R.I. man receives 12-year-old cable bill and mandate: pay now or lose service

Local television has again ruined the opportunity for some really cool repartee. When Cox Communications presented a Cranston, R.I. man with a 12-year-old cable bill and ordered him to pay, he should have replied, "The check's in the mail."

Instead, facing imminent service shutoff, David Tartaglia did what's becoming all too common these days: he contacted the local TV station.

"I see you on TV and I said if anyone can do anything, I said, you can," Tartaglia told Eyewitness News 12 which went to the cable operator on his behalf and got the matter cleared up.

For what it's worth, Tartaglia said he's had "Cox everywhere I was. They always knew where I was" and has never missed paying a bill.

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