Woman accidently mails rent check to Comcast. Comcast tries to keep it

[Liberal_in_LA]

A 79-year-old woman accidentally mailed her rent check to Xfinity Comcast along with her cable bill — only to have the telecom giant cash it and initially refuse to return the money.

According to CNET.com, Francis Wilson of Albuquerque, New Mexico accidentally put her $235 rent check into the envelope she uses to pay her $20 cable bill each month.

Comcast received the check and cashed it. When Wilson realized her mistake and contacted the cable provider, they initially offered her an account credit rather than returning the money.


“You’re stealing from an old woman like me?” Wilson said to KRQE. “How dare you? You didn’t even call me? Who gave you permission?”

http://www.alternet.org/corporate-accountability-and-workplace/comcast-cashed-79-year-old-womans-rent-check

[yeoman6987]

1. Her bills are awesome

235 for rent and 20 bucks for cable. Yowza! My mortgage is six times that and my cable 8 times. Nice if you can get it I guess. The woman is funny though. The company is not stealing if they credit her account. Probably should get auto pay and save some anguish.

[djean111]

3. She may be living on a lot less than you are, too.

IMO it was stealing if the check was not made out to Comcast. Once they knew the check was not made out to them, and wanted to keep the money anyway - then yes, it was stealing.

[PoliticAverse]

5. Yeah I'm skeptical of this story because of the $20 Comcast bill... n/t

[djean111]

9. Looks like Comcast has a $20 a month internet only package.

Maybe that is all she can afford, or all she wants, or all she needs.

[xmas74]

10. The major companies were all supposed to offer a heavily reduced package

when the signal went digital. It's usually just a handful of channels and no basic cable channels.

[PotatoChip]

16. I pay less than $25 for basic cable.

$24.99 to be exact. And that is not a promotional rate. It is the rate we've paid for the past 4 years. The promotional rate was $19.99 for the first year.

I don't get any of the cable news networks (CNN, MSNBC, FOX, ect) but have all my local channels. Additionally, I get several PBS stations as well as CSPAN1 and CSPAN2.

About 25 stations in all. More than enough, since Mr PotatoChip and I are not big on tv watching.

So yeah, it's entirely possible that this woman is only paying $20.

[Terra Alta]

6. The check wasn't made out to Comcast

It was theft, plain and simple. I'm just glad she got her money back.

[enlightenment]

8. Your level of empathy and compassion

is utterly underwhelming.

[yeoman6987]

13. We don't even know if the story is true

Too many scammers out there and this doesn't pass the smell test. I don't trust her. You can say I don't have empathy which is brilliant of me to be skeptical saved me lots of grief when dealing with shysters.

[demwing]

14. Yeah, but you weren't being skeptical

when you wrote: "The company is not stealing if they credit her account," you were toeing the line...

[enlightenment]

17. I'm very sorry that

your world is such an unpleasant place. Caution does not mean assuming the worst of people.

[xmas74]

11. She's 79 years old.

She probably receives rental assistance, lives in income based housing and has the most basic cable package that was made available after the signals all went digital-just broadcast with no basic cable channels.

And in some states that would still be stealing.

[Nye Bevan]

2. Shorter version: Comcast: "finders keepers, losers weepers" (nt)

[TeamPooka]

4. I would also file a complaint against her bank with the State Attorney general and bank commission

for allowing the check to be cashed in the first place.
Also against Comcast for fraud for cashing the check

[magical thyme]

15. my 1st question: how did the check even get cashed when it clearly wasn't made to Comcast. nt

[TeamPooka]

18. comcast just scanned the check number. It said so in the article. So thats fraud on thier part.

[magical thyme]

21. wow. comcast must have some desperately unhappy employees.

but it's frightening to think of the lack of checks and balances at the bank end too. that all they need to do is scan the number.

[TeamPooka]

22. computers electronically run the world when humans stop oversight.

[840high]

7. I;m happy that I dropped them.

[onenote]

12. update: Comcast refunds the money and gives her a year's free service

After Comcast was contacted by reporters from the station whose help the customer sought, the situation was resolved immediately. Apparently, the check cashing process for Comcast is entirely automated -- the checks aren't reviewed by any human before being automatically deposited (a process that apparently is similar to the one used by a growing number of ATMs). And while I'm no fan of Comcast, it should be noted that they gave the customer $235 in cash and also gave her a credit on her Comcast account of $235, which will give her, in effect, free service for nearly a year and a check for $235 to reimburse the check they deposited.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/trending/Comcast-cashes-elderly-womans-rent-check-offers-credit-in-return.html

[Liberal_in_LA]

20. thx for update

[BainsBane]

19. I fucking hate Comcast

What an awful company to do that to an old woman who is obviously poor. It's also illegal to cash a check that is not addressed to you. Sounds to me like Comcast should be prosecuted for check fraud.