What would be documented on the 1×1-inch receipt for Cox to reconcile...Cisco telephone modem yada-yada returned? Although your turn-in was over a year ago, I'd assume the Cox Service Center would have an archive copy of the receipt your Mom signed somewhere. Would it be unheard of to research transaction records? I would assume year-old CCTV surveillance records wouldn't exist. Maybe.
Don't telephone modems need to be provisioned once you initially connect them? Any record of the Panaromic eMTA being provisioned at Cox? What modem is listed on your Mom's account page? Were both your calls to Cox from the landline (Panaromic eMTA)? If so, that'd assume the Cisco telephone-modem isn't connected or active. Could 2 telephone modems be active at the same time?
Did your Mom also have Internet service during this 15-year stint? If so and she had a standalone telephone modem, that would assume she also had an Internet modem. Where is this device? You don't rent or borrow Internet modems. You either buy one or Cox will charge you for one during their initial install. Cox wouldn't accept a personal device. They'd either refuse turn-in or toss it for you. Perhaps you returned the wrong modem and they just tossed it.
Needles to say, however, you have to be careful with equipment issues, and I'm sure Cox values any carelessness. I'm also sure Cox wouldn't initiate any investigative reconciliation.
Would it be worth your time and effort to resolve this? Probably not. However, I'd at least try to give your Mom a win. You should file a complaint with your County or State Consumer Protection Office...specifically the Utility Commissions. They may investigate. There is also the Better Business Bureau.
www.usa.gov/state-consumer
https://www.bbb.org/en/us
Don't merely copy-and-paste your post as the complaint. I could understand easily losing interest a few lines into one paragraph containing 652 words. It should be a chronological sequence of facts and details. Start from Cox informing your Mom to switch modems to the Mystery Charge...and what you did since the Mystery Charge. Don't waste their time with emotions, sarcasm and dialog. Just say you don't have the receipt.
Bruce you are a GEM! Excellent advice.
