Stop trying to make this a thing Comcast.

Born2bwire

Diamond Member
Oct 28, 2005
9,840
6
71
Just moved into a new flat and once again ordered *shudder* Comcast for my internet. They send the self install but the modem can't find their network. Call up their tech support and they say that the line should be fine, the previous tenants had an account, but they'll have to send out a technician. Come my bill and they charged me $50 installation fee. I call them up to clarify that I didn't order an installation but this was a service call they apologize and say that yes, it should be a service call but all service calls come with a $50 fee. I asked explicitly and the rep confirmed that anytime I have a technician come out to my place to solve a technical problem, regardless of fault, I have to pay $50.

Screw that. Now I'm going to see if I can find an alternative service but initial attempts look like I'm SOL.
 
Feb 25, 2011
16,907
1,551
126
There's probably a DSL provider in your area, if you want to pay 90% the money for 40% the speed.
 

Born2bwire

Diamond Member
Oct 28, 2005
9,840
6
71
There's probably a DSL provider in your area, if you want to pay 90% the money for 40% the speed.

I would if I could. I just had a technician come out to my last place a few months ago and I know they didn't charge me for it but I wouldn't mind taking a hit in speed to avoid Comcast. AT&T and Verizon have service in the area but AT&T says that my address doesn't make the cut (though my landlord's website gives residents a link to a discount package from them) and Verizon provides phone and TV service but not internet. I'll drop by the manager's office and ask them what providers service the complex.
 

Drako

Lifer
Jun 9, 2007
10,697
161
106
LOL, had similar happen to me earlier this year.

I've had Comcast internet for about 8 years now, and it's been mostly trouble free. But in the February time frame, I start getting all kinds of T3 timeouts, modem reboots every 5 minutes, etc. Needless to say, internet usage was beyond shitty.

So I do the 1 hour call to customer support to finally get someone to come out. Turns out they had changed the carrier frequency, and there was a band-pass filter for the old CF in the big green utility box out on the street. They never came into my house, they just removed the filter and the problem was solved. Lo and behold, the next month I get a $50 service charge.

I call them up, going through the service gauntlet, waiting on the phone for what seemed like hours. I talk to the service drone who was no help, and request a manager. After talking with the manager, I got him to remove the $50 charge, and he actually put me back on an introductory rate for 6 months. :D
 

Born2bwire

Diamond Member
Oct 28, 2005
9,840
6
71
LOL, had similar happen to me earlier this year.

I've had Comcast internet for about 8 years now, and it's been mostly trouble free. But in the February time frame, I start getting all kinds of T3 timeouts, modem reboots every 5 minutes, etc. Needless to say, internet usage was beyond shitty.

So I do the 1 hour call to customer support to finally get someone to come out. Turns out they had changed the carrier frequency, and there was a band-pass filter for the old CF in the big green utility box out on the street. They never came into my house, they just removed the filter and the problem was solved. Lo and behold, the next month I get a $50 service charge.

I call them up, going through the service gauntlet, waiting on the phone for what seemed like hours. I talk to the service drone who was no help, and request a manager. After talking with the manager, I got him to remove the $50 charge, and he actually put me back on an introductory rate for 6 months. :D

I'm hoping to do that but not before I get a replacement lined up in case they won't rescind it. Odd though, I was able to get my bill corrected with AT&T this month and we've had horrendous experiences with AT&T in the past. I'm supposed to get a bunch of employee discounts on monthly rates and charges for a new phone. The problem was that they had the phone I wanted on the discount webstore but I had to order it from another site (linked to via the webstore) and it seems like the AT&T site was not setup to handle this occurance properly. So everybody I talked to passed the buck. Webstore help said go to a physical store and place the order and they will apply the discounts. Store said that I have to order it, activate the discounts online and then they would be automatically applied on the next bill. Buy the stuff, call support and they say that it will be automatically applied. Get my bill and none of the discounts were applied but when I called, amazingly, I had no trouble in getting it straightened out. So I guess Comcast decided to do their best to counteract it.
 

Slew Foot

Lifer
Sep 22, 2005
12,379
96
86
never talk with your base level tech drone, always ask for the supervisor, they have the ability to waive the service charge and will usually do it.
 

EagleKeeper

Discussion Club Moderator<br>Elite Member
Staff member
Oct 30, 2000
42,589
5
0
never talk with your base level tech drone, always ask for the supervisor, they have the ability to waive the service charge and will usually do it.

This.

I ran into something similar. When Comcast upgraded the DVR, by adding a voice over IP, it screwed up my router. Had them exchange modem, no joy. They sent a tech and got it working.

Then tried to assess service charge, I went a called them. Therer equipment was failing, they had responsibility to get it working.

Charge was waived
 
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LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
28,520
1,575
126
I never talk with tech support at all. If it quits working, I just call to cancel the service. When they ask why, I say it's not working.
 

josh0099

Senior member
Aug 8, 2004
543
0
76
The best course of action is if you have tried to get results by talking to Comcast and feel you have been wrong is to go through your utility commission (If you are in a state where Comcast is a regulated monopoly) and file a complaint most allow you to do this online. You usually skip a bunch of levels and get to someone who can actually provide you results.
 

xanis

Lifer
Sep 11, 2005
17,571
8
0
Spent over an hour on the phone with Comcast when I moved in to my new apartment. Apparently, if you exit the new account signup process halfway through, Comcast considers that "canceling an active account" and you have to get the billing department to cancel the old account and set you up with a new one. The more you know...
 

akugami

Diamond Member
Feb 14, 2005
5,986
2,309
136
I don't understand how Comcrap charges you a fee for something that is their fault...
 

3DEC3

Junior Member
Apr 19, 2013
15
0
0
Is changing services going to get rid of your fee? You could get fancier DSL.
 

Dari

Lifer
Oct 25, 2002
17,133
38
91
How the fuck is this even legal? Charging for someone to come out and fix their problems? Why isn't the OP on the phone with his attorney general or the fucking media?
 

Dari

Lifer
Oct 25, 2002
17,133
38
91
America today - first thing you do is call your attorney? Wow. :(

Fuck yes. Comcast is charging for service calls. That is just absolutely wrong and the OP needs to raise a stink. What do you suggest he do? Go to a competitor? It's a cable company. They are a licensed monopoly just like the other utility companies. There are limits as to what they can do.
 

3DEC3

Junior Member
Apr 19, 2013
15
0
0
I would try to call again and ask for a manager or something. Cable tends to be quite a bit better than DSL as far as I have experienced, so you would want to keep that hopefully.
 

Drako

Lifer
Jun 9, 2007
10,697
161
106
Fuck yes. Comcast is charging for service calls. That is just absolutely wrong and the OP needs to raise a stink. What do you suggest he do? Go to a competitor? It's a cable company. They are a licensed monopoly just like the other utility companies. There are limits as to what they can do.

Yeah, no shit captain obvious. Last resort would be to call some shit head lawyer. :D
 

RossMAN

Grand Nagus
Feb 24, 2000
78,817
323
136
I would considering posting your experience here. It's a secure and private forum only between you and a Comcast rep.

As part of an endeavor to meet Customers where they already are, Comcast and Broadband Reports have created this space where you can ask for assistance directly from Comcast's Customer Connect team. This is a SECURE area for member-to-tech communication. BBR members with full read and post access are Comcast Techs working to solve customer issues to the best of their ability. Questions about this forum should be directed to the forum moderator.

Bumping or responding to your posts will cause a longer than normal response time. Your post will not be in the unreplied section any more if you bump your thread! Also, please do not attempt to read other's threads or post there, they are not supposed to be read by default. Please keep all communications to one thread, not multiples.
 

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,410
616
126
Fuck yes. Comcast is charging for service calls. That is just absolutely wrong and the OP needs to raise a stink. What do you suggest he do? Go to a competitor? It's a cable company. They are a licensed monopoly just like the other utility companies. There are limits as to what they can do.

switch to dish or directv?
 

Wreckem

Diamond Member
Sep 23, 2006
9,461
996
126
Thats odd. If it is an equipment problem they shouldn't be charging you a service call/truck roll.

Most will charge a truck roll if it is your line, where that line stops being your responsibility depends on your state.

I had Suddenlink wanting me to pay $300 to drop a new line from the pole to my place. I lived with the old line.
 

gooseman

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2000
4,853
1
0
My experiences with Comcast have been just the opposite. I've had internet, t.v. and phone service with them for about 4 years. Internet and t.v. for about 10 years prior to that. About 2 months ago I was having problem getting a signal from one of my cable boxes to the t.v. Called up Comcast, spent some time on the phone troubleshooting and it was finally decided I needed a new box. She said she would set up a service call and I told her I would just take the box by the local office (only about 5 miles away) and switch it out.

Here's the amazing part......

While on the phone with her, I never once mentioned a thing about my bill. All of a sudden she says, I see your paying over 251.00 a month for your service. I said, yes I am, I have been paying an outrageous amount ever since my last package deal ran out. She then says, well I can fix that, hold on for a moment and let me take a look. I wait a few minutes and she comes back and says good news, starting today your bill will be 146.00 for all the same service you currently have and that rate will be good for 24 months and when that package expires you call us back and we will get you on a new one! I was dumbfounded. My next bill was $84.00 because she pro-rated me from the day I called and I just got my first "new" full bill and it is 165.00 total including all the taxes. I'm almost speechless.
That is great customer service! Maybe I just called on the right day at the right time but my bill was cut basically 85.00 a month without me ever even bringing the subject up.
 

OverVolt

Lifer
Aug 31, 2002
14,278
89
91
You are an idiot for not realizing the bill was creeping to $251 in the first place :awe:

Really though, $20 at a time or so they randomly mess with your bill and next thing you know its $200 for what you were originally paying $100 to get. If you actually ever call to question why there are random additional charges on your bill it turns out alot of the time they decide they need more revenue in February and add the $20 bullshit surcharge that doesn't hold water if you press them as to why its there.
 

Dari

Lifer
Oct 25, 2002
17,133
38
91
Yeah, no shit captain obvious. Last resort would be to call some shit head lawyer. :D

No, you dumb fuck. I said he should call his Attorney General. If you don't know who that is google it...