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3 Messages
Can Cox open up new accounts under your name, expect you to pay the bill, then send it to a bill collectior even though you had no knowledge or gave your authorization to open up these (2) new accounts?
I have have Cox services for probably 10 yrs now & until I moved only one block away at the beginning of this year, 2018, I had never an issue with them, nor have they ever had an issue with me. I have always paid my bills & in fact I did not have to pay Cox any kind of deposit when I had my services hooked up in my name.
After I moved the second week of January, I finally contacted Cox towards the middle of February because I still had not received my first bill from them since moving. The services I had before moving was just basic television (like 25 channels, No premium channels) & their Preferred Internet (1 step higher than their basic internet). This was my services I had paid for over a year. When I moved, this was the only services I asked to be transferred to my new home address.
When I finally did contact Cox because I had not received a bill yet & the online bill paying was showing my balance as $0, I knew by the time they would get around to finally billing me, the bill would be extremely high. So at the middle of February after I contacted Cox, I find out that instead just transferring the same services I had for almost a year & a half, which was basic TV & Preferred internet... Cox decided to give me every single channel available including every Premium channel (every movie channel available), about 400 channels total.
When I contacted Cox at the middle of February, again I said just basic TV, No Premium channels & the Preferred internet. I also asked the total amount my bill was. I knew it would be more for the disconnection & hook up fees. But I went from paying first around $65 per month, then after a year my bill jumps up $97 per month. They said it was because I could no longer could get it at their sale price because I've had the service for over a year now. But the after I moved only one block away, wanting the exact same serve, my bill jumps to over $157 per month, a $60.00 increase. So by the time I did contact Cox at the middle of February, my bill was well over $320.00 + some. Repeatedly I asked if I paid this bill all at once I should receive regular month bills & this was for all the hook up fees, the disconnection fees & any old bills unpaid from both the new address & the old address. Repeatedly I was told yes & told that after paying this lump sum my monthly bill would be around $157.00 per month. That was a $60.00 increase for only moving one block.
So I went ahead & paid Cox the lump sum of $322.60 to be exact. My total bill from the old & the new address, for part January (January 15th was when it was suppose to be shut off at the old address & hooked back up at the new address) & up until only the 15th of February, so services rendered was only one month exactly. Towards the end of March, Cox was still sending me a bill for the old address for over $200.00. So I got in touch with Cox again to tell them that this bill had been paid. This is when I was informed that Cox had opened up 3 seperate account under my name. That the lump some of $322.60 had only paid only one of those accounts. Even though I only moved one block from my old address to the new address, because of that I now have 3 seperate accounts for the exact same service. When I asked who authorized these 2 extra accounts, Cox tried to tell me I authorized it. I had only authorize services be shut off January 15th & turn on at the new address the same day. So if I only paid on one account, why was my bill $322.60 for one month of service. Disconnection fee & turn on fee = $165.60 + one month of service $157.00 = total of $322.60. Really? To flip a switch off & then on again costs more then the actual bill... $165.60 There would be nobody who has a brain in their body would agree to this. That $165.60 was intended to pay disconnection fee, hook up fee & any remaining bill from the old address (which I know I paid completely off back in December, prior to moving in January)
I told Cox to shut down all services (2 accounts) that were not authorized by me. I also shut down my TV service & returned all equipment, in the original boxes that belonged to Cox (that I had personally installed at the new address). I still don't understand how just transfering my services only one block away resulted into at $60.00 increase monthly, 3 seperate accounts with 3 seperate account numbers & now Cox has placed bad credit on my name because they say I didn't pay them over $200.00 on an account, I did not authorize or had any knowledge of existing. So how can I get this off my credit history? When I paid that lump sum of $322.60 thar total amount I was told completed all, the transfer, disconnect fee, connect fee & all the bill s combined. But now Cox is saying I have to pay them twice? Why? I want this off my credit as quick as possible. I also can not afford to pay them twice for one bill. Why should I have to? This was their mistake. The sent this delinquent bill to a collection agency. A bill I was told that was paid in full. A bill that had been opened up with a new account without my knowledge, consent, authorization or signature. A bill the happen to just make up. A bill that was of services for an empty house. If I could get a better internet provider, I would love to shut down all my services I currently have with Cox. And before all of this I had service with Cox a few other times. I paid my mothers bills she had with Cox the last 2 yrs she was alive. I WAS a loyal Cox customer. How can it be legal for them to open up new accounts without you knowing & then send it to bill collectors when it isn't paid? Of course the bill wasn't paid, I had no knowledge it existed until I got a letter from the bill collectors informing about this. I want it off my credit history. I want them to at least admit their mistake & I want this to go away.
Is there anyway I can sue Cox because of this?
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Rob_H_
Contributor II
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93 Messages
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), all entries in your credit report have to be verifiable (i.e. written proof). If they cannot be verified, then they have to be removed. That's the law. In the real world, it may take several attempts to get the unverifiable entry removed. But, I've been told that persistence pays off in this regard.
As far as redress of the billing issues themselves, you might be able to file a complaint with the state agency regulating them in your state. Here in Virginia, it's the State Corporation Commission.
Good luck.
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MarkM1
Former Moderator
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231 Messages
We want to see what has happened to your account. Would you send us an email to cox.help@cox.com with your name & full address so we can investigate this for you? We want to see what happened to your account.
Mark M.
Cox Support Forums Moderator
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