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If your toaster is destroyed in a hurricane, Target does not replace it. If your car is destroyed in a hurricane, Honda does not replace it. So if your cable bo

by enoch_r 14y ago

If your toaster is destroyed in a hurricane, Target does not replace it. If your car is destroyed in a hurricane, Honda does not replace it. So if your cable box is destroyed in a hurricane, I don't see why Comcast should be expected to eat the cost of replacement. You're renting an item with the express provision that failing to return the item means you've bought it. Expecting Comcast to provide free hurricane insurance for all their cable boxes just doesn't make sense--it's like expecting the furniture store to refund all the money you paid for the furniture in the house.

Turing_Machine 14y ago
But it's not "their" cable box. It's Comcast's cable box. IMO, it would be fine for Comcast to charge for damage due to negligence or intentional vandalism, but not due to circumstances beyond the homeowner's control. Do they charge if the box is damaged by lightning, e.g.? Certainly my old cable company didn't, but I don't know about Comcast (I got rid of the cable after Comcast bought the company I had).
- esrauch 14y ago
  If it was a leased car it wouldn't be "their" car either, but it would be ridiculous to expect the company you are leasing it from to eat the cost of the car simply because it was destroyed by a natural disaster. While you are in possession of the property it is your own decision to insure it or not. In this case it many (almost all?) forms of home insurance would cover the cost of the destroyed cable box. If Comcast stuck a mandatory $3/month "cable box insurance" fee on everyone's bill people would be posting about how they are money grubbing assholes, but if they are effectively insuring all of their leased equipment against loss then they are doing exactly that except just not putting it as a separate line item on the bill.
  - Turing_Machine 14y ago
    It probably depends on how the contract is written, and I am not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure that default contract law is that the owner (not the renter) is responsible for "Acts of God". The renter has the duty to treat the property with reasonable care, but isn't responsible for normal wear and tear or disaster scenarios.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
- enoch_r 14y ago
  Interesting. I see the box as rented equipment, temporarily owned by the homeowner. Anything that happens to the box during the rental period is something the renter is responsible for. I'm actually surprised that your old cable company replaced the lightning-damaged box. But judging from the response here, clearly lots of other people think of the box as a part of Comcast's infrastructure that happens to be portable. And from that point of view, it makes sense for Comcast to eat the cost--just like they'll eat the cost of their cable lines being torn up in the hurricane. And I suppose that if the vast majority of people have the latter view when they're signing up for cable, then Comcast should probably change their policies to fit that model, and just charge for loss or damage caused by the user.
  - Turing_Machine 14y ago
    "Anything that happens to the box during the rental period is something the renter is responsible for." Most rental contracts (for anything) that I've seen make the owner responsible for normal wear and tear and so-called "Acts of God". If you rent an apartment, you're not generally responsible for the rebuilding costs if it gets blown away in a hurricane or tornado. Here's an example lease: http://www.sitenet.com/toolkit/lease/database/l12.htm http://www.sitenet.com/toolkit/lease/database/l12.htm
  - cowsaysoink 14y ago
    I pay the monthly fee for my dsl modem because it comes with insurance and if the box breaks, which they seem to do, I don't eat the $100 dollar or more fee for a new one, the phone company ships one. Now it really depends on how it is done but when I had comcast I did the same thing and I was always able to get someone on the line to replace it on their dime because of the monthly fees. Granted I never have had a hurricane blow through an office I think most of the time they are willing to work with you.

by enoch_r 14y ago

Turing_Machine 14y ago

But it's not "their" cable box. It's Comcast's cable box. IMO, it would be fine for Comcast to charge for damage due to negligence or intentional vandalism, but not due to circumstances beyond the homeowner's control. Do they charge if the box is damaged by lightning, e.g.? Certainly my old cable company didn't, but I don't know about Comcast (I got rid of the cable after Comcast bought the company I had).

esrauch 14y ago
If it was a leased car it wouldn't be "their" car either, but it would be ridiculous to expect the company you are leasing it from to eat the cost of the car simply because it was destroyed by a natural disaster. While you are in possession of the property it is your own decision to insure it or not. In this case it many (almost all?) forms of home insurance would cover the cost of the destroyed cable box. If Comcast stuck a mandatory $3/month "cable box insurance" fee on everyone's bill people would be posting about how they are money grubbing assholes, but if they are effectively insuring all of their leased equipment against loss then they are doing exactly that except just not putting it as a separate line item on the bill.
- Turing_Machine 14y ago
  It probably depends on how the contract is written, and I am not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure that default contract law is that the owner (not the renter) is responsible for "Acts of God". The renter has the duty to treat the property with reasonable care, but isn't responsible for normal wear and tear or disaster scenarios.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
enoch_r 14y ago
Interesting. I see the box as rented equipment, temporarily owned by the homeowner. Anything that happens to the box during the rental period is something the renter is responsible for. I'm actually surprised that your old cable company replaced the lightning-damaged box. But judging from the response here, clearly lots of other people think of the box as a part of Comcast's infrastructure that happens to be portable. And from that point of view, it makes sense for Comcast to eat the cost--just like they'll eat the cost of their cable lines being torn up in the hurricane. And I suppose that if the vast majority of people have the latter view when they're signing up for cable, then Comcast should probably change their policies to fit that model, and just charge for loss or damage caused by the user.
- Turing_Machine 14y ago
  "Anything that happens to the box during the rental period is something the renter is responsible for." Most rental contracts (for anything) that I've seen make the owner responsible for normal wear and tear and so-called "Acts of God". If you rent an apartment, you're not generally responsible for the rebuilding costs if it gets blown away in a hurricane or tornado. Here's an example lease: http://www.sitenet.com/toolkit/lease/database/l12.htm http://www.sitenet.com/toolkit/lease/database/l12.htm
- cowsaysoink 14y ago
  I pay the monthly fee for my dsl modem because it comes with insurance and if the box breaks, which they seem to do, I don't eat the $100 dollar or more fee for a new one, the phone company ships one. Now it really depends on how it is done but when I had comcast I did the same thing and I was always able to get someone on the line to replace it on their dime because of the monthly fees. Granted I never have had a hurricane blow through an office I think most of the time they are willing to work with you.