Cox Communications deceives customers out of their inflation-strapped money

UPDATE: Kudos to Cox! They did the right thing. (July 27, 2022)

Imagine my shock to open my Cox statement to find a $100 service technician charge on my bill! I opted for the self-service installation option on a recent move. The equipment arrived on time, and installation was pretty simple. However, the service did not work. After several calls to the service department, they determined that a technician needed to come out. I agreed, thinking how else am I to have service?

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I was shocked to discover the problem—a faulty piece of Cox-certified equipment. The technician installed the new equipment and promptly left. Problem solved—or so I thought.

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Customer service revealed that the charge stands because the technician came to the house. It did not matter that he replaced the faulty equipment—had it worked, there would have been no need for the service call. I would not have an issue if the result of the service call found the error to be mine.

?The customer speaks

While investigating the matter, I managed to speak with a Cox technician. I found out they are paid around $25 an hour, or one-fourth of the service charge. They told me that sending faulty equipment happens all the time. It gets a technician out to the house so Cox can charge the installation fee. (This statement is unsubstantiated).

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"It appears that uncaring customer service is a common practice. Take a look at a few 2022 complaints about the media giant."

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"I wish there was a way to provide feedback to this company! Cox doesn't seem to care much beyond getting your monthly cash."

"There is no more real customer support; they just ask a lot of per-formed questions and then suggest sending out a repair tech and charge you for their time."

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"It's is [sic] amazing that the 100 people I have spoken to at Cox and I still can not [sic] find anyone who can help me. I guess stealing customers [sic] money and not providing the service agreed to per the contract I have is now standard practice for Cox."

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In February of 2021, BroadBandNow surveyed 123 Cox Communications customers. They received a 3.6 out of 5 rating in Equipment, Interaction, Reliability, Speed, Support, and Value. The survey did not specify the service area(s). I suppose some areas fare better than others.

The bottom line

Cox Communications is an industry leader in internet and cable services. Such a leader should strive to make customer service their number one priority. Their website states:

"Cox Communications is a family-owned company committed to creating more

?meaningful moments of human connection through technology.

As the largest private broadband provider in the United States, we're proud of our

continued investments in our people, our communities and [sic] our network."

?Perhaps "our communities" should include caring about their individual customers.

I would have selected that option if I wanted to pay for a service technician to install the Cox equipment. However, I chose to self-install. Properly working equipment should be expected to show up at my door.

Had I known the faulty equipment, I could have sent it back. However, the customer service department only gave the only option to send a technician.

Had the result of the technician's call revealed my incompetence in installing the equipment, I would not have said anything about the $100 service charge. However, I don't believe that it is my fault that Cox sent faulty equipment. The right thing to do in such a case is to waive the service charge.

However, (in my opinion) it appears Cox is more concerned with deceiving customers out of their inflations-strapped money.