UNHAPPY with Comcast

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  • #593232

    yukoandk
    Member

    I just terminated my home cable subscription service with Comcast.

    I was paying closed to $100 after fees and taxes each month, but was chronically unsatisfied with their products and service, especially recently with all the HD channels being advertised. After yet another hair pulling experience over last weekend of not being able to access channels I pay for, and dealing with the representatives over the phone, I finally managed to have a “supervisor” contact me. This personnel gave me the impression that she did not care that her customer of several years with an account in good standing was very unhappy. She made it sound as if there was something wrong with me for not making more frequent calls of complaints.

    I like to think any business needs customers to buy their products, and for a business to be successful its customers need to be satisfied. This is not the case with Comcast. I don’t understand how they stay in business. Perhaps because I and other unsuspecting consumers stayed with them for too long. They don’t deserve my business, and they don’t want my business. I would not recommend Comcast for cable service.

    #683618

    luckymom30
    Participant

    Well if you aren’t happy with Comcast than certainly stay away from DishNetwork! We had them for 18 long months had no reception for months and it almost cost us $500.00 to return their equipment. We went back to Comcast and got a great deal with more channels. W have the bundle phone, cable and Internet through Comcast.

    #683619

    JoB
    Participant

    We LOVE DISH.. have had them for the last 15 years through more than one move and are happy HD customers now..

    We had comcast for nearly a year.. due to the lack of service in their customer service, we were delighted to go back to DISH.

    In fact, we our preference is so strong that having a DISH satellite is a condition of rental for us…

    #683620

    luckymom30
    Participant

    Glad to hear that the Dish worked for someone! But for some strange reason we had no reception for months at a time, had a terrible time getting ahold of anyone who spoken English. They drilled holes in our house in 3 differnt locations trying to get the dish to pick up any signal which did not make my husband happy. We couldn’t wait until the 18 month contract was up and went directly to Comcast and we have had no problem at all with Comcast who we were with before Dish.

    #683621

    KBear
    Participant

    Why were they trying to pick up signals that would make your husband unhappy?

    #683622

    flowerpetal
    Member

    Funny KBear! We dumped (with ceremony!) Comcast cable and went to DirectTV who we are very happy with.

    #683623

    Ken
    Participant

    I have dish after firing comcast a few years ago.

    I had been paying top tier for a decade on two boxes and 3 months after the 06 windstorm they told me I had to be happy with one tv getting half the channels I paid for.

    Comcast is a monopoly. They act like it.

    Our local politicians need to be reminded when the time comes around to renew their monopoly, of just how bad their record of public service really is.

    #683624

    Smitty
    Participant

    I don’t pretend to completely understand the issue, nor am I a huge fan of Comcast, BUT it is my understanding that if you are a HD nut and want the best (least compressed signal) that cable (Comcast) is your best bet. The bandwidth required for HD is huge and neither Dish nor DirectTV are set up to handle it as well as Comcast.

    I have a 58″ Plasma and almost entirely keep it tuned to HD and have never had a problem with Comcast. Beautiful picture, service interrupted maybe once in the last 2 years. They just expanded their HD line-up as well – 2 or 3-fold.

    Now, their phone service (as part of “triple-play”) is another issue – not impressed.

    #683625

    Yardvark
    Member

    Yeah, comcast is a monopology. They’ve actively worked against public benefit Wi-Fi systems in a number of cities, and handily defeated them with the strength of the corporate purse.

    They are HUGE, and so their customer service is pretty aweful. Even their field service is awful.

    I actually had to send a Comcast guy away after he tried to run a wire around the side of my house and, rather than trying to hide the wire, he drilled it in at about eye level. Wow.

    I had to tell him that I could do it myself and that I was done with him. He then asked me if he could maybe live in my basement. I’m not kidding.

    Horrible stuff.

    If there’s a good alternative to Comcast out there, I’d love to have it. I need basic cable and high-speed internet, and can’t stand the fact that I’m paying into this monopoly.

    #683626

    Lindsey
    Participant

    If you think they are bad now, just wait until Comcast buys a controlling stake in NBC Universal.

    From LA Times article linked to below:

    “Buying NBC Universal would give Comcast about one-fourth of the content that is being produced. They would then have the freedom and the power to start experimenting with how best to deliver that entertainment.”

    http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-comcast16-2009nov16,0,6145451.story

    #683627

    squareeyes
    Participant

    At what point can/will they be deemed a monopoly and broken up like Ma Bell?

    Comcast customer service can bring me to tears. One person says something is no charge, when it’s added to my bill, I call to complain, am told “the first person had no authority to say something was free, you have no recourse so pay up, but hey, how ’bout I add this handy feature to your package…it’s only gonna cost this much more?” I end up yelling at the person on the phone and hanging up on her. I don’t treat anybody else that way, yet I’ve done it twice to Comcast customer service, and then pathetically paid up.

    Why do I still have them? I love television, have had cable my entire adult life, and don’t personally know anybody with satellite to truly convince me it’s a better system.

    #683628

    flowerpetal
    Member

    Squareeyes, your experience echoes mine. I was told I would be paying a particular price for t.v. cable and even had a confirmation number for the conversation. Didn’t seem to matter to anyone I argued with at Comcast. We did ditch Comcast but I do have to confess that I kept Comcast internet connection. I have had it for years and it has always performed satisfactorily for our household.

    Unlike you Squareeyes, I despise television and rarely watch it. However, my other half was diagnosed and treated for cancer in the past year. He has had a lot of down time and the television has kept him company.

    #683629

    austin
    Member

    I don’t really care for most television and I would not pay for any of it but for some reason get kind of a lot of cable tv channels for free. I feel like it sort of justifies the ridiculous price that they charge for internet. I am glad I don’t have to call them on the phone.

    #683630

    luckymom30
    Participant

    After going back to Comcast from DishNetwork Comcast did try to jack the price of our bundle but we told them that we price x amount of dollars before and when the guy came to hook the cable up he gave us an unsigned contract so we weren’t stuck in paying a certain price so we had leverage. We got a great deal we pay less now for the bundle than previously we got moe channels not at an extra price and we are locked in this price until we move from our home. I also requested and received a signed contract stating this deal. We have been very happy and have noticed no change in our cost after 2 1/2 years back with Comcast.

    #683631

    swimcat
    Member

    Comcast pisses me off- and what makes me madder is that my name is not on the bill and I’m not allowed to talk to them if I call with a problem or if I want to negotiate a better deal with them. There are several HD channels that NEVER tune in- and we frequently have issues with our On Demand not working. A couple years ago we got a new box, which cut down on the amount of problems, but for what we pay it is still not acceptable to me.

    #683632

    yukoandk
    Member

    Exactly my point. Why do we tolerate this? Or why did I tolerate this? Yes, it’s great to have TV, and it maybe even nicer to have a beautiful picture. And naturally one is drawn to acquire such commodities into her life. But it is a matter of principle after all, and I personally refused to be bullied by this monopoly and continue giving my money to support it. And yes, I may even make a note to self on reminding our local politicians, thanks for that.

    #683633

    mlfrye
    Member

    We don’t have a TV so no cable, but I do have Comcast for home office phone and internet. I’m not loving the service. But, the big question is, is there an alternative??

    #683634

    KBear
    Participant

    Comcast’s customer service DOES suck. My wife called to change her last name to her married name on the bill and they wanted her to bring a copy of the marriage certificate IN PERSON to their office in Northgate. Even after she added MY name to the account, they would not change her last name without further proof. Who the hell do they think they are? They’re the freakin’ cable company, not the IRS or a bank or something. What business is it of theirs whether we’re married or not? They accept a check from us every month with my wife’s married name on it (and have for 8 years), but they don’t trust us to be who we say we are?

    I think I have a way around the problem, though: She should cancel the cable, and then re-subscribe using her married name. They’re always offering free installation and special deals to new customers. And since it would be a different last name, we couldn’t POSSIBLY be the same people (without a marriage certificate to prove it), so we must be new customers. Let Comcast pay to have a service tech come out to our house, instead of us driving to Northgate!

    #683635

    JoB
    Participant

    kbear..

    i love that idea..

    don’t think it will work

    but might gt your wife’s name changed on the bill

    #683636

    KBear
    Participant

    My other idea was to tell them since it’s too much trouble to change the name on the bill, we’ll just switch to Dish Network. I have a feeling that would get results.

    #683637

    swimcat
    Member

    All you have to do is call Comcast and make one comment about switching to Dish/DirectTV and they will very likely cut you a better deal; it may be temporary, but it’s better than nothing IMO. I would totally do this myself if my name was on the bill.

    #683638

    yukoandk
    Member

    oops, watching tv isn’t a commodity is it. An entertainment. Anyway.

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