I got a letter in the mail today from Optimum / Cablevision, our friendly local cableco. We were Cablevision customers when we first moved to the area because Verizon’s FiOS service, which we had known and loved in Boston before we moved, was not available yet. We had broadband and TV from them and phone from Verizon. When FiOS duly arrived in our area, we signed up for the triple play from Verizon and ditched Cablevision without further thought.
Since that time we’ve received the odd piece of mail from Cablevision (“some FiOS customers are not getting what they thought they signed up for”, “wish you hadn’t switched?” etc.) and the other day a Brazilian guy doing door to door sales for the company showed up too.
But the letter that arrived today was a bit different. It appears Cablevision is tired of my refusal to come back to them and has decided to start with the scare tactics instead… I’ve embedded a small version of the letter below but click here for a large image and here for a PDF (both are scans of the original).
My wife brought me the letter in my office and just laughed about it. “Oh no, our house is going to burn down because of our FiOS service!” she said. She saw it for what it was – scare tactics, pure and simple. But would other customers? Would this work? And are they sending this to everyone, or just people like me that have said no too many times to the straight pitch?
Here’s the full text:
Dear Neighbor,
New York Public Safety Commission Inspectors have found that “a high proportion” – over 50% – of Verizon’s FiOS installations in customer homes had failed to adhere to some of the bonding and grounding provisions of the National Electrical Code (NEC); the Commission has ordered Verizon to undertake a comprehensive remedial plan. The NY State Attorney General’s office – supporting the Commission’s action – had also noted that many customers were unaware of the potential risks involved in these faulty installations.
State inspectors first found grounding problems in the spring of 2006. They discovered that some FiOS equipment – Optical Network Terminals, or ONTs – had been grounded to heating fuel-vent pipes and plastic pipe elbows, or were not grounded at all. The PSC report noted that improperly grounded electrical equipment can cause fires or electrocution in the event of equipment failure or lightning strikes. PSC inspectors found similar problems in a series of subsequent audits through the summer of 2008. Although Verizon has now improved its code compliance on new installations, a significant number of faulty installations still remain and, under Verizon’s plan, might not be fixed until May 2009. Verizon customers’ FiOS installations in areas that have yet to be addressed are still at risk for these bonding and grounding faults.
As an alternative, Cablevision offers our popular Optimum Triple Play which includes TV, High Speed Internet and Unlimited Calling in the US, Puerto Rico and Canada [why they think I need to know about Puerto Rico and Canada, or any area outside of the New York area, I have no idea] for just $29.95 a month each for two years with FREE professional installation. And there are no annual contracts.
For more information or to order the Optimum Triple Play, please call 1-866-***-****. Our sales representatives will be happy to help you, 7 days a week, 7am-midnight.
Thank you,
Kathy Filosa
Vice President
Note, no mention of them actually removing Verizon’s ONT, so one assumes this actually does nothing to solve the underlying problem, should there be one in the first place. Since Verizon’s fiber installations are permanent (i.e. no going back to copper) I don’t believe Verizon would ever take it away anyway, so by cancelling I’m probably even less likely to have them come and rectify the issue than if I at least remained a customer…
