Comcast: Crooks and Thugs

So the greenish-blue form letter arrived in our mailbox yesterday from Comcast.

After months of trying to straighten out a $220 error on our bill for services we never received, Comcast is basically holding a gun to our head demanding we pay or be shut down.

For full disclosure, this is not the first, second or even third issue we've had with Comcast. And because of this, shame on us. But when you have your cable and Internet connections invested in one service, you tend to avoid switching costs.

Who has the time?

So after three phone calls that totaled nearly two hours of dialogue with various customer service reps, each of whom agreed that Comcast has made an error and we are being unjustly charged, we're giving up.

In sum, we converted to the triple-play package (cable, phone, Internet) after sales rep Katy Linahan in Comcast's Chelmsford, Mass., office convinced us to switch from our long-distance AT&T service for a monthly savings of more than $40.

While talking with the presale-affable Katy Linahan, we also asked that a Comcast technician take a look at two dead phone lines in the house. Katy Linahan assured us that the technician could do this, and if he couldn't resolve the problem, we would not be charged for his time.

Wrong.

The Comcast technician told us we needed an electrician, and that he couldn't solve the problem.

When our first bill arrived, we were not only charged for the Comcast technician's time, but we were wrongly billed for the triple-play package.

All three customer service reps acknowledged the error, and said the correct bill would be sent.

Wrong.

Each time, the bill was larger and larger, that $220 fee tacked onto the regular service.

Because I couldn't dedicate any more phone time to Comcast's clueless customer service reps (Maria, Doris and someone whose name I forgot), we simply mailed the correct amount with a letter stating while we're not paying the full amount posted on the bill.

After two "partial" payments, the greenish-blue form letter arrived.

We pay Comcast more than $200 a month, and we always pay on time. You would think we would get better treatment than this.

But Comcast just doesn't get it.

And we don't have any more fight left in us. Not for this.

Comcast, you're no different than a thug on the street stealing $220 out of my wallet.

But my daughter needs to be able to watch Dora and I need a broadband connection.

Comcast somehow has a monopoly on legalized robbery.

Comments

[Capp]

Time you considered a switch to DirecTV which I was so happy to do a year and 1/2 ago to get away from Time Warner Cable's monopoly in my area. DTV even comes in a 3 in 1 pack w/ Verizon in my area. Maybe yours too! Plus, DTV has approx. 100 HD channels.

[Poppy]

PLEASE tell me you did the BBB submission that deserves to be done.

[Comcast Cares]

Dan,
On behalf of Comcast, I apologize for the difficulties you have experienced. I would like to assist you in resolving this. Please feel free to email me at frank_eliason at cable.comcast.com. Please include your name, address, and a contact phone number.

Thank you for being a Comcast Customer!

Frank Eliason
Comcast Executive Offices

[Capp]

"Comcast Cares" - give me a break!

[Dan]

Tim - thanks for the DirecTV tip.

Poppy - it's on a short list of things to do this weekend.

Frank - I don't deal with customer service issues through my blog. Send me the name and number of someone in the Chelmsford office and I'll follow up with them. Funny how two hours on the phone and two thoughtful letters gets me nowhere, but a blog post gets a response.

[Comcast Cares]

Dan,
I was unable to locate an email address or other contact information on your website. That is the reason for the post. You can contact the Executive Support Staff in Massachusetts at the following number:
1-888-309-2583 or you can contact my office at 215-640-8960.

Thank you for being a Comcast Customer!

Frank Eliason
Comcast Executive Offices

[Cyn]

Sorry for your troubles, Dan.
You must be hitting a top spot in the search engines for the Comcastic Exec dude to post.
Comcast is a monopoly. Deregulation didn't work.
We are at their mercy for the triple package, too.
Best of luck with "Comcast Cares." Let us know how it went when you have a moment. :)

[Dan]

OK - an update on this. I called the number Frank Eliason provided and spoke with Comcast's John Swanson. While he was pleasant enough, he asked me to walk through my issues and confirm specifics. Given that this was my fourth conversation with Comcast regarding its billing error, I answered a few questions and faxed him a copy of the letter I've been sending with my monthly payments that has all of the details.

This nearly a week ago and I have not heard back. Not even a confirmation that he received the fax. A black hole. And surprise, surprise -- Comcast cashed the checks we sent to keep our service turned on. We've overpaid by $220 and are where we were before.

Nowhere.

And I've given up. Comcast stole $220 from us. It's no longer good ROI on my time to fight this.

[Jerry]

The exec didn't even resolve such an obvious issue...I'm so sorry for you. Your blog page now tops the "comcast customer service" google search. If any law firm is watching, here's your chance at another class action suit.

[M K]

So far all I've seen is lip service by comcastcares but I have yet to see if anyone has ever received a solution.

My friend recently turned in his cable box on moving, and was given a recipt and told to hang on to it. A few months later they call and ask if he still has his receipt, he does, and faxes it to them.

Now (as of the end of May 08) they've ruined his credit over a 250 charge for a box he returned about a year ago.

Once we do find the receipt this is going to get uglier.

[Josh Patric]

Similar problem for me. I would love to switch to anything other than comcast but its a 500$ fee to put a dish on my apartment building. Comcast has a monopoly on cable and internet. They are a bunch of crooks. Every month I have a new charge for some made up service. In the past 4 months there has been 4 incorrect charges that have total more than $500. It is insane that a company can get away with this. I honestly think they add charges to people's bills because one in a hundred people probably pay it and don't think there being scammed. It would be one thing if it were excellent service, but its the opposite. My internet is always cutting out. COMCAST IS A SCAM!!!!

[ED]

Very definitely, COMCAST is the worst fraud in the recent history. It is obvious that they have a policy of overcharging and a policy of never correcting their (probably deliberate) mistakes. At the same time they keep raising monthly fees and cutting services, slowly but deliberately. They are so incompetent that their web site does not seem to ever work properly, even for making one-time online payments (and this is the website of an internet provider). They want the frustrated customers to switch to automatic withdrawals from their bank accounts and credit cards -- these options always work OK. Witness this Frank from "executive offices": any other official of any decent company would consider it a matter of professional integrity to resolve the matter immediately -- not in Comcast. The problem is the monopoly, of course, but it is noteworthy that their DirectTV competitors seem to prefer to adopt the Comcast's practice of outrageous customer service instead of trying to win over more Comcast's customers by providing a much better service.

[Doug S]

I have now contacted Comcast 4 times (today 29 May 2012) to request an equipment return box. Of course, they can't send me the $90 refund I was due as of the date of service cancellation, instead they have sold a collection action against me for $120. Comcast-Carroll County md.
So, did anyone ever follow-up with that class action lawsuit? A lot of my new neighbors are lawyers...