hgar78

alright, so i'm at the end of my rope. comcast sucks but it is the only choice i have (i can't get direct tv, etc).

when we first moved to dc about 3 years ago they came to install our cable and ended up having to make 3 trips b/c each installer was lazy and kept giving us really bad reception.

now, we moved to a new apt. in june and called to get it transfered over. told them which apartment and they never showed up. we called and it ends up they installed our cable in our next door neighbor's apt. so now, they *fix* the problem and send someone back out (keep in mind we've spend 3 days at home waiting for them to show since we have to be there). when they come he brings a digital cable box (which we didn't order). when i tell him he says, "but you ordered it" and i said, no so he tries to convince me to keep it! i call comcast and get the guy to talk to a representative and they "straighten" everything out. so we finally get cable.

now, we are really busy and decided to drop our package down to basic cable. my b/f calls and arranges everything (we a re told it'll now be about $15/month) the next day we turn on the tv and have 1 channel! they guy totally cancelled our cable.

i'm extremely pissed now, so i call them from work and ask for a supervisor since it appears that their customer representatives are totally ignorant (by my tally they have screwed up 3 times). i'm connected to a voicemail box and leave a message. no one calls back. i call again and get a *nice*, seeminly competent sounding lady who says she's low on supervisors but can she help me. after being on the phone with her for a while it seems we remedy the situation and she tells me that she's placed a trouble call in for someone to fix it on either (last) saturday or (this past) monday. still no one has fixed it and i have called and left 2 messages (one for the lady and one for her supervisor). NO ONE HAS CALLED ME BACK!!!

so, sorry for writing so much, but anyone have a suggestion on how to handle it? i'm fine with saying forget cable but we really would like to get some channels...

EDIT: shouold i just write angry letters explaing the situation and why i am no longer satisfied with being a comcast customer? send one to the local branch and one to the main office or is that a waste of time?

Red Dog

Get DirecTV or (if you can't) at least threaten them that you are going to get a dish.

das Monkey

Yeah, Comcast is evil. Can't say it enough.

If you have a decent poker voice, call to cancel. First guy who picks up the phone say, "I'm calling to cancel my service." Chances are he'll forward you to Customer Retention, but I don't know Comcast well, so maybe he's instructed to handle it. Either way, make sure you drop the word Dish or DirecTV a few times (pick one) and give the impression that you'd rather not go through the hassle of switching, but since Comcast isn't fixing your stuff, you have no choice. Make sure you have an "out" planned for if the guy really does try to cancel your service.

They don't care about letters or customer care or anything of that stuff. They're a shit of a company that just wants bulk revenue streams. Calling to cancel your monthly payment is probably the best way to get their attention.

das

hgar78

well, the way i look at it, they've already cancelled my service so i guess i won't even need to do that!

datagirl7

Yes, they've essentially cancelled your service, but wanna bet that they'll stop charging you? They probably are going to charge $15 a month unless you officially cancel. They're really bad.

Rico Diablo

Comcast is the devil, hgar. Your story sounds similar to what I went through. However, since we DID order Digital Cable we had a guy show up with our cable modem and internet package...which we didn't order. It took countless visits to get it set up and functioning. And we still get horrible reception on most of our favorite channels. I hate them.

Jobronie

That's not Comcast, that's RCN described to a T.....

PalmerJoss

I also have Comcast, and I must say that I'm glad that I haven't had to call them with any problems. Everyone I know that has had a problem with them always seems to get the shaft from Customer Service--they will get transferred around and inevitably hang up.

I must be in the extreme minority because I have never had any problems, and if anything they are actually giving me more for the same amount of money. I say this because I have a deluxe package with them--I would get all the HBO, Starz, and Cinemax channels. Now I also get all of the Showtime channels, but I haven't been charged anything extra for it. I now get almost every single channel on my digital box, and this has been going on for a few months now.

huzefa

Did you try ordering Expressvu (the Canadian satellite service)? Most people who cant' get Directv or Dish can usually get Expressvu. www.canamsatellites.com

Timber

Talk to the owner. Get tranfered as high as you can and then try and get the owners name. If an executive gets bothered with something this small you'll get staigtend out quickly. My father always uses this stategy and even had to do it with Comcast before. Got there internet service fixed right away and even got 3 months of free service for his trouble. If you get high enough in the company they will take care of you.

MEJHarrison

I don't know what they'll do for you, but when I dropped of my digital cable box on Saturday (now have DirecTV), he very politely canceled my service and took the equipment back. He never once seemed even slightly curious as to why I was canceling or made any efforts to talk me out of it. I was shocked and happy that I didn't have to explain anything. But mainly I was just shocked.

hgar78

well, i didn't pursue anything more. but due to datagirl7's comment i did decide to follow up and make sure their not charging me. i called those same 2 people and left messages saying that i'd decided to keep my service cancelled and that i expect that i will no longer be charged for service.

i am also going to write a letter explaining everything so they have it in their records that i have a cancelled service.

JestersTear

A friend of mine had problems with Comcast constantly missing appointments and lying to him.

He ended up calling and saying something like "Hello, are you authorized to speak about legal issues? I am tired of dealing with you, and if I do not get my situation handled to my satisfaction, my next call will be to my lawyer."

He got attention real quick and had the problem solved in a few days.

hgar78

you know, i've come to expect piss-poor service and quality from comcast, they simply are a horrible company, BUT what i just cannot understand is how NO ONE has returned any of my calls! i have left at least 3 for a supervisor and got nothing!!! how can any company do this??? i mean shitty companies usually at least TRY to satisfy their customers but comcast just outright ignores them! makes absolutely no sense.

kantonburg

This is absoutley true. I have a good friend that is pretty high up in Terminix's company. He told me the same thing. If you can get the name of the high up people all you have to do is write a letter and even if the customer is in the wrong they'll fix the problem to make it right. He said he hates it and I can understand why especially if he's in the right but it's a good stragedy if you want results. Maybe we should compile a list of names and addresses and make a thread for contact purposes of this sort.

whotony

i just cancelled all cable except basic.
that is only local channels and is about $13 a month.
she kept asking why i was cancelling and i just kept saying because we dont need it.
we just don't watch tv that much. we just watch dvd's on our ht system.
but she didnt seem to get it and kept saying that i could keep the digital box and my current programming for $10 less a month.
i continued telling her that i didnt want it.
it wasnt a cost issue.
she was curious if i liked the cableguide on the digital cable and when i told her how awful i thoiught it was she seemed very surprised and was about to tell me how well the guide works.
so of course they still don't have the ability to just flick a switch like sat tv does, so they have to send a guy out to the thing on my front lawn. oh and they charge me $10 to cancel programming.

ravan

Comcast called me today to sell me the comcast TV guide or something like that.

I politely got their information and reported them to the FCC / donotcall.gov.

I'm on the list and they violated.. buuhuu.. how much is that again?

hgar78

i finally got a call back from the supervisor on friday. he was returning the call i made that said i just wanted to make it official that my service had been cancelled and i wouldn't be charged any longer.

first off, he sounded very non-apologetic, like he was just doing his job so he wouldn't look bad. he made no point to be believable or sincere. secondly, when i said that i was surprised that after 3 calls he was just now responding, he acted like he only got the one call!

so he said they wanted to retain me as a customer, i said no, that they had proven incompetent and careless too many times and that we were better off giving our money to some other company. he offered 2 months of service free so that we could "evaluate them" and see if they could win back our patronage. i said no, they had already recieved my evaluation and that i didn't think that it was possible to redeem themselves in my eyes.

so we're officially done with comcast!!! besides, we're getting pretty good reception on a handful of channels anyway plus we got plenty of movies to watch!

hgar78

good going!

wildcatlh

If you're a comcast customer... then you're SOL there. If you're an existing customer, they're allowed to call you for solicitation even if you're on the Do Not Call list.

iggystar

So I'm not the only one who's taken days off from work waiting for Comcast to come and not show, or not fix the problem. And I was starting to take it personal.

I have digital cable with like 300 channels the digital goes out once a month showing all channel "To Be Announced". Nothing like scrolling through hundreds of channels trying to figure out what show is on. I've complained, tried to get called back, etc., etc., etc.

The bottom line when I wait and they don't show up I get money taken off my bill. Basically, I'm just a pain in the butt because I have to be -- I can't go w/out cable with a 5 year old in the house. Comcast does suck and if I weren't living in an apartment I would have DirectTV in a heartbeat.

brtcmfn

\
Comcast does suck and if I weren't living in an apartment I would have DirectTV in a heartbeat. [/B][/QUOTE]

Is it possible that you can move to a southern exposure location in the same location?- So you can get Directv or Dish?

I live in an apartment and before I signed the lease I verify with a compass if I have a clear shot at SW- (I don't want cable)- I am kind of lucky because my balcony faces SW and East- (So I subscribe to Dish & Sirius

On a side note- Someone told me with Comcast Digital cable they actually interrupt the programming when there is an emergency bulletin?
Is this true?- Someone in Colorado told me that they order a ppv movie and had it happen to them.

chowderhead

When the whole Amber Alert thing was being implemented, every time someone was abducted, Comcast would cut into programming to inform us. EVERY channel ... not just a text scroll but a SPECIAL Amber screen with some cop/law enforcement person repeating the same information. There was no picture of the missing person ... just some non-descript screen.
They would cut in for at least a couple of minutes.
I know this is not PC to say, but WTF! I have no problems with the Amber Alerts but do they really need to break into every channel? VERY annoying. Now I think they go with the text scroll but sometimes they break into programming.

FuzzyBallz

Comcast is jacking up the price again. I only have expanded, but it's gonna be $42 and change at the end of the year. Those greedy bastards. That's it, since everything TV is trash, I might as well live off Netflix for half the price.

Our amber alert only appears on highways.