Cable TV Contractor Problem

Signing up for cable TV is usually a relatively simple process. You tell the company what services you want and then a technician arrives a few days later and installs them. But as <br/><br/>News on

Wednesday, November 15th 2006, 10:39 am

By: News On 6

Signing up for cable TV is usually a relatively simple process. You tell the company what services you want and then a technician arrives a few days later and installs them. But as

News on 6 reporter Chris Wright tells us, one Tulsa customer got a little more than he bargained for.

"It's like he's stalking us, he won't leave us alone." Thomas Hess and his family have not had cable for several years, so when a Cox salesman showed up at their door the other week, he decided to splurge, signing up for cable, high-speed Internet and digital phone service.

A technician installed everything a couple days later. And that's when things got a little strange. The salesman showed up again and again. "Once we have cable hooked up, you figure that's the last time you see the salesman, he don't have no business coming to your house."

Hess says the salesman returned to his house five times. Cox says the man worked for Tri-Media, a company that provided salesmen for the cable company. Tri-Media's contract with Cox was terminated on Friday, but that did not stop the salesman from returning to the Hess's.

Hess says he showed up drunk on Saturday and began wandering around the house. "I don't know what he was going to do. I turned him around and sent him out, and told him he couldn't go back there." Hess says the salesman then called him on Tuesday, demanding a $120 deposit for the installation. Hess checked with Cox, who informed him that he did not owe any money. He says the whole experience has left him wondering if the 8 channels of HBO was worth it. "When you're told there's no deposit, and someone calls you a few days later and says there's a deposit, something's not right, it's a little fishy."

Cox says it usually sub-contracts companies like Tri-Media on a seasonal basis, and it holds all of its salesman to the highest standards. Cox recommends that anyone having trouble with a salesman or technician to call them immediately.