Cox Communications, Inc.

Read the communication below between myself and a rep from [redacted]'s complaint department regarding price-gouging practices of a long-time customer. If you've experienced anything similar to what I've been through, I urge you to email [redacted] ([redacted].com), SVP and General Manager of [redacted] for AZ.

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(MYSELF): There seems to be some level of miscommunication. I am not asking for more "campaign discounts" to my current plan. I am simply requesting to receive the same pricing that a brand new [redacted] customer would be given today if they were signing up for the same services that I have on my account.

Again, my existing account (Advanced TV Preferred plus [redacted] / Internet Preferred / Telephone Essential) costs approx $220/month before taxes, fees and surcharges.

If I was a new [redacted] customer today, I could signup for your Silver Bundle package (Advanced TV Preferred including [redacted] / Internet Premier / Telephone Essential) and add [redacted] for approx $137/month before taxes, fees and surcharges.

In other words, I am being hoodwinked to the tune of $80+ per month.

As long-standing [redacted] customers, my wife and I have been using your service at our last two residences for 5+ years. And the current treatment that we are receiving from your company is wholly unacceptable.

Are you essentially telling me to just take my business elsewhere? I also wonder what the [redacted] and [redacted] would think of [redacted]'s price-gouging practices of existing customers?

([redacted] RESPONSE): Thank you for your patience, I apologize for my delayed response to your most recent message. The points that you made were obviously sincere and they deserve a response from a company that has appreciated your business each month.

As you indicated in your message, [redacted] does make special offers to new customers to reduce the rate of service for their initial first months of service with us. This business practice is customary and allows new customers to experience the great products and services that [redacted] offers at a lower introductory rate. It can also assist those that had to cancel prior services when restricted on a contract with an early termination fee.

While we don’t currently have a more attractive promotion to add to your account right now, we may be able to offer different packages to you in the near future. Our Marketing Department alerts our Sales and Customer Service Department of new promotions that we are able to offer our valued customers. Our Customer Care Team can provide details of the available options for service, and can always be reached at ###-###-####. We also offer email and Live Chat via our website at www.[redacted].

I hope that this information has helped explain the reason for our marketing and advertising campaigns for new customers. I’m sorry again that I wasn’t able to provide you with the answer that you were looking for regarding pricing on your account. We at Cox Communications believe that our products are the best in entertainment value, as well as the most technological advanced options for our subscribers. We do appreciate your patronage, and we hope that we will be able to regain your faith in our company. Thank you for your time.

We would like to thank the customer for taking the time to file his concerns regarding the billing of his account.  Please let me begin with an apology for any inconvenience he experienced.  We certainly do not want to cause him any frustrations.

 

The customer came into a...

Solutions Store to add cable and internet service and to disconnect the phone service.  The store agent scheduled a “self install” to the field so that the services could be turned on.  Records show that this was completed on August 2, 2014.  On August 13 the customer returned to the store and swapped out his cable boxes.

On August 6 a technician was sent to the customer’s home and found that the service was not working and repaired the problem.

 

When a customer initiates service a credit check is performed and deposits are applied as required.  In this case the customer was charged a separate deposit for the internet and cable service.

 

On August 13 the $60.00 install charge was credited along with credits for the time the customer’s service was not working.

 

It is always our goal to provide our customers with exemplary customer service.  As a customer service oriented company, we know that our success largely depends on our customers’ perception of our employees, as well as our company.  Once again, we would like to apologize for the frustration that the customer has experienced.  If they should have any additional questions or concerns, they can contact our Customer Care Center at [redacted]. Thank you.

 

Sr. Customer Resolutions Specialist

Executive Resolutions

Office of the General Manager

We were sorry to hear of the confusion that our customer experienced while attempting to upgrade his account. Due to the concerns that the customer brought to your attention, we contacted him directly and are working towards a successful resolution. As always, we appreciate it when the...

Revdex.com gives us the opportunity to assist a customer.  Thank you.Executive ResolutionsOffice of the General ManagerCox Communications, Southwest Region

We would like to thank the customer for taking the time to file her concerns regarding their account billing.  Please let me begin with an apology for any inconvenience she experienced.  We certainly do not want to cause her any frustrations.Upon receiving this complaint, we...

were able to speak with our customer on 4/27/15. During our conversation with our customer we were able to come to an agreement on an additional account adjustment to resolve the situation. We are confident that we can now consider the issue at hand resolved. It is always our goal to provide our customers with exemplary customer service.  As a customer service oriented company, we know that our success largely depends on our customers’ perception of our employees, as well as our company.  Once again, we would like to apologize for the frustration that the customer has experienced.  If they should have any additional questions or concerns, they can contact our Customer Care Center at ###-###-####. Thank you. [redacted]Executive EscalationsCox Communications

Revdex.com Case#[redacted] We would like to thank the customer for taking the time to file their concerns regarding their experience. It is certainly not our intention to cause any frustration.We have contacted the customer directly to address their concerns and provide a successful...

resolution.It is always our goal to provide our customers with exemplary customer service.  As a customer service oriented company, we know that our success largely depends on our customers’ perception of our employees, as well as our company.  Once again, we would like to apologize for the frustration that the customer has experienced.We appreciate the opportunity that the Revdex.com has given to us to assist our customer.  Executive ResolutionsOffice of the General ManagerCox Communications, Southwest Region

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.Please have Cox contact the person initially contacted to verify it was an agreement for two years only.  They may say they have a document but the document is incorrect and they need to change the document.  If they continue to state they cannot change the document I would like to know what it will take to cancel the agreement along with all other Cox services.  Thank you.Regards,[redacted]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.While I do appreciate the speedy response, a phone call simply does not make up for hassle and heartache I had to go through over something as stupid as internet service. I'll be following up with the business in regards to a solution I feel is suitable. 

Regards,

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

The reason I disagree is because they do have a record of my service outage and because the HOA no longer has an account with them, they are no longer bound to respond to them. I am the one that requires compensation, not the HOA. Although I have made my payments to Cox through them I no longer do that, so Cox can and should respond directly to me. The only reason the HOA was involved is because they collected the payments from the residents. This is the problem I've had from the beginning..Cox claims the HOA hasn't contacted them, and the HOA states Cox tells them they can't give access to a private account. I just want to be compensated for my service failure, and Cox is responsible..not the HOA.

Regards,

This is in response to the complaint that was filed regarding a former customer’s missing equipment charges.  We want to thank him for taking the time to let us know of his concerns.  We apologize for any frustration that he has encountered in his attempts to resolve this issue....

  We conducted the research of the account in conjunction with our Collections Team and our Warehouse Team.  No one was able to locate any additional information for the equipment in question.  We are providing the following information:

1.     4-11-11 – Account on [redacted] was closed.

2.     4-12-11 – New service started in the name of the tenant shown on the previous account authorized user screen.

3.     5-24-11 – Notes on the former customer’s account indicate that there was an issue with the tenant regarding the return of the equipment in question. 

4.     10-12-11 – Work order set up on former account for equipment pick-up on 12-14-11.  This work order was cancelled as it was on a former account.

5.     06-18-14 – Received final word from Collections and Warehouse that the equipment has never been returned.

While we certainly understand that our former customer was going through a difficult time in 2011, we are unable to remove the equipment and the outstanding write-off.  We recommend to our former customer that he contact his former tenant to see what they may have done with the equipment.  Possibly, they placed it in the garage or in a closet to get it out of the way.  It is surprising how much equipment is recovered with a little additional research of the residence.

We certainly understand that this is not the answer that was desired, but our customers are responsible for the any equipment that they receive from us for their services.  We would like to note that the equipment from the Minton Drive account was returned.  Again, we apologize for the inconvenience that this issue has caused.  If there are any additional concerns, our Customer Care Center can be reached at [redacted].  Thank you.

Sincerely,

Executive Resolutions

Office of the General Manager

Cox Communications/Arizona/Southwest COE

We are sorry to hear the customer continues to dispute the information provided.  As previously stated, the customer’s HOA is the entity that entered into service with Cox Communications.  We are happy and more than willing to work with them regarding any refunds due and encourage the customer to reach out to them. 

We will be happy to send a refund for the time we were notified until the service issue was addressed. This refund will be sent directly to the HOA. 

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,

Executive Resolutions

Office of the General Manager

Cox Communications, Southwest Region

April 28, 2015---Revdex.com complaint # [redacted] We were sorry to hear of the confusion that the customer experienced with her billing. Due to the situation at hand, we contacted the customer directly to assist her.  We were able to determine what happened with...

the account change, and we also were able to get her into a package that assured her a lower rate than what she was previously paying!  We gave our contact information to the customer and she is very happy with the results of our conversation. We always appreciate the chance to assist and help a valued customer.  Thank you! [redacted]/ Cox Communications Executive Offices/ [redacted]

This is in response to the rebuttal that our customer filed regarding the missing equipment.  We apologize for any frustration that he has encountered in his attempts to resolve this issue.   

These are the responses to the additional questions that our customer posed in his rebuttal: 

The work order schedule for 12-14-11 was cancelled as it was set up on a former account.  This was done during a normal audit of the scheduled work orders.  It should have been   set up on the account of active customer if they had been in agreement to return the equipment on our customer’s behalf.

A complete audit has been performed on inventory and active customers and the equipment is not in our system.

The equipment was not noted as an issue when the new account was established as the current account holder at this address was an authorized user on our customer’s account noted as “tenet”.  By being au authorized user, he was viewed as acting on our customer’s behalf and had the authority to close the one account and open a new one in his name.

The equipment remained the responsibility of the account holder, not the authorized user.

Again, we understand that there appears to be extenuating circumstances for our customer, but we are missing 3 cable boxes valued at $1608.44.  We do not understand why the police would have accused our customer of trespassing or why his former tenet did not either return the equipment to us or to him. 

Again, we certainly understand that this is not the answer that was desired.  Possibly, he can file this as a claim against his homeowner’s insurance as a loss.  Again, we apologize for the inconvenience that this issue has caused.  If there are any additional concerns, our Customer Care Center can be reached at [redacted].  Thank you.

Sincerely,

Executive Resolutions

Office of the General Manager

Cox Communications/Arizona/Southwest COE

I'm leaving the default letter alone just in case. As of today, the phone system balance does indicate this being resolved  (even though the online system is still showing the wrong amount being past due still). I will mark this resolution as being satisfactory resolved. However if I do find the issue resurfacing itself, I will open another complaint (And this is only due to receiving conflicting information from 2 different bill areas although I do understand the online version of the bill may not be updated).

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. 

Regards,

[redacted]

Revdex.com Case # [redacted]We would like to thank the customer for taking the time to file their concerns regarding their experience. It is certainly not our intention to cause any frustration.We have contacted the customer directly to address their concerns and provide a successful...

resolution.It is always our goal to provide our customers with exemplary customer service.  As a customer service oriented company, we know that our success largely depends on our customers’ perception of our employees, as well as our company.  Once again, we would like to apologize for the frustration that the customer has experienced.We appreciate the opportunity that the Revdex.com has given to us to assist our customer.  Executive ResolutionsOffice of the General ManagerCox Communications, Southwest Region

We would like to thank the customer for taking the time to file his concern regarding the charge for a modem.  Please let me begin with an apology for any inconvenience he experienced.  We certainly do not want to cause him any frustrations. Account information shows that the...

customer pre-paid for the[redacted] modem on November 3, 2012 and was billed for it on December 14, 2012.  I have sent our collections department a request to remove the charge and to change the designation of the modem from Cox owned to customer purchased. It is always our goal to provide our customers with exemplary customer service.  As a customer service oriented company, we know that our success largely depends on our customers’ perception of our employees, as well as our company.  Once again, we would like to apologize for the frustration that the customer has experienced.  If they should have any additional questions or concerns, they can contact our Customer Care Center at ###-###-####. Thank you. [redacted] Sr. Customer Resolutions SpecialistExecutive ResolutionsOffice of the General Manager

Today my services was disconnected and I called and spoke to a representative name [redacted] was her identification number and advised her that I made payment arrangements on October 20, 2014and was advised that I had until 10/29/2014. [redacted] stated that a promise to pay does not mean your services will not be disconnected. I advised her that is not what I was told and requested a supervisor. [redacted] stated that there is no supervisor, yelled at me and hung up on me. I was so upset and almost in tears because I could not believe that I was been treated this way because all the other representatives I ever spoke with were very kind and understanding. I called back in and spoke to a [redacted] identification number and he was very nice and helpful. He explain what happened and restored my services. I'm still a happy customer!

August 19, 2014 Revdex.com complaint # [redacted] –[redacted] We were sorry to hear that one of our customers is not receiving the type of Internet service that he expects to receive from our company.  In the documentation...

to the Revdex.com, the customer states that we have not provided reliable Internet service to him for six months.  Due to the concerns that the subscriber brought to our attention, a thorough review has been completed on the account. Review of the account notes does indicate that customer has called us to report connectivity issues on several occasions since connection of service. During one of the most recent conversations with the customer, one of our Customer Service Agents did advise the customer that a visit from our technician would be the best course of action.  While the customer declined to accept a service call with one of our qualified home service technicians, we highly suggest that the subscriber schedule a visit so we may diagnose and resolve the problem at hand.  While we understand that customer is concerned with incurring a service call fee, we do offer CSPP, (Cox Service Protection Plan) an insurance plan that will ensure that he is not charged for the visit. For more details on this option, this link provides all the details on our optional plan. [redacted] While the occasional outages are an inconvenience, we want the customer and the Revdex.com to know that restoration of service quickly during planned or unplanned outages is a priority to us.  Although our residential product is only intended for recreational purposes; we do understand the inconvenience when loss of service occurs.  We will continue to keep outages at a minimum, for the convenience of our clients.  We urge the customer to contact us at his convenience, so we may schedule him for a service call.  Our Technical Support Team is available by phone 24 hours a day, and seven days a week. Our Field Service Team works seven days a week; in convenient two hour time frames.  We can be reached by phone at [redacted]Call: [redacted], or via our website at [redacted].  We hope this information has been helpful to the Revdex.com.  Thank you. [redacted]/Office of the General Manager/Cox Communications Executive Offices/ [redacted]

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
I am very grateful for the role the Revdex.com played in helping to  resolve this dispute.  I am also pleased with the way COX handled this formal complaint and their willingness to finally resolve it. 

Regards,

I need to express my dissatisfaction with Cox Communication. My cable went out on Sunday. Rebooting my box 3 times restored service. Monday night it went out again. I called Cox and reached an Agent who, after some time, restored service. Unfortunately, 2 hours later, it went out again. I tried calling Cox five times. Each time a recording told me I was being transferred to an Agent and each time I was disconnected. I finally gave up. This morning I tried a “live chat” with a Cox Agent. He advised me a test of my cable box indicated it must be replaced and I should bring it to the nearest Cox store. When I asked if I could schedule an appointment with a technician, I was told it would cost $60.00 for the technician to replace my box. I challenged this since the cable box is Cox equipment and should be their responsibility. I was again told the $60.00 charge was for technical service and would apply. At this point, I told the agent I was questioning the charge since both cable boxes in my home had previously been replaced at no charge to me. I was subsequently put on hold. When the agent returned to the phone he advised me he’d schedule an appointment. We agreed on a date and time. Just to be sure, I confirmed with him that there would be no charge associated with replacing the box. He indicated this was correct. I should have come away from this encounter feeling vindicated but instead I feel violated and wondering if the $60.00 is in fact a commission paid to an Agent when the customer is too “dumb” to question the charge

We are truly sorry for any frustration this situation with your Cox account has caused Mr. [redacted]. Please know, we are dedicated to assisting him and we apologize for any inconvenience. Please know, upon receiving this rebuttal we have tried again on 3/5/15 and 3/6/15 to speak to our customer regarding their concerns. Regretfully, both of our calls were unsuccessful and the telephone number our customer provided does not have an option to leave a message. We would like to stress that as no point is Cox Communications attempting to bypass the Revdex.com for this complaint. However, due to the nature of this complaint, in order to best assist our customer we will need to speak with them by telephone directly. They are welcome to contact us at ###-###-####.We appreciate the patience and understanding of our customer and we look forward to reaching a resolution. Thank you. [redacted]Executive EscalationsCox Communications