Cable TV subscription Part II

Chloe Chavez said:My own experience:
I officially canceled following all the "rules": got a notarized statement and sent it off via certified mail.

They didn't bother me until I registered someone else's residency at my address with the Department of Homeland Security. That person doesn't actually live with me; it was just some bureaucratic nonsense that has nothing to do with this situation... IMPORTANT: Nobody except me, the person I registered, and the DHS agent knows that anyone else is even listed at my address!!!!

About ten days after that filing with the DHS, two agents from PBS show up at my door. They claim that because xy (the person I registered) is listed at my address, neither they nor anyone else in the apartment is paying their TV license fee.

I just shut the door. End of story.


The only way those people (PBS) could possibly know the name of the person I registered—or that I'd even added someone to my household—is if they got that info directly from the Department of Homeland Security.

I'm thinking about starting a non-profit just so I can launch a petition to scrap the mandatory TV fee and stop the government from funding PBS through the US budget... anything to avoid being forced to pay. 😁

Elizabeth Price2 said:Honestly, you shouldn't have just slammed the door in their faces right away! You should've stood your ground first—told them straight up that they had no legal right to access that data and demanded their info so you could actually file a lawsuit in court. I'm dying to know if they would've kept breathing down your neck after that.

Oh, and by the way—I finally took my last name off my apartment door today and swapped it out for "Hanžeković" 🤣

nimblelynx7 said:Is the FBI even allowed to leak that? Is there any legal loophole for them to do that?

If you actually start it, you've already got one member.

Smart move, though I wonder if it runs afoul of other laws—like impersonation or something similar?

Sam Ramos85 said:If you handle everything through the website, there’s absolutely no reason for some collector to show up at your doorstep...

What is wrong with you people? Seriously, everyone here seems so incredibly gullible, almost like you're living under a North Korean regime where you just sign whatever garbage gets shoved in your face... I mean, honestly.

When one of those rude collection agents showed up at my house, I told him straight up that if he didn't get off my porch immediately, I was calling 911. On top of that, I sent a formal complaint to Chase Bank stating I'd be filing a lawsuit for harassment.

wiredstag6 said:Hey everyone.

So, here’s the deal. A few years back, my parents actually had a TV set registered with the AFL-CIO, but they eventually filed the paperwork to deregister it—using their own forms, though they never got any confirmation back. Fast forward to around October, and they show up at our place just to nag my mom about it. She calmly explained that we don't even own a receiver, but sure enough, about two weeks later, a bill from $80 lands on the doorstep. Since we didn't have any paper trail proving we’d cancelled the registration earlier, we just bit the bullet and paid those $80 to make it go away, and then immediately filed the cancellation again at the end of October.
Now, we were expecting the bills for the next six months to arrive, and since we thought the cancellation was handled, we figured that was the end of it. But then, out of nowhere, we get this notice for unpaid fees from the first two months (November and December). It isn't some scary legal summons before a lawsuit or anything; it's more of a "hey, pay these two installments plus some late interest" kind of vibe.

What’s the move here? Honestly, I think our first mistake was even paying that initial $80, but at least now I finally have a return receipt as proof that we officially notified the authorities that we don't have a receiver. Should I try calling them or sending a formal letter to get an explanation?

Michelle Alvarez8 said:Just mail that letter back to them along with the payment slips via certified mail. You should also include a note explaining exactly why you did what you did—it's better to be clear, right? Attach a photocopy of that first return receipt too. Just make sure to mention at the end that you've drafted the letter in duplicate and are keeping a copy for your own records.

slymason51 said:He showed up claiming we were behind on payments... which is a lie because we haven't signed a single thing. He tried to say my online registration didn't count because I submitted it on February 8th, but he claimed he caught us on February 7th. He didn't even step inside the house or look at our TV or anything...

mistybear10 said:I really tried my best to actually make sense of this! 😬

Sent from iPhone using Twitter

steelpanther6 said:I'm curious, how can you actually verify if this "inspector/collector/whatever" is an actual PBS employee?

Also, if the old device was already deregistered, then a new one was picked up a year later without being registered—what’s the cost for re-registering (if that's even an option)? Is it that infamous $160 the inspectors always demand you pay right there on the spot? 🤷

Thanks.

dustymarlin10 said:Same here... couldn't even get through it.

Maybe we’re just part of the problem...

On topic: this is what happens when naive people fall for fear-mongering...

Sam Ramos85 said:Why do you even care if they work for NPR?

I mean, you aren't seriously going to trust every random person knocking on your door and sign whatever they tell you to, right?🙄

Just go online and register for the license fee and be done with it. If some sketchy guy shows up at your doorstep flashing various IDs, feel free to call 911 and report that someone is being aggressive and you suspect they're impersonating an official.😉

Sam Ramos85 said:Honestly, he’s just gaslighting you.

Get in touch with PBS using the info from his ID—just copy down his full name from his PBS badge😁

and tell them they're disputing a valid online registration. Also, if having him loitering on your doorstep bothers you—which it does for me—feel free to let him know he's got two seconds to clear out before you call 911.

And seriously, don't be intimidated by these collectors, Jehovah's Witnesses, or those Zepter cookware salespeople. Just don't sign anything during a visit. Ever. If you actually want to pay the fee, give them your info, but otherwise, keep your pen in your pocket.

slymason51 said:Honestly, you might want to think twice about that online registration thing. I did it myself and now I'm kind of in a mess... everything is laid out on their website, which is great, but then they can demand receipts from the actual date you bought your TV. Like, you have to prove exactly how long you've owned it. If you can't prove it, they'll charge you starting from the day you registered. I told them I just got a used set as a gift, and now I'm dealing with the fallout...

Ashley Anderson7 said:Hi everyone, good day to you all,
I’ve been scrolling through everything here, searching and searching, but I just can't seem to find a straight answer to my problem. So, two collection agents came by regarding my TV receiver registration, and since they noticed I already have a Comcast connection, they told me they’d "meet me halfway" and only charge me $160. The thing is, I didn't sign anything at the time, yet they still sent me a bill for that exact amount. Given that my initial registration was perfectly valid and timed right alongside when the TV was gifted to me, I find this whole situation completely baseless and frankly quite rude—and I absolutely DO NOT WANT TO PAY. Honestly, I'd be willing to sue the collector personally for falsifying information if I had to, since I actually have his details; an agent helped me out online and gave me the info on who would be coming to finalize the paperwork. To back me up, I have their SMS messages where they said they'd come to settle the fee based on the registration, followed by another text saying they'd send me a $160 bill to pay. Since they showed up at my door before that happened, the whole ordeal has left me feeling incredibly uneasy.
So... does anyone happen to have an example of a formal complaint, or does anyone know exactly where I should direct it? I’m planning to mail it to the standard appeals address if one exists, and I'll probably send copies to at least two board members via certified mail just to be safe. It makes me so angry to think some arrogant jerk is out there earning a commission just by intimidating people.
My second question is, are they actually allowed to pull data from Comcast to see exactly how long I've been using their internet? From what I've been reading, it seems like companies have a lot of access to that kind of stuff.
Thanks! Please, let me know what you think, because I believe I only have five days to file an appeal—though, of course, that deadline isn't even mentioned on this shady bill they sent.
Best,

slymason51 said:Look, I’ll keep this simple: some collector is breathing down my husband's neck. Apparently, his name is out there somewhere—maybe the neighbors have been talking too much—and now he's being hounded because he has to settle some fine. $160 Look, we aren’t signing a damn thing. Seriously. This collector didn't hear a word about us having a TV, let alone see one. So, basically, me and my partner decided to just handle everything online tomorrow to get it over with. But then, out of nowhere, we get this email from the local broadcasting authority saying an agent is coming over to process our TV registration? Like, what? Then, ten days later, the guy shows up again claiming my online filing is totally invalid because apparently, we’re flagged for unpaid broadcast fees. I mean, come on. In the application, we were crystal clear—we didn't own a single TV set until January 15th, and we filed everything within the legal 30-day window. But no, this collector is just straight-up disputing my online info and demanding we pay up right now. It's ridiculous. $160Look, I’m just gonna say it... I haven't seen, heard, or even breathed near any kind of TV set. It hasn't been in my house, period. It couldn't be any simpler than that... hahaaaaa.

Ashley Anderson7 said:Hi everyone, good day to you all,
I’ve been scrolling through everything here, searching and searching, but I just can't seem to find a straight answer to my problem. So, two collection agents came by regarding my TV receiver registration, and since they noticed I already have a Comcast connection, they told me they’d "meet me halfway" and only charge me $160. The thing is, I didn't sign anything at the time, yet they still sent me a bill for that exact amount. Given that my initial registration was perfectly valid and timed right alongside when the TV was gifted to me, I find this whole situation completely baseless and frankly quite rude—and I absolutely DO NOT WANT TO PAY. Honestly, I'd be willing to sue the collector personally for falsifying information if I had to, since I actually have his details; an agent helped me out online and gave me the info on who would be coming to finalize the paperwork. To back me up, I have their SMS messages where they said they'd come to settle the fee based on the registration, followed by another text saying they'd send me a $160 bill to pay. Since they showed up at my door before that happened, the whole ordeal has left me feeling incredibly uneasy.
So... does anyone happen to have an example of a formal complaint, or does anyone know exactly where I should direct it? I’m planning to mail it to the standard appeals address if one exists, and I'll probably send copies to at least two board members via certified mail just to be safe. It makes me so angry to think some arrogant jerk is out there earning a commission just by intimidating people.
My second question is, are they actually allowed to pull data from Comcast to see exactly how long I've been using their internet? From what I've been reading, it seems like companies have a lot of access to that kind of stuff.
Thanks! Please, let me know what you think, because I believe I only have five days to file an appeal—though, of course, that deadline isn't even mentioned on this shady bill they sent.
Best,