Cox Agrees To Remove Undisclosed Charge, Then Changes Their Mind Without Say...

February 28, 2009

Cox Agrees To Remove Undisclosed Charge, Then Changes Their Mind Without Say...

Sent to you by John via Google Reader:

Cox Agrees To Remove Undisclosed Charge, Then Changes Their Mind Without Saying Anything [Flip Flops]

via Consumerist by Carey on 2/28/09

Cox told reader Don that they would waive a $55 service fee they hadn't previously disclosed, but then changed their mind without telling him. Now Cox is telling Don that if he pays the $55, they'll return it to him as a credit next month. Yeah, sure they will. Should Don trust them?

Don writes:

For 2 weeks we've been out of town due to a death in the family (Cox was real sympathetic) and this morning I got a phone call because my cable/broadband bill hasn't been paid. I called to pay it and it was way higher than it should have been.

That's because (2 months ago) Cox charged me $55 to come put a connector on the cable in the living room of my new apartment. When I called them to tell them there was no connector on the end of the cable, they scheduled an appointment for the following day. They didn't mention the $55 charge. (If they had, I'd have spent the money instead on a nice crimping tool and a bunch of connectors - and taken my wife to dinner with the remainder.)

When I called them a month ago to ask why my bill was so high and they told me about this $55 charge, I complained, but not for long - they were quick to remove the charge right away. At the time I thought that they must do this all the time, and when people complain, they quickly reverse the fee. I wonder how much money they make doing that?

When I asked this morning why my bill was so high again, and they again brought up the $55 charge, I again complained and they again offered to remove the charge. I mentioned my feeling of deja vu and was told that last month, a supervisor had disallowed the credit after my call, (not that anyone bothered to inform me,) claiming that I had known about the $55 charge.

Hey, Cox - you know that call you recorded for quality control? Why don't you take a listen?

It gets better. Turns out they won't actually remove that $55 charge - they want me to pay it, then they'll credit me next month. (Yeah, sure they will.) No way, I said, not gonna happen. Next I was given the option of simply subtracting the $55 from the total bill - but I'd have to use the automated system or pay a $4 fee.

Well, guess what? The automated system won't take a payment for less than the 'minimum amount due'. Tomorrow a Cox supervisor is going to get an earful. Hope you'll alert people to Cox's sleazy little service call scam.

(Photo: coconut wireless)