Irate viewers continue to vent their anger at Cablevision's proposal to begin scrambling cable TV service.

Cablevision was expected to begin scrambling service on August 1 in an effort to crack down on those receiving cable illegally - which the company estimates may be as high as 4,000 Island households.

To receive service, subscribers will need a converter box on each of their television sets.

However, Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb told VSB radio last Friday the company is not expected to meet that deadline.

Meanwhile service subscribers are complaining that the new boxes do not work properly, may present a fire hazard and the service being offered by the company is backsliding.

Subscriber Michael Marsh shared his Cablevision woes with The Royal Gazette this week, when he copied a letter to Cablevision general manager Jeremy Elmas to the paper.

Mr. Marsh said he listened to Cablevision when the company said subscribers should pick up their converter boxes for the slated August 1 change over.

"I duly rushed to your offices, difficult though it was in the view of your almost inaccessible location (no parking, steep steps, long waiting lines) and was given four black boxes for my four TV sets," Mr. Marsh wrote.

"I was told that my bill would now rise by $20 to about $77 a month."

Mr. Marsh said he hired a professional technician to install his boxes when he learned Cablevision would not do it.

"I had no intention of installing these black boxes myself and was astonished that you expected your customers to do it in view of the astronomical charges you seek," he wrote.

Despite hiring a professional however, Mr. Marsh said the boxes did not work and he questioned whether the boxes are banned in the United States as a possible fire hazard - a claim the company has denied.

But Mr. Marsh is at the end of his tether.

"All in all, between your normal abysmal service and your latest inept. . . attempt to squeeze more money out of your long suffering clients, I herewith return the four black boxes and the bits and pieces you originally provided with each box and demand a written receipt to prove they have been returned," he wrote.

"I do not have time to experiment with, or install, your equipment and my patience with your firm has run out."

Mr. Marsh also demanded to be reimbursed for his expenses to date.

"There are other alternatives to accepting your product and if you cut off the channels to my TV you will not receive another penny from me in the future."

Another irate subscriber - who asked not to be name - called The Royal Gazette to question whether Cablevision is just trying to cover costs for the lawsuit filed against the company in New York for pirating stations.

"Is it that they made a mistake and expect the public to pay for their mistake and that's why they're charging us more," the woman asked.

She said she too had heard rumours about the fire hazards and poor quality pictures as a result of the black boxes but every time she calls the company they simply put her on hold or it rings busy for hours on end.

"The service is really poor," she said. And she added that when Cablevision service goes out for long periods, they don't offer a refund to subscribers.

The woman suggested that outraged subscribers have to band together to fight the changes to the service.

"Some people who can afford it may not mind," she said. "They might like the new channels. But what about the poor guys who can't afford (the additional charges)? Television is relaxation for people who don't like hanging out in bars and stuff."

Cablevision has claimed that the cable signal will be enhanced at the plan goes forward and more channels will be offered to viewers.

Calls to the Ministry of Telecommunications for an update on the situation went unanswered yesterday.