Spencer Pratt journeyed back to the site of his burned-down home in the Pacific Palisades to retrieve a scorched cable box, ending a saga that began Wednesday when he shared on social media that Spectrum customer service initially asked for the item back after he attempted to cancel his services.
“Good news, Spectrum! I’m pretty sure this is the box you guys had asked if I still had,” he said in a video posted to Instagram prior to the weekend, smiling and apparently poking fun at the company’s policies. “I found it! How much am I gonna get for it though? I think you could figure something out. We could do a deal, maybe half?”
As previously reported by Deadline, the TV personality and his wife, The Hills alumna Heidi Montag, and their two children were among the entertainment industry members who lost everything amid the Palisades Fire that raged at the beginning of the year. The couple are currently suing the City of Los Angeles and its Department of Water and Power following the loss, alleging failures that made it difficult for firefighters to battle the rapidly moving flames.
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“I know someone is just reading the script from the bosses. 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. Yes i took my birth certificate, passport, and spectrum cable box,” the veteran reality star wrote on Instagram initially. He added in the caption, “Living in the upside down world 🔥”
In a video shared later, Pratt called on the “powers that be” at the company to “edit the script” when dealing with consumers’ experiences of hardship, especially in the wake of the Southern California fires. Naturally, the message resonated with users, some of whom shared similar experiences, who commented on Pratt’s posts, writing, “Did you try turning [the box] off and on again?” and “Fire’s coming… Grab your kids and cable boxes!!!!”
In a statement to TMZ, a Spectrum spokesperson said: “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. 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.”