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Beyond pissed at Comcast
Mitch_Connors
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I need some advice, consensus, and to vent a little.
I'll spoiler some of what lead up to this situation as it explains why I am pissed.
When I cancel my triple-play package, I keep the internet service and drop my cable to the limited cable service. I was told by the service rep that there would be a one time charge to have a service man to come out and arrange everything. It was going to be 12 dollars for the one time fee, internet would be $44 a month and the limit cable service would be $15 w/o the cable box.
I hand over the cable to the service man and consider it a done deal.
I should only be paying $65 dollars a month and with having previously got shafted into pay a bill ahead of time ($145), I should have been good until July.
I look at my billing statement online and this is what I see:
Previous Balance $ 289.71
Payment(s) $-289.71
Comcast Bundled Services $-125.58
Comcast Cable Television $ 29.40
Comcast High Speed Internet $ 90.35
Comcast Digital Voice $-5.44
One time Charges and Credits $ 25.98
Taxes, Surcharges and Fees $-1.58
Payment Due Date AUTOPAY $ 13.13
WHAT THE FUCK?!? They charged me double for the internet when I was told it would be only $44 normally without benefits like package deals. I was told this twice, once when signing up and once when cancelling my package.
They charged me $30 dollars for cable which would be fine had I not given back by cable box after dropping down to limited cable which is $15 a month.
I am pissed, I am irate.
They are the only service provider here.
I am at a lost as to what to do right now besides yell and scream till I get my money back, and then maybe over throw this evil empire. But tell me what you think.
To make my mood worse, Bank of America has bumped up my credit card due date the last 2 billing cycles. Mother fuckers.
I'll spoiler some of what lead up to this situation as it explains why I am pissed.
I decided over the course of my first couple months of having a Comcast triple-play package that I did not need the majority of it. I call Comcast up to go ahead and revaluate and most like cancel the phone and cable TV services. Before this I go online to my account to do some research on the other services available through them.
I find that Comcast states my last payment as twice the amount owed and I am irritated.
So when I call I first talk to the billing department. The lady from the billing department and I talk and I realize that when I confirmed that I want to pay the total amount (what that amount was never defined) that they were tagging on next month's bill as well onto my credit card. The lady informs me that there is no way I can get a refund for the extra money paid (which assumes I would have the same services) as they do not give out refunds except in the case where a customer who is paid up cancels all of their services and are owed a refund.
A testimonial I read later from someone else who over-paid (because he paid and then paid again when an automated voice said his bill was late) and did get a refund. But I only pressed the issue twice.
Then I’m transferred to their Cable TV/Internet department.
I ask the lady to tell me about the cable services available in my area. She never answers my request and beats around the bush. She would only speak in generalities and warns that they might have to charge me for the packaged items individually. She also told me there were no packages below mind, contrary to what I was told when I signed up. Towards the end of her non-answer she said, "look, if you tell me what channels you want, I can tell you what packages we have." To which I say as an observation, "It sounds like you are convinced that I already have the best package at the lowest price that I can get..." which she cuts me off and says, "I am not trying to convince, I am trying to inform you."
I then tell her point blank that I want to cancel my phone service, drop the cable TV down to the lowest possible service, and keep the internet. She then says the phone department closed half way through her efforts to not answer me and I would have to call back tomorrow (24-hour service?). When I call up the next day announce I want to cancel some service, the new lady offers to drop my package down to the lower ones no mention before.
I find that Comcast states my last payment as twice the amount owed and I am irritated.
So when I call I first talk to the billing department. The lady from the billing department and I talk and I realize that when I confirmed that I want to pay the total amount (what that amount was never defined) that they were tagging on next month's bill as well onto my credit card. The lady informs me that there is no way I can get a refund for the extra money paid (which assumes I would have the same services) as they do not give out refunds except in the case where a customer who is paid up cancels all of their services and are owed a refund.
A testimonial I read later from someone else who over-paid (because he paid and then paid again when an automated voice said his bill was late) and did get a refund. But I only pressed the issue twice.
Then I’m transferred to their Cable TV/Internet department.
I ask the lady to tell me about the cable services available in my area. She never answers my request and beats around the bush. She would only speak in generalities and warns that they might have to charge me for the packaged items individually. She also told me there were no packages below mind, contrary to what I was told when I signed up. Towards the end of her non-answer she said, "look, if you tell me what channels you want, I can tell you what packages we have." To which I say as an observation, "It sounds like you are convinced that I already have the best package at the lowest price that I can get..." which she cuts me off and says, "I am not trying to convince, I am trying to inform you."
I then tell her point blank that I want to cancel my phone service, drop the cable TV down to the lowest possible service, and keep the internet. She then says the phone department closed half way through her efforts to not answer me and I would have to call back tomorrow (24-hour service?). When I call up the next day announce I want to cancel some service, the new lady offers to drop my package down to the lower ones no mention before.
When I cancel my triple-play package, I keep the internet service and drop my cable to the limited cable service. I was told by the service rep that there would be a one time charge to have a service man to come out and arrange everything. It was going to be 12 dollars for the one time fee, internet would be $44 a month and the limit cable service would be $15 w/o the cable box.
I hand over the cable to the service man and consider it a done deal.
I should only be paying $65 dollars a month and with having previously got shafted into pay a bill ahead of time ($145), I should have been good until July.
I look at my billing statement online and this is what I see:
Previous Balance $ 289.71
Payment(s) $-289.71
Comcast Bundled Services $-125.58
Comcast Cable Television $ 29.40
Comcast High Speed Internet $ 90.35
Comcast Digital Voice $-5.44
One time Charges and Credits $ 25.98
Taxes, Surcharges and Fees $-1.58
Payment Due Date AUTOPAY $ 13.13
WHAT THE FUCK?!? They charged me double for the internet when I was told it would be only $44 normally without benefits like package deals. I was told this twice, once when signing up and once when cancelling my package.
They charged me $30 dollars for cable which would be fine had I not given back by cable box after dropping down to limited cable which is $15 a month.
I am pissed, I am irate.
They are the only service provider here.
I am at a lost as to what to do right now besides yell and scream till I get my money back, and then maybe over throw this evil empire. But tell me what you think.
To make my mood worse, Bank of America has bumped up my credit card due date the last 2 billing cycles. Mother fuckers.
Mitch_Connors on
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Email one of them. Or all of them.
You could also try submitting your story to Consumerist. They tend to draw a TON of attention to a story in a hurry.
Do tear down the evil empire.
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I had comcast internet and cable for about a year. About 6 months into my service a bill came which said they had accidentally been overcharging me for my service and were refunding it. I hadn't noticed it, or must've misunderstood how much my service cost when I first signed up. So maybe that will give you a little hope.
Fuck you. It's a suggestion for an obviously disgruntled customer, and any half-way intelligent person would realize that it's a last resort, not a first step. Thank you for bringing the passive-aggressive douchebag reply to the thread.
One infraction please.
The mods are perfectly capable of moderating on their own. If you feel a post warrants action, report it. Don't tell the mods to do something like some spoiled brat.
Back on topic: An email bomb is by far a last resort, there are many other options available. It shouldn't even be brought up yet.
To the OP: The sane first step is to call back tomorrow, and ask for clarification on why these charges don't match what you were told they would be. If the CSR doesn't help or tries to sidestep around things, get escalated until you get someone who will actually do something.
Nope. You don't get to pick what happens when you decide to break the rules, because the idea is that whatever happens to you when you do is supposed to discourage you from doing it again. Maybe when you come back you'll feel a little less inclined to purposefully cross the line?
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
When I first started using their services, I ordered basic cable, and 6mbps internet. I wasn't around when they installed the cable and turned on the internet, one of my roommates was, but they gave us digital cable (costs maybe 12 dollars more at the time, divided by 4 roommates = not too bad) and we decided not to complain since digital cable sounded cool.
It turned out, none of us ever really watched tv except for maybe once or twice a week when we were eating. Our total cable and internet bill turned out to be around $85 monthly, so we thought by canceling cable we would save a decent amount of money.
When I got my bill the next month, I was now being charged $65.00. Hmm, 20 bucks isn't that much of a difference (divided amongst 4 people). might of well have kept the cable, right? I called back to inquire about it, and they informed me that the $85 was a special deal for the first 6 months of service, and since I cancelled my cable I could not longer get that deal back... even though I only had cable for 2 months. Now if I wanted internet and cable again, it would cost me $128.00. So of course I told them to forget it.
About a month or two later, I was browsing the comcast website, and noticed that the internet package I receive was listed for only $40, instead of the $65 that I pay. I called into comcast to inquire (and of course got sent to the wrong department) and they acted as if the website never listed the $40. When I described it to them, they kept denying it, and eventually said that the website is not reflective of their actual prices, or something like that. what the hell? Is that even legal?
and then to top it off, they never update their online statements, so more than once I have ended up paying double (but thankfully it credited over to my next months statement). I definitely feel your frustrations.
so, in regards to your situation, I imagine if you complained about it they would tell you that since you no longer do the triple play package, the other costs went up, and there is nothing you can do about it.
I am not renewing my subscriptions with comcast at the end up this month. I look forward to it, even though I will have no internet for a week.
There is a reasonable middle ground to be had between calling back and emailing the executives. Call back and ask to speak to a supervisor. It's possible (even likely) that the front-line people do not personally have the power to refund money and resolve situations like these, and function as brick walls to deter angry customers from seeking meaningful redress. It's likely that even a supervisor just one step up from the person who answers your call will have the ability to authorize a refund and fix your bill.
If this doesn't work, please post here and tell us. There are absolutely steps to take beyond this, from moving up their "chain of command" (and yes, at a certain point you actually can write a letter to the president of the company and be assured that, at the very least, one of his assistants will read it) to seeking means of redress from outside the company (you had phone service with them, a highly regulated industry, if you are being overcharged you might be able to involve the government).
Just don't give up, and don't lose your cool with them.
If they don't offer to fix it immediately and you know of an alternative service you can take, don't be afraid to drop them like a bad habit. They CAN'T refuse that.
Really, now? Was any of that worth posting?
I find it amusing that you either have no sense of facetiousness and hyperbole or that you rather enjoy trolling.
Maybe I just find it amusing that you think there some rational other than being ganked for greed's sake. Or that you would seem to be siding with a monopolistic business who has gained a reputation service tampering and poor customer service.
Quite a bit of the creeps that work for Comcast and run the show are the same creeps from the AOL-Time-Warner merger. If you are unaware of what I am referring to then read the book Fools Rush In by Nina Munk.
He simple said to email them, he didn’t say scream at them in an email or threaten them. Maybe they need to know about their shoddy support. Well reasoned mild mannered people have been known to let business know when they have been disappointed by said business.
EDIT: I will hazard a guess that the reason why you did post here was due to some insult to an ideology or set of “values” you hold.
Nothing less than an hour away by car.
Do you live in a city, or in a rural area? You should be able to find the governing authority for cable companies in your area pretty easily.
He already called them. I don't see a problem with escalating the problem beyond their phone number if the people staffing it can not or will not resolve the issue.
It wasn’t that the call was hostile or she was suggesting that I couldn’t get my money back from her, she said no without exceptions. And to be more precise I was annoyed by being over charged but never lost my cool.
It almost seems with the economic shift that companies are more than happy to pad pockets in whatever way works. My girlfriend’s younger sister and mom have been having a nightmare trying to stop a cell phone company from charging their individual debit cards for the same single phone bill.
And the comment about Bank of America credit card moving due by dates around is something that is also happen to my Father.
Growing up, I have seen escalation in these situations to bat a thousand when my no-nonsense parents had similar situations on their hands.
One thing I have heard is to go to the attorney general with this.
I'm not saying I've never had to argue, but I've always gotten the best deals out of comcast. I've never really had any trouble with them I couldn't handle with a phone call.
This.
It's a complete dick move, but if you just call and get really angry and bitch they'll toss all kinds of deals your way. I got high speed internet (3 meg) and tier 1 digital cable (no movie channels, but 1-100 and on demand on the box) for like $45 for six months just because I complained.
Also, make sure you have your story straight before calling/e-mailing Comcast. Write down all the names/dates/times/etc and have copies of everything at the ready. They will take you much more serious if they think you have your shit together.
Compare your statement with the terms of your service, and see what seems unaccounted for. If you call them with specific questions they can give you more specifically unhelpful answers, but it'll also be easier to communicate with a supervisor if you have specific complaints and not just U TAEK MAH MONIES.
First of all, billing errors always, I repeat ALWAYS go in the favor of Comcast. You will never be accidentally credited or under-charged, EVER!!!
When you call them, first make sure that you are in the right department. Then make sure that you are polite. I cannot stress that enough. You call up all sad and confused about your bill, we would always bend over backwards to help. You call in yelling and screaming or just being a dick, and we put you on hold and laugh at you with our buddy in the next cubicle. Then we notate your account that you are a douchebag looking for free services and we tell you we can't help you and get you off the phone. Trust me, whatever you do, don't be rude. If the person you are talking to is rude, then ask for their ID number if they won't give you a last name and then ask for a supervisor. If that doesn't get you anywhere, just hang up and call back. They literrally have dozens and dozens of call centers set up to take billing calls, which is why you will get totally different info depending on who you are talking to. Chances are you are talking to an outsourced call center that is contracted through Comcast to take billing calls for them. These guys make their numbers look good by not giving out legitimate credits, because that is one of the things that Comcast looks at, is which call centers give away the most money. Doesn't matter if it is legitimate or not, they see it as a loss of income.;
Make a billing rep, or supervisor go through each and every charge and credit and explain what it all means. You will get credits for services charged for but not received by changing services, but then you will be charged for the new services, which for the internet will likely be at a higher rate.
Good Luck man. I don't envy you.
If they absolutely refuse to help you say "thank you for your help, but I think I'll just have my lawyer deal with these fraudulent charges."
First of all, just FYI, most times you call in to a company like this, when you ask to talk to a supervisor, you aren't getting any further up the food chain, you are just talking to a different rep who is wearing the "supervisor hat" for the day. The true supervisor's of the reps rarely, RARELY get on the phone. Not to say that these "supervisors" can't help you, they are usually the reps who have been around for a while and know their shit inside and out. I used to be one of them. Sometimes they are allowed to credit a larger amount without approval, but generally they don't have more power than the first person you talked to.
Also, telling a billing rep that you are going to hire a lawyer is not going to do anything. They don't care. You can't sue them personally and they hear it all the time. I heard it hundreds of times personally, and it' s just an empty threat. Besides, I can assure you that Comcast has a whole legal team on staff.
Exactly. Claiming you will hire a lawyer won't get you anywhere. If it gets to that point, you'll be better off emailing execs and mentioning you local cable commission than trying to deal with phone support. To hire a lawyer you'll likely have to spend more than your bill. To write a letter to the people who control cable access in your area costs a postage stamp.
Shut up, your advice is bad, misleading and useless.
Having actually worked in a Comcast call center myself I'll shed a few more details:
A LOT of the people you talk to aren't even going to be Comcast employees. Comcast uses third party call farms extensively. They've got even less than nothing to lose, so don't try to intimidate them. Reverend_Chaos really hit all of the most important points, but it's really, really worth emphasizing that demanding a supervisor will extremely rarely get you anywhere and the point about getting a legal department notation on your account completely shutting you out of getting the issue resolved over the phone is dead on too.
I would also strongly suggest keeping a detailed log of every call you make, who you speak with, and who they transfer you to. Being able to show incompetency and a lack of interest in resolving the issue on Comcast's part despite multiple attempts on your behalf will come in handy later on. I'm talking dates and times and call durations here. If you end up sending a letter to your local cable commission and copying an executive or two on it, this will help your cause greatly.
Finally, you can always go to small claims court. Only do this after you have that log, after the phones have failed you multiple times, after you've attempted resolution by contacting the local cable commission and after you've sent letters to the executives. If you go into small claims court and file for the billing discrepancy plus court costs and you can show proof that they do owe you the money and that they've refused to address your concerns in any way so far, you've got pretty good odds of getting a judgement in your favour and you don't need a lawyer to do it.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
If you've been overcharged and the company has a policy of "no refunds, no exceptions" then there's deeper problems beyond unempowered customer service reps. There's this thing called "fraud" and it is, oddly, not legal.
This is good advice.
Comcast Cable Television $ 29.40 = limited cable $15 x2 months
Comcast High Speed Internet $ 90.35 = internet $44 x 2months
One time Charges and Credits $ 25.98 - no idea what this is
Taxes, Surcharges and Fees $-1.58 - obvious
The reason you're getting 2 months is the current month + advanced billing (I would guess as that is how my company does it).
Having worked for a major canadian cable company (that doesn't outsource) the cable company is not out to steal your money. It does sound like they are not very helpful in explaining how the charges work though. I would suggest calling them and trying to get to the billing department and asking them to go through the charges with you on the phone.
I may have missed something but honestly it doesn't seem like they're ripping you off but we are not the comcast billing department.
I work for a cable company. One thing we take very seriously is a 'corporate complaint'. I'm not sure if Comcast has a similar terminology, or if it applies to billings and such, but every once in awhile I'll literally have to stop what I'm doing to take care of one. My focus is VoIP, and I don't really deal with individual accounts unless the first three levels of support are stumped or we get one of these complaints.