Is this illegal?

Question

I paid my cable bill, but I paid too much because I wasn't sure of the amount of my bill. The check I wrote them was returned due to a bank error. (my direct deposit wasn't in my account when it should have been) I wrote the check out for $200 and I found out last night when I called the cable company that my bill was only for like $150 plus a $25 check charge. I got $200 dollars out of my account and went to pay it. The clerk at the cable company told me that I owed $225 because I wrote the check out for $200. I simply explained to her that I wasn't sure of how much my bill was and I just wrote it over to compensate. She said that because my returned check was written out for $200, that I had to pay the $200 plus the returned check fee, even though my bill was only for $150 plus the check charge. Is something wrong with this?

Answer 1

Yes, this is illegal. Report them to the Public Utilities Commission of your state if they do not fix the error. Each complaint is logged against your utility company and they are normally dealt with as a serious matter since few people know to file complaints with them.

Answer 2

I don't know what is legal, but it doesn't make sense logically. From my experience, it is all about the computer controlling our lives! The cable company probably put in your payment of $200 and for some ungodly reason can't remove it from their records!!! So they still want it so they don't have to do some computer gymnastics to change it!

Well I would say YOU HAVE YOUR RIGHTS! Usually you get such information from a clerk. Ask to speak to the manager and explain it to him/her. They are the ones that would have the "power" to change the computer stuff.

My opinion is that, yeah you do owe the $25 service fee. That could be gotten back from the direct deposit people. Did they deposit it late? But then it does come down to the fact that as adults we are responsible to see if the money is there FIRST before writing out a check. And that is probably what the bank will say to you.

So you owe the $25. As far as having to REPLACE the last $200 payment, I would say that they should just remove that payment and then CHARGE YOU ONLY WHAT YOU OWE!! plus the $25 service fee. I have had to pay service fees when I made a "mistake" with my balance also and will NEVER get used to it!

Banks do, however, waive the service fees once in a while (usually they will to it one or two times as a courtesy). I once had an overdraft of $30 because my bank account was short 60cents!! They did refund me the service fee, thank God! Most of us in this world don't have that extra $30 to play with!

Good luck! milesthebunny

Answer 3

Maybe you already did this, but it may be to your benefit to talk to someone in management at the cable company. Clerks sometimes make mistakes. This one may have interpreted a company policy incorrectly. At any rate, before going through alot of letter writing, lawyer counseling, etc, it's a time right now to politely verify what the clerk told you, by going up the chain of supervision. And while doing so, if a supervisor says the same thing, ask for a logical explanation of why they feel justified in keeping a payment that is over and above what you owe. You already accepted responsibility for the overdraft. You just want to pay the amount on the bill + overdraft, but not an inflated bill. If you fail to get a logical, acceptable answer at that point, then it's time to consider a more aggressive means of complaint, of which there are many and I imagine other people here answering your question will offer suggestions on that.

It's always best to start with a soft, investigative approach, until your sure of the official word of the company, not just the clerk (and we don't know their level of training or tenure with the company).

Answer 4

I don't know if it's really illegal or not. Most places that you go to, regardless of the amount of your bill, will make you pay for the amount of the check plus a returned check fee. If you had written your check out for bill, then you would've had to only pay $175. Since you wrote it for more, not realizing the amount of your bill, you have to pay more. As unfair as this seems, it really is how things are done. I believe that you have to pay the face value of the check, meaning whatever you have written the check for, plus a return check fee.

Answer 5

You are only liable for the amount of your bill plus the fee for the bad check. Its unfortunate that you had a misortune with your direct deposit but its still your responsibility to have the money to cover any check you write. But they have no right to demand from you more then you truly owe them. I would suggest to go back and demand to speak with a manager and try to solve the problem with him/her. Usually clerk, at companies like this, are uneducated idiots that feel like they have some power over the rest of the people (just like any government employee in any govmn't branch).

Answer 6

If I understand the story correctly, the cable company is not acting correctly and you should ask to speak to the manager and if he does not satisfy you, ask them them to refer the matter to complaints dept. Be nice and polite about it, but firm.

As I see it, what you owe the cable company is $150 for their service plus $25 charge for their trouble in returning the original cheque, making a total of $175.

If they still insist, go to the Public Utilities Commission, or change to another supplier and let the old one know why by letter.

Answer 7

Morally yes....technically no. The cable company has the right to obtain the amount of the cheque AND the service charge. However you should see a credit on your next bill for the $50 difference.Keep an eye on your next bill.

Answer 8

If you stayed calm, congrats, I would have gone irate on them asked to speak to a manager and if this was the bottom line I would have canceled my account on the spot. and told them to cram it up their a s s. that is ridiculous. 150.00 for cable is out of control anyway, I have dishnetwork and I have every hd channel on the line up and my bill is only 109.00. I think out of principle you should switch. in addition, if the reason for the bounce was at the banks fault you can get a note from the financial institute stating that and perhaps get all fees waved.

Answer 9

It sounds like you were talking to a stupid person. Your account balance should have been $175. Either go online and check your account or call them and confirm that is the case. Hopefully the cable company have somebody who can do math.

Answer 10

Have you tried actually reading the bill before sending in a check? This seems a little weird to me because they really can only require that you pay whatever your acount balance is... If you don't get a sympathetic ear, try lodging a complaint with the FCC and one with the BBB...