When you don’t pay your bill Comcast cuts your cable off, but what happens when Comcast doesn’t pay its bill to you?
A Northeast Missouri family says that Comcast has been renting their land for a cable tower, but hasn’t been paying the bill for the last six months. The confusion started when Comcast took over another cable company that had been renting the land. The family tried negotiating with Comcast, but the cable company walked away from the table.. and kept using the land.
From the KHQA:
When Comcast walked away without paying its rent, the Williams’ decided to stop providing the service by shutting off the transmitter.
With the tower out of service, a Comcast employee had to come to the tower to turn it back on. That meant he trespassed onto the Williams property. That happened a couple of times before the Williams decided to turn the power off.
Again Williams told me a Comcast employee returned, trespassed and brought a generator to keep the tower going.
KHQA talked with Comcast officials to find out why the company would trespass. Here’s the explanation we got.
No power on the tower shut down emergency pagers for physicians, not to mention turned out the tower’s lights which serve as a warning for airplane pilots.
Comcast officials say they didn’t know about the contract negotiations or the backed up tower rent until they officially took over Insight Jan. 1.
Monday, the Williams signed a year long contract. But that hasn’t changed anything.
The Williams told us they contacted KHQA, because they want local customers to know what kind of company is serving the Quincy area.
She says it’s the kind that wants you to pay your bills, but won’t pay its own.
Comcast officials also told us the Williams’ rent check is in the mail.
Comcast paying their bills late? [KHQA] (Thanks to a Quincy resident !)
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I would have just knocked that shit down.
While I understand their desire to not let Comcast use the tower for free, it’s kinda dangerous to turn off the power to a giant tower, particularly because of the lights for airplanes.
No suprises here.
beautiful.
If they don’t pay, yank the power and call the cops when the employee shows up. You know Comcrap would do the same.
Send them a 10-day take down notice. Let them remove the tower on their dime. If they do not comply, feel free to remove their junk from your land.
Craigslist the tower.
Comcast can bring the cheque when they come to turn it on again.
Since when does Comcast provide pager services for doctors? Unless the tower has more than just Comcast stuff on it?
One more reason why I did and will again cast my vote for Comcast as the Worst Company in America ’08!
I wonder how much is a whole tower worth in scrap?
That’s awesome. Thanks for sharing Consumerist.
You sue them, and quickly.
@dualityshift: “Craigslist the tower.” Well played, sir.
@KJones: Also remember if they bring they check when they come to reconnect don’t forget to charge them an extra service fee for allowing them back onto your land as well as for the inconveinence.
Kind of like the fee they charge when they send a tech out to shut you off. You can give the tech a check to stay connected, but they still charge you for them having to send a tech.
Get some pit bulls and let them roam in the fence surrounding the tower, I doubt someone is going to come turn it on again.
Comcast once again demonstrates why it is a #1 seed in this year’s tournament.
They should tell them to come get their crappy tower on Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., then when technicians get there, find the gate locked. Then the technicians should have to suffer a robo phone menu, wait for 22 minutes on hold and reschedule for another appointment a week later from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Let them void the existing contract as Comcast has by not paying. Then establish a new contract for 4 times or 20 times the former contract. A good lawyer will love this one
A dozen or so years ago, I temped for several months in the regulatory compliance department of a major cell phone company. I had to study up on the FAA and FCC regulations concerning cell phone towers.
It is the responsibility of the tower owner to make sure the lights stay on on top of the tower to keep airplanes from hitting it. The cell phone companies lease the land the tower is on, so if they don’t pay the rent, the landlords are understandably going to turn off utilities to the property, same as if you don’t pay your apartment rent. If the tower owners don’t pay the rent and the lights get cut off, it’s their responsibility to get the lights turned back on within hours, per the applicable laws. They should have had a generator on site anyway to deal with potential power outages, but apparently didn’t, which might mean a violation right there.
Start charging them conversation fees and also charge them for both access and departure to and from their tower if that so-called “check is in the mail” ever arrives. And if that check arrives be sure to re-negotiate a new contract with them to get whatever you else can from them. Also, be sure to charge them for opening and depositing their check and interest on all previously unpaid rent.
Well, that turned the airline warning lights off? No problem. Just knock the tower down. It’s on their lawn afterall. As for the physician pagers… Yo. That’s comcast’s problem, not the Williams’.
why didn’t they just take them to court? Pretty simple tenant landlord case. Courts almost always rule in favor of the landlord when it comes to businesses…. Depending on your state.
I would have filed suit and called a local newspaper personally.
I agree that turning of the power is a bad idea for a large tower like that, the landlord would ultimately be responsible for any fines resulting in such an action.
If they weren’t paying their rent, you should have served them a proper eviction notice, and specifically stated you would confiscate any property after X date, and auction it. That would have really gotten attention.
Cut the damn power off early morning, so the lights up top aren’t needed for low flying planes. They’ll show up within hours. Lock them out, notify local authorities that they have no rights to your property. Call up Comcast, tell them you’ve shut off all power, it will continue to stay off until the bill is paid in full, let them know security is at the access point to your property, and any trespassing will warrant an arrest. You contracted with the PREVIOUS company, not the current owner. The remedy? Draw up a new contract, and let them know payment in FULL for the previous months’ are expected up front including late payment fees, along with the new contract’s terms to specify payments are to be made in 4-6 month incriments, AHEAD OF TIME, plus if their payments are 1 week late, you reserve the right to shut off all power again and use legal authority to keep them off your land until payment made in full. It’s your land! F*CK ‘EM!!
The folks that own the land should call the FAA immediately and tell them that the light on the tower can not be considered usable/available/reliable until this issue is solved one way or another.
The FAA can then alert affected flights about the light and reroute flights around that area. They can also go after Comcast to fix the situation.
I hope this gets resolved in favor of the landowners. The last thing I want to read about is how Comcast is now taking over people’s land through adverse possession.
@kelptocratic:
I’d even help write the ad.
**For Free**
One Cellular tower, obtained from Comcast, in lieu of payment of rental property. Come get it. It’s yours. You will need your own dismantling tools, and a large truck to remove the tower. Also, please come to the house first, so I can shut off the power. I would hate to see you electrocute yourself, trying to score free stuff.
@mikeluisortega: and then the Comcast employee sues the dog owner. Even though the animals are on their property and presumably caged in the tower area, it’s still a situation where you might be charged and the animals destroyed.
Notice letter + 90 days + hacksaw. Either that, or file a lien on the tower. See how much they’re willing to pay to buy their tower back from you.
Send them a bill with all kinds of fees:
Late fee
Administration fee
Tresspass fee
Powerdown fee
Power restoration fee
Annoyance fee
Legal fee
Obstruction fee
The options are almost limitless
@DogTown: Not going to work. Tower lights are rarely for commercial aircraft, but for private ones who can fly that low legally. The FAA has no real control on flight plans of non-commercial flights. Actually depending on your plane and license you might not even need to submit a flight plan, much like small rec boats have no legal requirement to submit plans of sail.
The FAA could send out something to warn people, but thats about it.
@dualityshift: How long before this gets posted on Craigslist by a disgruntled comcast customer without the owner’s consent.[www.boingboing.net]
@consumersaur: Awesome.
And make them show you their receipt when they leave.
@Beerad:
Adverse possession cannot be used if the owner of the land has expressed permission for the user of the land to be there, such as is the case in this instance, with a contract and all.
@scoobydoo:
Generally, towers like that will have multiple services on it. The tower owner (in this case, Comcast) will recoup some of their cost by renting space on it to other services (such as the paging service).
If you advise the closest aviation authority (say, the FAA office at your local regional airport or somesuch) they should issue a NOTAM (NOTice to AirMen). Specified in Annex 15 (Aeronautical Information Services) of the Convention on International Civil Aviation), NOTAMs are issued to indicate both airborne hazards (severe weather, crazed parachutists, airshows, VIP flights) as well as problems with navigational aids (radio beacons, obstruction lights). The navigational aids on the tower (the obstruction lights) are definitely within this latter category. Light aviation folks as well as the guys who fly the heavies read those things (or should) before filing a flight plan.
Advise the FAA, Comcast, and the local media, then cut the power…
@scoobydoo: A lot of carriers subcontract coverage in regions where they don’t have transmission hardware themselves, so that might be the case.
Comcast here told me once that the bill is actually due the day it is printed out, so by the time you get the bill in the mail it is technically 7-10 days “late”. The due date on the bill is actually already 30 days late. So if you pay 2 weeks past the due date, you are 45 days late and they will shut you off.
oh man.
so many options here.
this would only go on 3 months with me.
Then I would find a law-talking-guy and have the contract declared null.
then I would give them one month to remove thier property or renegotiate.
My negotiations would double the rent and demand payment in advance for each month.
3 months without payment and the power gets cut again and they can only get it turned on by paying a reconnection fee equal to 6 months rent.
If they fail to comply with any of the terms the local salvage company gets a call.
Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again.
Naw! Just get a big German Sheppard and don’t feed him too much.
“While I understand their desire to not let Comcast use the tower for free, it’s kinda dangerous to turn off the power to a giant tower, particularly because of the lights for airplanes.”
Exactly. The landowner here is obviously in the right but it’s important not just to be right but to do right.
Small Claims anyone?
Blackneto – at your rate, you’ll scare them away and make it more profitable for them to move the tower elsewhere. You aren’t allowed to keep property hostage.
if they don’t pay the rent can she knock it down? i would rather do that than collect the rent. just to shove it up comcast’s ass.
Nobody here is going to post on Comcast’s behalf? Surely it must be the family’s fault for not doing something sooner!
C’mon–you people are slipping!
/sarcasm
Comcast is truly evil.
@nonzenze: Then i woulnd’t have to deal with their shit anymore, would I?
@MrBill38: Really? My Comcast doesn’t turn you off until you are 60 days past. Not that I know from experience…
But the area I live in has deadbeats that were up in arms when the city turned off their water because they were 6 months past due so maybe we’re all more relaxed here.
@MrBill38:
Apparently Comcast uses the same billing software one of the local dental offices uses. It happens to be the best around, so wife and I use it, but it’s annoying that every single time we get a bill from them, it shows as “past due, pay immediately”, usually with a “past due” time of 30 days or greater. Even if you get the bill in the office, the day of the visit, it shows as ‘past due.’
@catnapped:
No, we are being entirely consistent. In this instance, Comcast is the consumer and the land owner the eeeeevil business. It just so happens that in this case, as happens in others posted on this site, the consumer actually is in the wrong and the business in the right.
Any chance of garnishing Comcast’s assets for deliberate and repeated non-payments?
I love love love this story. I used to work for a simaliar company and all the “emergency” payments went through me. Tack on all the charges you can, late fees, service fees, access fees (so the tech can walk across your property), reconnection fees, go to town. They will pay it. More than once did a payment request come across my desk with notes like “Land owner armed and is refusing tech access until check clears.” Those always made me laugh. When you get your new contract, make sure the late fees are huge (I’d wait 2 days for an extra grand, wouldn’t you?)