Share your Comcast horror stories!
So far on Pocketables, we have blasted companies like Apple, Sprint, and ASUS – and sometimes we even give HTC and Google a hard time, too. Now, I think it’s time to start bashing Comcast.
Why, you might ask? Given that Comcast is in the process of acquiring Time Warner, and will therefore in effect create a nationwide cable TV/cable internet monopoly, I think that people should know exactly what they’re getting into – especially in areas that were previously served only by Time Warner. In addition, Comcast really ticked me off last week.
Let me share my story first: I just moved to a beautiful new home three weeks ago, and everything was grand. I called Comcast several weeks before I moved to make sure my service would be transferred along with me to the new address. I was told that all I’d have to do is plug my modem in at the new address, and all would be good to go.
And all was good to go, until two weeks later, when my internet was mysteriously shut off.
I called Comcast and spent three and half hours on the phone. I’m not exaggerating, either – I spoke to billing, activations, sales, tech support, “advanced” tech support, and probably a few other departments, too. I kept getting transferred around, even when I was promised that I would no longer be transferred. (The “hold” button and the “transfer to someone else” button in the Comcast call center must be right next to each other, and everyone working there must have really fat fingers!) Several people I spoke with also told me that they had no record of me ever having internet. “That’s funny,” I said. “I’ve been getting billed for four years now, and it was working last night.”
Eventually, my internet was working again, but when I woke up the next morning, it was off once more. I went through the same process on the phone, but this time only had to spend one and a half hours on the phone. Still, the next morning, it was off again.
So, I called Comcast a third time, and spent another hour on the phone. This time, I was told that I had to go to my local Comcast office. I went there, only to have 26 people in line ahead of me and other 90 minute wait. Interestingly, even though three people were working behind the counter when I went in, by the time it was my turn, there was only one. I guess the others had better things to do.
The woman who helped me at first said that the reason my internet was turned off was because my modem was being rented on another account. I told her this was impossible, since I’ve owned it for four years. After arguing with me for five minutes on the ownership of the modem, she finally looked up the serial number and agreed that I owned the modem. But she told me I had to call customer service to activate it.
So I called back, and this time was told that customer service did not have the authority to activate my modem, and that I would have to visit my local Comcast store. Even though I already did that. Even though the local store directed me back to customer service.
How did I finally resolve this issue? I had to go out and buy a brand new modem, even though my old modem was working just fine. Even though the problem was clearly on Comcast’s end, not mine. Worst yet, I’ve wasted hours of my time, and no one at Comcast can seem to give me a courtesy credit, a speed boost, or anything to compensate me for a problem that was clearly not my fault. And since Comcast is the only option for high speed internet in my area, I’m stuck.
What’s your Comcast horror story?
