Sunday, May 31, 2015

Paying Comcast to return equipment Erich doesn't even want

Comcast, agh, gotta love'm ! …..  I experience an internet outage last spring. I call customer support. Instead of sending a reset signal, they send me a modem/router I didn't ask for and don't want and they charge me $9.95 for the privilege. Meanwhile my old equipment resets and is working fine, so I put the new equipment on the shelf and decide to deal with it later. A few months on they send a letter telling me they are going to charge me more if I keep the new equipment I never asked for.... but—and this is the really fun part— I have to pay THEM to return it ... or drive half way across town... even though I have been paying them a monthly modem rental fee.

I then spent an hour and half on the phone with Customer Service trying to get this straightened out, and they can't seem to get this straight with no luck. They just seem to be extracting the maximum advantage from their monopoly position. And now they want to merge with Time-Warner and form an even bigger monopoly? If you consider how much we all spend per month, these guys make Standard Oil look like child's play. What happened to our anti-trust laws? I am all for free markets, but since when did free markets mean only freedom for corporate extraction? I am about ready to unplug and find a new way to connect to the internet.  These guys are making AT&
T look good.

-Erich

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

I hate these asshats with a passion!‏


So here's my "Comcast Saga".

Living in a medium-sized city in the South, my options for connectivity to mass media are limited. Basically, for video service I have a choice between satellite (sorry, I like to watch tv, even when it rains) or, due to the monopoly set up by corrupt city politicians, Comcrap. For internet service, I'm limited to, again, Comcrap, or the ploddingly slow DSL provided by the almost-equally-moronic idiots from CenturyLink.

Tired of not even being able to watch a movie on Netflix without the inevitable stutters and freeze-ups, and also sick of my landline phone service breaking down every few months, followed by the usual crack team of inbreeds arriving a week or so later to spray paint my yard, change out wires, and leave said wires draped across the lawn unburied for 3 months thereafter I decided to cancel CenturyLink service. Hell, no one but telemarketer maggots ever call the landline anyway.

So I switched the security system to a mobile-based monitor and decided to go with Comcrap for internet service. I also had an issue with a hinky-acting older model DVR so I unhooked everything and tossed it in a box and headed to Comcrap to replace it and sign up for their "blazingly fast" internet service at 8am on a Saturday morning.

Now, I thought I was in for long lines and rude employees but I will admit, Comcrap has made some progress in the service quality of their local offices. There was a line at the door, but once everyone was let in, I was able to get to a window right away. They've remodeled into sort of an open plan lobby where you can log in on an iPad and get called up when your number and name comes up on a screen. Since there where about 8 customer service reps, waiting time was minimal. The reps were friendly and tried to be helpful.

There. That's it. The only good thing I have to say about Comcrap.

So I got my shiny new DVR box and my new modem/router and headed home to hook everything up and get the devices started, buoyed by my unexpectedly positive experience at the local office. "I'll be up and running in minutes!" I thought. Here is where the Comcrap of old reared its ugly head.

I got everything connected and decided to call and activate the internet service first, then call again to activate the new DVR. So I called, got the usual recording, entered my account phone number, "yes" to "activate new equipment," "yes" to "internet service". Then, I got "We're sorry, due to temporary service issues in your area, we cannot activate new equipment at this time." Wtf? I'm sitting here watching the tv in my bedroom and every channel is fine. So I called back, went through the prompts and this time was transferred to one of the inevitable Hindu "service techs". As I tried to decipher her song-song English-like patois, I did as she suggested, tried hooking up to various outlets, double-checking connections, etc. Though I was able to set up wifi, I could not get an internet connection no matter what I did. Finally, Raj's sister from Big Bang Theory gave up and set up a service appointment at my house for the following week. I was perturbed but she insisted "Nearest time for appointment I can give." (I'm guessing, hearing this, that despite my positive experience at the Comcrap store, things haven't really changed that much after all. I'm also surprised to learn that apparently Yoda was from India.)

Well okay, I'm stuck without internet for a week, I'll still get the new DVR box up and running! Bzzzz! WRONG!

So I called the setup number again. Went through the prompts. Same deal. Some sort of mythical problem prevented them sending a signal to boot up the DVR as well. I called three more times. Same answer. (Remember: all this time during a supposed "outage" my other cable box is working just fine.)

Finally, failing to get a tech, I called Comcrap's main number. I get a tech after about some time and go through everything again, checking connections, turning the box on and off, the usual rigmarole. Still nothing but digital snow. Finally the tech says there's an outage in my area. I told her I knew that but asked why my other tv and box were working fine. Ignoring me completely she said the outage had been going on since the 24th. I told her that was three days ago and asked when it was due to be fixed. Ignoring the fact that it had been three days without the supposed "outage" being fixed, she told me it would definitely be up-and-running by 3 pm that afternoon (about 1 1/2 hours hence). So I decided to try again later.

So an hour and a half later, you can guess what happened. Still no fucking service, of course. This time I was offered a recorded option of getting a callback when the "outage" was rectified so I could continue activating my new devices. The rub? They only call back during "normal business hours"! That's right! They only "callback" 9-to-5 on weekdays!! So their whole "24 hour service promise" is also a lie! Figures.

So after several more calls to recordings I again call the main number and got a tech who had some kind of undefined Spanish accent. Or something. Again I went through the whole run-through. Again was told about the fantasy "outage". But this time, he managed to send a signal through. He told me to wait 45 minutes, then turn the box off and on, and it should be working. Uh huh. And I got a bridge in Brooklyn you can buy on eBay. Of course it wasn't working.

Furious, I called again and was told the phantasmagorical, magical mystery "outage" should be resolved by 4:30pm. On subsequent calls I was told 8:30pm, followed by 10pm and finally 11am the next day. So I waited until the following day and was still unable to have my new service activated. Keep in mind this supposed "outage" doesn't actually exist, as my other box is getting a signal just fine, and has now been supposedly continuing for almost a week!

So now I'm waiting for a tech to come out to my house in a week and expecting the same level of nonexistent service and complete technical ignorance I spent an entire day and a half dealing with already! In the meantime, an acquaintance at work told me they had the same problem connecting a Comcrap internet device a few years ago. It seems that Comcrap's cables are in the same shoddy condition as their garbage, rebuilt in-home equipment and they don't want to spend the exorbitant funds it'd take to lay new cable in all areas. They're using the "outage" story as cover, hoping people in certain areas just give up and never notice the supposed "outage" is never rectified. This friend ended up having to cancel Comcrap and return to DSL service. Nice. This is just a story from an acquaintance, but knowing Comcrap, it's just gotta be true.

Oh, and FUCK COMCAST!

Sent from my iPhone

Saturday, May 9, 2015

The worst service in my life!‏



We were moving, called them one week before to change our address and get service in the building.... One week later they didn't do shit so they had to do it again and send a technician. The appointment was for sunday, but he never came. I spoke to about 3 representatives and they all confirmed the appointment, but that day nothing was on their system. Same happened on monday. They finally scheduled one for next monday which meant 2 weeks without internet which means i can't do my homework. The same thing will probably happen. I hope their company goes to shit and they all become unemployed.

-Mauro

Sent from my iPhone

Friday, May 1, 2015

Mark explanins - without service for over one-month‏



Hi,

Thanks for offering to publish these stories. Dealing with Comcast has been the most primitive experience I have ever had with any company ever. 

We have been with out service for over one month and have been lied to about appointments that they have not come to although we have stayed home and have had our phones next to us constantly. My partner has kept a detailed log of every single contact with these clowns:

6/12-Internet out

6/14-Called com-cast, arranged for check-out service

6/14-tech arrived-explained wire stripped-told repair would be completed 7/3-specifically asked if any permission needed to be obtained from complex-advised nothing needed to be obtained to complete the needed repair

6/28-called to see if earlier appointment was available and if we needed to do anything for repairs to be completed-advised no earlier appointment available and no action required by us.

7/3 4pm-called to confirm appointment and to ask if anything was needed from us-advised appointment on track and advised nothing needed

7/3 7pm-technician arrives and explains that a "Letter of Permission" needs to be obtained and no repair can be completed. No one ever told us we needed to obtain this although we asked multiple times. Leasing office closed. Called comcast placed on hold for 55 minutes then spoke to LELA (operator ID given U7-) LELA promises that this is rescheduled for July 5th

7/5-8am-called to confirm appointment scheduled for 7/5. Told by AURORA (operator ID given R+P) that the appointment is scheduled for July 30th. After pressing that this was unacceptable and that we where just promised 7/5 she hung up the call

7/5-8.45am-called back and spoke to JUSTIN (operator ID given 94232). Told that appointment was for 7/5 and we would receive a call from a technician by 9.30am and a supervisor would call about complaint. Call never received

7/5 -9.40am one of us drive down to the XFINITY store in Voss and Westheimer in Houston while the other stayed at home waiting and told by person in store that the appointment was indeed for July 5th and they would be there that day. We stayed home all day on July 5th and no one ever called or came.

7/7 wrote detailed e-mail and received call from ASHLEY at corporate office who told us they would come that Monday or Tuesday. Provided both of our phone numbers and she promised we would get a 45 minute advance call. 

7/8 and 7/9--no technician called, came or otherwise manifested himself. Called ASHLEY back at corporate office and told that the Monday or Tuesday appointment was probably canceled because "we did not answer the phone and they do not leave voicemails" No one ever called either one of us. ASHLEY then told us the appointment scheduled for 7/12. Both my partner and I change our voicemails to say ""if this is COMCAST please leave a message of when you will be arriving and do not cancel our appointment"", and also tape a sign to our door that say "COMCAST : please knock we are here" plus both of our numbers. 

This company and the people that work for it are the most wretched we have come across. The people in their foreign call center clearly not only make up fake English-sounding names, but they also make up fictitious operator id's and appointments that will never happen. The corporate office people, instead of prioritizing us due to their gross incompetence and lack of communication instead implied that because we failed to answer out phone on the first or second ring we are responsible for the an appointment being canceled.
How hard if it to send a standard notice by mail or phone or e mail to all clients that say "if you live in an apartment you must obtain a letter of permission"??-instead we asked and asked and where told we needed to do nothing, and then given false appointments repeatedly. 


Thanks for taking this e-mail