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Ask Amy: Your Ike Questions Answered

POSTED: Monday, September 29, 2008
UPDATED: 5:37 pm CDT September 29, 2008

It wasn't just power that millions of us lost during Hurricane Ike. Thousands also lost cable, their apartments and even tickets to expensive concerts and sporting events.

Many of you asked KPRC Local 2 investigative reporter Amy Davis if you'll be reimbursed for services that were not provided.

Our e-mail inbox was flooded with requests for information. By far, next to electricity, most of the complaints are about Comcast cable, Internet and phone service.

Comcast said that 75 percent of its customers lost service because of Hurricane Ike.

They said 89 percent of their customers are now fully restored and Comcast said you will not have to pay for service you did not receive.

To get a credit for the time your cable service was interrupted, call Comcast at 1-800-COMCAST. If you prefer e-mail, visit www.comcast.com.

Comcast said if you didn't have power, you obviously couldn't get cable either, so your credit will cover the entire period your power was off.

Debby Noffsinger lived in San Leon. She said her cable box was destroyed in the flood waters and Comcast told her she would be charged $400 for the damaged box.

Comcast is asking that residents in the coastal areas return their boxes even if they are damaged. They will replace them at no charge.

If the box is missing, Comcast said you should file that on your homeowner's insurance policy along with your other claims.

Renters in apartments damaged by Ike want to know if they can stop paying rent until the damages are repaired.

The answer is no. The Texas Property Code states that owners have a "reasonable" time period to make repairs. One attorney defined "reasonable" as two weeks.

Tenants of Harborside Apartments in Seabrook said the management told them they had to leave the apartments, but they would be moved into a sister property with higher rent.

According to the Houston Apartment Association, the complex cannot force residents to move to a new property and it must refund security deposits.

Read more about when you can and cannot break your lease at the Houston Apartment Association.

The questions and answers were written for landlords, but there is useful information for renters, as well.

Pascual Vasquez purchased four Astros tickets for the Sept. 14 game, but it was cancelled by Ike.

He made the $200 purchase through the online ticket auction site, Stub Hub. A Stub Hub spokesman told Davis that Vasquez will get a refund because the event was cancelled.

But Stephanie Means, who bought tickets to the Texans game against Cincinnati, is not so lucky. That game was rescheduled for Oct. 26, a date Means can't make.

Stub Hub said that because the game will go on, she would not get her money back. She can repost her tickets and sell them to someone who can go to the game in October.

Both the Texans and the Astros said if you purchased tickets direct from the box office or from Ticketmaster, they will give you a refund on both cancelled and rescheduled games.

Davis posted a lot of links and information about which businesses are giving refunds and fee waivers for folks affected by Hurricane Ike on her Ask Amy Blog.
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