Wisconsin ? Having a tornado demolish her home was bad enough. But weeks later when Ann Beam received a $2,000 cable bill for destroyed equipment, she was floored.

Time Warner Cable billed a number of Wheatland, Wis., residents for equipment damaged in the Jan. 7 twister. Beam’s bill covered five cable boxes and five remote controls.

She immediately called the cable company, but a man who identified himself as a manager said there was nothing the company could do.

“They said I would have to take the bill and turn it in to my insurance company,” Beam said.

Beam’s case was simply a misunderstanding, Time Warner Cable spokeswoman Celeste Flynn said. Some customers were charged for unreturned equipment, but only because they canceled or transferred their service without mentioning the tornado, she said.