Jun 30, 2009 6:00 pm US/Pacific
Call Kurtis: Free Promotion Not Free?
ROSEVILLE, Calif. (CBS13) ―
A Roseville Grandmother was supposed to get free internet and cable for six months. When she was charged for both and couldn't get it cleared up, she called Kurtis.
She thought the 6 month promotion with SureWest would save her money.
Instead, she says it's been a comedy of errors but she's not laughing.
"I just do not want to go through one panic attack after another, every month," says Rita Amerman, Roseville resident.
Rita signed up for a bundle deal with SureWest last November.
It was a six month promotion... pay for the phone and you get internet and cable for free.
With six grandkids, Rita figured the extra money would come in handy.
"So I thought it was a wise decision, so I said okay, that sounds good to me," says Rita.
The first month's bill was fine but the second month, she was charged $17.76 for high speed internet.
Remember it and cable was supposed to be free.
And then in January, she was charged for phone, internet and cable a total of $141.86.
"Every bill since then has been like opening Pandora's box every time I open it," says Rita.
The bills started averaging $200.
Rita called SureWest every month and says they told her just to pay a portion of her bill.
She says they assured her the errors would be fixed but they weren't.
"I have heart failure... I can't go through that every month at my age," laughs Rita.
Then in April, Rita was charged $268.13 for equipment, when she's had the same cable box the whole time.
"Oh my God," says Rita.
We contacted SureWest.
In an email, they tell us:
"When Ms. Amerman experienced repeated concerns with her bill, our customer service team took ownership and worked to correct the problems at each step; and we have made adjustments to prevent these situations from taking place in the future. Corrections to Ms. Amerman's bill took place prior to CBS13 contacting SureWest and are now reflected on her bill."
Here it is... a credit of $268.13 for the equipment fee and they've refunded every cent she overpaid.
"Like an elephant just got off my chest," says Rita.
She says it wasn't fixed until we got involved.
If you have a problem with your phone company, you can file a complaint with the California Public Utilities Commission.
For cable and internet, contact the FCC.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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