COMCAST CABLE, COMCAST DIGITAL PHONE, COMCAST HIGH SPEED INTERNET ruined our credit, billed for months after service was disconnected, reported late payments that we never owed to credit bureau, damaged our credit, non-responsive customer service and credit department Richmond Virginia
I am so enraged at Comcast right now that I don't know what to do and the mere thought of having to call them again (and again, and again, and again) makes me want to throw myself out the window in frustration and despair.
We have been Comcast customers since first moving to Richmond back in September of 2004. We originally set up just with cable TV and Internet service, then later added digital phone service as well. Everything was fine for about a year, and then I started looking around and discovered that better deals could be had elsewhere. In mid-september of 2005, I began to switch things over, choosing DishNetwork over Comcast for the television, (because I loved the DVR offer, there's nothing like being able to pause live tv) and switched the phone over to Verizon. Verizon's basic phone package was similarly priced, but they were offering DSL for $19.99 per month, HALF of what we were paying Comcast for a cable connection.
Now, you'd think that a simple phone call, "Please disconnect all services that I currently purchase from Comcast and send me a final bill" would be all that was required, right? Wrong. After making this call (and by the way, I had to make THREE calls, one to each department, the phone, cable tv, and internet) I continued to recieve bills as if I were still using their services.
Each month, the new bill would reflect a 'past due' amount and late charges. Each month, I would call Comcast to ask two questions. 1) Why am I still being billed? 2) When will I recieve a final bill? And each month, I was told the same thing, that I would continue to recieve bills until a technician came by and shut the services off at the pole. They told me to disregard the erroneous bills I continued to receive and wait for the final bill, which would be prorated to the day I actually called and requested that service be stopped.
This continued for several months, the balance getting larger each time, and late fees being assessed each time. Every time I got a new bill, I would call them again, and be told the same thing.
FINALLY, on January 24th, I got the final bill, which was about what I expected, a little over $50.00. (The erroneous bills had gotten quite high, over $200 I believe...but I did not owe this!
In the meantime, our computer died and we had to purchase a new one. We were turned down for credit with Dell, and when we recieved our explanation letter, the reasons for being turned down included 'late payments on a trade line' and 'delinquent trade line accounts.' (For those of you who are unfamiliar with credit reporting practices, a trade line is any sort of utility account, and you get a bad mark for payments 30, 60, or 90 days late, once a payment is more than 90 days late, the account is considered delinquent.)
For the record, we have never made a late payment on any trade line account.
So, while Comcast had idiotic phone representatives telling me to disregard the erroneous bills on one hand, they had equally idiotic credit department goons reporting "late" payments on the other hand.
I called them (for the umpteenth time) yesterday, and get this...the telephone rep claims that HIS notes never even show a request from me to stop service at all! I can call again today, and whoever I talk to will tell me something entirely different.
This has been the case no matter what issue I am calling about, last month I had one person tell me I was going to keep getting bills until I return their equipment, something that ANOTHER person had told me would be picked up on the day they came out to shut service off at the pole. I told her by all means, please come and get it, so she gave me the number of the scheduling department, informing me that I PERSONALLY had to schedule a service call to have things shut off and the equipment picked up.
Shouldnt this have been the job of customer service, whom I had informed to close my accounts? Why didn't anyone TELL me I had to call the service department? This moron eventually gave me a number to call, a number which happened to ring in one of their offices in NEW HAMPSHIRE, for petes sake.
They referred me to the local scheduling office, (after laughing hysterically about someone from Richmond calling New Hampshire to ask for a service appt) and they did finally get by here some time in early January to totally disconnect service, and I surrendered their equipment at that time as well. Thus, I get the final bill on Jan 24th, and get this...I get a collection letter FOR THAT BILL just a few days later!
Gahhh, why should our credit be ruined because Comcast took 4 freakin' months to send a technician out here to disconnect service outside in order to finalize our account? I suppose I was supposed to just keep sending them money I knew I didn't owe and hope for an eventual refund? Pfft, not after I've seen their shoddy version of customer service.
So now we have bad marks on our credit, thanks to Comcast. I am going to try again today to get a real live person with some actual authority and knowledge on the phone, and then start putting everything in writing. I can't seem to get past the apathetic and incompetant first layer of customer service grunts, no matter who I ask to speak with, I'm told they will pass my information along and someone will call me back. Of course, no one ever does, and I am at my wits end with these people.
Current Comcast customers, BEWARE. If you leave them, they punish you by farking up your credit. Potential Comcast customers? Think twice before you choose this company, it might end up costing you more than you think.
Sabrina
Richmond, Virginia
U.S.A.
11 Updates & Rebuttals
Robandmar01
Fort Wayne,Indiana,
U.S.A.
Outages do happen unfortunately......
#12UPDATE Employee
Fri, March 28, 2008
To the original poster - I do apologize thing took so long to get straightened out. A disconnect is placed into the system and after it is completed ( which can be several weeks) they go back into credit your account from the day you requested it to the day it was actually done. if this process was delayed that is what would have caused the wait. It should have been completed in 2 to 3 wks and your refund sent to you within 6 weeks. I do apologize it took so long.
To the rebuttal about emailing Bennie.... unfortunately outages do happen. If there is a bad storm or a feeder, trunk ect. wire needs replaced it can cause a interruption in service. Comcast does strive to have the service operational 100% of the time but with unforeseen circumstances we unfortunately can not. Outages (weather caused by someone hitting a pole or weather related, ect.) do happen. We try our best to get it back up and running ASAP. If your having other problems as far as a maint. issue or inside wiring that needs replaced we need to schedule an appointment to get that repaired/addressed ASAP. Bennie is a EXCELLENT boss and takes customer service very seriously. I don't even know if this is still an issue for you. If you have not had this addressed please respond and I will get it taken care of ASAP.
Robandmar01
Fort Wayne,Indiana,
U.S.A.
Outages do happen unfortunately......
#12UPDATE Employee
Fri, March 28, 2008
To the original poster - I do apologize thing took so long to get straightened out. A disconnect is placed into the system and after it is completed ( which can be several weeks) they go back into credit your account from the day you requested it to the day it was actually done. if this process was delayed that is what would have caused the wait. It should have been completed in 2 to 3 wks and your refund sent to you within 6 weeks. I do apologize it took so long.
To the rebuttal about emailing Bennie.... unfortunately outages do happen. If there is a bad storm or a feeder, trunk ect. wire needs replaced it can cause a interruption in service. Comcast does strive to have the service operational 100% of the time but with unforeseen circumstances we unfortunately can not. Outages (weather caused by someone hitting a pole or weather related, ect.) do happen. We try our best to get it back up and running ASAP. If your having other problems as far as a maint. issue or inside wiring that needs replaced we need to schedule an appointment to get that repaired/addressed ASAP. Bennie is a EXCELLENT boss and takes customer service very seriously. I don't even know if this is still an issue for you. If you have not had this addressed please respond and I will get it taken care of ASAP.
Robandmar01
Fort Wayne,Indiana,
U.S.A.
Outages do happen unfortunately......
#12UPDATE Employee
Fri, March 28, 2008
To the original poster - I do apologize thing took so long to get straightened out. A disconnect is placed into the system and after it is completed ( which can be several weeks) they go back into credit your account from the day you requested it to the day it was actually done. if this process was delayed that is what would have caused the wait. It should have been completed in 2 to 3 wks and your refund sent to you within 6 weeks. I do apologize it took so long.
To the rebuttal about emailing Bennie.... unfortunately outages do happen. If there is a bad storm or a feeder, trunk ect. wire needs replaced it can cause a interruption in service. Comcast does strive to have the service operational 100% of the time but with unforeseen circumstances we unfortunately can not. Outages (weather caused by someone hitting a pole or weather related, ect.) do happen. We try our best to get it back up and running ASAP. If your having other problems as far as a maint. issue or inside wiring that needs replaced we need to schedule an appointment to get that repaired/addressed ASAP. Bennie is a EXCELLENT boss and takes customer service very seriously. I don't even know if this is still an issue for you. If you have not had this addressed please respond and I will get it taken care of ASAP.
Robandmar01
Fort Wayne,Indiana,
U.S.A.
Outages do happen unfortunately......
#12UPDATE Employee
Fri, March 28, 2008
To the original poster - I do apologize thing took so long to get straightened out. A disconnect is placed into the system and after it is completed ( which can be several weeks) they go back into credit your account from the day you requested it to the day it was actually done. if this process was delayed that is what would have caused the wait. It should have been completed in 2 to 3 wks and your refund sent to you within 6 weeks. I do apologize it took so long.
To the rebuttal about emailing Bennie.... unfortunately outages do happen. If there is a bad storm or a feeder, trunk ect. wire needs replaced it can cause a interruption in service. Comcast does strive to have the service operational 100% of the time but with unforeseen circumstances we unfortunately can not. Outages (weather caused by someone hitting a pole or weather related, ect.) do happen. We try our best to get it back up and running ASAP. If your having other problems as far as a maint. issue or inside wiring that needs replaced we need to schedule an appointment to get that repaired/addressed ASAP. Bennie is a EXCELLENT boss and takes customer service very seriously. I don't even know if this is still an issue for you. If you have not had this addressed please respond and I will get it taken care of ASAP.
M
Gard,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
Don't let them fool you!
#12Consumer Comment
Mon, December 31, 2007
Don't let them fool you, they do this to everyone. I work for another phone company. I like work repair tickets that need lines tested in the switch for our techs and for programming issues that don't need a tech dispatched.
I have customers being jerked around for over 2 MonTHS getting their numbers ported back.
Comcast and others like vonage and Time Warner are SLAMMING customers.
If they ask you about digital voice in a sales manner, SPEAK TO THE CENTER SUPERVISOR Immodiatly. 1/2 of the time, the rep is writing the disconnect order to send to us already. I am not lying. They are desperate for customers because of the PUC may regulate them soon, meaning they have to follow all of our rules.
They are all liars, cheaters and love to screw "unloyal" customers.
Anyway, their rates are nt comparable and everyone I know with VOIP sounds like their on a cell in a tunnel.
I DO THIS EVERYDAY! Believe me, dont go with them, and if you do, NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER Port your number. When you port it back to us, and You will. They play a little trick on you. They will keep your number in their switch forever to punish you fofr leaving. THIS MEANS that you will never ever recieve a call from a VOIP user and some cells.
They can do this because they are not regulated and they have no real legal rules to follow.
I've gotten a comcast rep to secretly tell me that they Intentioally do this.
ALL VOIPS that use the LEVEL 3 COMM backbone does this!
Please dont fall victim, the chances that it will go well are so slim!
Make my job easier
Jharper06
Lubbock,Texas,
U.S.A.
Dogs do the darndest things
#12UPDATE Employee
Sun, December 16, 2007
I am a customer account executive in a Comcast call center. Although a dog causing probems with your equipment may seem impossible to you, it is VERY common. Im not saying this was the problem in your case, just letting you know some of the crazy things I have seen. Here is an example. Some modems are equipped with standby buttons (I dont know why). The modem can only be put into standby by presing the standby button.
In an 8 hour shift, I usually get anywhere from 0-5 calls from someone who cant get online simply because their modem is in standby. They usually respond, "How did that happen? I never pressed the button." Same thing with connections inside the house. "I didnt unplug that." "I didnt change the connection." We are not trying to place the blame on anyone. The fact is the button was somehow pressed, or the cable was somehow unplugged. Did someone from Comcast enter your home and sabotage your equipment so we can have you mad at us? It had to be cause by something or someone in your home.
With 24 million customers (only measuring cable customers) you are going to see EVERYTHING. I am going to leave you with a recap of a call I got last night from a lady with a broken cable modem. This will give you an idea of what CAN/WILL happen and how unreasonable some people can be.
11:00 PM
CUSTOMER: I think it may be broken because my cat threw up on it. I cleaned it up but it still wont turn on.
ME: That sounds like it may be the problem. I can either schedule a technician to come and replace the modem or you can go to ne of our stores and get a new one.
Customer: What kind of crappy service is this?!? It was just a little vomit. I WANT SOMEONE OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!!!
Noneya
Brooklyn,New York,
U.S.A.
I have filed against Comcast myself!! Im a victim to!! Read below!
#12Consumer Suggestion
Thu, October 11, 2007
I wish I could make this short and simple but since we are talking about comcast this will not be possible. I refuse to even use a capital "C" when spelling on this dreadfull company.
Anyways, I have been a victim on comcasts wrongdoings and fraudulent ways as well. File with the Attorney General and contact the FCC. Contacting comcast corporate does nobody especially the consumer any good, ever! If you complain to comcast about their services or horrible customer service they will send threaten to drop u as a customer and then if you DARE continue to complain (about things u have every d**n right to complaint about mind you and insist on good service) they will send you a "Dear John" letter telling you that comcast is NOT a match for you and that your services will be discontinued.
They give you 5 days to find service and its five days from the time the letter was actually typed up which means u now have apprx 2 days to get service elsewhere. DO NOT COMPLAIN to comcast!! If they problem is grossly out of hand and you have tried to get some resolve and go above and beyond the call of duty to get your services up and working, just file with the State Attorney General. The more people who do that increases the possibilty of something being done.
I have been a customer of comcast for over 2 years now. It has got to the point where I dont DARE expect EXCELLENT customer service! I dont even ask for good service or even fair. I just wanted tolerable service! See, comcast expects you to walk on eggshells!! And OMG the lies the lies the lies! Man they are some seasoned liars! They are so good at deflecting attention off of them and placing the attention back on the customer!! If U dare blame them (for something that is clearly their fault) and point the finger at them, see how fast u find 3 more fingers pointing at you! They deflect!!
Its NEVER their fault according to them. Its always the customers fault! Its the type of phone u got! One time they suggested that my dog may have been tampering and resetting the modem and perhaps thats why my phone and internet kept going out and the modem kept resetting and the reason for them suggesting that it was my wonderfull pooch was because he is a "Golden Retreiver" and they are very very intelligent dogs!! She then went into detail about how they are seeing eye dogs for the blind,drug dogs at airports etc etc etc and that was her way of making her suggestion about my "Golden Retreiver" being responsible for the random "modem resetting" because of his breed. Lmao.....
Lmao....
Lmao....
Sorry, I had to keep laughing. Till this day that excuse if my favorite. Comcast should be ashamed and embarressed that that is the level they will stoop to try to deflect attention off of them and place the blame onto the consumer. They are trained this way, I beleive that. I have had associates of mine who currently work for comcast or used to work for comcast tell me that. I wish I had more time because if I did, I would sit here and tell yall readers all of my experiences with this dreadfull company. If u are wondering how the lady knew about my breed of dog, she asked. She heard him barking in the background. For those interested in hearing this recording, feel free to contact me here. Lmao.
Yes, I recorded over 45 calls to comcast.
I have been noble and faithfull to this company yet they mistreat me and other good customers poorly.
I have filed against them.
P.S. The local plant manager Mr. Benny Logan suggested I write him a letter one time fully detailing what my expectations are of comcast. I told him that I shouldnt have to do that nor will I but did say I would email this to him if he gave me his email. I emailed him and it said the following...
Dr. Mr Logan,
You asked me to email you what my expectations are of comcast and u will find the following expectations listed below.
#1. I expect my services to work....and to work all the time.
Warm Regards
JG
Do you people know this man emailed me back and said...
Dear JG,
Can you please be more specific.
Benny
Thats like going to a restaurant, ordering your food and then sending a note to the cook saying "Can u please make sure my food isnt contaminated and make sure it is cooked all the way" ?
Hope this helped you.....
JG
Ft. Wayne, Indiana
Troy
Muncie,Indiana,
U.S.A.
I am a Commtech level 3 for Camcast
#12UPDATE Employee
Sat, February 04, 2006
in Indiana. Let me first say that your situation sound very unforunate but be aware that it is not a regular occurance. I understand that the dish deal may have been better than what you were paying for cable, but more than likely when your dish special runs out you will be paying just as much or more, You can also get DVR service with Comcast and be able to record, rewind and pause live tv, as well as record two shows at the same time or record one show while you watch another also has slow motion and 30 second playback. Now you can't compair DSL with Cable internet , DSL is cheaper because it is a slower service than Cable internet is plus if you have cable TV, internet, and digital phone service the phone only cost 39.95 a month and you get 12 calling features plus unlimited long distance, I can list the features later if you want me to but it would take up to much room right now. with Verison phone, you can only get 8 call features and with the unlimited long distance it still costs at least 70.00 a month for that. With Comcast you can get all tree services for under $100 a month. Most people save up to 30 to 40 dollars a month by haveing all of there services through Comcast's bundeled package.
Now I know that this dosn't change what happened or make you any happier. So yes the you should of gotten a final bill after you called to cancel the services, no matter if the physical disconnect was done yet or not. Yes you will also be billed for equipment that is not turned in , then when you turn it in the charges will be removed, or you can schedule a call for someone to come out and pick it up usually costs $25.00 to send a tech out to pick up canceled equipment so most people bring them into the office. Now I don't understand why the phone Rep didn't schedule the call for you, because they do have access to be able to do that
Also FYI Comcast is taking steps this year to have better trained people taking calls in the call center since it seems to be where most of the problems are repoted. In stead of calling again on the phone go to the local office and talk to someone in person and I am sure they can help you out, if you keep calling on the phone you are probably going to get the same people that you have been talking to. I do feel that if you go into the office and talk to someone Comcast should be able to fix this problem for you. Last of all it is not right to say beware Comcast customers and Comcast potential customers because what happened to you dosn't happen all the time to everyone who goes with Comcast this kind of thing is rare but it can happen. Comcast is a good company to work for and we supply a great service to our customers. Comcast is not getting back at you because you choose to go with a different company, it sounds like a mistake was made and needs to be taken care of by the local management Team. Hope this may be of some help please reply if you have any questions or have more info I will be watching for it. Thanks
Troy
Muncie,Indiana,
U.S.A.
I am a Commtech level 3 for Camcast
#12UPDATE Employee
Sat, February 04, 2006
in Indiana. Let me first say that your situation sound very unforunate but be aware that it is not a regular occurance. I understand that the dish deal may have been better than what you were paying for cable, but more than likely when your dish special runs out you will be paying just as much or more, You can also get DVR service with Comcast and be able to record, rewind and pause live tv, as well as record two shows at the same time or record one show while you watch another also has slow motion and 30 second playback. Now you can't compair DSL with Cable internet , DSL is cheaper because it is a slower service than Cable internet is plus if you have cable TV, internet, and digital phone service the phone only cost 39.95 a month and you get 12 calling features plus unlimited long distance, I can list the features later if you want me to but it would take up to much room right now. with Verison phone, you can only get 8 call features and with the unlimited long distance it still costs at least 70.00 a month for that. With Comcast you can get all tree services for under $100 a month. Most people save up to 30 to 40 dollars a month by haveing all of there services through Comcast's bundeled package.
Now I know that this dosn't change what happened or make you any happier. So yes the you should of gotten a final bill after you called to cancel the services, no matter if the physical disconnect was done yet or not. Yes you will also be billed for equipment that is not turned in , then when you turn it in the charges will be removed, or you can schedule a call for someone to come out and pick it up usually costs $25.00 to send a tech out to pick up canceled equipment so most people bring them into the office. Now I don't understand why the phone Rep didn't schedule the call for you, because they do have access to be able to do that
Also FYI Comcast is taking steps this year to have better trained people taking calls in the call center since it seems to be where most of the problems are repoted. In stead of calling again on the phone go to the local office and talk to someone in person and I am sure they can help you out, if you keep calling on the phone you are probably going to get the same people that you have been talking to. I do feel that if you go into the office and talk to someone Comcast should be able to fix this problem for you. Last of all it is not right to say beware Comcast customers and Comcast potential customers because what happened to you dosn't happen all the time to everyone who goes with Comcast this kind of thing is rare but it can happen. Comcast is a good company to work for and we supply a great service to our customers. Comcast is not getting back at you because you choose to go with a different company, it sounds like a mistake was made and needs to be taken care of by the local management Team. Hope this may be of some help please reply if you have any questions or have more info I will be watching for it. Thanks
Troy
Muncie,Indiana,
U.S.A.
I am a Commtech level 3 for Camcast
#12UPDATE Employee
Sat, February 04, 2006
in Indiana. Let me first say that your situation sound very unforunate but be aware that it is not a regular occurance. I understand that the dish deal may have been better than what you were paying for cable, but more than likely when your dish special runs out you will be paying just as much or more, You can also get DVR service with Comcast and be able to record, rewind and pause live tv, as well as record two shows at the same time or record one show while you watch another also has slow motion and 30 second playback. Now you can't compair DSL with Cable internet , DSL is cheaper because it is a slower service than Cable internet is plus if you have cable TV, internet, and digital phone service the phone only cost 39.95 a month and you get 12 calling features plus unlimited long distance, I can list the features later if you want me to but it would take up to much room right now. with Verison phone, you can only get 8 call features and with the unlimited long distance it still costs at least 70.00 a month for that. With Comcast you can get all tree services for under $100 a month. Most people save up to 30 to 40 dollars a month by haveing all of there services through Comcast's bundeled package.
Now I know that this dosn't change what happened or make you any happier. So yes the you should of gotten a final bill after you called to cancel the services, no matter if the physical disconnect was done yet or not. Yes you will also be billed for equipment that is not turned in , then when you turn it in the charges will be removed, or you can schedule a call for someone to come out and pick it up usually costs $25.00 to send a tech out to pick up canceled equipment so most people bring them into the office. Now I don't understand why the phone Rep didn't schedule the call for you, because they do have access to be able to do that
Also FYI Comcast is taking steps this year to have better trained people taking calls in the call center since it seems to be where most of the problems are repoted. In stead of calling again on the phone go to the local office and talk to someone in person and I am sure they can help you out, if you keep calling on the phone you are probably going to get the same people that you have been talking to. I do feel that if you go into the office and talk to someone Comcast should be able to fix this problem for you. Last of all it is not right to say beware Comcast customers and Comcast potential customers because what happened to you dosn't happen all the time to everyone who goes with Comcast this kind of thing is rare but it can happen. Comcast is a good company to work for and we supply a great service to our customers. Comcast is not getting back at you because you choose to go with a different company, it sounds like a mistake was made and needs to be taken care of by the local management Team. Hope this may be of some help please reply if you have any questions or have more info I will be watching for it. Thanks
Troy
Muncie,Indiana,
U.S.A.
I am a Commtech level 3 for Camcast
#12UPDATE Employee
Sat, February 04, 2006
in Indiana. Let me first say that your situation sound very unforunate but be aware that it is not a regular occurance. I understand that the dish deal may have been better than what you were paying for cable, but more than likely when your dish special runs out you will be paying just as much or more, You can also get DVR service with Comcast and be able to record, rewind and pause live tv, as well as record two shows at the same time or record one show while you watch another also has slow motion and 30 second playback. Now you can't compair DSL with Cable internet , DSL is cheaper because it is a slower service than Cable internet is plus if you have cable TV, internet, and digital phone service the phone only cost 39.95 a month and you get 12 calling features plus unlimited long distance, I can list the features later if you want me to but it would take up to much room right now. with Verison phone, you can only get 8 call features and with the unlimited long distance it still costs at least 70.00 a month for that. With Comcast you can get all tree services for under $100 a month. Most people save up to 30 to 40 dollars a month by haveing all of there services through Comcast's bundeled package.
Now I know that this dosn't change what happened or make you any happier. So yes the you should of gotten a final bill after you called to cancel the services, no matter if the physical disconnect was done yet or not. Yes you will also be billed for equipment that is not turned in , then when you turn it in the charges will be removed, or you can schedule a call for someone to come out and pick it up usually costs $25.00 to send a tech out to pick up canceled equipment so most people bring them into the office. Now I don't understand why the phone Rep didn't schedule the call for you, because they do have access to be able to do that
Also FYI Comcast is taking steps this year to have better trained people taking calls in the call center since it seems to be where most of the problems are repoted. In stead of calling again on the phone go to the local office and talk to someone in person and I am sure they can help you out, if you keep calling on the phone you are probably going to get the same people that you have been talking to. I do feel that if you go into the office and talk to someone Comcast should be able to fix this problem for you. Last of all it is not right to say beware Comcast customers and Comcast potential customers because what happened to you dosn't happen all the time to everyone who goes with Comcast this kind of thing is rare but it can happen. Comcast is a good company to work for and we supply a great service to our customers. Comcast is not getting back at you because you choose to go with a different company, it sounds like a mistake was made and needs to be taken care of by the local management Team. Hope this may be of some help please reply if you have any questions or have more info I will be watching for it. Thanks