Time Warner to charge flood victims for cable boxes
Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO - Flood victims whose cable converters were destroyed during this month's heavy rains are being charged $300 for the damaged boxes by the company, officials said today.
Karen Hartley, vice president for marketing and communications at Time Warner, said it is the company's policy to bill for damaged boxes, which are leased from the cable company.
"We are sympathetic to them," she told the San Antonio Express-News. "But we are going to charge them for their boxes."
The policy is upsetting some whose homes were flooded.
Dannielle Guerra said his parents are being charged $600 for two ruined boxes. They lost their Canyon Lake home and now live in a trailer.
"I'm just appalled that a company such as Time Warner would expect this (payment)," Guerra said. "If we damaged it ourselves, I could completely understand, but it was damaged by a flood."
Hartley said that so far, she has received about five calls reporting damaged boxes. She said customers who suffered flood damage can have their homes rewired free of charge, but they must pay for the converters.
"People have their boxes stolen," she said. "It would be really hard to treat one person differently than another. If someone is robbed, that's not their fault either."
