- Report: #842100
Complaint Review: Comcast - Xfinity - Boston Massachusetts
Reported By:
Brendon -
Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
Comcast - Xfinity
414-416 Cambridge Street Boston, 02135 Massachusetts, United States of America
Phone:
Web:
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Comcast - Xfinity Don't make a mistake in your payment info, or it costs $55.00 Boston, Massachusetts
I've been a regular customer of Comcast for years, in part because there is no competition in the Boston area. Verizon offers FIOS here and there, but for the majority of us it's either comcast or the dark ages.
That being said, my recent encounter with them takes the cake. I regularly make payments online. About 2 months ago, I submitted a payment for my bills. A week went by, then without any prior notice, I came home to find my roommates complaining the tv and internet service was shut off. I called up 1-800-COMCAST, only to hear them say that my payment was declined, and therefore shut off our service. Given that my checking account had several times the neccessary funds, I printed my bank statements, and brought them to the comcast office in Allston, MA as proof.
The staff at the office there informed me that I was going to be assessed a fine of $20 for this, and didn't care what evidence I had. They told me I had to call their billing dept to dispute it, and that I had to make an immediate payment on site to get my service reactivated.
A couple weeks later, I checked my comcast bills to find that not only was I assessed a $20 fee for the transaction decline, but on top of that I was charged a $15 reactivation fee, as well as a late fee of $5.89. All in all, it was coming out to be a $40+ problem. Talking with the woman in the billing dept on the phone was most frustrating. You get transferred from one person to the next, then they tell you they will review your case and will decide if your charges will be reversed, as if they were judge and jury.
Well after several more days, I get a call informing me that they were reversing the $20 fee and $15 reactivation fee this time. The $5.89 late fee stands. So what happened exactly? Apparently I entered the bank routing number wrong.
This is probably the worst form of consumer fraud I ever experienced. Transactions decline all the time! I work for a registration company and you wouldn't believe how many times we have to deal with declined transactions for all sorts of reasons, most of the time nothing to do with an insufficient balance (wrong number, new card, bank putting a freeze due to suspicion, etc). If we assessed $40 in fees everytime someone's payment declined, not only would we be out of business, but we would probably be at the receiving end of a class action lawsuit for fraud. So because I probably entered 1 or 2 numbers wrong, Comcast has the right to slap all sorts of fees? The funny thing about it all is that if I had not made a payment at all, I wouldn't have been assessed all these fees. Going back to my original point, I think because Comcast has such a monopoly over everything no one dares to challenge them. For most of us, its a one party system, so don't upset Uncle Joe or you'll end up in Siberia splitting rocks.
That being said, my recent encounter with them takes the cake. I regularly make payments online. About 2 months ago, I submitted a payment for my bills. A week went by, then without any prior notice, I came home to find my roommates complaining the tv and internet service was shut off. I called up 1-800-COMCAST, only to hear them say that my payment was declined, and therefore shut off our service. Given that my checking account had several times the neccessary funds, I printed my bank statements, and brought them to the comcast office in Allston, MA as proof.
The staff at the office there informed me that I was going to be assessed a fine of $20 for this, and didn't care what evidence I had. They told me I had to call their billing dept to dispute it, and that I had to make an immediate payment on site to get my service reactivated.
A couple weeks later, I checked my comcast bills to find that not only was I assessed a $20 fee for the transaction decline, but on top of that I was charged a $15 reactivation fee, as well as a late fee of $5.89. All in all, it was coming out to be a $40+ problem. Talking with the woman in the billing dept on the phone was most frustrating. You get transferred from one person to the next, then they tell you they will review your case and will decide if your charges will be reversed, as if they were judge and jury.
Well after several more days, I get a call informing me that they were reversing the $20 fee and $15 reactivation fee this time. The $5.89 late fee stands. So what happened exactly? Apparently I entered the bank routing number wrong.
This is probably the worst form of consumer fraud I ever experienced. Transactions decline all the time! I work for a registration company and you wouldn't believe how many times we have to deal with declined transactions for all sorts of reasons, most of the time nothing to do with an insufficient balance (wrong number, new card, bank putting a freeze due to suspicion, etc). If we assessed $40 in fees everytime someone's payment declined, not only would we be out of business, but we would probably be at the receiving end of a class action lawsuit for fraud. So because I probably entered 1 or 2 numbers wrong, Comcast has the right to slap all sorts of fees? The funny thing about it all is that if I had not made a payment at all, I wouldn't have been assessed all these fees. Going back to my original point, I think because Comcast has such a monopoly over everything no one dares to challenge them. For most of us, its a one party system, so don't upset Uncle Joe or you'll end up in Siberia splitting rocks.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
coast
USAFalse Accusation
#2Consumer Comment
Tue, February 21, 2012
You provided them with invalid information and then you claim they committed fraud. That is a false accusation. Comcast would not have discontinued service due to a single denied payment unless the account was delinquent or not in good standing.
Robert
Irvine,California,
U.S.A.
This is a joke right?
#3Consumer Comment
Mon, February 20, 2012
This is probably the worst form of consumer fraud I ever experienced
- Really? YOU..enter in the wrong account information and think it is their fault?
You entered in the Routing Number incorrectly, and it got rejected by what ever bank it went to. Unlike Credit/debit cards your payment was processed as an ACH Transaction, and just like a Check if it bounces(for ANY reason) and gets returned to the merchant, the merchant has the right to charge you a fee.
So because I probably entered 1 or 2 numbers wrong, Comcast has the right to slap all sorts of fees?
- Yep they do. You may be surprised to find out that this is actually very common with any service provider(Utilities, Cell Phone, Cable,etc).
But one also has to wonder what did you do when you noticed that the payment didn't get deducted from your account? Perhaps you could have avoided ALL the fees including the late fee had you caught it earlier.
If we assessed $40 in fees everytime someone's payment declined, not only would we be out of business, but we would probably be at the receiving end of a class action lawsuit for fraud.
- Again you are talking Credit vs. ACH/Checks. These are NOT the same processes and do not have the same regulations.
If you didn't disclose the fees then yes you probably would get sued. But guess what they did disclose this in the terms of service that you got. And yes I can just about guarantee you that you not only got them, but most likely it is included somewhere on your monthly bill that ANY returned payment may be subject to fees.
The funny thing about it all is that if I had not made a payment at all, I wouldn't have been assessed all these fees.
- Well not quite. You would not have been assessed the $20 return check fee. But you would have still be subject to the Reactivation fees as well as the late fee, and the chances of them removing the Reactivation fee for no payment would be very slim. Of course once you called and explained your situation they only charged you the late fee, which is very much legitimate.
After all you did not pay your account until after it was due, and sorry but "attempting" to pay does not count. After all if they allowed this loop-hole, could you imagine how many people would make a "mistake" in their account to delay paying a few days knowing that they won't get charged a late fee or any other fees because they can claim that they attempted to pay.
If you learned one thing, hopefully that was that if you enter your account information on-line to make sure it is correct.
