Action: Records show cable movie orders

I have been a customer of Time Warner Cable for the past four years. Recently I received a cable bill for $206. Most of the charges were for adult movies that I did not order. I have a 21-month-old child, and all we ever do is watch cartoons from morning to night. Those movies were charged to my account on days that I'm not even home. I work from noon till 5 a.m. every Sunday.

I have been in touch with Time Warner numerous times to try to resolve this problem. Someone did come out to check my box to see if there were any problems. The serviceman said no movies had been ordered from the box.

He also stated that he was sent out on a similar call and found there were some movies ordered but not as many as the customer had been billed for. Most of those charges were for adult movies also. The same thing happened to a friend and her mother, so I am not the only one having this problem.

Since I wasn't able to solve this problem with Time Warner's customer service department, I left messages for the manager. He never returned my calls.

I am, unfortunately, at the end of my rope with Time Warner Cable and don't know what I can possibly do about this situation. Please help in any way you can. Thank you so very much for your time and attention. Chi Kim Le

Response: Michael Robertson, vice president/general manager for Time Warner Cable in Clearwater, said that the company's director of marketing has had several phone conversations with you, and the company has agreed to remove seven of the 19 pay per view charges as a goodwill gesture.

However, he said that Time Warner does not have the power arbitrarily to put those charges on your account. It has been ascertained that all the movies were ordered through your remote and a PIN number for your account. To prevent this from happening in the future, all pay per view ordering has been blocked from your remote. You must now call the office to place a movie buy, and no future credits will be offered.

Face cream refund

I ordered a 60-day supply of 3 Minute Face Lift from Cosmetic Laboratory in Norwalk, Conn., on April 16. I sent a check for $19.23, which the company cashed. I did not receive my merchandise, so on May 8, I wrote and asked for a refund. I then received the 3 Minute Face Lift.

I tried the Face Lift but had no success. My dark circles did not vanish, so on May 22, I returned the product and asked for my refund of $14.98, since it came with a money-back guarantee. I knew I would not get the shipping and handling back.

Weeks later, I received another order of Face Lift. I wanted to refuse the order, but my letter said I needed more postage to return it. My cousin suggested asking for a return label. On June 5, I wrote to the customer service department and explained. I asked for my refund and a postage-paid label to return the second shipment, which I did not want.

The company is ignoring my requests. I am trying to resolve this and hope you can help. Florence Langhans

Response: Alexandra Rey, customer service representative for National TV Bargains in Hartford, Mich., said that a refund check of $14.98 has been issued. You should have it by the end of the month.

Rey made no mention of the postage-paid label, so we suggest you hang on to the second shipment of 3 Minute Face Lift a while longer to see whether you are billed for it. If you are, let us know, and we will try to get the label for you. We suspect part of the problem is that all your transactions and correspondence with the company happened over a relatively short time. In other words, it is possible that by the time the company received your return, the replacement shipment (or second shipment if your initial purchase signed you up to receive future shipments) was already in the pipeline.

Refund time is short

Action alert: Did you purchase a Stimulator and/or an Xtender between May 4, 1994, and Dec. 22, 1997? If so, your deadline to request a court-ordered refund from the manufacturer is just around the corner, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Stimulator and an accessory, the Xtender, were marketed as pain relieving devices and sold nationwide for about $79.95 through print advertisements and infomercials. In November 2000, a federal judge ordered that refunds be made to all eligible consumers who bought either device because they were being sold in violation of Food and Drug Administration laws and regulations. They did not have the FDA approval required of any device that makes medical claims, such as pain relief. Government officials believe that as many as 800,000 were sold. To date, only 80,000 purchasers have sought refunds.

If you bought either device within the stated time period, send a note containing your name, address, phone number, purchase price, approximate purchase date and proof of purchase to: Gilardi & Co., P.O. Box 990, Corte Madera, CA 94977, Attn: Stimulator. To prove purchase, send as many of the following as possible: a credit card statement, canceled check, invoice, receipt and the device(s) purchased. According to the Justice Department's release, the deadline for mailing your request is Nov. 5.

Action solves problems and gets answers for you. If you have a question, or your own attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or call your Action number, (727) 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request.

Requests will be accepted only by mail or voice mail; calls cannot be returned. We will not be responsible for personal documents, so please send only photocopies. If your complaint concerns merchandise ordered by mail, we need copies of both sides of your canceled check.

We may require additional information or prefer to reply by mail; therefore, readers must provide a full mailing address, including ZIP code. Names of letter writers will not be omitted except in unusual circumstances. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright