The Compassionate Cable Co. (NOT)

[Kenoman]

You can view this article that appeared in the Kenosha News at KenoshaNews.com but I don't know how long it will be there so I printed it out below.

Kenosha News  January 31, 2008
WHEATLAND - First came the tornado that demolished her home. Next came the rain and the snow, making cleanup difficult.

Then, last week, Ann Beam opened her mail. In it was a $2,000 cable bill.

"I just couldn't believe it," Beam said. "I was like, 'What are they thinking?' "

Beam is one of several Wheatland residents who received a bill from Time Warner Cable seeking reimbursement for equipment destroyed in the Jan. 7 tornado. In her case the bill was for five cable boxes and five remote controls.

She immediately called the cable company. She said she spoke to two different people, one who said he was a manager, and was told there was nothing the company could do.

"They said I would have to take the bill and turn it in to my insurance company," Beam said.

She was instructed to get reimbursed for the equipment and then pay the bill. Beam said she explained the equipment was nine years old and the insurance company would only give her a depreciated amount in return.

She turned to volunteer coordinator Kandi Horton and the media for help.

In the meantime, other such bills were being contested. Many residents just had one converter, which added between $300 and $400 to their regular monthly cable bill.

"We understand this is an unusual situation," Celeste Flynn, director of public affairs for Time Warner Cable, said Wednesday. "All they will need to do is call and we will take the equipment off their account."

Flynn said many of the customers whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the tornado called to cancel or transfer their service, but did not indicate that their requests were tornado related. As a result, they were charged for equipment that was not returned.

Time Warner will report the equipment as losses itself, rather than require the residents to do this, Flynn said.

To protect the company against fraud, the phone number is not being made public. Residents who need to have their bills adjusted can get the correct number by calling the Wheatland Town Hall at (262) 537-4340.