Renew your service or we’ll trash your credit score, Spectrum tells ex-customer

Steve Schklair wonders why he’s being muscled by cable giant Spectrum. “It’s been years since I’ve even been a subscriber,” he said. Nevertheless, Schklair received a strange letter from Spectrum saying that “as a one-time courtesy,” the company will cancel the debt it claims he owes and stop reporting him as a deadbeat to credit agencies — if he agrees to resume cable service. A Spectrum spokesperson confirmed the letter’s authenticity and called it “an opportunity to reconnect” with the cable company. All subscription-based businesses work hard to retain and renew customer relationships. It’s common for such businesses to entice former subscribers to return with discounts and sweetheart deals. I’ve never before seen a pitch that so blatantly threatens harm unless you come around. The Spectrum letter tells Schklair that, despite his alleged fiscal irresponsibility, resuming cable service will allow him “to come back in good standing as a new customer.” However, Schklair reported not owing the company any money, nor receiving any notices of missed payments or warnings about adverse reports to credit agencies. Yet Spectrum’s letter explicitly says that if he resumes cable service, the company will “cease reporting” Schklair’s “prior debt” to credit agencies. That wording implies Spectrum has already submitted such reports. It specifically encourages him to sign up for internet service at an introductory rate of $49.99 a month for the first 12 months. After that, the price jumps to $74.99 monthly — a 50 percent increase. That’s not a promotional offer. It’s a shakedown.

[David Lazarus is an award-winning business columnist for the Los Angeles Times, focusing on consumer affairs.]