The back story: We used to have a bulk rate cable package for our building. When the contract came up for renewal, there just weren’t enough people in the building using cable for us to get a good bulk rate anymore. Bottom line: as of last week we now pay for services that we don’t want/need, but we used to get for free.

Knowing that I didn’t want to pay extra for services we don’t want, I called up the cable company the other day. I supplied them with all the necessary info, told them I wanted to eliminate X and Y.

With me so far?

Ok- the cable guy says:

“Can you get your husband on the line because only his name is on the account.”

Meanwhile, I’m calling from the number that is listed on the account. MY NUMBER IS LISTED AS THE CONTACT NUMBER ON THE ACCOUNT.

I am able to give him all the information for the account because THE BILLS ALL GO TO MY EMAIL. I literally read him all the lines from the most recent bill- every single code and word etc.

Nope. Need to talk to the husband. Which I understand in theory, but I”M GIVING YOU ALL THE INFORMATION AND I’M CALLING FROM THE NUMBER ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACCOUNT. FOR TWENTY YEARS I AM THE PERSON WHO HAS BEEN DOING EVERYTHING WITH THE CABLE INCLUDING SETTING UP THE NEW BOXES WHEN NEEDED.

I mean really, is there some nefarious trickster out there calling the cable company and having Showtime and Starz removed from random people?

I’M TAKING STUFF OFF NOT ADDING ON.. THE BILL IS GOING TO GO DOWN…

I may or may not have been rude to the cable guy…

So I get off the phone frustrated.

I pulled up our bill online and I saw a “Chat Now” thing.

So I went on the “Chat Now” and I asked them to take off Showtime and Starz (FYI- didn’t know we had Starz) and I ask how much my new monthly bill will be.

And ever so quickly Showtime and Starz were taken off my account.

So here’s the thing: is it really security if I can bypass the system pretty easily?

51 thoughts on “Anything Can Happen Friday: Cable”

  3. I’ve experienced that both with our CenturyLink (internet) account and my dad’s DirectTV account. I’ve also found it’s easy to add services online but impossible to delete anything. They force you to call. I’ll keep Chat in mind the next time I need to do something.

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  5. I have felt the same frustration that you did many times over the years, especially when I first got divorced. Chat does help work around the situation, although that’s scary too. Someone stole my old email address and changed my Microsoft account completely locking me out via email. I spent 3 months fighting with Microsoft until I finally gave up and lost all of my documents. It was a nightmare. But they perpetrators did it all online. So much for cable security.

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  6. Welcome to the legalize of dotting your “I” and crossing the “T” or are you simply the vistim of T&C (terms & conditions). I hate the cable and cell companies. Years ago I had an issue with Verizon, got nowhere. I was so infuriated I wrote a letter, with pen and paper and sent it to their corp office in NYC. Got zero response, I hate them all. Best of Luck.

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  7. You are in cable hell, welcome to the club! Seems like the same thing happened to me long ago when still married and it makes no sense. There are specific companies that I get really snippy with if I am forced to call them, anticipating the worst before it even happens.

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  8. Sounds as if the company might have had some past issues with someone trying to steal access but if you have been listed for 20 plus years, that is a strange tale. Sounds like passive aggressive with removing the shows. I understand.

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  9. Every single time ours comes up for renewal, ie. they raise the rate, we have to physically drive to the cable company and show them our faces, because they will only talk to me and not my husband unless he is standing RIGHT NEXT TO ME! EVERY TIME! We hate our provider, but there is no other choice in our area.

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  10. Verizon wouldn’t let me replace my husband’s broken phone in person because his name was on the account. That was after I waited in line for 45 minutes. My husband called and talked to them to authorize me. They couldn’t because there wasn’t a “box” on their computer form to add a second person. I ended up quitting Verizon on the drive home. They allowed me to quit, but not to get a new phone! I feel your frustration.

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  12. I didn’t know you could get things taken off your cable bill. Our package is a set one with more things I don’t want than want. As for customer service, it’s an oxymoron.

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  13. Cable is included in our rent but recently we lost a ton of channels. I figure the company that owns this building (one of many) are cheaping out. I don’t watch a lot of t.v. but hubby does and he was greatly disappointed. Yet we have Netflix, prime and Disney so do we even need cable any more?

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  14. Many years ago when I was an Exec Assistant, I handled my boss’ personal finances. He owned the company, and I didn’t mind. I would call up and pretend to be his wife. I had both their SS#, DOB, etc. He was very trusting and I got sh#%t done for him. 😀

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  16. No, it’s not secure when there is a workaround, or bypass, as you write. Been through that many times – easier to do just as you did. And, the phone bank folks, reading off a script…question for another post, maybe? What is customer service? How should it look; what should it look like, feel like; where has it gone??? Have a great weekend, LA.

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  18. I just dealt with Cable. I only get Wifi, but every year the price goes up $25+, the Chat never works, gets disconnected, so I am forced to go in…. beg and plead to have my lower rate… but it is still higher, but not $25. We are at their mercy and unless we rise up and complain on this monopoly they have, things will continue “as is.” Regarding your situation… PUT your name on the bill, then you can handle things.

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  19. Having been single for many years until marrying Steve you can bet I get ticked off when I am told they need to speak to my husband for permission. Never occurred to me to use the chat now but I will next time this comes up! I feel your frustration!!!!

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  20. Most things are in my name because hubby had terrible credit when we got married. There are one or two credit cards where he is the primary and I always make the call and then give the phone to him when they ask to speak to the cardholder. He says, “Talk to my wife because she knows what’s going on and handles the money.” LOL

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  23. I’m guessing it was more of a “Quiet woman, the men need to talk” kind of situation than any kind of security issues. I’ve never dealt with anything that required my husband to deal with something because his name was on the account and I have talked to all kinds of people and services over the years. How utterly ridiculous!

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  24. What a bizarre story! I guess, “if at first you don’t succeed, try talking to someone else.” Our ISP cut us off from the Internet this week. When we called to fuss because it wasn’t working (and being rural that happens a lot), they said the debit card it was charged to was no longer valid and hadn’t been since MARCH. OK, then how did they manage to charge the monthly fee from March-July and provide the service ???? Sometimes you just have to shake your head, laugh, and move on!

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  25. This is hilariously portrayed! I can just see you LA, and I’d be seething right along with you. They don’t like it when the bill is going to be less, so he was just making it difficult, but you persevered. WooHoo!

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  26. LA, Ugh! Just know that Karma has it in for that guy! Glad you had the resolve to get the job done! Good for you! Now make sure all of your bills has your name as well as your husband’s name on them. Mona

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  29. Just so you know, women, for their own protection, should check ALL their accounts and make sure Their NAME is first ON EVERYTHING. I learned that the hard way. Whoever’s name is written first is the actual main account holder. Even in a joint checking account. I was actually locked out of taking my name off an account while I went through a divorce. (Not that you’d get a divorce). But, the point is, the rules are so strict and out dated when it comes to paper work. . Plus, I even had to fight over my son’s college funding. I set up his prepaid college account but my ex had his name on it first, so I was booted off the account after the divorce . Luckily I had made provisions in my divorce decree that all college accounts stayed in place. But if I hadn’t done that my son would have lost his college money. It’s simple bureaucratic nonsense which can hurt women. If a cable company is giving you baloney then imagine what accounts involving money can do. The system is archaic.
    Just a heads up. Women constantly deal with this. Husbands get priority. Men’s names go first… Mr. and Mrs. John Smith etc. so women should put their name on all accounts and put it first. It protects them. Just saying…
    Meanwhile enjoy your cable… my building got rid of our old company and got a new fiber optic company that is way less advanced and very old school . I hate it. But that’s what I have…😬 so I have to deal with it. At least I’m the only one on the account. Lol

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  30. This is life in the age of high tech, I guess. Personally, I may have a way out of this endless, ridiculous loop. It’s not one I would suggest and I’m not sure yet if it will be easier than the way you’ve described. Here it is…

    I’ve been living with my mom and taking care of all her needs for the last year+. Her needs are now being taken care of by hospice and board and care folks so from now on until she passes I just get to take advantage of all the services she has and has been autopaying for since that even became an option who knows how many years ago. I think some of those accounts and payment methods are so old and ingrained that they were established for the house by Dad before he passed, 16+ years ago.

    When I first took on this responsibility I tried to set them up for my benefit/use as Mom’s caregiver. I gave up, though, when they started asking me for passwords and userids which of course Mom had no idea what they might have been. This led me to the lugubrious realization that it will be easier to just wait until she dies since I understand the first people who will learn of this, maybe even before I do, will be her creditors!

    And re Shakespeare’s 7 stages of man, for some reason I’d had the notion that he cribbed that notion from another earlier source. If so, I’m sure I heard it in my Adult Ed Shakespeare class but I don’t remember the details of that discussion so maybe I’ll ask my friend who runs that class or see if I can find it in class notes. Just browsing through it again on your post I’d say that Will’s 7 stages then might be a little different than ours now but it’s still a universal concept.

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