COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — For nearly four years, Dennis DeVendra and his wife relied on WOW! for internet service and planned to stay with the company, even when they moved out of Westerville.

“We wanted to transfer our WOW! service over to this house in New Albany,” said DeVendra. “And they did not service this area, so, I had no choice but to cancel the service and return the items.”

Those items were a bay station, router and beacon. Equipment, DeVendra said, was provided as part of the company’s standard service.

“Once we discontinued our service, they indicated that they would send us a FedEx box and we would then put our items in the box and return them,” said DeVendra.

DeVendra said they packed each item and sent them off in January, assuming it was a done deal. That was until one month later.

“We get a bill from WOW! for $128 and I couldn’t figure out, why are we getting a bill?” DeVendra called customer service.

“They said, ‘Well, you did not return the beacon,’ which was one of the three items,” said DeVendra. “They said, ‘All you need to do is return it,’ and I was telling them, ‘I can’t return it, because I already did. We have no item to return, because it is returned.'”

Unfortunately, DeVendra couldn’t prove it. So, he said, a representative told him they would look into it and call back. That didn’t happen. DeVendra called again, and again, and again and never got an answer. He had renewed hope, though, in late spring, when WOW! became Breezeline, and he stopped getting bills in the mail.

“We thought, maybe, maybe it got resolved. Then, the next billing cycle, Breezeline sends us a bill for $128,” said DeVendra. But again, DeVendra said he called over and over, and still no solution.

“That’s when I contacted channel 4, call 4, because I said, ‘This is not going anywhere.’ I don’t have anything against Breezeline, I just want them to stop trying to send me a bill for something I don’t owe,” said DeVendra.

So, I contacted Breezeline, just after 2:30 on July 15, and less than two hours later, heard back from a Breezeline representative, who told me DeVendra’s account was credited for the back balance due of $128.
DeVendra sent an update to Better Call 4, confirming that the charge was finally erased.

DeVendra said another reason why he was so adamant to get this taken care of, was because he started receiving letters from a collections agency. He didn’t want this to affect his credit score. But Breezeline said it contacted that agency, to have those charges removed as well.

Something for you to keep in mind: DeVendra couldn’t prove to Breezeline that he had packed all of the items in the box. So, if whenever you return something, take a photo, in case there is a mix-up or misunderstanding.