Spencer Pratt returns to burned down home to retrieve cable box to cancel service
Spencer Pratt searched through the rubble of what once was his Pacific Palisades home to find his Spectrum Cable box to finally end his service with the provider.
“Good news, Spectrum! I’m pretty sure this is the box you guys had asked if I still had,” said in a post on Instagram. “I found it! How much am I going to get for it though? I think you could figure something out. We could do a deal, maybe half?”
This all started last week when Pratt took to the social media platform to reveal a conversation he had with a customer service agent.
“I know someone is just reading the script from the bosses,” he wrote. “But I was just asked by Spectrum, after telling them I didn’t need the service because the house was burned to the ground, if I had the boxes to return.”
“The Hills” reality star then jokingly wrote:”Yes, I took my birth certificate, passport and Spectrum cable box,” and captioned the post “Living in an upside down world.”
He then shared a direct message he had with a Spectrum supervisor who told Pratt that he won’t be charged for the damaged box due to the fire.
For Pratt, the charge wasn’t the issue, it was his exchange with the customer service agent who seemed to have lacked empathy.
“I think my initial issue Traci, was that they asked me after I said my house burned down. Obviously, they’re reading from the script, so I think we got to edit the script,” he said. “Thanks for reaching out. Appreciate this customer service, but I would just advise the powers that be at Spectrum to edit the script.”
“When somebody says to your lovely employees that their house burned down, you say, instantly, ‘Okay, well, let me waive that fee for your damaged boxes, you don’t ask if they have the boxes.'”
Pratt’s followers immediately flooded the comment section to share their stories.
“THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME AFTER MY FIRE! I called to cancel because obviously we couldn’t watch tv without ya know… a house or a tv!! And they were actually going to charge me if I didn’t send the boxes back,” one person wrote. “I told them I could bag up some ashes if they’d like. I can’t even tell you how many hours I spent on the phone arguing with them. There’s a LOT of companies out there that could benefit from some empathy, or I don’t know logic, training.”
“The amount of businesses who have had the most disappointing ‘bedside manner’ of customer service through this tragedy and others.. could write a book,” wrote another.
KTLA 5 has reached out to Spectrum for a response to Pratt’s concerns and is awaiting a response.
In the meantime the provider issued this statment to TMZ:
“Customers will not be charged for equipment damaged in the fires and our agents are instructed to not ask for equipment to be returned. We are reviewing the agent instructions to make sure that our communication is clear,” the statement said. “Anyone in the fire areas can contact us at this special number, 833-499-3306, to help with any questions about their situation. If a customer’s home is damaged or they can’t return to it, or if equipment was lost or damaged in the fires, they can call us so we can provide them with options regarding service, billing concerns, credits, or other needs.”
“We have been communicating this proactively to customers in the impacted areas.”
Pratt and his wife Heidi Montag and their children were forced to evacuate their home during the catastrophic wildfire in January. His parent’s home was also damaged in the blaze.
Pratt and Montag have been romantically linked since 2007 and have been married since 2008 and have two children together. They’re famously known by their collective nickname Speidi. It’s not known where they are seeking shelter during this time.
They both starred in the MTV reality show “The Hills,” which aired for six seasons from 2006 to 2010. It originally focused on the life of Lauren “LC” Conrad who starred in the hit reality show “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County.”
“The Hills” also featured Brody Jenner and Kristin Cavallari.