Re: Looking for info on texas cable contractors

If you do a search on Texas Cable Contractors and TCC here you will be well informed on the general opinions about TCC. You can also look on their web site at their own forum if they haven’t erased the negative posts yet. Here’s my opinion:

They have extremely poor paperwork handling procedures that results in constant battles with their subs over pay and constant battles with the providers over invoices. A paperwork nightmare would be an understatement.

They have extremely poor equipment tracking procedures. (They lost over 120 boxes in St Louis)

They use all subs (their own independents have all quit) and don’t pay their subs what they are due. I would be more than willing to put you in touch with any number of independents and subs that will attest to this.

Our company fixed TCC’s installs constantly at no charge. If you hire them, I suggest you QC vigorously.

I’m posting a rather long email exchange between Tom JR and me so all can see his response. It is unedited except for the (Brian’s) and (Tom’s) I’ve added for clarity. The (Brian) is the original email. The (Tom reply) is Tom’s reply. The (Brian reply) is my reply back.

The most important part of this exchange is that Tom has not provided any evidence that his claims are true. I’ve asked over and over and TCC has promised over and over to deliver. Nothing has been provided.

I always set things straight if my company makes a mistake. I refuse to believe anything Tom says without some sort of evidence. He is a liar and I will prove it in court.

Most importantly is his contention that I shorted my own people. I dare him to say that in a public forum. I can prove every dime I paid out. Do it Tom, I dare you.

Thank you all who have emailed. I am indeed suing and if any more of you wish to join me in this suit email again saying so and I will add you to the list.

This was our email exchange:



(Brian) I have reviewed your claims that we are missing 32 digital boxes. I have also investigated your claims that we owe you $600 for each box because that is what Charter is charging you. Here are my findings:

(Brian) We did not sign for the 32 boxes. We signed for 15. You have attempted to charge us for boxes we were not issued. Now I know why you have failed to provide a copy of the signed forms as promised.

(Tom reply) Here's where you are wrong i personally researched the boxes the first time thru, travis, jim, and tim went thru the second time to double check my numbers. the 32 number came from physical sheets i had that you signed i checked hard cpies the other guys verified with the database. No i did not fail to provide you with a copy you ask for it on the spot and i haven't seen you since. as you know we have placed thousands of boxes in st louis, so we researched all not just yours, but yet you expect me to jump when you lost boxes and cant even show paperwork from where you have placed boxes, it's a good thing we do have a database otherwise you would have more missing the database saved you about 15 boxes that we found on top of the 32 that are lost.

(Brian reply) We visited TCC two days ago and found that you still haven't provided any copies so we searched every signed copy. The number is 15 and if you dispute this then show me these supposed signed sheets. What we did discover is that you had signed sheets with our tech number but the tech signature was NOT our technician. If you researched every box, why didn't you make copies of the signed forms at that time? Speaking of your database, it's curious that once you were cut off by Charter your database went offline never to return. I have located dozens of so called missing boxes in the past using your database by locating YOUR COMPANIES TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS AND PROVING YOUR CLAIMS WRONG! I have been asking for a month for access to your data base to verify your claims (more likely prove them false) only to be told time after time that it would be back up "soon".



(Brian) In light of the constant tracking errors, lost paperwork, and general error ridden disorganization of TCC’s office it is only reasonable to conclude that the most likely scenario is that TCC has once again lost the work orders that would show where the missing boxes are.

(Tom reply) Now that i have had to research and look into your companies work more in detail i know its not tcc that it's one tech and the fact that after a few weeks you were never at the site, your own nephew screwed you more on this than anyone. i personally showed you work orders where he had not only signed up people and changed the names but forgot to write the box number down.

(Brian reply) First, I was at the site ALL DAY EVERY DAY until you moved and no longer had any meaningful work because Charter had cut you off. I had to be because my days were filled with researching your companies invoicing errors and fixing YOUR technicians jobs. We fixed your jobs on a daily bases, at no charge, this is one of many things we did in good faith only to have you turn around and screw us. I reviewed your claims against my nephew. The facts are clear, your management instructed us to solicit EVERY house whether on the green bar or not and that we were NOT to call Charter to verify services or past due amounts. My nephew had no choice but to sign up the customer on good faith. That was your companies decision, not ours. We asked time after time to have these customers cleared thru Charter BEFORE we installed them. Your people set the guidelines, that's your responsibility. If my nephew failed to log a box number how did you enter them in the data base? How could you bill for a digital install? How could he be issued more equipment?



(Brian) We have confirmed with Charter and your own management that you lied to us about the $600 per box charge.

(Tom reply) Not true

(Brian reply) We have verified that you are not paying $600. Provide any supporting paperwork that you are. All of the other contactors that I have contacted are paying less than half that amount. Your own people have told us you are not paying $600.



(Brian) We did not ever, would not ever, and will not ever agree to pay you the ridicules rate of $600 per box for a box that RETAILS for less than $100.

(Tom reply) The boxes do retail for more than $100 to begin with don't be asinin, and I did verify with charter about the amount of the boxes they said just because they may only pay 200 or whatever for a box that the payment for a lost box is 600, and that is because they buy them in bulk and that its done on a budget that has depreciation and that the 600 is what it cost them if the box is not placed in a house, or is lost or stolen.

(Brian reply) I've seen Charters actual invoices on several occasions. How could the value of a box depreciate more than its purchase price? Even if it could, if you replaced a box it too would depreciate at the same rate thereby negating the loss of the depreciation value of the original box. If you are foolish enough to pay $600 for a box, that's your problem. I'm not, I never agreed to, the courts will determine the cost and that's what I'll pay.



(Brian) In light of the deceptions and incompetence in paperwork handling by TCC, we refuse to be held responsible for the equipment you have lost.

(Tom reply) You can call it deception or incompetence but in reality if you were any kind of business man for one you wouldn't be in this situation and two you would be a prime not a sub. If you were copmetent on your paperwork then you would have easily been able to walk in here just like foster or sparks and go here is every address i have placed a box or modem and the number. you made no effort to track the boxes on your end, you stepped away from the job site and left jim to run it, these guys were just slamming boxes in and not doing any kind of tracking. Maybe if yo weren't so deceptive on the way you rip your guys off by changing there billing and not paying them for the same codes i pay you then it wouldnt be like this, you spent so much time in your deception making sure there paperwork came to you so you could change it and continue to cheat them out of hard earned money you lost site of what it takes to be a good business man.

(Brian reply) Thank you for admitting you were attempting to screw Foster and Sparks before they proved you wrong. The funny thing is the address's they showed you were off of copies of the forms that they had already submitted to you. Where did your copies go? Why were you claiming they were missing equipment? Why weren't those numbers in your data base? Of course I stepped away from TCC's office and left Jim in charge, that's his job. Did you think you were my only client? You were my smallest client. How did you think I was making payroll when you were shorting my invoice every week? RIP OFF MY GUYS?????? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?????? MY GUYS PAPERWORK WENT THRU ME SO THAT I COULD VERIFY THAT THE CODES WERE CORRECT AND I COULD PRODUCE TYPED DAILIES!!!! I ADDED CODES FOR MY GUYS THAT THEY MISSED AND STAMPED EACH WORKORDER WITH OUR COMPANY NAME AND TECH NUMBER!!! I ALSO PROVIDED THEM WITH A COPY OF THE DAILY AND A PAY SHEET SO THEY COULD VERIFY MY WORK EACH DAY!!! UNLIKE YOUR COMPANY WHO REFUSED TO VERIFY THEIR DATA ENTRY AGAINST OUR DAILIES, DESPITE PROMISE AFTER PROMISE THAT YOU WOULD, OR PROVIDE ANY KIND OF DOCUMENTATION UNTIL 3 WEEKS LATER WHEN THE CHECKS WOULD ARRIVE INCORRECT AS ALWAYS!!!! YOU ARE THE RIP OFF! NAME ONE CONTRACTOR FROM ST LOUIS THAT DOESN'T HAVE CLAIMS AGAINST YOU! ARE THEY ALL LYING? LOOK ON THE CABLE BAR AND YOUR OWN WEB SITE, ARE THEY ALL LYING TOO? WHY DID ALL OF YOUR INSTALLERS AND SALESPEOPLE QUIT? WERE THEY ALL LYING ABOUT YOU RIPPING THEM OFF? WHEN YOU SLASHED PRICES I GAVE MY PEOPLE A RAISE TO ABSORB IT!!! ALL OF YOUR PEOPLE ACCUSE YOU OF BEING A RIP OFF, NONE OF MINE EVER HAS!



(Brian) In addition, the charge backs you handed me are completely bogus. First, most of them have no reason listed for the charge back so they of course are due and payable now. Second, the ones with reasons listed were all completed in compliance with the guidelines set forth by your local management so they are also due and payable now. My agreement is with you, not Charter. We completed all work based on your companies instructions and now you must pay us for the work performed.

(Tom reply) You are an #@*&^&, to think that if a guy goes out and does an install, disc, or sale and it is bad either thru workmanship, deciet, or non completion.( which is what a sale is when it can not become a customer for a reason) that i would pay you for it. Any install work that has ever been kicked back was because it was bad work, and if anything i took the screwing on this because the qc lady worked for you after you failed to pay her and ripped her off she told me and showed me all the bad qc's your crew had. she said she gave them to you multiple times and you refused to ever do anything about it, so as far as im concerned you used her to hide poor workmanship. Your disconnects that were kicked back were 100% verified by charter that they had not been done so much so that i had to pay for the time for there guy to go back and qc them, most of them were your nephew who has done nothing more than help put you under or maybe you knew everything he was doing, hell you probally taught him how to be deceptive so you coulod sneak a little more free money into your greedy hands.

(Brian reply) First, Kim did not report QC's to me. Her instructions were clear, QC the job, report the failures to the tech directly for repair, if after 48 hours they were not repaired provide the information to Jim K for repair and charge back and turn in the QC report to Tim with the daily work orders. I never touched the actual QC sheets so how could I hide anything? We never had a QC failure that she reported to me as not repaired by the tech. We had so few QC failures in the first place compared to your techs it's ridiculous that you even brought this up! Second, you have not provided any evidence that any of my people put in any orders that were kicked back because of poor workmanship, deceit, or non-completion. All you have given me are copies of workorders. 75% of those work orders HAVE NO EXPLANATION AT ALL written on them. Of the rest almost all are for customers at address's that are still listed as active by Charter. WE WERE TOLD WE COULD NOT VERIFY CUSTOMER STATUS THRU CHARTER BY YOUR MANAGEMENT! THAT'S YOUR PROBLEM, WE COMPLETED THE WORK, WE WILL BE PAID!JUST BECAUSE AN ADDRESS IS LISTED AS ACTIVE MEANS NOTHING. 90% OF METRO ST LOUIS IS HOMES DIVIDED INTO APARTMENTS! THERE CAN BE MANY CUSTOMERS AT ONE ADDRESS! THE CUSTOMER COULD HAVE MOVED! YOU CONTINUE TO CLAIM THERE WERE DISCO CHARGE BACKS, WHERE ARE THEY? FOR OVER A MONTH I HAVE BEEN ASKING YOU AND JIM FOR COPIES AND ONCE AGAIN, DESPITE PROMISE AFTER PROMISE, NOTHING. THE FUNNIEST THING IS THAT YOU ARE ACCUSING MY NEPHEW!! HE NEVER DID A SINGLE DISCONNECT IN JEFFCO, HE WASN'T EVEN HERE! HE WAS IN NEW YORK DUMBASS!




(Brian) You owe us the following: All current invoicing – at LEAST $9,000 but since you have held our paperwork hostage an exact accounting cannot yet be determined.

(Tom reply) you owe me 18,000 for boxes over 1500 in bad sales kickbacks and 370 for bad disc,s and these chargebacks only go back about 45 days cant imagine if i went back from day one.

(Brian reply) YOU have not shown any evidence that I am missing a single box. WE, HOWEVER, WENT BY AND VERIFIED THAT THERE ARE 15 BOXES WE SIGNED FOR BY US THAT YOU PROBABLY LOST THE WORKORDERS ON, ONCE AGAIN, AS YOU DID SEVERAL TIMES IN THE PAST. I'M POSITIVE THAT WHEN WE VISIT CHARTER THIS FRIDAY WE WILL FIND THAT EVEN THESE ARE ACCOUNTED FOR. YOU HAVE PROVIDED NO EVIDENCE THAT THERE WERE ANY DISCO KICKBACKS. WHERE ARE THE KICK BACKS???? WHY HAVEN'T YOU PRODUCED THEM???? EVEN IF YOU SHOWED DISCO WERE HOOKED BACK UP WHAT EVIDENCE DO YOU HAVE THAT THESE WEREN'T RECONNECTED BY THE CUSTOMER? WE DISCOED OVER 800 JOBS AND YOU ARE CLAIMING 30 WERE HOOKED BACK UP. SO? THAT NUMBER IS NOT OUT OF LINE AT ALL FOR CUSTOMERS HOOKING THEMSELVES BACK UP! IF YOU HAD PROVIDED DISCONNECT TAGS AND TERMINATORS IN THE FIRST PLACE WE COULD PROVE THESE WERE DISCONNECTED! WE SHOWED ON THE WORKORDER THAT YOU WERE NOT PROVIDING DISCO TAGS OR TERMINATORS!



(Brian) $275 overcharged on meters

(Tom reply) this i would have to check on but i wont even look unless you can bring me something such as check stubbs showing i over charged you.

(Brian reply) We already did!!! This figure was verified by Tim!!!



(Brian) $4,278 for past invoicing shortages

(Tom reply) This i doubt, more than likely it's like the time you screamed we held out workmanscomp for 3 weeks to long and retainage to far, i had to literally show you your own insure form with the date and check stubbs to prove to you that we were right and you were wrong. Any legit business man would have brought any payroll discrepancys to us immediatly and would have ceased a business relationship without it being fixed.

(Brian reply) I never claimed you over held retainage. I never screamed about the workman's comp. I did bring it to you immediately. I asked Tim why you were holding it even though I had provided workman's comp. HE said your payroll guy (who quit, surprise surprise) lost it and asked me for another copy which I provided. My only question was when did you stop deducting it because you lumped all of the deductions together in an apparent attempt to hide what you were deducting. It was a simple request and it took 6 weeks to get an answer. Foster had the same exact issue.



(Brian) $1050 for QC services

(Tom reply) actually you owe me for her services, our agreement was that you would hire a qc person and that we would reimburse you half the cost of the persons salary, the person you were to hire would work for you and not us. you hired kimberly boyster and told us that you were paying her 700.00 per week and that we owed you 350.00 per week for our half. after talking to kimberly and seeing her pay i now know that you only paid her 600.00 per week andd that from her start date you held back 3 weeks of payroll on her and then didnt even pay her for the last 2 weeks she worked, as far as im concerned, you owe me 50 per week for every week she worked, that you decietfully ripped my company off for 50.00 and since she was doing qc's and you hid the ones that were bad on your company and failed to fix them you owe me another 175.00 per week for every week she worked because she was not doing what she was hired for, none of your qc's were being fixed she has all the recordson all of them and the dates from the multiple times she gave them to you, or jim.

(Brian reply) Lies, lies, and more lies. First, Kim was hired at $120 a day, 5 days a week, do the math. Second, I did not tell you $350, Mark did because Kim was QCing all of the installers, not just mine, and before all of your sub's and installers quit on you, you had twice as many as I did. I know you thought you were going to get over on us by getting us to pay half, but I refused. Of course I held back three weeks, that's the pay period YOU SET! Of course I haven't paid her for her last 2 weeks, YOU DIDN'T PAY ME and you didn't pay her. She's suing YOU. I am paying her for my percentage when I get it. You have it and are still refusing to pay her! Kim never gave me any QC's. Once again, she was to have the installer fix them, not me. She was then to tell Jim K if they were not fixed so he could fix them. They were then turned in to Tim with the workorders. I never touched them. Her only communication to me was that your people were failing and Jim was having to fix them. This is another subject I'm surprised you brought up since you didn't pay her for a month, even though I was promised time and again that you were going to correct it, and I had to cover the payroll for you.



(Brian) TOTAL: $14,603

(Tom reply) Total: 18,000.00 missing boxes
1500.00 sales kick backs
370.00 disc kick backs
1800.00 qc rip off
$21670.00 is what you owe me and what i'm sending a collection company to start collections on you. And yes i will be forwarding this to my lawyer also.

(Brian reply) I hope you do send this to collections, they will report it to a credit agency and lying to a credit agency is a federal offense. Please do send this to your lawyer, he'll need it, see you in court.

(Brian) In an effort to get my people paid, I will accept $10,000 if paid by 03/10/02, this is only enough to cover payment to my subcontractors.

If you don’t I will file suit in Missouri for the full amount plus attorneys fees. I intend to allow all of the other unpaid contractors and sales people join me in this suit. I will also inform your current clients that you have left dozens of contractors unpaid and lost over 120 of Charters digital boxes and that we intend to ask to have your invoices with them attached in the lawsuit.

Pay us what you owe us and pay us now, we will not wait any longer to take action.

Brian Demarest

onetec


Thomas Linley
Texas Cable Contractors
314-426-2895