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| Comcast unfair/egregious billing practices must stop minneapolis, Minnesota |
| 7th of Oct, 2011 by User398193 |
| Good lord, where do I start. First of all, this company has a monopoly on cable TV and internet service in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. Since my townhome community will not allow for dish network TV and the phone outlet is nowhere near my computer desk, I was basically left with no other choice but to go with Comcast for my TV and internet services. Ever since the day we signed up for their "promotional" deal, we have routinely been told one thing over the phone but received quite another when we would open our monthly billing statements. Every few months or so, we would have to make a call to customer service/loyalty to get the issues corrected. Sometimes the problem was corrected, sometimes it wasn't, even though we were "assured" it would be. Other months, when income was better in my household, we would simply pay the bill as opposed to going through the grief and aggravation of having to deal with this company, even though we knew the amount was incorrect. Since the economy tanked we were forced to downgrade our premium Cable and internet packages and when we did so, that's when we noticed the customer service declined significantly from what was already poor service to begin with. Back in August we became so fed up with their incompetency and outright lies that we decided to cancel our Cable TV altogether and were left with basic internet service. Aside from the slower internet service being incapable of streaming video (which they said was our fault because we failed to ask them if we had their most up-to-date modem), the problems persisted when we received a bill in September in excess of $600.00 for which we then began receiving collection calls!!! We then contacted them and told them to come pick up their "rented" equipment from our home. When the service tech showed up a week later to pick up the equipment, he was very professional and courteous and genuinely concerned with what had transpired. It seems he was a subcontractor of some kind and he said "this stuff happens all the time with this company". We then sat there with him in our home for an hour while he made calls to his contact person(s) at Comcast. Through him we were able to work out (what we thought was) a final payment of $300+ and agreed to keep our basic internet at a price of $57.95. We made that payment mid September as agreed and thought all was well. Not the case. Instead of what should have been a bill for the remainder of September and the future bill for October, in the amount of approx $130, (yes they bill you ahead of time for services not yet rendered) we began receiving collection calls for approx $430!!!! Livid at this point, I called again and talked to a man who said we were still being billed $228 per month for cable TV and premium internet!!!! After long periods on hold I was finally transferred to cust. loyalty and spoke with another man who said he made an "adjustment" to our bill and got the problem "corrected". When I asked him how much the remaining bill would be and how much of an adjustment was made, he was unable to tell me because "their computer system wouldn't update for 48 hours". Ridiculous. When I asked how it's possible for him to not know he said something about their billing statements being generated in Philadelphia. Unbelievable incompetency. It took me another half hour on the phone with his supervisor and numerous times on hold to get anywhere with her. Only after the threat of a lawsuit and a P.R. nightmare (I work for an attorney and my fiance is good friends with a local reporter) did anything get accomplished. Finally, after countless phone calls and hour upon hour of speaking with different reps and supervisors alike, today I was "assured" that we would only receive a bill for September and October at the agreed rate of $57.95 per month (plus tax and $7 modem rental) for basic internet. (we'll see) In the next few weeks I will be purchasing a wireless card for my computer so I can just go through Sprint's wireless hotspot device. For around a couple hundred dollars you can get a device that connects wirelessly to your computer and have internet anywhere, I guess. After all this aggravation and grief, I advise anyone and everyone who has ever experienced anything like this to not let them get away with this anymore!!! Their monopoly in our area has led to abusive and unfair billing practices which they do not feel the need to change. Everyone please rise up and if you feel so compelled, contact your congressperson, write about your experience on every blog and complaint board you can find. If you feel you have a legal case against them, file it. Somehow their unfair/illegal practices need to stop or be stopped!!! - Beyond aggravated |
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