they raised the digital cable cost as programmed to the normal digital cable cost (not a package), but never did anything with the internet.

I never noticed, because I was billed the correct amt for the first 6 months and hadn't paid attention to the cost after the increase except thinking that it was cheaper than another company I had been with!

So... technically, I was paying the correct price for the first 6 months and got free internet after that. Woohoo!

But they wanted me to pay full price of the package after my move, and I just didn't have that in my budget... so I ended up canceling.

I wasn't a SC though, I don't think... I didn't know that I wasn't paying for the internet... and I'll probably sign back up with them later after I build my account back up a little... Moving is expensive!!

[blas]

When our cable rents went up in fall 2006, my roomate called the cable company and just laid into them. Just gave them hell. Acted like a spoiled rotten child. And all he got out of it was our rate was dropped to what it was before.

What is this magical company that lets you steal cable and awards you freebies for it?!

[Peppergirl]

I'm a Michigan Wolverine fan and you being in Ohio and possibly a Buckeye's fan would be a tremendous obstacle to overcome.

Uh, no. I hate the Buckeyes, and on several websites my nickname is YzerFan1229. Any self-respecting Michigander should be head-over-heels by now.

[Phone Jockey]

You're kidding me. Tell me that can't be true. The leads at my cable co. would NOT do that...not one of them.

[depechemodefan]

Turns out customer called in to the call center and screamed and cussed out about four people before recieving a supervisor. Apparently, the EW's favorite KIND of supervisor...the one with a spine of jello.

So fully aware the customer had a pending install, had been getting free cable illegally for 15 years and had been legitamately cut off from her illegal hook-up, the supe:

Gave her four months free service...

CREDITED her an additional two months service...

Moved her install up to priority same day...

And gave her free premium channels.


I frickin' hate spineless supes. If it had been up to me, as soon as she admitted to stealing cable, I would have cancelled her install pending her paying us the full amount of the past fifteen years. And if she refused...given the cops a recording of the phone call and had them go and have a little 'chat' with her.

My father was in the Navy during WWII, so he had a colorful vocabulary. I think I used ever single word from said vocabulary when I read this post.

It's like someone coming to the library and telling us that they have been stealing our DVDs from us and selling them on eBay, and they want us to put them on top of the list for a DVD, because they swear they put one on hold, and we took it off hold. And they want the DVD right now! KNowing my managers, they would have caved.

[Enjis]

Posts like this are why my husband hates for me to read this site. I get SO FRICKIN' MAD that I just can't stand it. He hates seeing my blood pressure rise over something like this.
"Why do you read it when it only makes you mad?"

Sigh. Sometimes I just can't answer that question....

Stupid supervisor.....

[Gawdzillers]

WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT??????

[flybye023]

We're kinda getting free service from the cable company but they know about and aren't doing anything about it.

Basically what happened is that when you get cable you pay a large fee for the main hook-up, in our case, the living room. Each room after that is a smaller fee and you pay for it in some kind of package deal. Well, the previous owners of the house had spliced the cable together so that each room (in our case, 5) had cable without having to pay for each room individually. The cable guy who came to our house to hook up the first time (10 years ago) said, "Well, we won't do anything about it right now because you aren't the ones who "fixed" it but if your cable ever fails and we have to repair it, it's going to be corrected."

Well, this past summer the cable failed, the cable company refused to come out and fix it so my dad told them "Okay, I'll just do it myself then." and they just said "Okay, whatever." And the status quo is maintained.

[lush]

We're kinda getting free service from the cable company but they know about and aren't doing anything about it.

Basically what happened is that when you get cable you pay a large fee for the main hook-up, in our case, the living room. Each room after that is a smaller fee and you pay for it in some kind of package deal. Well, the previous owners of the house had spliced the cable together so that each room (in our case, 5) had cable without having to pay for each room individually. The cable guy who came to our house to hook up the first time (10 years ago) said, "Well, we won't do anything about it right now because you aren't the ones who "fixed" it but if your cable ever fails and we have to repair it, it's going to be corrected."

Well, this past summer the cable failed, the cable company refused to come out and fix it so my dad told them "Okay, I'll just do it myself then." and they just said "Okay, whatever." And the status quo is maintained.

The way we work is, we install and are responsible for whatever many rooms you pay for us, meaning ok you pay 55.95 per month for basic cable, you pay 55.95 per month for basic cable. You can go ahead and splice that cable 50 ways past Sunday. BUT Say we install one room, you call in saying room #2 is out, we never installed it, it's not our responsibility to maintain it (or the wiring in your home for that matter but that's another story)if you want us to guarantee there's cable in room #2 it should have been a paid install.

I work for the cable company.. I had two rooms installed as an employee.. my living room for TV and my bedroom for Internet only, after that to have TV in other rooms is my problem.


Tho I do have to say our initial install fees are very little if anything, and about $5 per room after the first room.

[flybye023]

I see I may not have been very clear. It wasn't just one room that went out, it was all of it and the cable company wouldn't come out and fix it, even though it meant correcting what the previous owners had done and the cable company finally getting paid.

They just agreed to let my dad fix it and even talked him through some problem areas when he called for help. I don't know if they were swamped or what.

[Iris Kojiro]

That reminds me of a commercial on ESPN I saw some years ago.

It was a guy in a Michigan t-shirt and a girl in an Ohio State shirt, snuggling and smooching and saying sappy love things to each other.

Then the caption said "Without sports, this wouldn't be disgusting."

I remember that commercial! I couldn't stop laughing the first time I saw that.

[lush]

See I'm of the if every room is out, it's on our end..

If every room goes out and the previous owner put 20 million splitters in and we have to remove them and do a single connect to make sure the one room we installed worked..it's our problem............as long as our one (or twenty) paid installed rooms work


I also say that as I owned a pre 1900's farm house...I spliced cable and tossed it out one room's window to the next when the previous owner's 100million splices failed..but now I have my two connections for my newer house..and I do see both sides and I am quick to credit our errors and when I think techs charge erroneously.

[mattm04]

Why? WTF! One of my friends neighbors was caught stealing cable and they get arrested, this guy gives them free cable.

[Reyneth]

As for it going to a higher up, my coworker who handled it and subsequently noticed someone down the line had bent over and taken it dry, sent in a report. Whether or not something is done about it remains to be seen.

You should report it too, IMO. My company is big on ethics - so in my life and my work I wouldn't want to know about a screwed-up situation like this and not say anything about it. Not to mention it is a CYA. The call tapes can do that too, but better to be safe.

Not to mention if they get more than one report, I think TPTB will be more likely to take it seriously/investigate than otherwise. REPORT!

And please, I want an update after you report.

[CancelMyService]

Wow, as someone else in the cable biz I can say that supervisor is quite possibly the most spineless human in captivity. If I had that happen to me, that guy's boss would be getting an email with the customer's name and info and a suggestion to check the notes/history.

...but then that's why I'm an evil henchman.