Before the billing problems, apartment and building numbers appeared on customer bills.

Cox Communications’ third-party billing vendor decided a billing system upgrade was required to comply with post office regulations governing the bulk mail discounts the company receives when sending millions of subscriber bills.  But that upgrade caused some renters serious headaches this summer when apartment and building numbers were omitted from the envelopes, resulting in bills being returned to Cox undelivered.

Despite the billing snafus which began in June, customers were still expected to pay their bills on time to avoid late fees.  In Lincoln, R.I., one apartment complex is up in arms as residents in their 80s have been forced to drive to Cox offices just to find out how much they owe and pay their bills in person.

“At first they blamed the post office when I called,” said Cox subscriber Anita Messier.  “I’m 81 years old and I can’t see myself driving [to the cable company] this winter to pay my Cox bill.”

The problem: Cox deleted the apartment and building numbers from the billing addresses of many of their customers.  Now, only a generic street address is listed, and that is a problem for the affected Lincoln residents, many of whom live in apartment complexes with well over 100 individual families.  Mail carriers have not been equipped to guess what bill belongs in which mailbox, so Cox’s monthly statements stopped arriving.

Now they don't, and the post office won't deliver them.

The Messier family’s bill ceased arriving in June, and despite repeated calls and promises the issue would be corrected, they still haven’t received a Cox bill, and it is now October.

In frustration, Messier threw her hands up and called Providence TV station WPRI for help.

“I don’t usually ask for help,” Messier confesses.  “I usually come out of this by myself, but right now I’m frustrated with Cox.”

When the station called Cox, it appears to have lit a fire under the cable company to help finally resolve the issue.  Cox officials profusely apologized for the billing blunder, claim they will refund any late charges that result, and now Lincoln residents are wondering whether they will finally see their Cox bills return to their mailboxes before Halloween.

[flv width=”360″ height=”290″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WPRI Providence Cox Stops Billing Lincoln Cable Customers 10-5-11.mp4[/flv]

WPRI in Providence intervenes on behalf of elderly Lincoln residents who have been forced to drive to local Cox offices to pay the cable bills they haven’t seen since June.  (3 minutes)