Woman, 62, fights $1,431 bill for cable porn and gangsta rap

(4/29/06 - YONKERS, NY) -- A 62-year-old retired schoolteacher is fighting with a cable company over a hefty bill for porn and gangsta rap programming she says she never ordered.

The charges of more than $1,000 appeared on Claudia Lee's February Cablevision bill, shortly after she bundled her cable TV, computer and phone services.

"They are harassing me and trying to make me pay for something I didn't do," said Lee, who lives alone.

She said she has been forced to pay $779 to the company and was told to pay $652 more or face having her services cut off.

"Every time I call, somebody tells me something different. They're not on the same page," she said Thursday.

Cablevision spokesman Bill Powers said Lee may not have ordered the pay-per-view programming, but someone in her home did. Lee claimed someone pirated her connection. Powers said the company did not find theft of service.

On Friday, however, Cablevision issued a statement saying, "We are suspending these charges pending a full investigation and we are going to work with our customer to ensure that this matter is appropriately resolved."

Lee said the only regular visitor to her house is her 81-year-old mother, "and I don't think she wants to watch porn."

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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