Speaking under the condition of anonymity, a woman said she and her family are victims of a “conspiracy” being concealed by Cable Bahamas and is demanding answers from the cable and internet service provider.
According to the consumer, Cable Bahamas has been servicing the family with basic cable at a fee of $30 monthly from 1999.
In March she said the service was disconnected and they were slapped with a $35 basic reconnection fee.
“I’m to the point where I’ve had it with Cable Bahamas, because I have seen many discrepancies with my account.”
From her own investigation, she found that deposits made were not in sync with receipts received. On one of the receipts she showed The Guardian, the balance “did not line up” with the following month.
Upon her discovery, the consumer said in March she presented the proof to Customer Service representative Patrick Johnson, who, she said, was unable to explain what happened. He then, according to the consumer, reconnected her service.
“This happened several times. First the cable would be on, then another couple of weeks it would be turned off again,” she claims. “And, even though I have proven this to them and a representative said, ‘I don’t understand this, but I’ll turn it on…. and you can come back to us and tell us how much Cable Bahamas owes you,’ they turn it off again?”
Her service was disconnected again in May and she brought the complaint to the customer service department. At that time she spoke with Carrie Collins, who the consumer said was “very rude.”
She requested official records of her deposits since the inception of her account, but was refused copies of most of the “important” documents by the company.
To the contrary, Ms Collins said the consumer, whom she identified by name immediately after The Guardian began describing the complaint, has been penalized on several occasions for late payment.
She said the consumer has left Cable Bahamas with no other choice but to disconnect the service. And, when it proposed to erase her debt and provide her with a new account, once she made a $60 deposit, the consumer refused.
“At least half a dozen occasions since she has been a customer of ours, we have erased the reconnection fee. I think that she is of the impression that every time her service is disconnected, the reconnection fee should be waived,” she said.
Recalling their first meeting, Ms Collins said the consumer was given all the documents she requested, contrary to what she told The Guardian, and was willing to admit to any mistake and settle the dispute.
She did confirm, however, that the department detected that $35 was charged to the consumer and could not determine why. As a result, the consumer was indeed reconnected free of charge.
After her service was disconnected in May, and living without cable access since then, the consumer said a Cable Bahamas employee was dispatched to her house Friday morning. She was asked to sign a document to signify that she was not receiving illegal cable access.
“He had a clipboard (with the words Audit Department on the top) with my husband’s name on it and some other names, and he said he wanted me to sign. I asked, ‘For what?’ And he said, ‘We just want to confirm that the box outside your house is lined-up with the cables.’ I refused to sign, because I didn’t know what Cable Bahamas was up to.”
This, she said, sparked her suspicions even more of Cable Bahamas. That same day, she went to the company and spoke with Ms Collins, who advised her that it was normal procedure.
Every so often, Cable Bahamas sends out dispatchers to visit neighbourhoods, monitor and detect any illegal activity, and that day, a dispatcher just happened to be in the consumer’s neighbourhood.
She said she spent several hours explaining to the consumer that, “We have auditors checking areas all the time. Unfortunately, there are people who try to run cables neighbour to neighbour, and last week they were apparently in her area. There was no one sent to her home.”
Despite all that has happened between she and Cable Bahamas, the consumer is still seeking reconnection with the company. When asked whether the relationship between the consumer and the company could be mended, Ms Collins said: “There is nothing else we can do for her.”
By Khashan Poitier, The Nassau Guardian
