Can Cox open up new accounts under your name, expect you to pay the bill, then send it to a bill collectior even though you had no knowledge or gave your authorization to open up these (2) new accounts?
I have have Cox services for probably 10 yrs now & until I moved only one block away at the beginning of this year, 2018, I had never an issue with them, nor have they ever had an issue with me. I have always paid my bills & in fact I did not have to pay Cox any kind of deposit when I had my services hooked up in my name. After I moved the second week of January, I finally contacted Cox towards the middle of February because I still had not received my first bill from them since moving. The services I had before moving was just basic television (like 25 channels, No premium channels) & their Preferred Internet (1 step higher than their basic internet). This was my services I had paid for over a year. When I moved, this was the only services I asked to be transferred to my new home address. When I finally did contact Cox because I had not received a bill yet & the online bill paying was showing my balance as $0, I knew by the time they would get around to finally billing me, the bill would be extremely high. So at the middle of February after I contacted Cox, I find out that instead just transferring the same services I had for almost a year & a half, which was basic TV & Preferred internet... Cox decided to give me every single channel available including every Premium channel (every movie channel available), about 400 channels total. When I contacted Cox at the middle of February, again I said just basic TV, No Premium channels & the Preferred internet. I also asked the total amount my bill was. I knew it would be more for the disconnection & hook up fees. But I went from paying first around $65 per month, then after a year my bill jumps up $97 per month. They said it was because I could no longer could get it at their sale price because I've had the service for over a year now. But the after I moved only one block away, wanting the exact same serve, my bill jumps to over $157 per month, a $60.00 increase. So by the time I did contact Cox at the middle of February, my bill was well over $320.00 + some. Repeatedly I asked if I paid this bill all at once I should receive regular month bills & this was for all the hook up fees, the disconnection fees & any old bills unpaid from both the new address & the old address. Repeatedly I was told yes & told that after paying this lump sum my monthly bill would be around $157.00 per month. That was a $60.00 increase for only moving one block. So I went ahead & paid Cox the lump sum of $322.60 to be exact. My total bill from the old & the new address, for part January (January 15th was when it was suppose to be shut off at the old address & hooked back up at the new address) & up until only the 15th of February, so services rendered was only one month exactly. Towards the end of March, Cox was still sending me a bill for the old address for over $200.00. So I got in touch with Cox again to tell them that this bill had been paid. This is when I was informed that Cox had opened up 3 seperate account under my name. That the lump some of $322.60 had only paid only one of those accounts. Even though I only moved one block from my old address to the new address, because of that I now have 3 seperate accounts for the exact same service. When I asked who authorized these 2 extra accounts, Cox tried to tell me I authorized it. I had only authorize services be shut off January 15th & turn on at the new address the same day. So if I only paid on one account, why was my bill $322.60 for one month of service. Disconnection fee & turn on fee = $165.60 + one month of service $157.00 = total of $322.60. Really? To flip a switch off & then on again costs more then the actual bill... $165.60 There would be nobody who has a brain in their body would agree to this. That $165.60 was intended to pay disconnection fee, hook up fee & any remaining bill from the old address (which I know I paid completely off back in December, prior to moving in January) I told Cox to shut down all services (2 accounts) that were not authorized by me. I also shut down my TV service & returned all equipment, in the original boxes that belonged to Cox (that I had personally installed at the new address). I still don't understand how just transfering my services only one block away resulted into at $60.00 increase monthly, 3 seperate accounts with 3 seperate account numbers & now Cox has placed bad credit on my name because they say I didn't pay them over $200.00 on an account, I did not authorize or had any knowledge of existing. So how can I get this off my credit history? When I paid that lump sum of $322.60 thar total amount I was told completed all, the transfer, disconnect fee, connect fee & all the bill s combined. But now Cox is saying I have to pay them twice? Why? I want this off my credit as quick as possible. I also can not afford to pay them twice for one bill. Why should I have to? This was their mistake. The sent this delinquent bill to a collection agency. A bill I was told that was paid in full. A bill that had been opened up with a new account without my knowledge, consent, authorization or signature. A bill the happen to just make up. A bill that was of services for an empty house. If I could get a better internet provider, I would love to shut down all my services I currently have with Cox. And before all of this I had service with Cox a few other times. I paid my mothers bills she had with Cox the last 2 yrs she was alive. I WAS a loyal Cox customer. How can it be legal for them to open up new accounts without you knowing & then send it to bill collectors when it isn't paid? Of course the bill wasn't paid, I had no knowledge it existed until I got a letter from the bill collectors informing about this. I want it off my credit history. I want them to at least admit their mistake & I want this to go away. Is there anyway I can sue Cox because of this?