Re: [Nolug] Cox's idea about fighting spam from LinuxLaw on 2003-06-11 (nolugarchives)

From: LinuxLaw <linuxlaw_at_bellsouth.net>
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2003 20:29:39 -0400
Message-ID: <3EE7C973.3010808@bellsouth.net>

Charles Jouglard wrote:

>Tim,
>
>Wow, a very bold statement to make without any data to back up your
>assumptions and presumptions.
>
>I resent your statement and I realize this is not the forum to debate these
>types of "feelings".
>
>Just because our technicians may not work on Linux boxes does not make us
>any less friendly. When was the last time you let your DSL provider touch
>your computer?
>
>BTW, where do you work? Perhaps I have a beef I'd like to air about your
>place of business.... Of course, I'd only do so if I had hard facts to
>backup my statements.
>
>Charles Jouglard
>Senior System Engineer
>Cox Communications LoUiSiAna, LLC
>(504) 390-4432
>
>___________________
>Nolug mailing list
>nolug@nolug.org
>
>
Charles,

1. Your response above sounds alot like a threat. My advice to you is:
do not threaten anyone or say anything that sounds like a threat -- in
cyberspace or real space. If you don't like people to speak their minds
about IT issues or you take these comments personally, then that's your
problem -- not our problem -- not the list's problem -- not NOLUG's
problem. You are clearing trying to censor certain voices. You are
clearly trying to suppress the free flow of thoughts and ideas. This
does not surprise me as you work for a monopoly that is accustomed to
getting its way. Do not try to censor what we have to say or what we
think. Do not make this personal, because you will lose that battle. Is
this thread about Linux? You bet. Why? because Cox is a big gateway to
the internet and Linux without the internet isn't really Linux is it?
Linux is about control -- it's about putting power back into the hands
of the user -- I get the feeling that Cox isn't too keen about putting
any power or control into the hands of the consumer -- Cox probably haa
alot in common with Microsoft, whom they just so happen to support!

2. Here are some consumer complaints -- would you care to respond? I'm
sure everyone on the list wold love to know how Cox handled the below
complaints/customers.

Cox Cable - Internet Service

*Stephen of Santa Barbara writes (2/6/02):*
Cox is my internet service provider. As you know, @home went out of
business, so Cox decided to set up its own ISP service. It seemed to
work all right at first, but in the last two weeks I have been able to
access the internet and e-mail only about 5% of the time. This is a
significant hardship to me since I do my personal banking and other
personal activities over the internet. I'm also missing a lot of
personal e-mail.

To add insult to injury, I have not been able to contact Cox by any
means. When I call Cox, I get put in a queue whose stated length is 20
to 60 minutes. I have waited on the line for more than one-half hour
without talking to anyone. I have gone to their website (from work) and
found that the part of the website that might accept a complaint does
not respond. It appears that Cox is stonewalling their customers. I am
planning not to pay the part of my bill relating to internet service.

*Richard of Fredericksburg VA writes (1/30/02):*
I got hooked up with cable modem Internet access about 3 weeks ago. And
it has been a nightmare ever since. I can't ftp to my web space that Cox
Cable is suppose to provide. I can't log into other ftp accounts as
well. And I get disconnected at least once a day for no apparent reason.
My email is currently not working because it looks like my password has
been changed or the servers are down.

I was on the phone with tech support, almost nightly for awhile. And
then I just gave up. Sometimes they blame it on my computer. Sometimes
they tell me to call the local office, which doesn't have a clue about
Internet access. Sometimes they tell me to call the place that I am
ftp'ing to (which I have done - and they tell me that there is no
reverse DNS being mapped to the IP address). One lady at Cox told me
that they were getting more IP addresses and that they may not have them
configured yet. Sometimes they try to accuse me of doing something
illegal, like "running an ftp".

Someone also asked me if I was using my Internet access for business, as
if I wasn't paying them enough or something. A help desk guy told me he
could help me with everything, but ftp - that it was my problem and I
had to fix it myself. While at the same time, he couldn't ftp to my web
site using my username and password either.

I happen to be a professional software engineer. And they think they can
b.s. me and try to blame me for all their networking problems. They
don't even read the log files. Because if they did, they would not try
to make me repeat the same thing over and over again. Tech support is in
Texas and I am on a different network in Virginia. They keep guessing
domains, email servers, usernames, and passwords. They must have given
me about 10 or 15 different ones to try.

I don't know why this is a guessing game. I have used the Internet for
over 10 years and have never had a problem with my ftp. If their network
is set up properly, all they need to do is give me the ftp address, web
address, incoming mail server, outgoing mail server, username, and
password. And in order to be considered an ISP, you should also provide
a news group server. There are many people in this area complaining
about Cox Internet Access.

*Jim of Chandler, AZ (11/25/01):*
Two years ago I ordered Cox Cable Internet Service to replace my 56K
dial up connection. This was at an address other than where I live now.
At first it was great, a lot more expensive, but great, 256K WOW, what a
wonderful thing. My friend who lived maybe two miles from me was always
complaining about his Cox Cable service and I didn't understand what he
was talking about. For months he complained to me and to Cox and told me
he "wasn't getting anywhere with Cox Communications regarding any kind
of permanent resolution to his "daily-stress" due to Cox's incompetence."

Well as soon as I moved my family to a new house in May 2001, I began to
understand exactly what he was stressing about. Since July 2000 alone, I
have had Cox service out here seven times for one problem or another.
Each field technician of-course blames problems on the previous
technician who was here, even though they have no idea who the previous
technician was or what they did.

In the last two months my provisioning in the Cox database has been
anonymously deleted and has had to be repaired. Also in the last two
months I can't seem to keep a good connection longer than 15 minutes or
so. I can't surf the web, do work from home, or play my on-line games. I
call in tickets time and again and the problem still isn't resolved. I
can physically see the light on my cable modem going off and on; it
should be solid green all the time. It has grown very frustrating.

My family tells me why are we paying so much for service such as this?
Well I don't know.. And the short of it is I am not going to pay for it
anymore. I am canceling Cox Cable service both TV and Internet and going
with another solutions provider, I only hope that their service both in
my house and customer service on the phone is better than what many
people seem to be experiencing all over, not just with Cox.

I am so frustrated that I pay so much for service and I get nothing in
return, not even an honest effort or a caring voice on the other end of
the line. Before signing up with Cox Cable, inquire as to how many users
are in your area and ask around to see how people like it. I just don't
want anyone else to experience what I and other friends have experienced
with Cox cable, save your money or go with someone else. Guess what I
just lost connection while trying to submit this. Imagine that.

*Jon of Oakton VA (3/18/01):*
About six months ago, my family ordered Cox Cable internet access to
replace the dial-up that we were paying for. It cost more, but we
thought that the extra speed was well worth it. The last thing anyone
wants to do is sit around and wait for stuff to download. That's exactly
why I'm so disappointed with Cox Cable. For the last month or so, the
connection has been slow - at times, worse than that of a 56K modem. It
just now took me almost two minutes to connect to consumeraffairs.com,
and it's almost 10:00 on a Sunday night.

I'm thoroughly fed up with Cox Cable - I'm constantly restarting my
computer, hoping that the slow access is being caused by other programs
that are open or by a lack of memory. Nope. Paying more for less. As if
all this weren't bad enough, Cox Cable also does a POOR job of providing
us with TV. Comedy Central and a few less consequential stations hardly
come in at all ever since Cox took over from Media General two years ago.

3. Here are some more complaints -- please tell us what Cox is doing to
help these people?

Cox Cable - Billing

*Nathan of Tulsa, OK writes (2/5/02):*
I ordered service with Cox cable for the first time ever. I ordered the
internet service they so heavily promote which I have been happy with. I
did not receive a bill and finally called about mid-January. Betty said
the billing address was to the wrong place.

Then I asked how much it was to. For two months of service I was
thinking $100. Then she said something like $400. She told me I had a
cable box and a remote that I was renting out. I explained I live in a
condo and cable is paid for and I never agreed, had or signed for this
other stuff. I had just ordered the internet service. She said it would
go to a special group at Cox and they would give me a call in the next
week.

I never get a call so I call back in and speak to Venessa. I had to
explain the whole thing again and she said she would have a supervisor
call me later in the day. I dont hear anything and get home from work to
find a notice saying I owed a lot of money and to pay it. Well at least
they had the address right now. I call back in and get Rob who I have to
tell everything too again and I wanted to speak to a manager
immediately. He tells me he is sending me to thier leads VM and sends me
to Vanessa's voicemail.

I call back in and get vanessa and tell her I want to disconnect my
service. She asks why. I'm boiling at this point and she finally talks
me into giving her manager a chance to talk to me and to hold on the
line. Or i could let the manager call me. I choose to stay on the line.
She hangs up on me. Then Rob calls me and asks why I want my service
disconnected. I'm to the last straw here so I wanted to find a group to
vent to in hopes it can help this work.

*Kathy of Phoenix (12/19/01):*
Problems with Cox Communications. I have never not paid my bill. Mailed
last bill in time to get to them. Was due on 12/12/01. They apparently
received on 12/14/01. On 12/13/01 I was sent a delinquency notice,
stating I must pay this bill and my next bill or the service would be
shut off. I received the bill on 12/18/01. Their due date for the bills
is listed as 12/23/01.

I called to state I had paid and had presumably mailed it in time to get
there. They said it not only had to reach Cox by the due date but it had
to be processed and posted, so the next time I should mail the bill
earlier. I was attached a late fee of 10% of the bill because they
posted the bill two days after the due date during the Christmas season
and with the postal service slow.

I tried to reach billing information on the internet but it wouldn't go
through (apparently a number of other people were also exploring this
avenue of checking their bills on-line). I tried to enter a password to
gain access to my billing information which also wouldn't go through. In
order to fill out the internet form to gain access to my billing
information, part of the form that had to be filled out included my
E-mail address, so they could sent Cox offers and propaganda to me. This
has nothing to do with obtaining access to my billing information. This
also would apparently not go through. I backed out of this application
and went back to work on my computer. In about 20 minutes I received
E-mail confirmation that my password had gone through and I could now
obtain access to my billing information.

In the meantime, I had called the company and been informed that I could
have one "late fee" waived per year and that, according to my past
payment records, there had never been a problem with me paying. I was
also informed that the payment not only had to be received by the due
date, it had to be posted. I work from home transcribing reports for a
hospital and was not able to work for the rest of the night. I was thus
not paid and the hospital's work was done done. I am fed up with these
phone and cable monopolies and the tricks and stunts they are playing.

*Michael of Wethersfield CT (9/19/01):*
Mysteriously on 6/26/01, Cox Communications added $510.45 to my monthly
cable bill. They said it was for the NBA League Package Pay-Per-View
option and adding extended basic to my service. I currently have and
have had the basic cable (no extended cable or cable box) which costs
$10.12/month. So even if I wanted to order a Pay-Per-View, I would not
have the necesary hardware to do so.

Coincidentally, the NBA season, including the playoffs, ended about a
week before this charge was applied to my account. As far as the
extended basic charge, which consisted of $24.06 of the $510, I never
asked for or received this service. Three phone calls to Cox
Communications' customer service have not resolved this fraudulent
charge. Every phone call returns the same response of "We're checking on
it." Cox has recently started sending threatening letters. I have not
paid the addtional monies and have no intention to do so.

*Mary of Topeka KS (7/5/01):*
Cox Cable cut my cable off even though I had paid the bill. I followed
the instructions of their employee, Derrick and deposited the money in
the Cox Cable Box located at the Dillons store. I was assured this was
safe to do because the PSI (security trucks) pick up the locked box
every morning and delivewr it to Cox. I have the receipt where I
withdrew the exact amount of the bill from the credit union. Cox said
too bad so sad and cvut my cable off anyway.

Upon investigating the matter, I learned that there had previously been
a problem with Cox payments being lost at this particular Dillons store
location. I learned this from a Dillons employee. And Cox says it is too
bad I will just have to "make up the difference." We went in person to
Cox and Carla said she'd turn our cable back on if we paid $82.00 right
there on the spot. However, she stated the $77.44 would remain on our
bill as unpaid.

She refused to give us information about what happened to the other
people who had their payments stolen. Meanwhile we are cable less. I did
tell her I thought I should file a police report.

We are going to have to pay the bill twice apparently. I suffer from
fibromyalgia and stress is bad for me and this has caused a great deal
of undue streess for me. Plus, we had to drive all the way out to the
other side of town and be embarassed and humilated by Carla as she
refused to accept any of our statements or receipts.

/We vote for filing a police report and, probably more importantly,
complaining loudly to the city or county authority that licenses Cox in
Topeka. If Mary wanted to make an issue of it, she could also sue Cox in
Small Claims Court
<http://www.consumeraffairs.com/consumerism/small_claim_01.htm>. /

*Bradley of Oklahoma City (5/18/01) had a similar problem:*
One Sunday night approximately 6 months ago, I realized my cable
television bill was past due. Instead of mailing it, I drove to the
local Cox Communications office to place my payment in the night
depository. When I arrived at their office, I opened my checkbook to
write a check and realized I was out of checks.

Since the Cox office was about 25 minutes from my home, I went to a
nearby convenience store and used my ATM card to withdraw the cash to
pay the bill. I did not buy a money order because I assumed (mistake #1)
that the night depository was secure. I returned to their office, placed
the cash, along with my statement, into an envelope, sealed it and
returned home.

Approximately one week later, I received a phone call from Cox, advising
me my bill was past due. I explained to the rep what I had done. She
said she would note my account and everything would be fine. A week or
so later, I came home and my cable service had been disconnected. When I
called Cox's "customer service" number, the rep told me I had been
disconnected for failure to pay my bill.

I explained the saga to her. She told me that I couldn't possibly be
telling the truth because they have not had problems with missing
payments in the night depository before. When I realized I was getting
nowhere with the rep, I asked for a supervisor and was connected with
Linda. After speaking with Linda, I realized where the rep learned her
condescending attitude...from her supervisor, Linda. Linda was
absolutely no help and used the age-old customer care line, "There's
nothing I can do for you, sir."

The call ended with no resolution. I waited a few minutes, cooled down,
and called Cox back. I advised the rep what was going on and asked if I
could give her my credit card to have my service restored and I would
iron out the other issues later. She agreed. Before I gave my credit
card to her, I asked if my service could be restored the next day. She
said, "No problem." I gave her my credit card and she said, "The past
due amount and reconnection fee has been charged to your credit card.
Oh, one more thing, it will actually be next week before we can get your
service back on."

I went through the roof, explaining that she had just promised next day
reconnection. Again, I received the Cox Communication mission statement,
"There's nothing more I can do, sir." I asked for a supervisor and was
again transferred to the Mother Theresa of customer service, Linda.
Linda must have just returned from a smoke break because this time, she
overrode the orders and had my cable turned back on the following day.

I worked with Cox's billing department for over a month and was accused
of being dishonest and naive (for placing cash in the depository) to no
avail. It was becoming apparent to me that Cox had no intention of
reimbursing me for the double payment and reconnection fee I was forced
to pay. Finally, I wrote a letter to the General Manager of the local
office, threatening a lawsuit. I soon received a phone call from a young
lady who agreed, with a fair amount of animocity, to the refund.

*Audra of Phoenix writes (6/20/01):*
I had a cable box that I had at 2902 E. Fairmount Ave. and when I
transferred my service to 3815 N 16th St. I took the cable box with me.
But the Cox Cable tech did not put down that I had brought the box with
me. There was already a deposit on the cable box and they charged me
again saying that they gave us another box which was the second box
which I never received.

It took me two or three months to get the matter resolved because they
thought he gave me another box. Now I turned in the cable box last month
which I aready had $150.00 deposit on it already and the bill came in
last month before I turned in the cable box in the amount of $128.96
which was two month billing that we only owed on and when I turned over
the cable box to the tech the $150.00 dollar deposit should've taken
care of the $128.96 bill which they're saying that I still owe that amount.

/In checking the City of Phoenix Web site, we somehow weren't surprised
to find that there is a department that handles "business assistance"
but nothing listed under "consumer protection." She might try
complaining to the Arizona Attorney General
<http://www.consumeraffairs.com/links/az.htm>. /

*Joe of Burke VA writes:*
Simply the problem is with billing credits & customer services. In a
nutshell: Our Cox cable was turned off either the first or the second
week of Oct 2000. A week later apparently they switched our cable
service back ON (we were unaware of this as we started to investigate
satellite dish options).

Dec 25 we (the entire house) decided to go with cable once again as it
was more convenient and we had to sign no long-term contracts. So we
initiated the "turn back on process" with the cable company. In the
interim the cable had been accruing charges against it. I settled my
past due bill amount of $150.00 (Cox received the payment Jan 5th). We
proceeded to discuss the $150 - $200 credit for services never received,
or I guess you could say we didn't know we were receiving the cable ...
and the cable was turned on with the promise that the charges
accumulated during Oct 15th (est.) until Jan 8. (again the period which
the cable company and myself agreed I was not liable for) would be
credited.

Well it is the 12th of March and my cable had been turned off yet again
about the 6th or 7th time (it was also promised that the cable would
remain on until the credit was executed) and I have just about had it.
NO ONE returns calls ... THE WORST customer service I have ever
experienced. Other than that, they have told me I owe $200+ and thats
that ... no more deals no more cable ... no more callbacks (not that I
received any to begin with) no nothing.

*Retta of Fairfax VA (12/21/00):*
Someone opened a fraudulent account using my SSN. The account went into
collections and appeared on my credit report. I paid the account off in
the amount of $114.78 in error thinking it was in my name. Upon receipt
of payment I found the account was opened by a Cynthia B. from Newport
News, VA.

The collection agency, Commonwealth Information Systems, Inc. and Cox
Cable removed the negative information from my credit report and ARE
supposed to refund me the $114.78. This was supposed to occur on
11/15/00. However, I still have not received the refund check. I have
sent a letter to Cox and left several messages for Ms. Fenton to call me
in regards to this issue and I have not had a response. Therefore, I am
reporting the company to the BBB and plan on taking legal action if they
do not respond. I will be suing the company for negligence as they
should have checked the SSN before they provided service. I have also
reported this company to the Better Business Bureau.

The time I have spent trying prove to the collection agency and Cox that
this was fraudulent account. After not receiving my refund Cox and being
totally ignored, is very stressful. I paid money in error for someone
else's wrong-doing. I also had to file a financial crimes police report,
as well as file a fraud alert status with all three credit reporting
agencies. This never would have happened if Cox would have checked the
information that was provided on their application. They would have seen
that the SSN name and address did not match the name and address on the
appliacation. I have plenty of paperwork to prove they were negligent
and am ready to sue if necessary.

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Received on 06/11/03