Cable scam? What do you think?

[preciousjeni]

PiKA2001, I am NOT surprised!! LOL!

Ok - I have an UPDATE!!

God is GOOD!

My dad went over to the local cable office today and spoke to a clerk. She was less than helpful and didn't grasp that, no, we didn't want a reduction in the fees and, no, we didn't want to close the account. We wanted to detach my name from the account altogether!!

He was getting nowhere with the woman, so he said, "God, I need some help...I don't know what to do."

At this point, a woman comes around the corner of the office and says to my dad, "H*****?" (his first name) Oh yes, people, she was a woman from my home church!!! My dad and I had NO idea that she worked there.

It gets better. The woman from church, M*****, (first name again) is the supervisor of the woman helping my dad! So the woman says to M*****, "You know this man?" To which M***** says "Yes, he's the assistant treasurer at my church!" So, the woman's like awwwdaaaang!

Sidebar: I know the woman was just doing her job, but she was pretty nasty to my father.

And, she said nothing. So, M***** asked my dad what was wrong and he told her everything.

M***** then told the woman, "If H***** says this is not his daughter's account, then it's not." The woman then told my dad she'd have to verify all this and she would send it to archives (where they keep accounts that are older than 6 months) but that it would take a few weeks to go through. But, M***** said, "No, do it now."

So, M*****, herself, gets on the phone and does her thing. She tells my dad not to worry and she would have someone get in touch with him. He leaves the office. About an HOUR later, he gets a call from that woman who was helping him originally. She states that it is obvious that I had nothing to do with the account (they had NO record of me being associated with it - the key piece of evidence was a required original SIGNED service agreement that simply did not exist.) She wouldn't give out more info but apparently there was something fishy going on.

The account is now cleared and the collections ageny has been contacted. It'll just be a bit before everything is clear and I'll find out from the credit bureaus if there's anything else I need to do!!

PRAISE GOD who has even the smallest details of our lives well in hand!!

[Beryana]

I would also recommend getting a letter from the cable company stating the fact this account was erroneously attributed to your name/ssn and all that to keep in YOUR files in case it should come up again. I'm sure this is what the credit bureaus will tell you as well.

Sarah

[_Opi_]

Originally posted by PiKA2001
Here's my cable story,

I have comcast cable and decided to get the high speed internet that they offer. I talked to the lady over the phone and she asked me if I needed to have someone install it for me. I told her no because I know how to do it, and I dont want to pay them $40 to do something I can do in five minutes. The day before my cable modem came in the mail I got a call from an installer from comcast saying that he had to come over to my place to install my internet for me, I told him that I was quite able to do it myself, which I did. A few weeks later I got my cable bill and low and behold was a $40 installation fee.

ohhh comcast is evil.. I have one too many stories about them

Preciousjeni, it's a good thing that it was resolved because some companies can be a&&holes about it. With comcast, they sent my account to the collections agency (for unreturned cable box, which was actually picked up by a technician), even though I closed the account and it was all paid for. Had to make alot of phone calls to get it cleared so it wouldnt go anywhere near my credit!

[georgewallace3]

my personal assistant takes care of all finances.....you should look into them. I have never seen a bill

[AGDee]

My Comcast story...

I cancelled them and switched to WOW. A month later I received another bill from Comcast. I called and they said to ignore it because it just hadn't finished processing yet but they had my account listed as cancelled on the correct date. The next month, I get another bill, for double the amount plus late fees. I call again and the lady said "You'll keep getting bills until the tech turns it off from the pole". I ask "Why didn't he do that when he came here to turn it off?" She says "We only do turn offs at the pole once a month". I point out that it has been two months. She assures me that I don't have to worry. They did get it straight the next month and everything was ok, but I did not trust them during that time!

[Denise_DPhiE]

Originally posted by preciousjeni

So, tell me, what do y'all think?

I think you did everything right and continue to document everything!

Lesson learned for all you young people - obtain a copy of your credit report every year and dispute with all three credit bureaus anything that looks suspicious.

I've had a $20 lab bill appear from 10 years back as delinquent and also found someone using my social security # briefly in error. Got those disputed and cleanee up as soon as they were discovered.

Someday when you want to buy a house and that credit score is how the whole world will view you. An 800+ credict score means you will get the best rates and terms. One little flub on there can drop your score 50 or 100 points and then you are paying .5 to 1.0% higher for mortgage rates. My brother in law is paying 9% on a mortgage he got the same year I got a 6.5% mortgage (both 30 year fixed, both within 30 days of each other). He just sucks at paying bills on time (including parking tickets people!!!)

Good luck!

Denise

[valkyrie]

Originally posted by preciousjeni
I get so weary of people who just post to say something obnoxious, cruel or otherwise unnecessary. What's the point?

valkyrie, what joy did you get out of the posts you made in this thread? Did I provoke you, personally, in some way? If so, perhaps the adult thing to do would be to contact me over PM instead of putting your disdain in writing for all to see.

Normally, I would do this over PM myself, but it's gotten to the point with some people that I'd like for you to explain it in public, so we can all understand.

And to the counterpoint that this is just an internet forum and shouldn't be taken seriously, such a statement shows a lack of respect for the human being on the other side of the screen. I will respect everyone, online or otherwise, because I value people.

Wait, what? What disdain? What lack of respect? Why are you reading that into what I said? I asked a question that seemed valid based on your post -- I don't understand why you'd have your mail sent to your father and I find it odd that you're having your dad contact the company. In my opinion, that indicates a lack of responsibility.

If you only wanted people to post in this thread to sympathize, you should've said that.

[valkyrie]

Originally posted by AlphaFrog
She's looking for help with a problem she has, not snide comments about things that are no one else's business.

If it's nobody else's business, why in the world would she post it on a public message board?

[preciousjeni]

Originally posted by valkyrie
Wait, what? What disdain? What lack of respect? Why are you reading that into what I said? I asked a question that seemed valid based on your post -- I don't understand why you'd have your mail sent to your father and I find it odd that you're having your dad contact the company. In my opinion, that indicates a lack of responsibility.

If you only wanted people to post in this thread to sympathize, you should've said that.

If you'd like to pay for my round-trip expenses back to Georgia, please feel free.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

It's weird. I also had a problem with a cable company. I canceled the service, but they continued to bill me. Finally, I spoke to someone sympathetic who knew what he was doing. Within a few minutes, my problem was gone after months of arguing.

When you have a problem like this, just ask to speak to the manager or the supervisor. Most people who answer the phone cannot help you. If I don't get satisfaction within a few minutes of speaking to someone, I tell them that I want the manager who has the authority to deal with billing problems or whatever problem I have.

I agree with Denise's advice.

I don't see anything wrong with what valkyrie wrote. Getting your mail forwarded doesn't take much effort. You just fill out a form at the post office.

[preciousjeni]

Ok...ok...

Since this may be of some use - the Georgia address is my billing address which is different from my mailing address which is in New York.

I have all my statements sent to the address. When I close any account, I give them the billing address just in case there's a problem in the future. It's much easier and more secure to have a single address to which all my financial information is sent. And, it's easier and more secure to have a family member check the address while I'm away at school.

Why?

1) There is a time limit on forwarding mail.

2) In my experience, forwarding takes way too long. I gave up on it. I don't even want to know how long an interstate forward would take. If the mail goes straight to that address, my dad glances over it to make sure everything's in order. I have nothing to hide and he is family, so it's all good.

3) I am in New York, so if anything (like this cable situation) occurs, in Georgia, there's pretty much nothing I can do about it. But, if my father, IN Georgia, has the paperwork, he can go into any necessary office, on my behalf, and get the issue dealt with.

4) In New York, I have switched over to paperless billing for my utilities. However, they still have the standard billing address in Georgia just in case. So, essentially nothing from NY gets sent to the Georgia address. Plus, everything affiliated with my school gets sent to my graduate box on campus (which is not open to outside postal services).

5) I don't get daily mail to the billing address. It's USUALLY just bank statements, credit card statements, etc. - all of which I can check online for discrepancies.

6) I have no desire to lug around all my financial paperwork up here (I live in a DORM ROOM, for heaven's sake!). My father gets the mail and then puts it in my files, which my parents are kindly holding in Georgia until I graduate. So, I am able to keep all the Georgia papers and the NY papers separate. (It is important to note, here, that there is no chance of me staying in NY. I will be moving to either Georgia or North Carolina, with my soon-to-be husband, after I graduate. At this time, I will get a P.O. box in the city in which I settle.)

Last, valkyrie's question was valid - why would I have my father get my mail? I understand why that would be of interest to someone, seeing as I am independent. However, it was the tone with which it was said (e.g. using "daddy" instead of "father" - if you don't know what that implies, I don't know what to tell ya!)



ETA: You know, people in the U.S. are brainwashed to think that success is complete independence from family. That's ridiculous! In my book, success is maintaining the bonds of family, supporting each other and carrying on in the love of Jesus Christ. My parents don't pay for me anymore, but I know that I always have a place in their home if tragedy should strike. Likewise, they know that I will give them shelter if something should happen to them. They are also secure in the knowledge that, as they age, I will be here 100% looking out for them.

This is a matter of where one's priorities lie. My priorities are God, family and THEN me. But, the same is true for my family - so we're all taken care of.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

Jeni, if that's what works for you, then you keep it up. You don't have to explain yourself to me or anyone else.

I'm glad you resolved your billing problem to your satisfaction.

[Ch2tf]

Originally posted by preciousjeni
Ok...ok...

Soror, as always, you're handling your biz.

Haterz no like, but it's cool though

[RedRoseSAI]

Originally posted by preciousjeni
Since this may be of some use - the Georgia address is my billing address which is different from my mailing address which is in New York.

I have all my statements sent to the address. When I close any account, I give them the billing address just in case there's a problem in the future. It's much easier and more secure to have a single address to which all my financial information is sent. And, it's easier and more secure to have a family member check the address while I'm away at school.

That does sound like a nice convenience. My company is often scrambling after people who have moved multiple times and not given us the same address that the bank has on file for them.

[preciousjeni]

Originally posted by RedRoseSAI
That does sound like a nice convenience. My company is often scrambling after people who have moved multiple times and not given us the same address that the bank has on file for them.

And, I would recommend it to anyone. I've had things "disappear" in the mail. When I have proof that my billing address has been the same for...oh...12 years, it works nicely in my favor.

AND, it is great for temporary forwarding to have a standard address. All in all, it has worked very well for me!!

Unfortunately, my financial life is not simple. I don't have a single income...it's very complicated! Everything I do for myself is in an attempt to funnel everything into the shortest/smallest form...so, I'm not keen on opening new credit accounts, changing my phone number, forwarding mail, etc. The simpler the better!