In some cases, cable companies need to seek compensation or take legal action because services are being stolen. This has gotten a bit more complicated in the modern era, with the rise of streaming services and smart TVs that rely on Wi-Fi connections more than cable connections. But theft of cable services definitely still occurs.
How does it happen? There are two main tactics, which we will explore briefly below.
Passive theft
In some cases, people will commit passive cable theft. This means that they are using active cable services, but they have not notified the company and they are not paying for those services.
An example of this could be if a tenant moves into an apartment and the previous tenant has left the digital cable service logged in. The new tenant begins using the service, which they are not paying for, without informing the actual owner – who is still paying for the account – or the cable company.
Active theft
A more active type of cable theft, though, is when somebody intentionally steals services through a physical connection. They can’t claim ignorance because they took steps to make that connection possible.
For example, perhaps the tenant moves into a multi-unit building and decides they don’t want to pay for cable services. While everyone else is out of the building, they buy a splitter and connect their apartment to someone else’s cable feed. They are intentionally redirecting cable services that they aren’t paying for to their apartment.
Exploring legal options
Cases like this can get very complicated, especially when people insist they haven’t broken the regulations or that they didn’t intentionally do anything wrong. Those involved must be well aware of all the legal steps they can take and the options they have.