NEW CANEY, Texas – Complaints about cable companies are a dime a dozen. From overbilling to outages to unexpected changes in service, there is no shortage of issues.
Homeowner Sandy Clark wrote to consumer expert Amy Davis with a cable issue that she said was impacting her lawn and her safety.
Mowing the grass could take twice as long as it should at Clark's home in New Caney. Every few feet, she would have to stop to move a cable that Suddenlink dropped in her yard more than a month ago.
"They attached the cable the first day and said they would come back in three to five business days to bury it, and they didn't return," Clark said.
The cable ran from a utility post, across her front yard, down the left side of her home, around the back of the home and up the home's right side.
Clark said she might have laughed if the situation wasn't so frustrating.
"I have to constantly move it in order to do any yard work, to walk my dogs," Clark said. "It's actually an eyesore as well because the top of the cable mount on the tank is lifted up just so that the cable can run out across my yard."
After no fewer than three calls to the St. Louis-based cable company with no results, Clark contacted Davis.
"I didn't have a choice," Clark said. "Suddenlink wasn't responding. There was no one else that I was aware of that would handle problems quickly and efficiently."
In less than 24 hours after Davis called, Suddenlink sent a crew to bury the cable.
If you have a similar problem with a cable company or another utility, you can file a complaint with your local municipality or city. The city of Houston, for example, has contracts with certain utilities that use the city's easements for their lines and equipment. The city can get your complaint to the right person at the utility. Click here to learn how to file a complaint.
If you live in another city or county, you should contact the respective governments to find the office that handles your area's cable franchises.