Best method to take for an overdue bill...

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

So to this point, I've been fortunate enough to not ever have any of my utilities shut off.

Well as it is, I'm pretty overdue on my cable bill (like 3 months, yikes!) thanks to falling way, way behind financially.

Luckily, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, I'm going to come out of it, and get back on my feet financially. It just so happens that it's probably going to be another 3 or 4 weeks before everything starts getting caught up.

I just got a notice the other day that they were gonna shut off the cable if I didn't pay them like $300 by yesterday. Well yesterday came, and I don't have $300 to give them, so I didn't pay them. My cable also didn't get shut off.

Well I received a voice mail tonight telling me to call Comcast about my account, obviously I know what it's in regards to. But is it worth it to call Comcast and tell them "Hey, I'm gonna pay you everything I owe, but I won't be for another 3 weeks or so", or just let them shut off my service, and then just give them my payment when I get the money in?

Typically when I have to call to let them know I'm running late, it's a situation of "Hey, I'm gonna pay you in 3 days when I get paid at the end of the week" but even my paycheck at the end of this week isn't going to give me enough $$ to pay off my cable bill, especially when I got electricity / water and rent coming due, way more important than my TV service.

 

[Paladin-Hoss]

I'd call them. it's always better to let them hear from you...who knows, maybe they'll wait.

You're gonna have tp pay them one way or the other anyway.

 

[Spider-Who?]

Yes, whenever you're going to be late on any payment, call them. Most times, they'll appreciate the notice and may even cut you a little slack. At the very least, they'd work out a payment plan. They want your money, so they'll work with you to get it. Ignoring emails and calls does not help anything and just puts stress on you.

 

[chaseter]

Not to be rude or anything but if you are having money troubles then I wouldn't have cable. In fact, I am trying to buy a house right now and it is taking forever because it's a short sale. So, I am in a rental right now with no cable to save money. I can live without cable for 6 months. I have netflix and the internet.

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

^ That's why I'm letting it get shut off. It's my lowest priority.

The money troubles are something that just hit suddenly, and are going to go away quickly as well.

Basically - I lost my job, got another one, but fell temporarily behind due to the short time I did spend without a job. But I'm catching back up, and things are going to be just fine again in just a couple weeks when I get back on my feet and my finances catch back up to the way they were.

Thanks for the responses. I'll probably give them a call tomorrow.

 

[chaseter]

Well good luck to you none the less. I would just get it shut off. When I went to college, back when we still had antennas, we were poor as shat and we just had antenna cable...which was like 5 channels hahaha.

 

[Paladin-Hoss]

^ That's why I'm letting it get shut off. It's my lowest priority.

The money troubles are something that just hit suddenly, and are going to go away quickly as well.

Basically - I lost my job, got another one, but fell temporarily behind due to the short time I did spend without a job. But I'm catching back up, and things are going to be just fine again in just a couple weeks when I get back on my feet and my finances catch back up to the way they were.

Thanks for the responses. I'll probably give them a call tomorrow.

You should call them. I don't know how it is in the US, but over here, once the service is ended that way, next thing they'll do is call the bills collectors...and you don't want that.

Also, when you get to that point,you'll never be able to use their service again.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

I'd call. I always call if i'm worried. At the end of the day, it can never make it worse.

They will probably try to convince you that you HAVE to pay some of it sooner, even if they eventually get down to asking you just to pay 20 now or something; but you just have to be really persistent and blunt about your situation, and explain that your just being honest and if they have to cut it off you will understand.

Do you know if they can fine you?

Not to be rude or anything but if you are having money troubles then I wouldn't have cable. In fact, I am trying to buy a house right now and it is taking forever because it's a short sale. So, I am in a rental right now with no cable to save money. I can live without cable for 6 months. I have netflix and the internet.

Yeah I don't bother with even having a TV license anymore, since I found out you only have to have one if your watching LIVE tv on the internet.

Everything I want to watch, I can catch up on after it's original airdate.

 

[Godzilla2000]

I usually find crying and whining gets me the best results.

 

[Spider-Who?]

^ That's why I'm letting it get shut off. It's my lowest priority.

The money troubles are something that just hit suddenly, and are going to go away quickly as well.

Basically - I lost my job, got another one, but fell temporarily behind due to the short time I did spend without a job. But I'm catching back up, and things are going to be just fine again in just a couple weeks when I get back on my feet and my finances catch back up to the way they were.

Thanks for the responses. I'll probably give them a call tomorrow.

Dude, I'm sorry but just "letting them shut it off" is a very poor decision. It does not alleviate the situation, make the money problem go away. It's the worst thing you could do because now instead of just falling behind and having to pay late fees, your credit score is going to take a severe beating. In this economy its hard enough for people with good credit, but with a black mark on your credit history, you're really going to have a hard time trying to get anything - car loan, student loan, cell phone, credit card, etc. You're just shooting yourself in the foot.

 

[Wolfwood]

I usually find crying and whining gets me the best results.

That's only because you have boobs.

 

[bullets]

Dude, I'm sorry but just "letting them shut it off" is a very poor decision. It does not alleviate the situation, make the money problem go away. It's the worst thing you could do because now instead of just falling behind and having to pay late fees, your credit score is going to take a severe beating. In this economy its hard enough for people with good credit, but with a black mark on your credit history, you're really going to have a hard time trying to get anything - car loan, student loan, cell phone, credit card, etc. You're just shooting yourself in the foot.

I don't think he had a choice. The bill was three months behind and he didn't enough money to pay it. Cox will shut me down at two months past due. I found that out when they claimed I didn't pay anything in August. Good thing I keep bill receipts.

 

[Duke]

I usually find crying and whining gets me the best results.

Don't forget ranting, too.

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I just got off the phone with them. Basically what was said is this: My shutoff date was December 30th (even though the notice they sent me said December 26th), and he said that I can hold it for 10 days from that date, if I call back on the 30th and give them a small payment to bring my balance below a certain amount (and it's an amount that I -can- afford to pay right now), and those 10 days will take me right up to about the time that I'll be getting paid and take care of the bill in full.

 

[ComicChick]

glad to hear Nell, like others said you never want to take a hit to your credit

and a small amount paid is better than no amount at all

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

So update:

I did exactly what the customer service rep said - call back on the 30th, make a payment of $6 to take my overall balance below $500 (that includes my regular bill as well as what I fell behind on) and they could postpone the shut off for 10 days.

Well I wake up this morning to call (actually, I even called early early early in the AM when I got back home from a friends house) and the service is shut off and it is impossible to reach customer service over the phone (literally, everytime I call Comcast, it automatically transfers me to their collections department in Dallas)

So im a little bit frustrated by the fact that I did call them, and I did exactly what they told me to do, and it opened up another level of hassle for me. Not entirely upset about the shutoff itself, that's my fault for falling so far behind. I just wish that when I called them to discuss my situation and make arrangements, they would have given me some useful information.

So apparently it's off to the Comcast office now to see what I can do.

Edit: And scratch that. I call the local Comcast office, and the customer service transfers me to the national number which then transfers me to Dallas.