Companies waive fees, give credits to customers impacted by Sandy

Many companies across a number of industries have extended the olive branch to customers hit hard by Superstorm Sandy.

Pay TV companies have done a great job with giving credits to customers without electricity; banks have been generous with waivers of overdraft and other fees; and many companies will hold off on late fees for bills going forward.

The power companies that received so much heat for not getting the power back on quick enough have a difficult job. We started out with 8 million households lacking power. Now that’s down to more than 1 million. That’s a major improvement in just six days!

It could be one more week before some people have their power restored. There’s been a lot accomplished, but there’s still much to be done.

With the electricity out, cable companies have been giving their customers credits for the time they’ve had no power. With many companies, you have to ask for the credit, but it will in fact be granted.

Another issue is equipment. Back in 2009, my executive producer Christa lost much of her home to a flood. Her satellite provider wanted to charge her big bucks for her boxes if they went unrecovered. So Christa had to pack up these biohazards and send them back. Some poor soul had to open those sewage-filled boxes just to appease the satellite company!

This time, they’re being more humane. If your equipment is destroyed by flood or fire, what do they expect, the ashes?!