Your Comments

On November 4, 2008, a former Comcast customer wrote:

I am currently on hold with Comcast - waiting for a supervisor. A sales rep hung up on me. I closed my account on June 27 and turned in my equipment. The Company lost the record of me turning in my equipment. I have the yellow receipt showing I did. The Comcast rep did not date nor sign it legibly. I refuse to pay for equipment turned in and services not received. I would hope that no business actually operates under such shady business practices, but I believe Comcast does. I have called several times to clear up this matter to no avail - even though the rep each time assures me that they have taken care of it and my account has been credited.

A Bristol, Vermont, customer was clearly frustrated in October 2008 when he wrote:

If you think your Comcast service is bad, wait until you hear how things are run in my neck of the wood. Comcast is the only option in Vermont. For basic cable (one TV) and Internet I pay $115.50 monthly.

Pillaging the community and taking away options. Even senator Sanders has rallied against them at my home state. They're technicians aren't even their own.

They use a contractor to do their work. You will be lucky if your 'technician' shows up (took three appointments) and when they did show up they didn't know how to install cable! My dad had to do it for them and he had never done it before!

Now my internet disappeared when I came back from work. I called Comcast and it took 20 minutes just to look up my information. Before they said I didn't exist. Then they said that the modem wasn't connected and it clearly was. The jack was working fine for cable TV. They said that they can make an appointment for one of their 'technicians' to look at it a week from now. I said that I don't know what a technician is going to do that would be a major difference other than also noticing that it doesn't work.

They said that it would take 12 calls in the community for them to inspect their lines. So I guess anything less than 12 customers without service in one neighborhood is grade A quality service! I don't know what to do right now other than to switch to DSL.

A Somerset, New Jersey, customer was explicit in October 2008:

Comcast really S-U-C-K-S real hard!!!!! They recently bought out Patriot Media in our area. Up until now we had no problems with our phone, cable or Internet.

Phone; Since we switched over from PatMedia to Comcast we are getting disconnceted, the phone rings but we get a dead signal when we pick up, when we call in we get a message, "The mailbox is full" even though we don't have any mailbox or voice mail on our phone!!!

Internet: When we got cable modems with PatMedia our service was great - fast connections and we never got kicked off. Now it is slower than before and we get disconnected more frequently. Also, we just got an iMac and it took over 4 hours just to set up the Internet connection!! We spent an hour on the phone with Comcast who had no clue what they were talking about. They finally patched us through to Apple Help Line who took 3 hours to get us set up because they were constantly putting us on hold so they could talk to a tech at Comcast on the other line. They finally figured out the problem: the service that Comcast provides 'is not very compatible with iMacs" and told us to consider Verizon Fios instead.

TV: Certain channels (for no apparent reason) will go dead for an hour or more then all of a sudden we have them back. No explanation just a freak of nature.

Customer wrote in September 2008 about his customer service experience

I don't know where to start. First, I had a problem with both cable and Internet service (going on Monday from semi-service to non-service at all on Wednesday). I called on Wednesday, and they sent someone on Friday. The technician says there's nothing he can do, that it is a wiring problem: they promised to send people to fix it the next Wednesday and everything will work as usual.

Second, oOn Wednesday, I call for a refund being sure the problem will be resolved. The customer service representative could not help me in any sense. I asked for the supervisor. She was not at all understanding, calling me a liar. People came, though, on Wednesday. I expected to have service. These people said they would check on my connection. Never came. I called Comcast to schedule (AGAIN) an appointment, they gave me one today on Friday at 11:00.

Third, I had to work that Friday but I delayed my duties in order to wait for the technician. He did not come at 11:00. I called customer service. They told me they would came sometime between "now and 6 pm". I reminded him that my appointment was at 11:00, he said he would call me back to update the status. So far, I have received no telephone call at all.

Why is Comcast service so unprofessional and even so cynical? Customers and service must be the main priorities but they are not. Calling customer service is painful: nobody can resolve any problem, you have more than 20 to 40 minutes listening to music and at the end, there is no resolution at all.

If I don't have my service this weekend (oh, because I have to have a refund for two weeks of no service at all), I will not just cancel my account and move to DirecTV but also I will start a campaign to persuade all my friends and acquaintances to drop their accounts with Comcast based on my bad experience.

This Georgia employee, writing in September 2008, relayed disturbing news:

I was offered a job with Atlantic Cable Services, Inc under the condition that I would be the call person for someone else who couldn't pass a criminal background check b/c he was in prison twice for identity theft. He was going to do all of the installs while I called in the orders.

I decided against it and thought that Comcast should know about this matter. The regional sales person in that office assured me that it was perfectly legal and that it is not uncommon for him to do this sort of thing. He has been able to hire others this way under the guise that the ex-felon employee was simply doing satellite dish installs since they do not require a background check.

This customer wrote in September 2008 about a way Comcast reinforces its monopoly:

I just discovered that Comcast pays money to the owners of the large apartment complex where I live so that no other cable companies will be allowed to provide service to our community. We have a city cable company that would love to provide service but they are not allowed on to the property due to Comcast have bribed the property owners. Is it legal for Comcast to pay monies so that no competition or options are allowed?

This Richmond, Virginia, got contradictory messages in September 2008:

A representative from Comcast came to my home and fed me the following pap: If you upgrade from just having cable television to a bundle including telephone and internet, we will charge you $109 a month and after you have paid your bill on time for 3 months we will send you a $100 check in 4-6 months after that; provided you sign up for same on email. I did all of the above, including receiving a tracking number and stating that my registration was successfully received. I have phoned Comcast and they said they were not offering a $100 gift check.

This Maryland customer wrote in September 2008 about his Internet service:

Why did my internet service stop? I came home last night and my DS light was blinking. No internet service. I called, and was told the modem wasn't "in the system". HUH? It was in there before. After 2.5 hours on the phone, I got an appointment for 72 HOURS from now! 3 DAYS! Why so long?. Anyway, about 11:30pm (6 hours after being told the modem wasn't "in the system" and couldn't be added because "they went home," it restored itself. Service is back. Why? What's going on?

This Michigan customer, writing in September 2008, though a promise was a promise:

Want people to know. Comcast promises a Wii unit for signing up for their triple program. No matter what I do I can’t get them to give it to me. It even says on my first bil: "one free Wii unit." Ten phone calls later I can't get them to complete the transaction. Never been treated so badly by a company in my life!

This Maryland customer wrote in August 2008:

Can Comcast deny service to me based on a previous tenant? I have had service at my current location for over a year and I waited for renovations to be completed for 6 months before I could move in. The service from my previous address was transferred to my current address and my bill is up to date. We received a 32" plasma TV from our daughter and called to have HD digital service connected and this is when the nightmare began.

The reps were more than satisfactory with the way they serviced me, but each time we set up an appointment no one ever showed. I was finally told that I had to send a copy of my lease to them because whoever was there before me owed a large amount of money.

I resent having them tell me I must send a copy of my lease after I've been there over a year and had my previous service transferred to my current location. I would not hesitate to do this if it was required to establish an account. This really makes me feel like I'm being taken advantage – Verizon is not ready in my area and the development does allow for equipment to be attached to the outside of building. Comcast is showing no respect for my integrity or showing any respect to me as a customer that has always paid them on time since I've used their service.

This Houston, Texas, woman wrote in August 2008 about the run-around she received:

We have been trying to transfer our Comcast service from our old address to our new home. We had an install appointment on Saturday, 8/16/08, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. They didn't come. We called and were told the technician would call us but to call back in 1 hour. if we weren't contacted. When we called back in 1 hour, we were directed to call back during regular business hours!

Starting at 9 a.m. on Sunday, we called and were told our ticket had been escalated and to call back every hour until the technician arrived, which we did. (Please keep in mind, we were also attempting to move) Every time we called, we were put on terminal hold, transferred to dead lines, or someone's voicemail. We were told we had a 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. service appointment and to respect that appointment and quit calling but then told before hanging up to continue calling every hour. We were told they had attempted to come on Saturday but we were here. I was here all day Saturday.

We were told they never came Saturday. We were told we already had service at the new address and did we want to cancel it. The call center is in Mexico City, several times they transferred us to a Houston call center but on other calls, we were told they could not transfer us. We were not allowed to speak to supervisors. We were told they were too busy or that they couldn't help us but would not speak to us.

Once, the person I was speaking to put me on hold and came back and said he was the supervisor, that he had no supervisor, that he had no one who supervised his work or that he reported to and that he could not help us in any way. Then I was told that we never had an installment appointment, as it was Sunday and that I should call back on Monday. We were told several times that someone would be calling us, but no one ever did. Comcast charges for installation so we were paying to be abused.

Finally, late Sunday night, a very nice man came and attempted to install service. Our Internet is up (Thank God, as my husband's job requires he have home Internet service at all times...he is on call) but our cable television is barely functional. We brought our old cable converter box to trade for a DVR/high def box. The installer didn't have the box we had ordered days previously. Instead of the channel package we had before/and were supposed to continue to have, we have part of basic cable. And we have yet another appointment to continue the install...on Tuesday. Does this mean the weekend's nightmare is unending? My suggestion to everyone is: if you have any other choice for Internet/cable service, do NOT use Comcast.

This Cape Cod customer wrote in August 2008 about his patience:

I live on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The service here is horrible. Over 26 service or no service calls to Comcast in the last 18 months. They never fixed the problems, fought me on credit for lack of days of service. They disconnect me when reporting a problem. I have spent up to 2 hours on hold waiting for a Manager and then he disconnected me. There are constantly lost calls.

I was so fed up I canceled my account, brought the equipment in on 7/25/08 in person, got a receipt for it all, now today, 8/7/08, I receive another bill for August and September! What is wrong with this company? The FCC need to investigate these robbers immediately. This is the poorest company I have ever seen.

A former tech support specialist in Michigan wrote in July 2008:

I was previously a Technical Support Specialist for Comcast. On June 4, 2008 I was terminated for not moving up to TSS2. Comcast made my advancement impossible as they were requiring a procedure that had nothing to do with my job description.

I was required to support Comcast Digital Voice, which I had never been trained on and they refused to offer training. They required me to offer the new Digital Voice to customers that were having chronic issues with their services. I did offer as often as I could. If I missed one, it was set against me and as a result, I was terminated.

All the training they are offering right now concerns sales. There is no training available to improve the Technical Support issues they are currently facing. They are converting their Tech Support Dept into a Sales Department. They're not concerned with fixing the issues anymore. They just want the Tech's to sell new products. They are implementing more tasks on the techs and reducing the amount of time they are allowed to complete all these new requirements. None of the new requirements concern fixing the problem. They have even eliminated any compensation that the employees used to receive for these sales.

A Florida customer wrote in July 2008:

Yeah, I got something to say about “Comcrap.” As of July 2, 2008, I got my upload boosted to 2mb. I have 8mb/2mb, and there is no reasonable alternative to Comcast in this area.

At first I was still seeing the original upload speed, so I did a power cycle on my modem at 9:30 pm EST. When I turned the Dlink DCM-202 modem back on, I did not receive an IP, the status light was blinking and the cable light was solid green. I called Comcast tech support, got a tech named Jeanne on the line. With all the background noise on the line I was hearing the other Comcast techs better than I was hearing Jeanne. When I told her I was having problems hearing her over the rest of the techs, she got an attitude right away and barked back that she couldn't do anything about them. I told her the problem, and after confirming account details and doing the typical power cycle on my modem and router, she immediately wanted to send a tech, without even troubleshooting the line. I said no, the line was working fine before the power cycle, and the cable light was green. She puts me on hold for 20 minutes – yes, I timed it at 20 minutes – then she came back on and said what I already knew - that I lost my connection minutes ago at 9:30, and that I was not getting an IP.

I then asked her name, and she yelled at me "My name is Jeanne like I said before." Yes, she yelled it at me. I told her that my equipment was fine, my modem was fine, it was working a half hour ago, and I told her that the problem was on Comcast's end, that she should try resetting something, or try reading my account. I then suggested she confirm the mac address on my modem to what it was on their system. She confirmed the mac address was correct. I then told her that I wanted to speak to a supervisor. She put me on hold for another 20 minutes.

A tech named Arnaldo picked up the line. We did look some things over. He automatically tried to send a tech. I said no, I told him I was not going to wait for a tech to show up, walk up to my house, mess with my routers and my setup, dig through my computer and just mess with everything, only to turn around and say that everything on my end was fine. He then tried to blame it on my equipment. He claimed that my Dlink DCM-202 modem was Docsis 1, I told him it was a Docsis 2.0 modem, The box and the manual says 2.0, I then ask him if I send a email to Dlink telling them that comcast said their modem was Docsis 1.0, what would Dlink say?

He then stopped picking on my modem, and then claimed my modem may be too old to take the upgrade. I told him no again, the modem was still under warranty. After arguing with me over useless nonsense, and me outright refusing to have a tech come to my house, he FINALLY decided to do his job and send a hit to my modem. My modem lights blinked and then I was back online, with the 2mb upload.

I hate this ISP. Verizon, please Come to South Florida and SAVE US.

A Boston worker wrote in June 2008 about his firing:

I was recently fired from Comcast for handing in an inaccurate timesheet for 6 hours. The catch? I didn’t actually fill out the timesheet ... I had a job to go to and couldn't make it to the office that day. Apparently, my supervisor filled out my time sheet and handed it in. It was inaccurate, and I was paid for 6 hours I didn't work. A couple of weeks later, the same supervisor tricked me into signing the timesheet to make it look like I actually filled it out...FIRED for 6 hours...can they do that?

A Texas cable TV subscriber wrote in June 2008 about the poor service:

Comcast is by far the WORST with it comes to customer service. One makes an appointment, takes off of work – some of us do work for a living to pay our cable bill – and the cable man fails to show. It takes weeks to get the cable installed and they make it our fault, or better just plain DO NOT CARE. They think because they are the only cable company in the area the customer can just wait and work around Comcast’s schedule i

I am so sick of Comcast I have considered not even having a TV. I do not know who does their training but they are also the WORST. I could go on and on but I think anyone who reads this will get the picture.

A customer wondered in June 2008 who large the network was:

Service has been down for 10 days, I have been told that it is anything from a network outage to a full area wide outage. Humm my neighbor has service. How big is that network??

A Virginia customer wrote this complaint in June 2008:

Comcast's internet service is ridiculous. I use BitTorrent for legitimate reasons: my favorite TV internet station sends its HD videos in that format. Also, people in my college's department share files using BitTorrent.

Ever since I got Comcast Internet Service, I have regretted it. Of course, their treatment of Bittorrent has been made public, and it makes it impossible for me to share with my colleagues. Also, their connection is horridly slow. I always have the hardest time connecting to my private servers using my Comcast connection at home. Even my friends who have Verizon can connect a lot faster.

I contacted Comcast about the issue, and they suggested upgrading to a business account. I have had two colleagues who fell for that trap, and now their connection speeds are not decidedly better but they pay almost twice as much.

When will this madness end? I want to leave Comcast but their cancellation charge is ridiculously expensive. I'm going to "speak with my wallet" and suck up the cancellation charge so I can finally get another service provider.

This Maryland customer wrote in August 2008:

This Houston, Texas, woman wrote in August 2008 about the run-around she received:

Comcast charges for installation so we were paying to be abused.

This Cape Cod customer wrote in August 2008 about his patience:

A former tech support specialist in Michigan wrote in July 2008:

A Florida customer wrote in July 2008:

Yeah, I got something to say about “Comcrap.” As of July 2, 2008, I got my upload boosted to 2mb. I have 8mb/2mb, and there is no reasonable alternative to Comcast in this area.

I hate this ISP. Verizon, please Come to South Florida and SAVE US.

A Boston worker wrote in June 2008 about his firing:

A Texas cable TV subscriber wrote in June 2008 about the poor service:

A customer wondered in June 2008 who large the network was:

Service has been down for 10 days, I have been told that it is anything from a network outage to a full area wide outage. Humm my neighbor has service. How big is that network??

A Virginia customer wrote this complaint in June 2008:

A New Jersey customer wrote in May 2008 about her pricing dispute:

We got the new boxes for all our TV's. When I received them, all for free for a time, I asked how much they would each cost after the promotion. I was told, along with many other people standing in line returning these little boxes, that the cost would be $1.99/month each.

Lo and behold, I received a letter from Comcast saying: "great news" we are giving you the boxes for $8.99 per month, a savings of $6.00! That means each box, after this promotion period, will be $14.99/month - WOW! They sucker you in then raise the prices. Not to mention that these new boxes get so hot I'm afraid they are going to set something on fire. When I asked about that, they said it is normal.

I have had them out here on numerous occasions because at least one box screws up a week - bad reception, not receiving channels, etc. They said they need to rewire the house, yet everyone I talk to is having the same problem. This service is awful and it's a shame that they have a monopoly in my area. I would gladly switch to Verizon. I am thinking about the dish, as I think everyone should - put these b_ _ _ _ _ _ s out of business!!!

A Germantown, Maryland, resident wrote in May 2008 about Internet service:

I have been trying in vain to resolve a major issue with Comcast and my Internet for over 6 months. My next step is the BBB and a lawyer. What does it take to get Comcast to take anything seriously? Why all the abuse? Why the lies? Doubt this will matter but I am going to file complaints on every site possible. I have been threatened by Comcast, and now I am paying for services they are not providing. I have been trying for days to get the charges removed and they refuse. I do not even have the equipment in my house and I am still being charged.

An Illinois senior citizen wished in May 2008 she had read these comments before getting Comcast service:

Comcast wants me (a 78-year-old ) to unhook the cable box and BRING it to their office. They also want me to be available from 8:00 A. M. to 8:00 P. M. if they send someone to do it. They are terrible!!! I will never do business with them again. Sure wish I'd looked up their consumer comments before I kept them after they took over from Insight.

A New Hampshire customer wrote in May 2008 about customer service:

LOL … I have read all the comments and I must say they are so familiar. My cable bill cost me nearly $200.00 a month and I have had nothing but problems. The techs they send out never know what they are doing and I usually end up doing the work myself.

For instance I just bought a new "40 inch flat screen TV because of the HD scare ( what a crock) and was thinking it would be best to have a tech from Comcast take care of all the install. They made an appointment for me and it took them a month to schedule it. Then when the tech did show up, I had to do everything and they have the nerve to charge for the service call.

The other little trick they like to pull is giving you faulty boxes, so in a couple weeks or so you are calling them back out to fix your cable again and another service call to charge you for. The tech comes and just replaces the box.

One of the other comments I read in here stated Comcast is a monopoly, It sure is and they sure know how to stick it to us! I’m fed-up with Comcast and as soon as there is another cable company, Comcast is history for my household.

A Lowell, Massachusetts, woman wrote in April 2008 about billing fiascos:

My so-called "customer care" experience with Comcast this entire week has been a nightmare. It all started when Comcast contacted me and offered me a free Digital Cable box to switch my cable to digital. I asked them to mail me the box and they did not. I called again and asked that it be mailed again. It was not. I called a second time and begged for it to be mailed to me. Finally, it was.

I installed it myself according to the easy instructions and it did not work! I called Customer Service and they said they would send a technician to my house for a fee and he would fix it. I screamed that I should not have to pay and they finally agreed. The tech came to my house and saw the error message on my screen and claimed he never saw this kind of error message before! He gave me a new box and that one worked.

A couple of months later I got my monthly Comcast bill. It was $22 higher than the previous month's bill. I called Customer Service and the lady could not account for the increase, I asked to speak to someone who could and that person gave me the reasons and adjusted my bill claiming it was a Comcast error. She then said I could view my adjusted bill amount online.

I tried viewing it online on Comcast.net and the system would not activate. I called Customer care and they said the Billing Department had to fix my issue. They transferred me to Billing who said Tech Support had to fix my issue! I then began this nightmare of an odyssey talking to 3 different Tech Support people who tried various things and nothing worked to allow me to view my bill online. One guy put me on hold so long that I had to hang up and call back. The second guy told me one thing, the third guy told me a different thing and after literally 3 hours on the phone to these people no one could fix this issue and created a ticket and said my problem had to be fixed by some Tier 2 department.

I was furious and asked to speak to a supervisor. The person said no one could speak to me and that a manager would call me back in 90 minutes. No one called. I called back and asked a second time to speak to a supervisor and the person said that there was only 1 person making call backs on escalations and that I would get a call back in 90 minutes! I said that the last guy told me that and no one ever called me after several hours! The guy said that that was the script he was supposed to say, supervisors will call back in 90 minutes. I told him that making promises to customers that are not kept makes Comcast continue to look bad and he was simply repeating his script with no help whatsoever.

I then went back online and realized that my email now was not working! I could send emails out and people were replying to me but I was not receiving them! I called Comcast again for this new problem and again I spoke with many people and everyone said different things, tried different things and my email still does not work! I was then promised that my ticket was still in the system and that it would take 24 - 72 hours to resolve and that someone would call me back. My ticket was entered on 4/22/08. It is now 4/24/08 and still no manager ever called me back and no one from this Tier 2 department has called me back either.

I am missing critical emails from my work colleagues etc and with each call to Comcast my blood pressure gets higher and higher as no one can help and no one seems to really care! I have my cable, phone and internet with Comcast and have been a subscriber for many years. I cannot believe that I am rewarding Comcast's incompetence with my business. I called Verizon to get some quotes on their products as I am completely fed up with Comcast! Shame on Comcast!

A Georgia customer questioned in April 2008 the public oversight of Comcast:

What can we do? Comcast is a monopoly in our area, and the state public service commission has no interest in helping. The county government, which is supposed to "oversee" utility "franchises," has no committee set up to review customer complaints. In other words, we "approve" the franchise, but we really don't give a damn if they perform or not.

A former Texas customer wrote in April 2008:

I have finally switched over to Vonage and DirecTV for my cable and phone provider, and my employer pays for my Internet. I've fought with Comcast since we were converted from Time Warner. They only made excuses as to why things did not work and were consistently rude with my family. I am glad to say they are a thing of the past for me. I seriously doubt any resolution will come to their misbehavior until another giant emerges to show them they are not the only one trick pony in town. It is really amazing a company like that can continue to do business in our communities and get away with all the problems.

A Vermont man wrote in March 2008 about service he did not request:

Last July Comcast shut my service off. Payment was due the day before I got my SSI check. I told them to come get the box and I would pay them in full since I am disabled and have no way to get it to them otherwise. What do they do? A week later – without me knowing – they turned the service back on and never came after the box even though I kept calling.

I never got another bill until December and it was over $400! I called them and they said they decided to turn the service back on, and it’s been on every since. I told them they better come get their box and they were only getting the original $123. Today I got a collection letter with threats that they would report me to the IRS if I did not pay my “debt.” I called Comcast again today. They told me I changed my telephone number since December so they cannot give me credit. Comcast is the biggest rip-off the country has seen!!!

An Indiana customer wrote in March 2008 that he was just fed up:

We just got transferred to Comcast after they took over Insight. Insight was terrific. Comcast will not even answer the phone! DirectTV is coming next week. We'll solve this problem.

A customer in Georgia wrote in March 2008 that service was better with Adelphia:

Since Comcast has replaced Adelphia as the local cable provider, I've had more problems than I've had in the last 10 years. I hate Comcast so very much... If there was another way for me to get high speed Internet, I would drop Comcast like a used diaper.

A Plymouth, Massachusetts customer wrote in March 2008 that he kept waiting:

I wanted to let you know the recent horrible customer service practices I have just experienced. I arranged to have an extra phone line setup last week with an appt. for March 4. When they never showed, I contacted them to find that they decided they did not need to come out and that they only needed to switch on the second line. Unfortunately, there was no notification, I wasted my time, and I have a line which can only be used in my cellar. After speaking to a supervisor they credited me, apologized, and setup to come out on March 8. Today I found that their dispatch decided that they could not make that appointment and changed it without notifying me. I waited and did not know about this until I called in. Once I found out, I cancelled the installation. This was absolutely rude.

A customer in Texas wrote in March 2008 about the problems of Comcast phone services:

Comcast called mid-February to bundle my services and set up a date to turn my phone on. Oon the day it was to be turned on, my dog got hit by a car, and I needed to take it to the vet, so I called and rescheduled the appointment from 2/22/08 to 2/23/08. On 2/23/08 I called Comcast Saturday morning 2/23/08 to let them know that my phone was disconnected from Verizon and gave them a cell phone to call because Comcast calls to verify you are home before coming out, I was informed that my service call was canceled due to some reason I do not remember.

So I rescheduled AGAIN for March 5th from 2 to 5. On the morning of March 5th my wife calls to confirm the appointment and was told the appointment had been cancelled again. I had received no call about the cancellation and that I would have to get a new phone number! 3/5/08 I called Comcast to find out why the service call had been canceled. After 17 phone calls, calls to every corner of the world and to people who could not speak English, to offices where people who were laughing so loud I could I could not understand the person I was talking to. Call after call, this went on for about an hour, finally I got to someone who said my phone number had no been PORTED over to Comcast and that I would have to get Verizon service again.

I am now asking myself why I am going thought this BS, I did what I was told and for some reason I still don’t have a phone. So I schedule someone to come out on March 12th and I need to call Verizon to have my phone turned back on? So I called and Verizon and they said my number had been PORTED to Comcast on 2/26/08, so I call Comcast again, and EVERY TIME I CALL I HAVE TO TALK TO SOMEONE NEW AND GO OVER THE WHOLE STORIE AGAIN, and I have to explain that Verizon had ported my number to Comcast and Comcast says they didn’t. These phone calls are lasting 20 to 40 minutes each. No resolution found. I am told again to call Verizon, I call Verizon and get the same story. I call Comcast and I HAVE TO TALK TO SOMEONE NEW AND GO OVER THE WHOLE STORIE AGAIN, I am told that the digital department is looking into it and will get Verizon to PORT the number on March 12th. I say, so I am going to get my number PORTED March 12th the same day the service man is coming out to switch my phone service that I do not currently have?
I AM ON MY THIRD WEEK WITHOUT A PHONE!

A Sacramento, California, customer wrote in February 2008 about the call center there:

Why is it that Comcast is constantly being fined because of the poor service levels in the Sacramento Call center and allowing HR Representative ____ _____ to discriminate against potential employees? The call center located in Natomas is under-staffed because of Ms. ______'s lax attitude in her duties to fill the empty seats in the call center, which, at presented is under-staffed. How does she keep her job? She never answers her phone to get the job done. To date 37 people have wanted jobs there since last year and she has lied about the client contact, resulting in the low number of hired personnel. This is blatant discrimination and should be investigated immediately. Hence, the consistent fines for service levels at the Natomas Call Center.

Life was not Comcastic for this Texas customer in February 2008:

I was a Time Warner customer and Road Runner customer for years, and I was very happy. Increased rates, slower Internet, and can’t get my movies on demand to work.....COMCASTIC.... I called last Saturday to try and get my movie on demand working and John in India could not get this Texas guy’s movie working, so he set up a technician to come out on the following Monday.... I am still waiting and it’s Tuesday....Comcastic. Now I am getting prices for DirecTV and AT&T internet services......COMCASTIC

A customer in New Jersey wrote in February 2008 about a contractor problem:

In September 2007 a Comcast subcontractor burying cable cut an underground power feed in conduit to sidewalk and carport lights in our senior community. The seniors had to do without safety lighting over the weekend until we could get an electrical contractor to repair the underground wiring (only installed the year before) It cost us $1,400 which we have been trying for five months to collect from Comcast to repay our residents, all of whom are on fixed incomes. We pay thousands of dollars to Comcast for service and yet we can not collect for the repair to our lights that was caused by Comcast's failure to supervise subcontractor's work.

A customer in Michigan wrote in January 2008:

Comcast paid my condo complex $250,000 to be the only cable and internet alternative except for satellite/wireless. Since then, they have taken away several channels from the basic cable package, only allowing digital subscribers to view them, but they did not reduce their price. In fact, since they bought Mediaone, they have consistently raised their prices. Their Internet speed is slow. Their cable goes out regularly and sometimes a number of channels do not work. They often use the excuse that they are reconfiguring them but the stations are out for over a week. They do not staff their online chat support or phone support requiring minimum waits of 30 minutes. They take 3 to 5 days to answer emails.

Comcast customer service in Shreveport, Louisiana, wrote one customer in Janaury 2008 needed improvement:

I've had Comcast Internet service for 6 months. My connection has been sporadic; I could never count on having an Internet connection. I would call Comcast and they could never solve the problem. Service calls were scheduled on 5 different occasions; only once did they arrive when they said they would. Twice they never came or bothered to call. Once they came on the day BEFORE they were supposed to come and I couldn't meet them then. Once during a telephone conversation with the service people, the employee told me that they were having problems in Shreveport that they couldn't solve. I thanked her for her honesty. The next person I talked to said that the other person was wrong and apologized. He then failed to fix my problem and never sent out a repair person. Today I ordered DSL. I will never use Comcast. Ever. Period.

The transition from Time Warner to Comcast, wrote one Minneapolis customer in January 2008, has not been smooth:

My Comcast service is terrible. They took off two of my favorite channels and added several I did not order. Then they doubled the bill. Now I am getting interference lines through the picture. I will to call tomorrow morning about it and will give them one last chance to fix it. If they blow it, good bye Comcast. We did have Time Warner cable which was very good until Comcast took over. I do not recommend comcast to anyone.

A contractor suggested in January 2008 that contractors be organized:

I have been an independent contractor for 8 years and am currently installing Comcast's products. We contractors are the ones who make it all happen. We NEED a union to ensure a solid and professional work enviroment. We struggle with pay cuts and "paid by the piece" - not an hourly rate. In fact, in all the years I've been installing I have never received a raise nor have I been compensated for my level of experience. Our shop reps are real people as well.

An Elkridge, Maryland, customer wrote in December 2007 that they promised to call him back:

For the last five weeks, my Internet service has been slow to the point where a 56K modem would be faster. I have called about 9 times and I am actually on the phone as I'm typing now. I've had three technicians and two maintenance crews out to my house only to say that the numbers look good. I was given the direct line to a Technical Supervisor in my area. I called three times, left messages, and never got a response. Just last night I was told that a supervisor would call me back and would provide insrtuction on the next steps. Imagine that it did not happen. Comcast is horrible...

A Frederick, Maryland, customer lamented the lack of cable competition in December 2007:

There is no choice in our neighborhood but Comcast for Internet service. Verizon does not have DSL in this area. My Internet access charges are now $71.00 per month for basic ISP. My cable TV is $15.00 for basic. Comcast advertises $45.00 for Internet, charges us $71.00. If there was Verizon DSL in our neighborhood, I would go back to Direct TV and use Verizon DSL

My neighbors and I feel that Comcast could care less about our community. Their concern is only about the almighty dollar and how Comcast can milk more from their customers while giving them less. The Comcast creed should be "We give less for more". Thanks for letting me vent. Fraternally yours. _______, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners.

A customer in Silver Spring, Maryland, wrote in December 2007 about broken appointments:

I have just had a very negative experience with Comcast in Montgomery County. I called their Customer Service number this past Saturday and sat and waited 30 minutes for an answer. I talked to a customer service rep about a reception problem I was having and a service appointment was made for today between the hours of 5pm and 8pm. I took off work early today to meet the Comcast technician. Unfortunately, I was just informed by Comcast Customer Service that there was no appointment scheduled by them for a Technician to make a service visit this evening. My response before I hung up was that the next phone call I was making was to Verizon to get new cable service because I had had it with their shoddy customer service.

A San Francisco customer got mixed signals in December 2007 on HDTV:

I bought a new high definition TV last week. Today I went to the Comcast office at 16th and Potrero in San Francisco to get a new digital high definition box. The woman at the counter told me I could not use my monster HDMI inputs on the new box because they "ran out" of the hi def boxes with the HDMI hookup. But she could give me a new DVR with HDMI for an additional $10. per month. I told her I didn't record and that I justy wanted the digital box. "Sorry, like I said, we ran out yesterday and I don't know when we're getting new ones, so you HAVE to pay for the DVR or get coaxial cables which are "almost as good."

I asked for the manager and was told he was "gone" and she did not know when he would be back. I then asked for the 800 number. She gave it to me saying: "Don't call them they won't help." I called them and they (customer service) said she lied and that they've never had digital high definition boxes with HDMI hookup capability. Time to cancel.

An Illinois customer wrote in December 2007 about botched installation:

Ten weeks ago, a Comcast contractor came to our house to install service. He spoke very little english and only brought one box when we were supposed to get two. He told us we would have to go to the Comcast office and pick up the second box and install it ourselves. He then proceeded to take our $150.00 modem with him which we purchased from SBC. Comcast will do nothing about this so i have filed a police report for theft. Who are these people we are letting into our homes?

A Massachusetts customer expressed his annoyance in December 2007 at higher prices for less content:

In May Comcast raised my rates -- both for the cable and the set top box. Then in June, the Company took NFL Network away. My rate went from $66 to $82 bucks for the same service minus my favorite channel. Comcast wants me to pay much much more for less service!

Why does anyone have the right to force only one service. This is supposed to be a free country. I should have the right to choose Verrizon Fios or AT&T U-verse, but the politicians in my town probably line their pockets with bribes to keep Comcast and their lousy service the only choice!

A Rockville, Maryland, customer wrote in November 2007 about conflicting stories on Internet service:

I had Comcast come out seix weeks ago to switch to comcast for high speed computer cable service. The tech had to install a temporary line to my house (orange cable) as there was an interruption in service with the cable line. The tech stated that a permanent cable would be buried in 2-3 days. It is now six weeks later and the temporary cable remains. I have called NUMEROUS times to have Comcast come out and bury a permanent line for the cable. Each time the Service Representative states it is still pending and that they will put in a new request. I have asked for someone to call directly and no one has been successful. It is well past a month. Frustrating.

A New Jersey individual wrote in November 2007 about why she did not become a Comcast customer:

Comcast was supposed to show up today between 11 am and 1 pm to make a simple installation in my home. At 1 pm I called and was told they were on the way. At 2 pm I called back and was told they would call me any minute. At 3 pm I attempted to cancel but the rep said that the cancellation dept was closed! I called back to sales and cancelled. At 7:30 pm a customer service rep called me and asked if I wanted to re-schedule tomorrow! You can guess what I told her: I will never use Comcast again; they are the worst!!!!!!!!

A Virginia customer was put through the wringer in November 2007 with HDTV:

Recently, I subscribed to receive HDTV from Comcast. When the contracted technician came to my home, he installed three different HD receiver boxes, all of which didn't work. (He informed us that this was a common occurrence: apparently a majority of the boxes are used boxes and that some of them are dysfunctional and were never marked to inform technicians not to attempt to install them in other homes. He also told us the boxes themselves were poorly and cheaply made.)

I scheduled an appointment for the following day; the box seemed to work, but then the remote control didn't. I called 1-800-COMCAST, and they informed me to visit the Comcast Service Center to get a new remote, which I did. When I arrived, the woman there pointed my control at the TV in the office and it worked flawlessly. However, when I got home, the same problem persisted with the new control. When I called Comcast again, various representatives provided me with alternative solutions that depended on the person I was speaking to. None of those solutions seemed to work.

At this point I cancelled the service and decided to switch to Direct TV. Unfortunately, my apartment building is "facing the wrong way" and could not receive a satellite signal, so I had no other option but to re-subscribe to Comcast.

The technician came to my home, again, on Friday to reinstall the HD receiver box. For two days, everything seemed to work fine, but it seems I put too much faith in Comcast once again. The box stopped working. I called Comcast for what seems to be the twentieth time in one month, and I was informed that I should take my fifth box back to the service center. When asked why I kept having problems with my Comcast service, the representative attempted to blame the technicians and refused to put me in touch with their supervisor to make a formal complaint. He told me the box had not been registered under Comcast and had the audacity to ask me why I didn't call them as soon as the box was installed to register the box to the account. I asked him why no one had informed me that I had to do that in the first place, as well as why Comcast hadn't extended a courtesy call to ensure everything was functioning properly and to register the box. The representative said he didn't know and that he "understood my frustration."

I repeatedly asked to speak with the supervisor, but the representative consistently refused to answer my direct question. He often said the supervisor was not available to speak with me and would not provide me with a way in which to contact the supervisor directly, so I asked him whether or not he was permitted to give me the phone number. He responded, "That's what I'm saying. I can't." Then I asked for the supervisor's e-mail address; again, he said he was not allowed to give me that information either, but assured me that he would e-mail the supervisor on my behalf. I wasn't satisfied, so I asked if the supervisor would call me tomorrow. Regarding the box, the next available date that a technician could come back to my home was either tomorrow morning or Wednesday afternoon. I work in the morning and am not able to answer the door; Wednesday was just not good enough. He asked if I could go to the service center yet again and get the box replaced. I asked sarcastically whether Comcast would reimburse my gas money. He said, "I'm pleading with you to go back to the service center and replace the box. Do us both a favor." I was left with no options and now must do as he requests, hoping that the next box will actually work as it will be my sixth HD receiver box in a month.

A Virginia customer wrote in November 2007 about the effects of monopoly in his town:

Comcast makes look Eron look like Google. Where I live you have two choices, Comcast or a dish. But my neigberhood does not allow dishes so I am left with this awful company. My HD channels work around 50 percent of the time, but Comcast expects me to pay my bill 100 percent of time. When I call the 1-800 number, half the time they hang up on me before I even get to a real person. I have filed a complaint with the BBB, and I suggest everyone who reads this do the same.

A Delaware employee wrote in November 2007 about the need for a union:

We are doing the jobs of 10 people instead of the job we were hired for. Now we have a sales quota which they tell us we will be verbally told then written then eventually out the door with 2 sales a day 40 a month. I think we are ready for a change - shorter hours, better pay, and a pension plan.

A former Delaware employee wrote in October 2007 about his dismissal from the company:

I was terminated by Comcast after 19 years of because of something that happened outside of work, and had nothing to do with Comcast. As you probably know, Comcast fights every unemployment claim when someone is terminated. Comcast never even responded to calls and letters from Delaware unemployment. It was determined that my termination had nothing to do with my job performance, or anything to do with Comcast. I am waiting for my legal case to be completed and then I will file a lawsuit against Comcast for wrongful termination. It will be tough because in Delaware is a "no work" state, where you can be let go for no reason at all.

A Lowell, Michigan, customer wrote in October 2007 to comment about Internet service:

Comcast just bought out our Internet provider that I have had for two years as well as the cable company and now I can not keep a internet connection for more then 48 hours. I have reported it over and over and have spent more time on the phone with Comcast then on the internet. It takes days for them to send a so called tech out each time and even then all he does is patch the issue and then its the same thing again in 48 hours or so. I am sick of this. I have now contacted all my local media and also the A.G. of the state of Michigan. They have no problem charging me but yet they can't give me my signal? All I get is the run around and no answers. They should be shut down.

An Alabama customer wrote in October 2007 to complain about program selection:

Why does comcast offer MSNBC in DC and California, but NOT in North Alabama? Has to be because the person in charge is a die hard Conservative and assumes Alabama is a red state and can get away with it. After asking questions for years and no response, I went to Directv. Am not dissatisfied. This reeks of discrimination to me on the basis of political preference. We deserve all views, because we certainly do pay for it. Be fair and do NOT discriminate at someone's whim!

A customer from Arlingon, Virginia, wrote in October 2007 about her frustrations with Comcast customer service:

I am appauled and disgusted with the lack of good customer service that Comcast exhibits. I have had the same problem since April 2007 with no real attempt to rectify it. There have been over 4-5 service calls set up and absolutely nothing has been done. I was told I was scheduled for a drop replacement that has yet to be done. I was told Comcast would take my information and then call me, but it has yet to happen. The Virginia CSR supervisor flat out refused to take my call. A CSR hung up on me. What kind of business are they running here? Customers pay every month for a certain level of service and they have fallen short very short of this. Comcast takes advantage of the fact that they have a monopoly of this service in certain areas. Well, it will not be like this for very long since Verizon, other cable companies, and satellite companies are coming up.

Suellen from Greeneville, TN, wrote in September 2007 about her Internet problems with Comcast:

My cable and internet service used to be Adelphia. They sold out to Comcast some time ago. That has been the worst move that could have ever been made. Since Comcast has been here, my television service is horrible. My signal goes out all the time on my television and my internet service goes out a lot also. They can't seem to find what day my bill is due by. This gives them reason almost every month to shut off my internet service. I have asked on the phone and in the local office and was told two different dates. I don't know which one is right. When you call for anything, it takes forever to get to talk to a live person. I have decided to seek another I.S.P and contact DirectTV and go back to a dish for my television and find another way to connect to the internet or not have it at all. I am so fed up with Comcast and their lack of customer service I would rather not have any of their services at all then to have to deal with them anymore.

When we moved here, we did not have cable in our area. I had DirectTV then. Cable came in and we decided to go with them for the local stations. But after dealing with Comcast for almost a year, I would rather go back to DirectTV with no local service than keep giving Comcast. It has cost me $85.00 every month for their bad service.

Joanne of Galesburg, IL, wrote in September 2007 about

I had cable and internet connected to my travel trailer on 9-18-07. On 9-22-07, the cable and internet went out. It was still out that evening so I went out to check the connection and found it to be red hot, and I could not get it disconnected from my trailer. I called out to my boyfreind to come out and get this off the trailer before it starts a fire! He received 2 degree burns to his fingers because it was so tight and very hard to get it unhooked. Finally, and luckily we did get it disconnected.

I called Comcast the next day and they said they would send out a tech on Tuesday. A tech did show up on Tuesday and I told him what had happened, so he went and checked out all the wiring. He decided to just run new cable to the trailer, then came back in and hooked everything back up only to discover that all my equipment was fried, and both my cable outlets were fried, and my powerbooster to my antenna was also fried. I then told him to take all the equipment with him when he left. He wrote down on the slip of paper that they leave with you, that he found that the cable was not grounded to the trailer and it appeared that when they came out to bury the cable that it had been cut.

So another man from Comcast came out to determine if the information was correct and he also determined that when the guys came out on Saturday that they had indeed cut the underground cable not in one place but two places. We are so fortunate that we did not get burned alive in our trailer.

I spent all day Wednesday on the phone to Comcast. I kept getting disconnected (hung up on). Everytime you call back you get a different person who wants you to tell them AGAIN what it is they can do for you, so you have to go over the whole story again. Then they say let me get my supervisor on the phone with you and they put you on hold. Lo and behold you are disconnected again and again. Then you get a new person on the phone who you then have to tell your whole story to again. I just wanted to give them a phone number so they could talk to the guy I took the trailer to so that he could give them en estimate of damages caused to my trailer so it could be submitted to their insurance company. How can they even begin to know what to submit to an insurance company if you can't even get them to know what the estimate is!

All I want is my trailer fixed so I can watch T.V. Oh, yeah, my check for this wonderful service that I cannot use has already been cashed. Lovely, isn't it?

Seth from Boca Raton, Florida, wrote in September 2007 about his frustrations with his local Comcast cable monopoly:

I hate Comcast. Where I live, we cannot choose our cable provider. We used to have Adelphia, which was okay. But the community switched over to Comcast. I go home from school once every week, and there has not been one time since school started August 15th that the on- demand has worked. It is always something else with Comcast. Give us the freedom to NOT choose Comcast!

David in Alpharetta, Georgia, wrote in September 2007 about his problems with Comcast phone servce:

Three months ago I received notification that Comcast was discontinuing their Digital Phone Service and replacing it with their new "Digital Voice" service. I had until October 1st to upgrade, or my phone service would be cut off. After review of their new product offering, I elected to not upgrade due to the high price and services that I did not need / want. On September 17th my phone service was disconnected. I called their service department and was routed to a 3rd party sub-contractor. Five days later with repeated calls to Comcast daily, I am still without phone service. On one of the calls, I was informed that all phone services in the area were switched to the new digital voice service. I've been with the Comcast for over 10 years and am appalled with the way they treat their customers. I am taking the approach that I should talk with my wallet and am now looking at alternative providers.

Sheri in Lawrenceville, GA, wrote in September 2007 about shoddy work performed perhaps by Comcast contractors:

We have had NUMEROUS issues with them since moving into our house a year ago. They had to run a new cable few months ago. Never buried it. Neighbor complained so they came to bury it today. In the process, they CUT THE CABLE, and now they are saying first appt. to come fix it is in 4 days! We have our business office in the house .. no fax, etc. .!

Bonnie in Silver Spring, MD, wrote in September 2007 about her problems with Internet connectivity:

In the last month I have had two Comcast technicians check my internet connection and determine the tap is wired incorrectly. Two times my account was assigned to maintenence to correct the wiring to the tap. The tap is made for sixteen connectors, the tap has more than thirty. The signal is weak to my internet due to the tap being overwhelmed. Comcast is aware of the problem and have even sent pictures of the problem to the supervisor. Still no correction of problem.

Rachel (she did not provide a location) wrote in September

Comcast is awful. I filled out an application for cable, they lost my application, but magically they still had my address in their computer. How does that work? When I filled out my application, we scheduled a date and time for them to come. Of course, they don't show up. So I call and run through the process of getting set up again. I specifically told them to set up my cable at one place and have my bills sent to another. The guy told me he understood. Apparently not, because they went to the wrong place. Therefore I had to call again. We set up another appointment for them to show up. Do you think they came? Of course not, no phone calls, nothing. So I just cancelled any/all services with Comcast. I will never in my life give Comcast my money, and will never recommend Comcast's services to anyone.

Joseph in Valparaiso, Indiana, wrote in September 2007 about his Internet service:

After several 9+ service calls within the last 5 months my patience has run out with the internet connectivity. It keeps going down, and up and down again. Tired of the same story with all the techs that come out. I am actually moving just so I can be in an area that has a different provider.

A customer in Detroit, MI, wrote in August 2007 about her problems with the Collections Department:

I wish to complain about the practices of the Collection Department of Comcast Telecommunication. The representatives worked out a payment schedule for me, stating that I could pay my cable package bill on September 18, 2007. This was about a month ago, and I had made arrangements during this time. I work for the Detroit Public Schools as a 10-month employee, so I do not receive any checks for the months of July and August. I paid for all of July, and paid $50.00 towards August. On 8/21/07, I received a bill for $292.93, with a shut-off notice. During the same day, I called Comcast to ask why did the shut-off notice arrive after payment arrangements were made. One of the Collection Department representatives was rude and very abrupt. I asked if I could speak to the supervisor, and the representative complied. Mr. Smith, the supervisor, albeit polite, told me that I did not pay the cable for July. I explained to him that I had my July bank statement present, it showed the online payment for the month. Mr. Smith began to state that my services would be turned off and made threats that I would have to pay to have my cable, Internet, and telephone reactivated.

I do not appreciate making arrangements and then receiving threats to the contrary. Also, I do not appreciate being lied to, in order to pay a bill. I usually pay my Comcast bill on time, and sometimes I've even paid early. I'm willing to cooperate, but honesty and fairplay needs to be applied. Thank you.

Eric from Martinez, California, wrote in August 2007, about property damage he suffered:

On August 19 Comcast service personnel were in our neighboorhood for a servive request. I have a cable wiring box in my front yard. This is not the service connection. That is in my neighboors yard. Anyway,these people came into my yard and knocked down my front fence and left when they found out that was not what they needed to service.They did not ask for permission to go in my front yard or tell me that they were there.

As a customer of 30 years Comcast owes me some respect. It should call me or contact me about a service issue needed to resolve by being in my yard. If anyone from Comcast enters my yard without telling me ever again I will file a complaint with the FCC. Just because Comcast has a box in my yard doesn't exempt it from private property laws. I want to be treated as if Comcast wants my business.

A customer in Appling, Georgia, wrote in August 2007 about his service quality:

The service that I have received from Comcast is the absolute worst I have ever encountered of any business in my life time. I haven't had phone or fax service for over a week. I have a business that I run from home in which I haven't been able to run Visa transactions, FAX or use my phone. Despite numerous calls to 1-800-COMCAST and operators telling us that someone would be out each and every day this week, no one has come. We have been disconnected several times after being on hold as well. We have been using our cell phones to contact everyone, racking up enormous bills, not to mention revenue loss in transactions, as well as an appalling lack of professionalism we have to endure. Customers cannot even contact us us. We switched to Comcast and had to pay $300 to cancel out our services with BellSouth. Switching has been a terrible mistake and I am going to let everyone know and seek legal action for my losses for my company which used to gross a little over $1M a year. I am contacting the BBB as well as our local News channels and will speak to anyone who will listen.

A customer from Arlington, VA, wrote in August 2007 about billing problems:

Problem Number 1: We switched our telephone service from Verizon to Comcast in mid February, 2007. Comcast sent a technician who had only been working with telephone conversions for one week, and though earnest, had to admit that he could not handle the job. The next day he and his supervisor arrived and after more than two hours had been able to connect only two of our telephones, leaving the other three useless. As well, the supervisor made an aesthetically unattractive installation of one wall mounted phone, ultimately saying that we would need to discard all of our phones and replace them with Uniden cordless models.

That evening we called our electrician for a second opinion, and despite the next day being Saturday, he came over, repaired the damage from Comcast’s workers and had all of our phones working after four hours. The total bill for his services was $317.95 ($300 labor; $17.95 parts and materials). Our initial call to Comcast, requiring more than 45 minutes of waiting and transferring between offices resulted in an agreement to pay the electrician’s bill and to credit us $30 for one month of telephone service for our inconvenience.

Problem Number 2: Unfortunately, Comcast never charged us the reduced fees that were associated with our conversion: from approximately $180 per month to approximately $130 per month. For five months, they overcharged us and when they finally listened to our complaint -- without asking for our preference -- did not credit the overcharges, but extended our two year contract for five months. Ultimately, the $30 and $150 were credited to our account, but six months later the electrician’s bill of $317.95 has not been credited. And after more than half dozen calls and more than three hours on the telephone, we’re now being called by Comcast’s collections department and receiving “Past Due” notices. Heck of a job Comcast!

A customer in Wheaton, IL, wrote in August 2007 about channels:

Hallmark is one of our favorite channels, several shows every week. How could you eliminate in an instant so much good wholesome entertainment? Get rid of some of the trash, not the good stuff.

A customer in Georgia wrote about subcontractors in August 2007:

I feel like Comcast contractors do not care what's in the customer’s interest. They act as if their rules are not the same as those governing Comcast employees. They treat the customers like crap -- bending and breaking the rules as they see fit. I had a contractor tell me that "Comcast can't authorize me to do nothing." They indeed give you guys a bad name!

A Virginia woman wrote in August 2007 about how Comcast had her husband recruit his own replacement:

My husband faithfully worked for Adelphia for 6 years until Comcast came. When Comcast took over, they promised of pay increases, better insurance, and job security amoung other things. The Comcast center my husband worked at recently asked their employees to refer people to apply online, since they needed positions to be filled. What ended up happening was that the supervisor "released" three employees making the most per hour(including my husband), and then hiring three unexperience technicians that each of the employees referred!! My husband worked 7 years for a company that literally had him to find his own replacement. Comcast sure has a funny way of "helping their community and employees."

Jason in Chicago wrote in August 2007 about missed appointments:

I scheduled a cable and wireless internet installation for July 29 from 8:00-12:00. The technician did not arrive during the four hour window but arrived around 12:30, and despite me having confirmed the appointment twice via telephone, I did not get to the phone in time to answer the technician's call while he was in my neighborhood and he did not stop or knock on the door. When talking to customer service I was transferred three times and placed on hold for 30 minutes before being told that because Comcast's policy is to not knock on your door but instead make one phone call while near your house, I would have to reschedule the appointment. I rescheduled the appointment for August 2 from 8:00-12:00. I confirmed the appointment via telephone twice. The technician arrived at 12:35 as I was leaving. Though I was prepared for his telephone call, he did not call me at all, and the only reason I caught him was because I was lucky enough to see him on the street. He did not have the equipment to install wireless internet with him, which necessitated him returning between 4:00 and 7:00. When I spoke to customer service about who within Comcast I could talk to about this incident, I was told the only thing I could do was write a letter. I wrote a letter, and the response I received answered none of my questions about their one call only policy, about why the technician never arrives during the four hour time period, and about what compensation they might offer for me having missed nine hours of work. The response I received informed me to call customer service with this information, even though customer service informed me I needed to write the letter.

William in Fort Lauderdale, FL, wrote in July 2007

It is absolutely ridiculous that Comcast can raise my rates by doubling my monthly fee for internet and tripling my fee for basic cable.

The rep stated over and over again that it was for only one year. I was not questioning that the promotion had expired. I was questioning the increase in my monthly fee. I would have never signed up for your service if I knew that my rates were going to double in a year. When I signed up for your service, I asked the rep how much the bill would be after a year and what I was told at that time was a lie. I was told that it would not go over $35.00 to $40.00. Now I get your monthly bill that shows a monthly fee of $64.64 including taxes. This way of conducting business is ridiculous.

A former employee in Utah wrote in July 2007:

I find it somewhat odd that Comcast is hiring so many people, even in Utah. For two years since Comcast took control of our area, longtime employees (10 years or more) were fired on an ongoing basis. I was fired after thirteen for what I considered to be customer relations. Comcast called it a reason to fire me. Only 2 months after receiving employee of the month. I am now employed by a company that has 2 other former Comcast employees, one of whom was fired because of a discrepancy in his application from 12 years prior (at the time the company was Insight Cablevision). In 2 years, about 20 to 30 employees -- including the manager that was doing the chopping -- were terminated. Comcast has been proudly announcing they are hiring quality employees at $11.50 per hour, which means they could hire two people for the price of one. Company loyalty seems to be a thing of the past.

A woman from Orange, NJ, wrote about privacy and rates in July 2007:

My Comcast bill comes with my ex-husband's name on it. This was not a big problem, but I wanted to have it in my name -- as I have been paying it for more than 23 years (it was originally Suburban Cable) -- and feel that I should have proven my credit worthiness by now. The woman I spoke with started by asking me for my Social Security Number. I questioned this and told her I wouldn't give it to her. She then hung up on me! Why do they need my social security number? In this day of ID theft, surely there is a better way.

Interestinly, I found a statement from 1985. I was paying $8.50 a month. Please don't tell me I have more to choose from now, most of what is available is useless to me. For the $60.26 a month I pay, I should be able to find something to watch that isn't crap. I look to see what is in the "free" on-demand movies... there is a good reason they are "free." And don't think I haven't noticed that the 100's of movies are being recycled to make it look like more! This is why I signed up for NetFlix.

Chris in Lancaster, PA, was upset about service in July 2007:

I am writing to express my disapointment in your service. When we had our triple play package installed, the technichian left without anything working. After 3 days and 7-10 calls later, our internet and phone started working, as did our basic cable, but the on-demand function did not work.

After 5-8 more calls later, we switched our service promotion dropping the phone and upping our cable service. Our on-demand then worked. However, when the first technichian installed our service, he left a wire hanging across our room, because the recepticle closest to the TV was "not hooked up" as he said. We questioned if it was able to be hooked up and he said it was but he wasn't able to do that and that we would have to make an appointment.

So we called to schedule an appointment. The day came and the sceduled technichian never showed up. So we called up AGAIN and this time was hung up on by one of the customer service reps. So finally we explained our situation to another representative and another appointment was set up. This time the technichian shows up, although 45 minutes late. He then explains he cannot "hook up" the recepticle. Instead, we would have to get a special technician who is able to "fish wires" and that we would need a note from our landlord.

So we called up again, furious as to why, when they knew this is what our technichian was coming out to do, they send someone who cannot install it. So we schedule another appointment, and get the note from the landlord. This time the technician does not show up. I call up and the customer service rep tells me the technician was there and that we were not and that he checked and we need to hire a private electrician. Both my fiance and I were there, we waited 4 hours, the technician could not have come because the Comcast hookup is in a LOCKED storage closet. Please explain to me how a Comcast technician has a key to my storage closet.

What happened to the customer is always right? I canceled my service...and since comcast has a monopoly on cable i am now without. I had to leave work early everytime waiting for technichians who rarely show up. I am just disgusted by Comcast's service and will also be writing a letter to the Better Business Bureau.

A woman in Delaware wrote in July 2007 about the stress of working at Comcast:

Almost 20 years working at Comcast. The stress has gone to extremes. I am smoking now, and I live from check to check. No advancement sales quota. When I was hired for repair, I feel like I have no way out. Unfair inhuman contions that doesn't include dirty work environment, constant monitoring. The Company says customer first and yet it is not fulfilled. They want more and more and pay less and less. We need a union in Dover for a decent pension, overtime hours when we work overtime, better vacation, a good pension.

Phyllis in Dallas wrote in July 2007 about the perils of Comcast contractors:

We called Comcast to install cable. The cable installer misjudged installing the cable. My husband saw him falling and came to his rescue. The cable guy's injuries were not that bad, but my husband's knee and right foot were cracked. The problem is now Comcast is stating that he is not their employee, and they are not negligent because he is a subcontractor. Comcast should have some responsibility. My husband lost his job because they sent some of his hospital bills to the small firm he worked for and he is diabetic. That happened 3 years to the month we have a court date Monday to prove that the contractor works for Comcast.

Kyle from Indiana wrote in July 2007:

Comcast is the worst company I have ever had to deal with. The only thing I wanted done was to have cable run into my living room. This has now turned out to be a task that has taken hours of my time on the phone, and three differnt repair men that were unable to do the job. On top of that fact everytime you call you have to start from scratch because nothing is ever recorded.

Lee from Haddonfield, New Jersey, wrote us in July 2007 with the following tip:

http://www.thescottreport.com/scottreport/public_utility_commissions.htm

Use the link above to contact your State Public Utility Commission and FILE A COMPLAINT AGAINST COMCAST! LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!

A former Nebraska customer wrote us in July 2007:

Comcast service is lousy. The phone and TV are constantly out of service or operating poorly. Comcast offers monetary credit to customers for their inconvenience and loss of service, then conveniently forgets that they owe you a credit. Their customer service representatives are intentionally stupid and their policies are intentionally antagonistic. This way you get frustrated and hang up and they don't have to deal with you or your complaints. It is all a mind game that they play with you to save them money and cost you more money. I dumped Comast today!

A Nashville, Tennessee, customer wrote in July 2007 that we was feeling ripped off. This is the letter he sent Comcast:

To Whom It May Concern:

We moved into our home on 5-2-07, and had our internet/cable connection hooked up on 5-4-07. I paid the installer $137 that day using my credit card, which included the $35 install fee. That $137 payment (confirmation #369135) does not show up on my bill, nor is it mentioned when I call your customer service phone # and go through all the prompts. Where is that payment?

I then got a bill for $114, which says is due "immediately," and also does not reflect the $137 payment I made on the day of the install. On that bill, it shows ANOTHER $35 fee for the install. Again, that was part of the $137 I already paid on the day of the install. Why should I have to pay twice for that, and then also pay the remaining $102? The $137 paid for all of that. Now recently, I receceived a second bill and appears to be billing me for the month of June which seems fine, but does not reflect the $137 I paid on the day of install, either. I just now paid $114 online, and so that will be credited tomorrow.

I logged into the Comcast website and the CS dept. regarding this billing error, and they said they could not help me at all and that I would have to call CS at 244-5900. I've called that # 3 times in the last 5 days, and cannot get through to the Billing Dept. The message says Comcast is completely swamped with calls, and then refers people back to the website. And although I use the option for the Billing Dept., it continues to kick me back out to the main prompts. It refuses to connect me to the Billing Dept.

I hear that Comcast cares It sure doesn't seem that way. I am extremely busy, and to have to stop and take 30 min. to write this letter, in addition to all the other calls trying to reach your Billing Dept., and then ALSO to email you all this info via your website is asinine. What kind of service is that? Your commercials brag about excellent service, but I've not seen it. We just moved down from Iowa and are shocked at how we've been treated here in Nashville. Customer service seems to come last & customers are not appreciated. Please credit my account the $137 and also please remove the additional install fee of $35.

Roslyn in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, wrote in June 2007 about being without service:

I have been denied service by comcast for four months now. Every technician they send out has not fixed the problem. They have been out four (4) times for the same problem and have not fixed it. Your subcontractors on the fifth call did not show and have only given me excuses. I am angry about paying for service that is not there.

Alex from Georgia wrote in June 2007:

I live in an area that has only one cable provider (it is a fairly new area and cable companies have yet to provide service for the area).

Our cable provider used to be Adelphia until Comcast decided to take over. With Adelphia, the only time the cable/ Internet would go out was when they were doing maintenance on the servers and they would usually call customers to let them know of any outages in the area. Since Comcast has decided to take over, we have had many many problems. At first, things were okay, I figured that some of the problems I was having (Internet disconnect, cable going out) was due to the fact that they were moving servers and getting things set up for all of its new customers.

Not too long ago, Comcast changed all of the channels for the cable boxes and TVs without boxes. I was expecting to get new channels... but instead what I got was one new channel and the rest of my favorite channels (ones that I watched the most) are now gone and I have to upgrade just to watch them. They just now finally fixed the Discovery channel... for my TV it only had music, you couldn't hear anyone talking and the volume would go up and down at random. The TV channel switches are not my main problem, they are just extremely annoying and make no sense (Channel 2 Action News on channel 3, Channel 11 News on channel 6). The problem I have the MOST is trouble with the Internet. Comcast has made sure to provide the worst internet service I have ever used. I have never had Internet disconnect at least 4 times/ day. EVERY SINGLE DAY, I have wait while my internet tries to connect itself over and over. I never had any of these problems with Adelphia, but since Comcast took over, I now have barely any internet access. Yes, I did call customer service to see if the servers were down (the first time it happened) and they said my connection was fine... I told them that it wasn't fine at all and he took me through steps to get my connection back... I already knew how to get a connection back because I am an Internet fanatic... but I just wanted to see what this guy was about to tell me. He took me through all of these ridiculous steps including opening my web browser and going to my home page (I had noIinternet...) after they wanted me to open my browser, I was then instructed to shut down my PC for at least 5 minutes with the web browser still open... yes that's right... SHUT DOWN PC WITH WEB BROWSER STILL OPEN, think about it. I thought that with all of the fancy commercials they had, they might be able to afford decent technology, but so far, Comcast has turned out to be a major let down. Everyone I know that has Comcast has the exact same problems.

A Chicago, Illinois, customer wrote us in June 2007:

During the first four months of 2007, we had five service requests for our cable television. The HD channels were constantly freezing up like a satellite dish used to do in the rain or snow. Comcast would come out to fix the problem, and do nothing because "the problem wasn't occurring while they were there." They would say that the signal strength was strong and the wiring was fine, when in reality the wiring to the building or inside the building was junk and they simply did not want to fix it. Upon moving to a new residence, we canceled their crappy service. We are now paying 1/3 the cost of Comcast for better service and the same channels and faster Internet.

In June 2007, Peter questioned whether "On Demand" was actually free:

For the last week, my cable box's On Demand function has not worked. When reaching Comcast, I am informed that there is outage in my area (Colesville). When I then attempted to get credit for this OnDemand outage that I've been experiencing, I am told by the Comcast representatives that they cannot give me credit as this OnDemand is a 'free' service. I fail to see how OnDemand is free since I have to pay a subscription fee to Comcast to get access to it. I believe that I am entitled to a financial credit for not being able to receive this service from Comcast.

Angie in Wilmington, Delaware, wrote us in June 2007 about Comcast over-billing her:

I am fed up with customer service and Comcast service. I am currently on hold for about 20 minutes now, which seems to be the case every time I call in. I am canceling my service next week. I signed up for "autopay" a couple of months back. I was advised it would take 3 months and that I should continue making payments on my own. I did as instructed only to discover that Comcast deducted an amount after I made a payment. It took a week of phone calls to finally have that amount reversed, only to find out that the same thing happened this month. This time 3 payments -- only one that I authorized -- were deducted from my checking account. I have been put on hold, transferred and hung up on. I am not authorizing the payments coming out of my checking account and plan on filing any complaints that I can against the company.

Ellen in Gainesville, Virginia, complained in June 2007 about unauthorized VOC charges:

I have over $300.00 worth of unauthorized x-rated and non-xrated Pay-per-view movie charges and Video On demand charges. The history on my cable box shows zero PPV history yet Comcast continues to insist that it is coming from my house. While they are reporting increases in earnings and 181 million in ppv charges I have charges on my bill that are not mine and it may have been going on since 2002. The excessive charges showed up in April. I have been dealing with this issue since April and I am unable to get full resolution. G-rating and no ppv is set on my boxes yet charges keep showing up. My bill is $834.00 yet charges are still be charged. We have password protected and disabled PPV on the modem.

A Frederick, Maryland, customer sent us in May 2007 this letter he had written to Comcast:

Comcast, I have already tried your 800 number, and this is an EMERGENCY! I was on hold for over 20 minutes and no one helped me. What type of service is this? Something really awful happened.

One of your employees [or contractors] in MD named _____ (name unclear on invoice and he had no card to offer) was our cable guy. VALUABLE PROPERTY was stolen from my wife. No one seems to care, and all we want is ALL of the valuables that he stole from my wife RETURNED (and he knows what they are). We were and still are just moving in and he took advantage of us and how friendly we were to him. We welcomed him in our home and he STOLE FROM US.

He was three weeks late too. I would have been home otherwise. Cable was three weeks late. I wish I was with my wife the entire time. I got there 45 minutes afterwards. After that day, we have been looking for that VALUABLE and much irriplacable property for the last two weeks. We didn't want to accuse someone without being sure. No one else has been in our house since and the property was there before he came and took it. We have put up our other stuff and there is only one conclusion. _____ STOLE OUR PROPERTY (and even overcharged us for working from 2pm-5pm when he got here at 2:45pm).

Now we call your 800 number. Comcast should be the best. How do you allow your employees to steal? Do we have to have our eyes on them every single minute? We were friendly and talkative and nice to Henry. We only want the valuables he stole and we want a response or report written up. We gave this two weeks because I didn't think he would do this. I am brought up differently and I guess I thought wrong. He is no gentleman. Angry Costumer Who's Been cleverly robbed

Ellen wrote about her Internet problems in May 2007:

How on earth can I get Comcast to repair my high-speed Internet? We have been without it for 5 days. They have sent THREE technicians! Each one says the other does not know what they are talking about.

Daniella from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, thanked us for ComcastWatch in May 2007:

Wow. I saw the ad in today's Jewish Exponent regarding Mr. Goodo and Comcast. I then went online and found this site. It is amazing to me that Comcastwatch exists, I had no idea. My husband worked for Comcast for 3 years as a broadcast engineer for CN8 - the Comcast Network. In Feb 2006, he requested vacation time to accompany me, his then fiance, to South Africa to meet my family. His request was made in writing. He never recieved a response despite frequent requests. Finally the week he was to leave, everyone there, including his boss, wished him a good trip etc. When we returned 10 days later, he was fired for "taking leave without permission". Bullshit - they were looking to fire him (my husband had had issues with Comcast before) and they set him up. He was furious - what a way to return from a pre-wedding vacation. It is comforting to know that people are cognisant of Comcast's bad practices. Just because they are a monopoly should not give them the right to mistreat employees and overcharge consumers. Thank you for this website.

A customer sales agent (location withheld to prevent retaliation) wrote us in April 2007:

I work in the Comcast Inbound Sales department in ______. I've filed a complaint with the FTC regarding Bait & Switch advertising practices. CFR 16 part 238.3 states that a compensation plan that penalizes a salesperson for selling an advertised product is prohibited. Our call center violates this about 75,000 time / year, covering the ________ markets only. Selling Enhanced Cable, our "staple" advertised product (as opposed to non-advertised Digital Plus), results in lowered digital sales percentages, cutting commissions, disqualifying people from bonuses and, possibly, leading to termination.

If you ever called in and asked for pricing on Basic or Enhanced and were told full price, your consumer rights were violated.
If you asked for Triple Play and were "bumped" to Preferred, your consumer rights were violated.
If you were told the "only special currently available" was Triple Play, your consumer rights were violated.

At least that's how I read part 238.

A Eugene, Oregon, customer questioned in April 2007 the ethics of Comcast contractors:

I am wondering how many posts you have received regarding Comcast contractors picking up equipment that Comcast never acknowledges receipt of. This has happened to me twice now. The first time it took more than a year to get them to remove the charge from my bill. This time I had planned to return the equipment and get a receipt, but the tech came when my husband was home alone and he let the tech leave without getting a receipt. I think there must be a market in this equipment and these underpaid contractors are helping themselves.

A Richland, Mississippi, customer wrote in April 2007:

I have had good service with roadrunner high speed Internet until Comcast took over. Needless to say, I am not impressed with the quality of service that was provided, nor the attitude of the reps that I talked to. After talking to 15-20 people, 8 phone calls totaling 5 hours and 14 minutes and 6 service tickets in 2-1/2 weeks, for what Comcast said would be about 15 minutes, my problem was still unresolved. I resolved the problem myself by disconnecting Comcast and installing DSL with my local phone company. I also disconnected Comcast cable TV and had direct TV installed. The service is 5000 times better and I have more TV channels to choose from, than I did with Comcast. It is clear to me that Comcast is just here for the money and not for the service to their customers. Personally I would not recommend Comcast to anyone.

Jeff in Georgia was angry in April 2007 about all the broken appointments:

This is the worst run company I have ever seen!! I guess all of the horror stories I have heard about are true. I got charged 197 dollars for your service that I never could use because it was always broken. All the service appointments were either broken by the technicians or we were told someone else had to fix it. We then moved and had to reschedule 3 different times to get service, I still don't know if the 3rd time is a charm because, of course, they are 1-1/2 hours late right now!

Frank in San Francisco, California, wrote us in April 2007 about moving channels to digital:

We signed on to Comcast and their special offer (3 services, reduced prices, for one year). We are 76 years old and long-time Giant fans. All of a sudden we find that the Fox baseball channel, FSBA+ is no longer available unlesss we sign on for the Digital package. We think this is the kind of thing monopolies are used to doing, which is exactly what Comcast is. So far this year we have missed several games, which is the main reason we signed on for their cable service. We have been unable to contact anyone at their "Customer Support" number. We are on the war path and hope to dump these thieves soon.

Kelly in Baltimore, Maryland, wrote us in April 2007:

My partner and I had trouble with Comcast from day one. The installing technicians were rude and messy, didn't clean up after themselves. After a month without service, we were given a credit to our account, but a month after that, it was billed to us as "past due." After repeated requests for an audit of our account, and broken promises that a supervisor would call us, we gave up and paid the bill. We cancelled our Comcast service, and then they had the audacity to bill us for the next month. I just wish Baltimore City consumers had a choice in cable television providers.

James in Fort Myers, Florida, wrote in April 2007 about being transferred from Time Warner to Comcast:

I have just gone thru the Time Warner switch over in SW Florida - I need not tell you that it was badly planned, excecuted and is having lingering consequences. I am tired of the "Customer Care" people at Comcast. I would love to be able to vent my spleen to someone that might make a difference to the operation in this area.

William in Bethesda, Maryland, wrote in March 2007 that he could not even get Comcast to pick up the phone:

What is going on with Comcast??? I cannot get anyone to answer the phone. It just rings and rings and rings. Their customer service is horrible.

A Derwood, Maryland, customer wrote in March 2007 that he doubted Comcast wanted to fix his problems:

I have been having problems with my service for over 3 years now. I can't get anyone on the phone who really cares, and I am fed up with it. I have been told numerous times that the signal coming to my house is weak, that the line should be run to the opposite side of the house (side closer to the outside box). Despite this, they will not do it. Three times now I've been told my new line will be run, and all 3 times the same level technician comes out, does the EXACT same thing every time, and leaves without helping the situation. Show me where Comcast really values their customers.

When he wrote us in March 2007, James in West Park, Florida, was angry with the runaround:

This is ridiculous, I called on Fri 9 March 2007 to have someone come out and fix an ongoing problem with my cable. These problems have existed since I have had service: channels are grainy internet is intermittent. Almost all techs who have showed up -- if they show up at all -- show up late and say they will be back to take the cable that has been buried and place it on the house and that the cable that is burried is for indoor use only.

This is an ongoing problem and the customer serviceis awful. Today, 12 march 2007, a tech was to have been here between 0800-1100 but he never showed. I called and was told the time had to be moved to 1100-1400. I have a life and it doesn't revolve around when Comcast can get here. I am missing work and you are not paying for me to miss work. I want my problems with this service fixed. No one at Comcast really even cares.

A senior citizen from Norcross, Georgia, commented in March 2007 about the forced migration from analog to digital:

Since Comcast purchased our old cable system in 2003, they have increased our monthly rates by 25%. This year they increased them by 5% and took away C-Span 2 and a local weather channel. They put these on digital which costs us $21.00 a month more. We are seniors living on a fixed income, and when you contact Comcast all you get is the run around. No one can give me a reason for dropping the 2 channels from standard cable for which we now pay $53.29 per month.

Jason from Nashville, Tennessee, wrote us in March 2007 to direct us to two online Comcast stories:

http://consumerist.com/consumer/comcast/comcast-tech-bullies-customer-for-cash-breaks-his-hard-drive-drills-huge-holes-in-walls-and-baseboards-242318.php
http://www.comcastfixmyproblem.com/ (start at the end of the entry and read to the beginning)

A Sunrise, Florida, customer complained in March 2007 about the unilateral changes in analog service:

I want to keep my regular cable and not go digital. Comcast is taking more and more channels away without warning. They just took two more channels away. Instead of forcing me to go digital, they are forcing me to go satellite.

A Lanham, Maryland, customer wrote in March 2007 about billing problems:

I have had Comcast service for a little less than a year. On January 17, Comcast came to investigate a problem I was having with my channels jumping from station to station eradically. The technician replaced my HDTV cable box. When I received my bill the end of the month, I was charged for adult movies starting on January 19 and presently continuing being charged for movies I did not order.

I explained to Comcast if they looked back on my account prior to January, they would see that I have never ordered any movies let known any adult movies. They claimed the it was coming from the cable box that I had replaced on 01-19-07. I have called numerous times regarding this matter. Someone has found a way to tap into my service and order movies, it is not coming from my household. We are a Christian household and most of the time we are watching TBN and other non adult movies. I have been very upset regarding the enormous bills I have received from Comcast and I am contacting "7 on Your Side" and seeking legal advise as to what can be done since no one at Comcast seems to want to help solve this problem.

A customer in Stockton, California, wrote in February 2007:

I would like to advise you how Comcast in Stockton is doing. It's not doing, is the problem.

I have had several problems with the service that no one seems to want to fix. When I signed up for Comcast high-speed internet the girl who helped me told me that it would be $19.95 amonth. When I finally got the bill (we had not been receiving the bill, for some unexplained reason), I discovered they have been charging me $29.95 a month. When I called to discuss this problem, it seemed as if no one wanted to help me with this problem. When I asked for a supervisor, they stated that there was no supervisor and that they would be more than happy to take my name and number and have a supervisor call me back. I refused and told them I wanted to speak to someone when I call. It took them 45 minutes to get someone on the line to help me. Then the person told me that they were just there to make sure that the service worked, not to keep their customer base. Customers are a dime a dozen.

A physically disabled customer in Indiana gave the following account in February 2007:

I have been trying for 2 months to get problems resolved related to installation around the 1st of January. This is what I have faced:

terrible attitudes from the three installers that came out;
splitting the skirting on my trailor;
taking panels out I asked not to be removed;
tracking mud on my light colored carpet;
tearing holes in my belly insulation;
jerking cable so hard from underneath that was still attached to the DirecTV box that I was going to send back & pulling it off my TV;
unhooking everything from DirecTV box and just throwing it back behind my dresser;
leaving my room all torn apart with furniture all scooted out.

I am crippled and had to try to arrange everything back after they had left. This was not easy from a wheelchair. Supervisors have not called back. Time after time, they promise to call and resolve the matter, but they don't. Do you call this service?

Mia in Chicago wrote us in February 2007 about her unpleasant experiences with Comcast:

This has been the most unpleasant experience I've ever had!!!!! I have been trying to order Comcast for over a month now, after the MPU was suppose to come out and fix the wiring, I was then asked make another appointment to have the service installed again. Patiently I waited and then called back.

The person told me I already had the service. Humm, funny, cause no one ever came into my apartment to install anything. They told me 2 boxes were installed and I had already have almost $150.00 worth of pay-per-view movies ordered. They said they received lots of calls from some one claiming to be my boyfriend(i'm single) and had been ordering movies, I guess, every day, all day!!!

Now, I have to make ANOTHER APPOINTMENT just to have someone come out to verify that I don't have boxes in my apt. I asked the supervisor's 'supervisor' if they know what their techs were doing. And why do I have to make an appointment for that? Why can't they just track their tech who installed the boxes 'somewhere' and find out that way? They said it's procedure.

I was actually cancelling my AT&T service to get with this company! AT&T doesn't look so bad after all! This is so unbelievable I can't even think straight!!

Tom from Silver Spring, Maryland, wrote this email to the Montgomery County Council in February 2007:

Dear Council Members,

I am writing this email out of pure frustration and increasing anger about the service, or more accurately, the lack of service or caring of Comcast as a corporation and a so called provider of services to the residents of Montgomery County.

Last year I had an issue with Comcast that I wrote to you about. We were experiencing problems with the service line to our home. When Comcast sent someone out, they confirmed that the problem was with the line and they would send someone out to fix it. When that service technician left, he left our service disconnected completely. It took us 5 days of continued calling and an email to you at the council to get our service reconnected. This was a very frustrating time for us, but even since then the line was NEVER improved, so the signal has always been poor.

Most recently, I would guess I was taken in by all their wonderful commercials about Digital cable, high speed internet and now their offering of broadband telephone service. So I contracted with Comcast to cut our telephone service over, upgrade us to digital cable and provide the high speed internet service. Their so called Triple Play. This installation took place on January 25, 2007. The installation technician told us that the line signal was weak, so he ran all new cable from the telephone pole across the street into our house and all new cable throughout the house. He then installed 3 digital cable tv boxes, the modem for the telephone and internet service and got everything working. 2 hours after he left, we started having problems. It started with the digital tv service and then the telephone went out and the internet service went out.

To keep this email as brief as possible, we have placed 9 trouble calls since then (about 2 weeks). Every time someone came out they were incapable of correcting the problem. After many calls and many visits, we were finally told that the signal is now too strong and service was scheduled. We were told that this would happen this past Thursday, February 8, 2007. Needless to state, this did not happen. The telephone and internet service has been out completely now for third day in a row. We called Thursday and the representative on the telephone told us she would take care of it. When we called that evening, we were told there was no scheduled line service and they would look into it. When I called last night, I was told that there had been line service scheduled for that Thursday, but the Network Operations Manager had cancelled it and had not rescheduled it.

Why do I feel like I am getting the run around? What is wrong with this company? Who can hold this company accountable? Are they completely incompetent? Why are they allowed to continue to operate in Montgomery County? I am an angry resident and an angry tax payer and I DEMAND that you, as elected officials of this county, DO SOMETHING ABOUT COMCAST!!!! NOW!!!

A Comcast customer from Olathe, Kansas, wrote about his billing frustrations in February 2007:

Last month my bill more than doubled. It was $120 for TV, Internet, and phone, but they started billing me $270. I called and told them to get bent, that the service wasn't worth the $120 I was paying and it sure as hell wasn't worth $270. He claimed that was what the service was "worth" and that I had been getting a promotion price for the last 18 months.

After two days of calls to management, the guy said he'd re-issue the bill and put us back to the $120 price. He lied. They never re-issued the bill and they withdrew the full $270 bucks. When I called to complain, they claim there was no record of that two day ordeal on my account. No notes. No records. Nothing. To top it off, for the last three weeks the phone and Internet service has been off more than it's been on. The Company keeps blaming it on my configuration or the modem, but it's their lines that are the problem. (I had a tech out here today that confirmed that for me.) Thanks to the illegal monopoly that Comcast has set up with the city I live in (the city gets a kickback to keep other cable co's out) I have zero options and Comcast has zero incentive to do anything to fix their broken system. My next step is to contact the Better Business Bureau and the states attorney General to see if I have some recourse.

Zoe in Philadelphia sounded off in February 2007:

Comcast has offered by far, the WORST service and customer service I have ever experienced. It astounds me that they are in business. I am lied to, told incorrect information, and charged up the tail for nothing. To make one simple change I had to make FIFTEEN calls... and it still wasn't accomplished. The company is a sham. I have several letters written to them about their customer service, with no response. They obviously don't care about their customers, only how to screw them over for more money.

A single mother in Norwich, Connecticut, lamented in February 2007 the forced switch from Adelphia to Comcast:

My cable provider used to be Adelphia and, while they were no prize, Comcast is worse! It's almost impossible to get through to a human being and, once you manage to do so, their customer service is poor.

Today I had to call to make payment arrangements. I'm a single Mom who's having financial problems due to high utility costs, recent auto repairs and a daughter who recently had surgery. The rep. stated [and I am quoting her!] "Sorry, but we don't make arrangements and you are due to be cut off in two days." I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told that would be fine, but that wouldn't change anything. When I told the superviosr that I had done so before with no problems, she had nothing to say.

In February 2007, a Tacoma, Washington, customer did not find Comcast service very helpful:

About 3 weeks I go I started having problems with my connection. After running over a dozen trace routes I found that I was getting anywhere from 20 to 100 % packet loss.

I called the Comcast help center and they sent a tech to look at the problem. The first one sent told me that my cable to my apartment needed to be replaced. Also when I showed him a trace route he said it would get bumped up to the next level.

The following day another tech showed up to look at my Internet, and he said the first tech didn't know what he was doing. I showed him my trace routes, but he didn't really seem concerned. He informed me that my router that connects our two computers was responsible.
At that point I disconnected the router and showed him the same problem. He then someone on his side and was told that there was nothing that could be done.

I received a call later that day from Comcast who said that they were going to bump it higher. After an hour a two I received another call from Comcast and was told there was nothing they could do. The problem was at my end. When I tried to explain that on a trace route it was my 3rd thru 5th hop and always the same IP's she got a bit rude and told me that it was my problem. At that point I suggested I might get better service from Qwest she agreed and I hung up.

I just want to know why when there is proof on hard copy they refuse to admit that it is their problem. I have been a customer of Comcast for 2 years and never have I seen the total disregard that I was shown this last week.

A customer in Sterling, Virginia, wrote in February 2007 about frustrations with Comcast billing:

I am a high-speed internet access customer of Comcast (formerly Adelphia). I have been trying for the past four months to access my account (calling montly to pay the bills when I used to be able to pay online). In addition to this frustration, their "online service only" monthly fee for 6 Mbps downstream and 768 Kbps upstream is increasing by nearly 35%! The worst part of it all is that I have no other options for fast Internet service as they are somehow a monopoly here in Loudon County, VA. This is unAmerican. Who can help?

Christina in Alpharetta, Georgia, despaired in January 2007 of the long hold times waiting for customer service:

I give up....I just give up. I've never, ever been a quitter, but I have to say, after the series of phone calls (more than 40 minutes worth of just HOLD time), that I am just disgusted with the lack of service Comcast provides in the Alpharetta, GA area. To go on, would be futile.

Mike in St. Leonard, MD, wrote in January 2007 that he had had enough with Comcast Internet service:

We have had computer service since computers first became available. Comcast is the most unreliable service we have ever had. When I register my disgust with them, the telephone representative takes it personally..... I guess they get frustrated listening to complaints about their sorry service all day. Right now in my area Comcast is the only high speed provider. As soon as Verizon offers their service I will dump Comcast the very first day.

A customer in Walpole, Massachusetts, wrote in January 2007 about her issues with Comcast phone service:

About 2 weeks ago, I was contacted by comcast asking if I would like to change my phone service to Comcast. I agreed and gave them the info required. I also made a recording authorizing them to chage my service. A few days later, I decided to keep my current phone service. I tried to cancel the installation, but Comcast refused to cancel because the service was in my husband's name and he was the only one authorized to make changes on the account. If this was the case, Comcast should not have allowed me to authorize them to install phone service in my home. I refuse to have my husband contact them because he did not authorize the installation.

Peter in Bayville, New Jersey, wrote in January 2007, about his frustrations with service:

Once again i am being treated by your service group like I do not exist. About two or three weeks ago, my HD set-top box went out, and you replaced it this Friday. The replacement is now out of order, and Ii was told that no one can come out today Saturday. The next appointment is Monday, so for the entire weekend I have no service. I explained that I was treated the same way when I had your cable modem service. I dumped you and went to Verizon DSL. Ever since I dumped you, I get more calls from your group and more attention then I ever did when I was your customer. It amazes me that you treat your non-customers better then your existing customers. Now i will preceed to dump you for the TV service as well. I will look into going to a satellite provider or Verizon's new TV service.

Aaron in Jacksonville, Florida, wrote in January 2007 about billing errors:

Last October, my girlfriend and I moved in together into a nice rental home. Comcast being the only deal in town as far as cable is concerned (and my girlfriend being dissatisfied with satellite), I transferred my service to the new address. My girlfriend cancelled her service but brought the equipment (a digital cable box and cable modem) with her. Upon moving in, Comcast sent technicians out to do... something. My girlfriend was here when the first technician arrived. As he left, he offered to take her cable box back with her. Sure, why not? she thought, and so the Comcast Cable technician took the Comcast Cable box back with him. Here four months later, she is still being charged over $300 for this box. Comcast customer service reps appear sympathetic and offer to "research" the problem, but nobody ever calls back. They are basically accusing my girlfriend of stealing or losing this cable box. She gave it to ONE OF THEIR EMPLOYEES! Their repeated demands for the $331 payment (actually, it's over $400 but she has a $75 credit on her account -- Thanks, Comcast) have caused no end of grief and frustration but we are not sure what recourse we have. The dollar amount is somewhat significant for us independent full-time college students and we can't simply pay it and call it a lesson learned. If there was ANY other option in town for cable -- I'd dump these guys in a HEARTBEAT!

A former Maryland employee wrote in January 2007 about how Comcast is treating its workers:

I was an award winning, highly requested tech in my local system for 6 years. I also am a single father with an autistic daughter who, due to her illness, excersised FMLA to its maximum. I had recently had an increase in behavior problems with my daughter, and combined with the LBO that Comcast was involved in with adelphia, the HR and administration went from compliancy to complete hardball tactics.

I am now discharged, and Comcast is even so bold as to appeal the DLLR findings regarding the unemployment claim... I can't fight this monster! Comcast is effectively running me into the ground. I think it is predominately due to my vociferous protests and comments about a lack of employee representation as it was happening over the last 3 months of 2006 (I was discharged Dec. 2, 2006.) I am totally at the end of my financial rope.

I have managed to be a fantastic tech, raise a special needs child, go through a divorce, and still be an asset to the local cable system where I live, until Comcast came to town... now I am suddenly a liability?

David from Saratoga, California, wrote in January 2007 with a suggestion for poor quality HDTV service:

Comcast is unable to provide high def or digital signals with any reliability. FSN+ and FSN-HD are useless. The picture is all broken up, and there is essentially NO sound, except for an occassional blip. Would suggest that they should be refunding all the advertisers, broadcasters, and subscribers until they can get it fixed.

A customer in Colorado Springs, Colorado, wrote in January 2007 about the difficult transitions from Adelphia to Comcast:

I have been using Adelphia high-speed Internet access and cable for many years with little problems and almost no unwanted email problems. Comcast has acquired Adelphia in the Colorado Springs market, and everything has gone to hell. My cable service is dramatically worse and fuzzy. Internet connection speeds have fallen by 32% and I receive approximately 30-50 Spam emails a day. Contacting Comcast is next to impossible, and when you do make contact they have no idea of how to help you. As much as I hate cable companies and their greed, Adelphia provided the services they agreed to and were able to be contacted if necessary. Comcast is also unwilling to maintain the Adelphia mail servers which requires everyone with an Adelphia email address to move to a Comcast address, but of course in talking to 30+ people not one of them have been able to maintain the email prefix they have used for year due to it already being taken by a current Comcast customer. It appears that it is going to become necessary to drop Comcast altogether and move to satellite TV and DSL. DSL speeds are currently exceeding that of cable in this area!

A customer in Flint, Michigan, wrote in December 2006 about his longing to leave the Comcast monopoly:

My wife and I are in a countdown until AT&T brings its U-verse service to town. When it gets up and running in 2007 locally, goodbye Comcast. We are fed up with the poor programs given us (MYTV-5 for WDIV 4 ). RUDE!! customer service and poor service overall. We pay $118.00 + a month and lose local choices and favourites for junk. We feel that we should get more choice than what we get now and a lot more respect than we have gotten so far. If we had more choice we would stay, but no choice will soom mean no Comcast. U-verse, here we come!

A former customer described in December 2006 what led to a break with Comcast.

I live in Baltimore, MD and Comcast is the worst cable provider we've had in almost 15 years. Not only did we have expanded basic and were paying $51.95, but they began removing channels and putting them only on digital cable. Funny how they can flood my mailbox with promos on their triple play package but nothing is said when channels are being removed. Needless to say, we now have Direct TV and are very satisfied.

A customer from Gig Harbor, WA, wrote December 26, 2006 about long outages after the storms.

I have been without high speed broadband and cable since 12/14/06. Power was restored on 12/15/06. I waited and called Comcast on 12/22/06. They said they would send repair men on 12/23/06 (Saturday) between 12:00 - 17:00. At 5:45 pm, I called them and told Comcast no one arrived. They said they where still coming. It its 12/26/06 and no one has called or informed me of what is going on. In order to keep my business running, I insalled a dial-up connection to the Internet. I am very dissatified with Comcast service. My neighbor has called Comcast six times and has been told various lies also. They even cancelled one of the service calls. I am thinking very seriously about dropping Comcast from my residence due to the lies and poor service.

Angry Comcast digital cable subscribers wrote in December 2006 about their efforts to limit ads on the on-screen program guide:

Please see the following website for more details: http://www.killcomcastads.com .

On the web site, these folks describe themselves as follows: "Simply, we're angered Comcast digital cable subscribers just like you. Why should Comcast make more money and take away functionality in the process? We created this website to provide the latest information about this developing story, and to help organize Comcast cable subscribers around the United States to speak out against this new "feature"."

A customer from Fayetteville, Georgia, described in December 2006 his billing controversy with Comcast:

Comcast has been a terror to deal with. I live in a community that provides cable up to 70 channels. I upgraded and was told that I would only have to pay the difference of my package and what the community pays. LIES. I have yet to be credited the overage I have paid or have my monthly rate reduced. Today I got a call from them saying they are going to disconnect me completely even though they are being paid for the basic service and always have been through the apartment complex. I can't believe a company got this big and have this terrible of service now I can't even get them to call me back.

A North Bethesda customer wrote in December 2006 about her service frustrations:

I had an appointment for installation of Comcast internet and local phone service scheduled for Monday, December 4, 8-11 a.m. At 10:30 a.m. the technician called me and said he would be late; but, would be by at 11:30 a.m. At 12:15 p.m., I called Comcast to see where the installer was. After going through many menu selections, I finally got a real live person. I was on hold for about 10 minutes and then told it would be at least another 45 minutes before he arrived. What am I supposed to do? I waited. He showed about 12:40 p.m. Later that day, my digital cable went out. I called that evening. It could not be fixed over the telephone. I called the next day from work. We scheduled an appointment for Saturday because I cannot take time off work without being on leave without pay. Today, Saturday, December 9, I waited from 8-11 a.m. for the technician. I received no phone call, no nothing. I used my cell phone to call Comcast. It was a maze of selections which did not get me to a real live person. After about 30 minutes, I finally reached a real person and asked about the technician. She said he had checked in that it was completed. I told her that couldn't be correct. So, she said someone would call me in about 20 minutes. I asked what can I do if I don't get the call and have to call back. I wanted to be able to get a live person immediately. It has been 40 minutes and no telephone call.

A Florida subscriber wrote in December 2006 about being double-billed:

I agreed with Comcast's policy of up-front payment to install cable. I paid the tech the day it was installed. My first bill requested the same payment. Now the second bill added other connection fees. This is no way handle a new costumer.

A non-customer from Damascus, Maryland, wrote in December 2006, about how the Company dug up his lawn:

Comcast sent out a crew to mark gas and electric lines on my lawn to lay new cable. Diggers never came for months. After lines had faded, crew came and dug up lawn and laid new cable. Then two days later another crew comes and paints lawn again. They are laying cable from the box outside our house to one down the street. But we don't even have cable we have sattelite. I am so tired of having my lawn painted and dug up and I am not even a cable customer.

A customer in Naples, Florida, wrote in December 2006 about poor quality HDTV service:

I have been attempting to get HDTV hookup for over a month. I have had appointments cancelled by Comcast that I had to make time for and then I was told today after my weekly call (which no one calls me back) that there are no HDTV boxes in and won't be until after the new year!!! I can't beleive this is happening all over the nation. I have asked to have another unit shipped in from another market and they are telling me tough luck. I have my phone, TVs and Internet with Comcast. I do have a choice and have asked for them to come pick up their stuff. I'll go someplace else!!!

A customer in Atlanta, Georgia, wrote in December 2006 about his problems with high speed Internet service:

I am one of many people in the Capitol View Manor neighborhood of Atlanta whose "High Speed Internet" service has been pretty much useless since June 2006. The internet service fails here several times per day, usually for hours. We have had neighborhood meetings about it. Numerous incompetent technicians (most of them outsourced) have turned up (or failed to turn up completely) to various neighbors' houses, and have been unable to resolve the problem. In addition, they have been double-billing me since 6 months or more, and have yet to refund the money. I have spent upwards of 20 hours on the phone with them over the last 4 months, talking to various "supervisors" in outsourced call centers, who have basically admitted that they are powerless to resolve the problem.

A customer wrote in November 2006 about her faulty phone service:

Comcast provided me with telephone service. The line never worked as it was supposed to. There were always other people on the line. The worst part was when I tried to make an emergency call (911) . The line did not work. I then called the police. The line started working after. I was later told by Comcast the line had been disconnected. It seems like Comcast cannot keep track of the services that it is providing to customers. That was two months ago.Up till now, Comcast cannot make an effective arrangement to have this line connected. I go to school on line. I have been left without telephone service for more than a month. I live in an area where there are not too many choices. I have called and e-mailed Comcast about these issues.

Nine months is a long time to wait! A customer in Riverside, New Jersey, wrote in November 2006:

I have called several times to have this issue resolved but to no avail. The wire outside my home was supposed to be rerun/replaced in Feb 06, and still hasn't been replaced as yet. The tech came to my house on Friday Nov 17, 2006 and explained that a squirrel had chewed through the wire and caused it to be filled with water which was why I had interruption on my cable tv service. This was supposed to be replaced the next day, Nov 18. To date it still hasn't been done because I still have interruption on my TV. When I called to explain this to the rep she advised the only thing she could do was send out another tech 3 days later, the eve of Thanksgiving. I have had it!

A customer from Joliet, Illinois, wrote in November 2006 about his scheduling frustrations:

We have been having trouble with the reception on several of our cable channels. We think we are having trouble with our cable box. On Wednesday, Nov. 8, my wife called Comcast and was told they would call back to solve the problem within 2 hours. Comcast never called. On Friday, Nov. 10, we made an appointment to have a Comcast service technician come to our home between 1 and 3 p.m on Saturday, Nov. 11. The tech was to call 30 minutes before coming. At 2:30, I called Comcast. Was told that the tech was at least 2 hours behind. I said 5 pm would be fine. About 45 minutes later, got a call from Comcast with a message that I had an appointment between 1-3 pm on Saturday and was told the tech would be there around 5 pm. Shortly after 5 pm, the tech called and said he wouldn't be able to make it. About 20 minutes after that, Comcast called and I had to reschedule. Now have an appointment for 8-10 am on Wednesday Nov. 15. I wonder if Comcast would be so forgiving if I was late with my payments.

A Rockville, Maryland, resident wrote in October 2006 about Comcast continuing to charge for discontinued service:

My mother had an account with Comcast in Maryland yet we moved to Austin, TX months ago and kept getting charged after stopping our account. Once those finally stopped we received notifications requesting we return our equipment and we did. However, they refuse to acknowledge we did and turned us over to a Debt agency. We have all the proof of sending the equipment and it being received via UPS tracking system yet they still insist we have the equipment. Money is tight for a single parent.

A Washington, D.C. resident wrote in October 2006 about her frustrations in discontinuing Comcast service:

I shut off my COMCaST cable service effective 8/31/2006. I was billed in Sept. of 2006. After 3 weeks I am still trying to obtain a refund. EVERY TIME I call I am told that my service has not been disconnected. I am even given a confirmation/ticket# for this to occur. However, after 3 times the service is still in a disconnected status. I am due a refund of $61.19. I am on a fixed income and do not understand why COMCAST can not provide BETTER customer service. I spoke with a Manager in Philadelphia, whose number is now disconnected. I have just been issued another ticket#. I am seeking an immediate reimbursement as my PATIENCE is no longer.

Linda wrote in October 2006 about being double-billed by Comcast:

I would love to share my horror story with you. Today, as I sit writing this, I am on hold, well into my second hour and FOURTH telephone call to them to get them to return money to my bank account... They double billed it and it caused my account to accrue $130 in overdraft fees. After two weeks, and endless hours of trying to get this mess straightened out, I am back beyond square one with a supervisor who thinks I have no right to be angry or somewhat combative. I am planning to file suit, since in Georgia this kind of withholding is referred to as theft.

Rosa in Homestead, Florida, wrote in October 2006 about a customer service runaround:

I ordered cable service and high speed Internet on 10-06-2006 and Comcast gave me an appointment for 10-11-2006 between 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 PM, but they never came. When I called Comcast to see what happened at 5:20 PM, they told me the appointment was still on and I would receive a phone call soon. At 7:20 pm I called again and they told me they would call me in the next 15 minutes. Since they never called me back, I called back 30-60 minutes later and was told me I would have to reschedule my appointment. I told her that I wanted to speak to a Manager. The Customer Support Specialists said that a Manager would call me in the next 24 hrs. They never did.

On 10/12/06, I called Comcast again and they told that someone was to come to my house 10-13-06 to connect the cable and the following Monday someone would connect the internet. Also, due to the inconvenience, I was told the installation would be free. For all this to happen, I had to call within the hour to confirm the appointment. When I called to the extension 72222 (which was given to me), the person who answered said that there was no one at the extension, and I was not able to confirm the appointment because apparently there was no information that said anything about the appointments.

Today (10/13/06) I called Comcast again, and they said that if they have a cancellation they will come between today and tomorrow. I try to communicate with Comcast in every way possible, but it seems Comcast does not care.

Mike in South Boston, Massachusetts, writes about why he cancelled Comcast service:

In August of 06 and again on October 11, 2006, my wife and I have had the Boston Police at our house to keep Comcast tech ******** off our property and away from our house. He said he had service calls and could put a ladder up against our house and do whatever he wanted. He lied to us and he lied to the police and had to be rousted by the police who had been taken away from real police work. Needless to say, we have cancelled Comcast as have several of our neighbors.

Mark in Temple Hills, Maryland wrote in October 2006 about his frustrations getting Comcast to pay attention to serious repair issues:

Comcast has absolutely the poorest customer service on the east coast! I had a tree fall on my cable line and break it. I called Comcast. They told me it would be at least a week before they could get a technician out to see me. A week went by, and no visit from Comcast. I make another service call. The service rep tells me it will be at least a week before a technician can get out to see me. (Sound familiar) I tell them that I've already been out of service for a week.....and that's the same thing you all told me last time I called! So I immediately made plans to switch, to Direct TV. Called Comcast back to cancel my service. They wanted to know the reason for my cancelling. I told them, p*** poor service. Upon reviewing my account records, the service rep found that the rep I had talked with had incorrectly entered my service call as a "relocate". And they still wanted to know why I was switching.....as if this were my fault!!.......unbelievable!!!

A customer from Oak Lawn, Illinois, wrote in October 2006 about her frustrations with Comcast outages:

This is a copy of my email to the FCC. Please do not put my name on your web site. Feel free to name my community though.

We have been customers of Comcast for several years. While there have been periodic outages, it has never been a problem of this magnitude. Last Monday, October 2, 2006, the greater Chicago area sustained damage from a strong storm. Some areas near us sustained extensive damage; however our portion of Oak Lawn did not. The outage was reported on Monday and it has been followed by several phone calls to Comcast. The calls are preceded by long waits on hold (in excess of 30 minutes). When we followed the automated prompts, we are told Comcast has "declared" an outage and are told the estimated restore time. Several restore times have passed. When we persist in wanting to speak to an individual, more waiting time involved. When we are finally able to speak to a Comcast representative, we're told that they're working on the outage. Yet when asked about the absence of Comcast trucks in our neighborhood, they cannot provide an answer. When asked why the cable came up for about three hours during the night (early Wed morning) and went back down, they cannot provide an answer. We have not been able to get a plausible answer as to why our service has not been restored. We do not have damage in our neighbor, we never lost our electricity and the feed comes from the pole in our back yard.

In addition, we have been without internet service as well. We have two college students who are dependent on the internet for homework. In the interim they have had to find areas with service and do homework elsewhere. We have paid continuing high prices with taxes that can only be described and questionable. They have operated in our area without any competition. They are, in fact, a monopoly. As such, they should be held to a higher standard of service. I await an answer from your. Thank you for your time. [Editor's note: you should ask Comcast for a credit for those days without TV and Internet service. It is not a lot of money, but it makes the Company more accountable to its customers. Keep a log of phone conversations, and report your frustrations to the cable office in your locality.]

Darrel in Atlanta, Georgia, wrote in October 2006 about his frustrations waiting for Comcast:

Why have I been waiting for 3 days for a repairman to show up at my business when I have had a firm appointment? Today it was going to be 8am. It's now 10am and I'm told he is on his way since 8am! Comcash, your service is the worst I have ever been involved with! Maybe you should invest in a new calendar and watch......

Chris in Washington DC wrote in October 2006 about his Comcast service:

I'm a student at Georgetown and about a month ago we called Comcast to set up internet in our house. After the technician came and set it up, we noticed it wasn't working. We called to have a technician sent back to fix the problem. They admitted it was their fault. They told us they'd come between 1 and 4 on the next Sunday. They didn't show up by 4, they didn't show up within the next three hours like the customer service lady said they would. Actually, they never showed. At midnight we complained and customer service said a technician would be at our house the next afternoon between 1 and 4. I had to skip class to be home for the appointment. At 4:15 there was still no technician, so I called and the service rep. informed me that the appointment was never actually made. They offered to come the same time on Friday and I asked to talk to the manager. They informed me he would call within 24 hours. He never did. They also didn't show up on Friday. Furious, I tried and was able to fix the problem with the internet myself after several hours. Next, I had to call Comcast to set up our cable. I called them and told them how they screwed up with our internet, and asked that they make it up to us by doing our cable in a timely fashion. Instead, we were told it would take two weeks for a tech to come set up our cable. I asked to speak to the manager again, but like the last time he never called me. Yesterday, I called to make sure everything was going to go smoothly with setting up the cable today, but was shocked to find out the tech was not bringing the DVR we requested along with our cable. They don't know when they'll be able to get us the DVR, but it means another 3 hours (at least) of waiting. Oh, and as far as my appointment today, the tech was supposed to come between 1 and 4, it's 4:54 right now and no sign of him. If there were another cable company to choose from, I would have switched to them a month ago, but with the monopoly that Comcast has over cable and internet in DC, all I can do is post this complaint.

Sylvia in Arlington, Virginia, wrote in September 2006 that she is getting charged for equipment she returned:

In July 2006 I returned 2 HDTV cables boxes, 1 digital TV cable box w/3 remotes to Comcast Cable on Wilson Blvd in Arlington, VA. I keep getting notices from Comcast telling me I owe them $675, which I do not, for the above equipment. They have turned over my account to a credit collection agency who is threatnening to report my account to the credit bureaus.

Michael in Petaluma, California, wrote in September 2006 that he would like steady cable TV, especially during the World Cup:

I have Comcast cable and Internet service, and it goes on and off frequently. We have had Comcast technicians in and out for months; especially during the World Cup tournament. I'd like to know if city government has any leverage to get this fixed. [Editor's note: You should file a complaint with the local cable office in Petaluma. The phone number should be in the directory for city government.]

Krista in Hammond, Indiana, wrote in September 2006 about her attempts to get Comcast's triple play:

I have never had such awful service in my LIFE !!

I ordered the triple play that for one is advertised as digital but when you call they tell you it's "ENHANCED" and you have to pay $10.00 extra for digital. The phone had major static, they were suppose to hook up internet for 3 computers and only brought out internet for 1. Then the tech told me I had to purchase some wireless something to get internet on the other 2 computers. The cable box that was hooked up in my family room has gone out now we have to watch television in our bedrooms. We have called them 5 times and no one came out. The cable in our kids bedroom did not exist when the tech hooked it up. He stated that we would need boxes in order for them to get cable channels.

Again when I spoke with them on this issue they stated they would send someone out. However, we received 2 additional boxes via UPS. (Some Technician) My husband called to cancel the service. No one ever came out to cancel the service. I called today to cancel the service and was speaking with someone in the Tinley Park, IL office. I was informing her of all the issues we have had. I was told that a supervisor named Adriana would call back. Guess what ... still no call back! I did not sign the work order when they came, I have called over and over again to get someone out here to take care of this. I don't care how much money I can save by using this Pathetic thing they call "service."

I am willing to pay a little more to get quality service.

Mike in Flint, Michigan, wrote in September 2006 that he will leave Comcast for AT&T:

For years I had dish network and had a lot of options for local news. Then I got married and my wife wanted Cmcast. For the last two years she came to realize Comcast is rotten. We both work in Detroit and get our traffic news on WDIV, WJBK, and WXYZ before we leave. Well now Comcast is removing WDIV and programming we like. We pay Comcast a lot of money every month and get programming taken away we love for junk. Thanks to Comcast she has seen the light and next year when AT&T rolls out their programming, we're going to leave Comcast faster than a sprinter on steroids. Comcast took our money and took our favorite channels away.

Tina wrote in September 2006 about Comcast censorship:

Is anyone else out there aware of the fact that Comcast can tell you who you can and can't accept collect calls from? They block collect calls from all correctional facilites without your consent! This is discriminating to those who have friends or family members that are in these facilities.

Comcast should have no say about this! We pay the bill for this call, not Comcast. Comcast says you have to set up a pre-paid account with another company to be able to accept these calls! I do not think this is right because the collect call is billed to the customer. It should be the customer's choice whether or not they accept these calls.

Comcast claims "a few people" have had billing issues with collect calls from these places.. Ok fine.. Then block their phones, not every customer's! I am very irrate over this & am seriously considering cancelling my phone and internet service with Comcast! This is unethical & discriminating what they are doing!!

Misti in Baltimore, Maryland, wrote in September 2006 about service interruptions:

My cable has gone out over 10 times in the month of August. This weekend, it is out for 5 days, until finally on Wednesday a repair guy can come and figure out what is wrong...interestingly enough, the repair man was just here last Tuesday. Everytime I call, I get horrible customer service...no one will listen to me - much less care that I am paying a significant amount of money for terrible customer service and horrible quality. I have searched for different cable providers and nothing is offered in the area I live - except for DISH which doesn't work with my building. Is there any way to prevent this monopoly Comcast has created? I am between a rock and a hard place and ABSOLUTELY no one will listen!

Ryan in Lake County, Illinois, wrote in August 2006 about his problems with customer service:

Great site, glad to see. I have had nothing but problems with comcast. I work as a private military contractor and leave on short notice constantly. Recently I left for a few months and called comcast to have a temporary stop put on my service. I came back only to learn that the stop never went through and now I owe them $300 dollars for TV and internet I never used. They even say they have seen activity, I explained it was probably the DVR recording things. I asked for a supervisor and never recieved a call from them. I am currently looking into legal action. please feel free to post this in your comments section.

Gail in Atlanta, Georgia, wrote abut service interruptions:

Every time Comcast comes to my building to repair someone else's service, mine is interrupted. The last time it was out for an entire week, leaving me without telephone and television service. I have been a customer for less than five months and this is the fourth time this has happened. Why can't they fix it? This last time, I had to use more than 12 hours of cellular time at a rate of 12-cents/minute -- almost the total cost of my bill. This is a shame!

Brenda in Bingham Farms, Michigan, wrote in August 2006 about HD service:

I have had problems with pixeling and frozen pictures on my HD/DVR cable. I have had these problems since February. I have had so many technicians out, wasted so many days, and wasted so much time when supervisors were to come here and didn't. We were supposed to get a new cable box, they sent an older one than ours. Technicians have come up to four hours late. Sometimes the techs don't get here at all. I AM SO TIRED OF THIS RUN-AROUND!! WHERE IS CUSTOMER SERVICE? THERE IS NONE WITH COMCAST!

Phillip in Redwood City, California, wrote in August about HD service:

I've been having terrible, intermittent trouble with my HD cable box. The remote works sporadically. When I change channels, the delay can be as long as 30 or 40 seconds. Then it skates well past by the channel I selected. Then after it seemingly settles down, it won't let me change channels singly. It goes past the next channel and then if I try to come back it skates past the channel I'm seeking again.

I've contacted the BBB, Consumer Action, and the FCC to report this ongoing problem. To make matters worse, I called a Comcast supervisor for the third time seeking relief today and was told to pick up an upgraded HD video recorder cable box at your Foster City, CA office. After I hurried home to pick up my cable box and drove 20 miles out of my way during my Saturday errands from where I was at the time, Milpitas, CA, I was snippily told that they didn't have an upgraded HD recorder cable box! I was angry, frustrated, and I still am.

I want Comcast to directly deliver the cable box I was promised. I want Comcast to inform its supervisors of what stock each regional area has on hand. I explicitly asked the supervisor I spoke with to make sure that the box he told me would solve my problems was indeed available as I didn't want to waste time, gas money, or wear and tear on my car going on a wild goose chase. Well, despite my efforts to head it off, I was the victim of a Comcast wild goose chase today! Will Comcast do the right thing here and provide the cable box I need? Can a replacement cable box be brought to my house in a timely manner? Will Comcast take prompt responsibility for this mess? An apology is not enough...

Your customer service agent at the Foster City office was rude, and snippy toward me and her co-workers in front of other customers. This middle-aged white woman with dyed dark hair made me feel as though I was to blame for this mess and that the company had no responsibility that she was part of.

Another customer wrote in August 2006 about over-charges:

My wife recently discovered that we had been overcharged by Comcast for a year. After 5 separate calls and more than an hour on the phone with different reps, including one who was rude to my wife, we resolved the issue: Comcast credited our account for nearly $400. Then this morning they cut off my service. After a half-hour on the phone getting this resolved, they called me this evening to offer me digital phone service to add to my package. This is truly upsetting and surprises me that they would have the gall to do something like this.

Robin in Jonesboro, Georgia, wrote in August 2006 about a Comcast contractor

Today, a Comcast subcontractor smashed the raised bed we worked like SLAVES to install. Unfortunately another family member began repairs before we could photograph the damage. The subcontractor smashed a large plastic pot, destroying half the plant inside; several other recently-established plantings were destroyed; two bricks and a curbstone were damaged or destroyed. You should also know that previous contractors who knew less about computers than we do were sent to "set up" our new digital service. Instead, they knocked us offline for 48 hours and left us with no way to connect as before. This moron today was there to pick up the supposedly defective modem. Please contact us about making these concerns known directly to Comcast, so that we also might invoice Comcast and/or the subcontractor for the damages he caused.

One customer wrote in August 2006 about the problems with Comcast's triple play:

In February 2006, we called Comcast to request service for internet. We were promised a great promotion. When they came out to our house it appeared that the cable that ran to our house was not useable. Comcast stated that that would have to run a new line but would have to wait until spring when the ground thawed. The new line was buried at the end of March but Comcast never called to schedule a new appointment to come out and install the services that we had requested. We ended up calling Comcast in the end of April to inquire about the services and they were unable to offer us the same promotion that was originally promised. We spent several hours on the phone with our salesperson and their manager trying to get a comparable promotion. Finally in May, they offered us an upgraded service that included cable, internet and telephone, the current promotion that they were running at a cheaper price. We were tired of the run-around and decided to take the deal.

Over the last 2 months, we have had appointments for Comcast to come out and install our services but on more than 1 occasion they never showed up and never called. We missed 3 days of work trying to get the installation completed. We are still unsatisfied and extremely frustrated. Last week, we had no phone because Comcast cancelled our current service with our previous provider and still had not installed their services. We made several calls and sent many emails to Comcast and still do not have complete resolution. Last Thursday and Friday, Comcast sent one of their contract install supervisors out to install our services. It took 2 days and not everything that was promoted by the salesperson has been delivered. We currently do not have all of the cable channels that the salesperson had promised, our internet service is not working correctly and we just received a pamphlet on how to use the phone features. The installation person was not able to show us how to use anything with the phone. After 5+ months of headaches, phone calls, emails, run around and poor customer service, we still do not have everything that was sold to us. We have spent another night on the phone trying to get the promotion that the salesperson promised and they continue to give us the run around and keep blowing smoke. Because of where we live, Comcast is a monopoly (the only provider in our area). If we had other options, we would have went with another provider 4 months ago. We have been very patient but our patience is wearing very thin these days. We thought to inform the public about monopoly companies (Comcast), their poor customer service and how they don't have to deliver what was promised because we have limited options on our service providers.

A woman in Sacramento, California, wrote in July 2006, about over-charges and bank fees:

My husband recently made a payment on our Comcast account and the wrong amount was debited from our account. As a result, our account accrued over draft fees and our livelihood was affected as we depend on each week's pay for daily living such as food and gas. The Comcast rep who handled the payment was was unprofessional and laughed about making the mistake. The manager we spoke to did not seem to take the situation seriously either. The money was never credited back to our checking. We are very unhappy with the way the situation was handled and are considering closing our comcast account.

James in Ann Arbor, Michigan, wrote in July 2006 about over-charges:

Comcast has been over charging me for over one year and this month, I was over charged for more than $100.00. When I contacted Comcast, I was told some one would check my cable line on Tuesday and I would get a credit and some one would call me back Their records showed I had an upgrade of service, but I just have the basic service for only $11.00 per month. When the monthly amount changed last year I called Comast and I was told the basic service was not offered any more and my amount per month would be different. This past Monday, I found out the $11.00 per month basic service is still offered and the price did not change. So for over one year, I still only have the Basic service and was over charged and now the amount that was taken out of my debit checking account was over $100.00. No one called me back and when I wrote to the customer service dept, I told them I would like a refund and the money put back into my checking account. As of this date, I did not receive the money that was taken out of my debit checking account and now, I can not pay my other bills that are due. I can not even buy gas or food. It is sad that a corporation can taken money from my account while I am on vacation and now I can not get the money back.

Joseph in Little Rock, Arkansas, wrote in July 2006 about deceptive advertising:

I have recently had a terrible problem with in-house customer service representatives. I upgraded my service to "triple play" on 6/3/06 from "Preferred Basic" cable @$47.99 and "Unlimited Internet" service @$42.95 plus fees for converter @$4.25 and cableguard @$.95 plus $4.59 tax. When I inquired about upgrading to include the new telephone product, I was told the "bundled" price for 12 months was $99.00 plus the usual fees and taxes. Guess what??? My first bill was for $203.33 for the balance of June (for which I had already paid $103.69) and July, which I expected to be for $99.00 plus fees and tax plus a $29.99 installation/upgrade charge.

I have talked to a customer service rep on two occasions a week apart and was told each time that the charges were "valid." When I asked to speak to a supervisor, I was told they would have to call me back shortly. They never called. Last friday, July 14th, I went to the Comcast office downtown. I was again told the same story by both up-front reps. They called a "supervisor" who insisted the same and did not take time to listen to my explanation as to why the charges were incorrect. IT IS VERY SIMPLE! I am not receiving the Service Bundle Special discount which should reduce my package from $132.93 ($42.95 + $49.99 + $39.99+ fees and taxes) to $99.00 + fees and taxes. Using regular mathematics, addition and subtraction, the discount for each full month should be $33.93. My current bill shows no discount at all for July and a partial discount of $26.95 for June instead of 28/30ths or 29/31sts of $33.93, the discount for a full month of service. The supervisor stated that the reduction should show up in all future statements. My question is this? WHY CAN'T I receive a credit on my current bill as well as all bills for the next 12 months???? Hoping to hear from someone soon.

Tom in Union City, California, wrote in July 2006 about installing a cable modem:

I currently have been a digital cable customer for 3 years with no problems really. Last weekend Comcast had a special at Best Buy offering half price to buy cable modem, receive free self install kit, free installation and a $50 gift card which essentially made the modem free. I agreed and also bought a wireless router which I have contemplated for a while. I asked the rep if installation would include moving my cable outlet to another wall...told "no problem". We scheduled install for thursday PM. The tech shows up with a rental modem and self-install kit which we are being billed for! He knows nothing about any installation....after much wrangling with the office "supervisor" who can do nothing I say just do it and I'll fight later. This costs $99.95 of which the "supervisor" OK's $30 credit. Tech tells me that they are not allowed to move the outlet for liability reasons and are instructed so in training! Tech also adds that we were the 4th or 5th call this has happened in the last 2 days and happens "quite often". He also adds that he knows of many customers who have gone to small claims court and usually win both refunds and punitive damages due to "bait and switch" laws. When I called the sales rep who had sold me the bill of goods, he stated that this is normal and that he would credit my account. When I asked if that would have happened had I not called he would not comment. I intend to take this to court...

Eylem in Rockville, Maryland, wrote in July 2006 about his frustrations with service

I have never had such terrible service in my life. I am being charged for something that does not work 30% of the time but somehow billed for 100%. They never answer their calls, they keep forwarding your call until you get an answering machine. I cannot even get a live agent to cancel my service. I complained to BBB, we will see what the results will be.

Sanjeev in Fort Washington, Maryland, wrote in July 2006 about missed appointments

Worst customer support. Missed 5 (FIVE) appointments and still Comcast is telling me to schedule another services call. Things can't get worse. To those who say Comcast is good, I can vouch for the fact he is fooling you.

Carless from Dallas, Texas, wrote in June 2006 about poor customer service at Comcast

I have been a loyal customer for several years. In the last year, I have been called several times (sometimes a day) to inquire about nonpayment of a bill that had been paid earlier. Each time I tell them I have paid the bill, and they tell me it has gone to my old address. I have been in this apartment for almost a year, and I still get the embassing phone call. Today I got a lady who was very rude and she is not the first one. These calls -- telling me I am going to be shut off -- come sometimes when I am in a meeting or on a project. Again, and again I get these calls, so I decided to cancel my Comcast service, wait about a month, and set up a new account, Yesterday I got a late notice again and I only got Comcast on May 18, 2006. When I asked for the name of the person to whom I was speaking, she got a little ugly and said "Josie, can you remember that?" then she said "Josephine". I then asked Josephine for the complaint department and again she was catty. I try to pay my bill on time and I was paying it in advance, but that really got everyone confused. Now I am confused about Comcast service. I see all of the adds for potential customers, what about the loyal ones that endure the rudeness of some of the customer service resprentatives?

Yvette from Gainesville, Virginia, wrote in June 2006 about her frustrations with Comcast's hidden charges

I am getting ready to switch to another cable provider. Before I moved into my new home, I was promised new services with no installation charges, free HBO and 19.99 internet. Instead, I have 3 install charges and 2 Wall fish charges. I have been trying to fix this since March, and I never get a call back yet I continue to get billed every month. All I hear is "so and so is dealing with a supervisor" and, of course, I am yet to get a straight answer. I call weekly and speak with Julie who I have been speaking with since 4/10/06. I am fed up!!

Laura from Atlanta, Georgia, wrote in May 2006

My service is intermittent and unreliable for nearly a year. Five times I have had technicians scheduled and waited three hours once for a no- show. When they do show up, they can't find anything wrong. It is an area problem several other neighbors are experiencing. Comcast just won't or can't figure out the problem.

A customer in Virginia just wanted to stop service, as she related in May 2006

I moved from my apartment in Arlington, Virgnia,on November 18, 2005. I e-mailed Comcast early in November to advise of the move and to cancel the cable service. I followed up with a phone call about 1 week prior to the move. On Monday, November 14, 2005 I went to the local Comcast office at 2707 Wilson Blvd, Arlington VA 22201 and turned in the cable box and the remote control. They said they would send a final bill. They ended up never stopping the service, and I have now been sent to a collections agency!!! I have e-mailed and called Comcast repeatedly for someone to help me, it even shows on the call log that I called to disconnect the service on November 8, 2005.

Robert from Millwood, Michigan, wrote in May 2006 about rates

I recently spent a week trying to find out what Comcast's rates were for my area. Not only did they not return my emails, or have the competence to answer simple questions, but when I did talk to a person, not an automated voice, I was treated poorly. To my dissapointment, they are charging twice as much for Internet than my previous provider, and three to four times as much for Internet service than most of the local providers that are shut out by Comcast big business contract.

A frustrated customer in Illinois had to double pay to keep service, as he recounted in May 2006

COMCAST EXTORTION: On 3/28/2006 Comcast came to install my internet and cable. The technician was given a check for $107.90(#2167). On 5/1/2006, I received an auto-dialed call from Comcast threatening to block service for non-payment of the installation. On 5/1/2006 I sent an e-mail to Comcast via their website explaining that they have already received the payment and my bank has processed the check. On 5/2/2006 Comcast sent me a response by e-mail in which they refused to address the issue and insisted that I use their on-line chat service to speak with a comcast rep. On 5/3/2006 I spoke with a comcast rep thru the on-line chat service and was told that he cannot access my account info but that I owe money ! On 5/10/2006 My internet service was blocked by Comcast. On 5/11/2006 I spoke with a Vomcast rep by phone and was told that I must pay $107.90 by credit card or my service will continue to be blocked. (since I am a computer systems consultant I must have Internet to work with clients) Again I told the representative that Comcast has been paid and I gave them the Order# for the installation. I explain that the payment was given to the technician as required. Comcast says that checks are not accepted! Even though their technician took the check and I have my bank statement to prove that they received it!! I allowed them to defraud me by giving them the credit card# because I need my service, but now I have been forced to pay twice! I will discontinue any further payments to Comcast and prepare to find another provider. They are too arrogant and greedy.

An employee of a Comcast contractor recounted in April 2006 some of the disorganization within Comcast

I work for a third party sales call center for Comcast Atlanta. Comcast is SO disorganized -- at least where I work. The biggest problem that we have to deal with is irate customers because of technicians. I've gotten calls ranging about a tech trying to tell the customer to leave her husband to techs getting very rude and argumentative towards them. Most of the calls are for a tech not showing up or even calling to let them know that they wouldn't make it. The customer suffers by having to stay home waiting all day when I am sure they have better thing to do... I would. Sometimes they will walk up to a door and "tag it" without knocking or ringing a bell noting their account that they were there but no one was home. I could go on and on about how terrible some of these technicians are. Comcast is aware of the techs in Atlanta.

Don't get me wrong some techs do do their job as they are supposed to. I think all of the techs who aren't doing their job like they are supposed to should be replaced.

A California customer related his frustrations with connection speeds in April 2006

I transfered HSI 8mb tier to this location on 4/06/06 and everything worked fine until about 4/24/06 when Comcast decided to switch me back to the 6mb tier which I never authorized. After numerous calls to tech support with no results, I finally talked to a supervisor named Jonathan on 4/25/06, and he told me that I was switched back to the 6mb tier. He said he would switch it back to 8mb. The connection is still slower than the average 6mb customer gets. I never authorized a switch from the 8mb to 6mb, and I would like to know who did? I have had nothing but problems with Comcast since the transfer. I also had a tech come out on 4/27/06 and spent 1-1/2 hours trying to figure out the problem. Everyone he spoke with told him that they thought it was strange that if I was switched back to the 8M tier why am only getting downstream speeds of less than 4mb? I am really frustrated with this whole ordeal -- no one can give me a straight answer on why the connection is so slow. Tech checked everything at residence and said it was all optimal as far as the cable modem signals, wiring, drop and the tap! I had at the very minimum of 7mb downstream for 3 weeks before Comcast decided to screw things up and switch it to the 6mb tier. I need some answers PLEASE! P.S. I have made a total of 8 calls in less than a month just to get a simple transfer!

Tom Hopper from IBEW Local 21 wrote about the contract settlement in April 2006

TENTATIVE AGREEMENT REACHED at Comcast! DOWNERS GROVE, IL - In breaking news, after years of hard-fought contract negotiations and just before the midnight hour on 4/8/2006, IBEW Local Union 21 reached a tentative three (3) year collective bargaining agreement with Comcast for members working in what has become to be known as the former Jones bargaining unit. The agreement includes: Wage increases in each of the 3 years; $1,000 signing bonus plus a $200 gift card; and much more. The tentative agreement is subject to ratification by the union membership. IBEW Local Union 21 will announce details for a contract overview meeting and for the ratification process in the days ahead. Submitted by: Thomas Hopper Communications Director; P.S. Local Union 21, IBEW ------------------------------- Call if questions to Tom at: Office 630.960.4466 ext. 223 Cell: 630.222.9119

A frustrated Florida customer, in April 2006, recounted what happens when you over-pay your bill at Comcast

I pay my bill electronically through my bank. I made an error in February and clicked the wrong box, sending $1,000.00 payment to Comcast that should have gone elsewhere. I immediatley contacted the bank but they couldn't do anything. Then I called Comcast and explained what happened. They said they put notes on my account and would refund upon posting the payment. Two weeks later I called to find out when I would receive a check but no one knew anything. And we started over again. Meanwhile, I got my next bill showing a credit of over $800.00, from which they deducted another payment. I called again, but this time no one new anything. The man I talked to didn't exist, the claim # he gave me didn't exist, and I was back to square one again. They acknowlege my credit balance but refuse to refund me. The employees don't care, management (if you can get one) doesn't care. Everytime I get a name and try to talk to that person again, they don't exist. I finally gave up and told them to keep the money for furture payment. Now I'm a liar and never made the payment and they're demanding proof that it happened. It's now mid-April and we still haven't got this resolved.

A Boulder, Colorado, customer complained about the rates for cable TV in April 2006

Comcast just raised my rates again for Standard Cable. It's gone from $42.99 to $45.69 in one month, a 6.3 % increase!. This is just analog cable (basic + expanded). Not only that, but the picture quality is bad on the lower channels and they won't fix it.

In March 2006, a reader directed us to his blog entry where he complains about executive compensation at Comcast

http://www.daveralis.com/dailyrant/2006/03/comcast-execs-make-hay-fight-choice.shtml

A former employee detailed how Comcast fired him in March 2006

Today (3-24-06), after being asked to go home last Monday by my supervisor, the head of operations called me to say that I was being terminated. That's okay, I suppose, to one view. The fact is that I am happy to have been terminated. My supervisor has harassed me on multiple occasions. I've had less and less of a home life because of daily overtime and working weekends to keep up with customer demands.

However, on the other hand, they are using a sneaky tactic to fire me. They say that I falsified my paperwork on Sunday 3-19-05. My first A.M. job was logged onto the CSG tech net/ Workforce express at around 0840. My trainee ____ was instructed by _______ to do all of the paperwork and use tech net to establish that he knows how. He wrote down the time that we left the shop not the time as of pulling up to the customers home. _______ the operations manager says that he used other workorders and established that it was my signature and handwriting. I asked if based on my signature and the allegations that I indeed falsified the paperwork they were terminating me. He replied yes. I then asked if they used a professional to examine the paperwork to establish my handwriting. HE SAID YES...but would not give me that person's credentials. OH WELL COMCAST WINS AGAIN....OR DID THEY? Let me know if you can help unionize the shop in _______ WASHINGTON.

[Editor's note: names and place deleted to avoid employer retribution.]

A former customer recounted in March 2006 how Comcast still wanted to bill him

I had my comcast cable service discontinued last December in Massachusetts. However, they are still sending me bills that get forwarded to my new address in another state, Utah. I have called twice and they tell me to ignore the bills, that the tech has to go out there and shut it off and it wasn't done yet. You would think it would be done by now.

From Corona, California, a customer pleaded for a la carte in March 2006

Way back when it was Media One, then A T & T bought it out, then Comcast, the price kept going up-up-up. They can program it so we get just what we want. Why can't they listen and stop gouging the consumer.

A disgruntled customer wrote from Massachusetts in March 2006

I scheduled a cable installation for February 20th. When I ordered the installation I specified the house was "new construction". The tech showed up on the morning of the installation, was there for 2 minutes and decided he could not do the installation because a "tap" needed to be put in. He said he would submit the paperwork and I should expect a call from the construction department. That was 8 days ago. I called this morning and was told that I should expect a call within the next 7 business days. "If" the tap ever gets installed, I'll have to call and setup another installation appiontment. Which means another day off from work. I can't go with the Dish because of trees so basically I'm stuck waiting weeks or maybe months to finally get tv. Customer service basically tells me too bad, when I call to complain.

A customer from South Carolina wrote in February 2006

I recently had a problem with a ComCast sub-contractor - who I later found out was on parole for burglary, assault, battery, harrassment and stalking. I am sick that this man was in my home while I was alone with my one year old son. The man made sexually threatening phone calls to me and after finding a window in my home slightly propped open, I can only assume that he intended to follow through.

Michael from Miami, FL, wrote in January 2006

Comcast internet service had been awesome before Hurricane Wilma. Now it's horrible and everyone tells me it's a different story. The people on the phone don't know what they're talking about, the technicians tell me they're still working on it, others tell me it's okay now. My entire building is having problems, not just me. It's amazing how when you call and describe the problem you're having they try to do the same dumb troubleshooting over and over again. It's so frustrating dealing with them. Was once on hold for over an hour on the phone then finally hung up as I was being transferred from one person to the next. I'm not sure what's so fantastic or as they say 'comcastic' about them. And how can they keep advertising about their wonderful service when it doesn't exist?

Beverly from Colorado wrote in November 2005

My mother has Comcast for her high-speed internet and cable service. When my mother arranged to have service with Comcrook, she was quoted all sorts of rates which Comcrook did not want to honor. My mother also has VoIP for her phone service.

For several weeks, my mother was unable to receive incoming phone calls. She called Comcast and she was told that it was the VoIP. She called the VoIP service and told her that is was the cable modem. My mother called Comcast and was told to get a router. Ok, she purchases a router, all ports are open and still not receiving incoming calls. She calls the VoIP service and was sent a new phone adapter. Same problem. So she calls Comcast again and was told to go to one of their offices and swap the Scientific American modem for a Motorola modem. The nearest office is about 15 miles away. So she goes to the office and was told that she could not swap the modem, because this problem is taken care of via service call. My mother was told to go to Best Buy or Circuit City to purchase a cable modem. Before her trip across the city, the modem is not allowing outgoing calls. A power surge is sent thru the modem into her phone adapter and it catches on fire. So therefore, no phone service. She is screwed big time.

To the editors of ripoff report, the next word I am going to use is in both the Holy Bible and the dictionary. By now she is p*ss*d big time. So my mother goes to a pay phone and talks to David in tech support. David said that he will schedule a service call on 11/19/2005 to bring a new modem and fix her service. Four hours later, no one shows up. David said that he will take the issue up with his supervisor and email her the problem and that he will put in a request to credit her for the gas and time for her problems. Again, she calls and this is thru another payphone, she speaks to PJ at the St. Louis office and was told that there was never a service call scheduled. PJ said that she is scheduled for today 11/20/2005 between the hours of 10:00am and 12:00pm. Here it is now 2:16pm MDT and no one has showed up.

The actions of Comcrook may have cost my mother her job, because she needs the internet to do what she needs to do for her employer. I have filed a formal complaint against this company with the Mayor's office here in Denver, since this is his baby and I will call Comcrook and tell them where to put their service, lies and whatever where the sun does not shine. My mother has given this company more chances to get their act together. Even G-d and Satan has lost count as to how many chances that Concast could do to get their act together and they have blown it so many times. Do not do business with this organization. Comcast is no earthly good. I am going to check into a satellite service for her.

An employee in the northeast wrote in November 2005

Comcast simply does not care about their customers. Their number one pillar for success is financial. People pay for service plus and one time charges simply for revenue purposes only. They plan on raising the rates every single year in january which is almost here. Guess what, cable is going up again.

As an employee right now I have seen and experienced discrimination. I have a serious disease and they don't care. They put me on a final written warning for being late when they put the clocks ahead and for being sick. They deny me fmla because I had worked shy of 20 hours last year. They constantly pick on me for every little thing. It doesn't matter who you complain to.

They constantly show us videos on how "bad" a union is. They tell us things like "why would you want someone to speak with you" or "if their was a union then you probally would not get free service." I myself would sign up for a union in seconds.

Veronica from Washington, DC, wrote in November 2005

I've been waiting on Comcast all day to service my cable, and here it is 9:01 p.m. and they claim they can't find the tech, not only today, but yesterday. I call because there were no service on, they claim there might been an outage,that was about 1:00 p.m. I called about 4:00 p.m. and they claim they had someone out that service someone else in the building, that was on my floor, and maybe he did something wrong. To make the long story short, I'm still out with cable. My question is to them, when are they coming, and why do I have to wait so long?

Joe from Murietta, CA, wrote in October 2005

Comcast is the worst, I hate this company! They are down constantly and the cable is always "freezing" due to low signal. Even a direct feed is snowy sometimes! Time Warner never had this problem, I want a choice! Break the monopoly!

Michael wrote in October 2005

As a former Comcaster, I know that it is an explicit annual goal of Comcast Human Resources to fend off unionization in every one of its operating centers. At least AT&T Broadband had an official policy of neutrality on the issue. There is no doubt at Comcast that local management heads will roll if a union gets certified in any of its shops.

Adam from LaPorte, IN, wrote in October 2005

I was recently terminated from Comcast for suposedly being insubordnate because I did not return to a customer's premises after my work day was done. I had a doctor's apointment. I have my doctor's note. What makes things even worse is that I had clearance from my dispatcher to leave the customer's premises since they were not home. However, the customer said he would be home around my time to get off work - 3:30 pm. I was told to return back and start a new connect and would not have gotten done until at least 5:30pm, two hours after my time to leave and miss my doctor's apointment. Because of the size of this company I cannot find a job near me that I can use my experience with.

Patricia from Markham, IL, wrote in October 2005

I to have had problems with Comcast. I had a "technician" come out to fix my cable over the w/end. He was a subcontractor since he pulled up in an old beaten up truck that looked like it was abut to fall apart (not good representation). As soon as he started working on my cable, we could see he was not qualified to do the work. In the process, he cut my phone line, cut his finger, and did not leave us with a good picture. I called Comcast on my cell phone while he was there and was told I had to call the phone company to come out and fix what he had done. I also spoke to his supervisor, and asked if there was someone else available and was told "No, all our technicians are out fixing other peoples problems the same as yours." We showed the technician the picture and he said it was because we had too many splitters. It's funny how the picture wasn't bad before he came out. I called corporate to make a complaint and am still waiting for them to get back to me. We also have extra cable wire wrapped around the pole in the backyard which they claim is not theirs. My telephone company claims it is. Upset in Chicago.

Chris from Brick, NJ, wrote in October 2005

Comcast provides me the service that I am paying for at a very high price. The monthly bill for Comcast Preferred Basic Cable, Digital Plus w/DVR & High Speed Internet is like $125 a month. Preferred Basic Cable service which is the basic level of service costs $53.75 and shows no signs of going down. Not to mention, the picture on many analog channels is grainy and distorted that its almost hard to watch sometimes.... We really don't subscribe to comcast because we want to, but because we have no other choice for cable television and aren't interested in satellite tv. I just wish they would improve a little here in Brick, NJ.

Theodore from Pittsburgh, PA, wrote in October 2005

I get on line with an analyst and am asked how I can be helped. I type my reply and submit my question. Both the analyst's mesage and my reply are shown, but there is no further communication with the analyst in the chat platform. This has happened repeatedly. Must I stop using Comcast?

John from Salisbury, MA, wrote in October 2005

Just wanted to say that I used to work for Comcast at the New England helpdesk. I was a level II helpdesk technician. I worked from a wheel chair and am a right leg amputee. Because of my birth defect I was never able to wear a prosthesis. So I used crutches for most of my life. In the past few years I have been using a wheelchair because my good leg was starting to have problems. I was absent more than other employees and had asked Comcast to accommodate me by allowing me to work from home during the really bad days in the winter time. They turned me down, saying that if they did it for me they would have to do it for everyone. I was out for 12 days because we had a particularly bad winter. It led to a final written warning. Shortly after that, I was out because I was sick just like any other employee would be. I was fired because I was on my final written warning. They would not let me collect unemployment and were so arrogant about it they didn't even show up for the appeal. Which, by the way they won. So now, I am faced with losing my house and everything I own. That's my story.

Debbie from Dearborn Heights, MI, wrote in September 2005

Just another complaint about Comcast customer service. After disconnecting us by accident, Comcast refused to send someone out to reconnect us until a week later. After us literally begging someone to call us back, no customer service representive called us until we changed providers to WOW. You cannot get to speak to a supervisor, just the person who finally picks up your call after being on hold for at least 15 min. I spoke to one supervisor, asked her to contact my husband on his cell phone, she said she couldn't call cell phones from her office, when my husband called in and asked for her specifically, they said they had no one by that name. Their personnel does not know what is going on in their own office. They were supposed to pick up our cable box and router, they were over 2 hrs late for the apptmt. One person said it should have been an all day apptmt. One said we didn't have an apptmt., one said we did, one said it was for a different day. Of course they refused to give us the late apptmt. credit, because we had discontinued service already. Then they have been continuously calling us to see why we have stopped service, their records show we have moved!!! Not true. My opinion is they don't want the truth in their records, someone should be accountable for all the screw-ups. We will not switch back to Comcast, we are getting a better picture and faster internet with WOW.

Shirley from Los Angeles, CA, wrote in September 2005

I applied for an additional phone line for my children which was suppose to be installed on 9/16/05 9am-12noon. No one showed up or called so I called and spoke with a superviser who informed me that the order was put in as a no truck roll. The superviser rescheduled my installation for 9/20/05. Guess what? Same thing: no show, no call, and I reached a jerk named Joe ______ who says that he can't reschedule me until next Wednesday!!! What in the world is Comcast doing? Do you people believe in customer satisfaction?

Richard from Stillwater, MN, wrote in September 2005

Comcast's customer service is so bad that we have recently cancelled our internet access through them. They are careless with customer's inquiries, rude in dealing with complaints, and they obviously don't have a clue about successful customer relations.

Michael wrote in September 2005

What kind of a "Mayberry" Horse S--- operation do you run? I have had three (3) service needs within the past month and all were totally screwed up. Not showing up, canceling service, telling me I have to buy a NEW computer and disregarding inspection of modium, showing up on the wrong day and finally not showing up again. I am serously considering changing my inter-net service and if there was another cable service in our area, you would be gone. Does the term customer focus ever cross your monetary minds. Your on air commercials should really tell the truth, WE DON'T CARE.

William from Sacramento, CA, wrote in September 2005

I've had an intermittent broadband connection problem for over a month. Four service calls and several phone calls to Comcast later, all I have to show for it is misinformation, broken promises and no improvement in the connection problem. None of the technicians have actually even made a diagnosis of what the problem is, they just test the signal strength at the modem. The first tech showed me how to do that myself with a website! The second tech was so impressed with this site he wrote it down, had never seen it before! He then went on to tell me that it was probably an outage but Comcast will never admit that because then they have to adjust my bill. I am now waiting for a "line tech" to come out and check the line coming to my home. I was promised by the last tech out that I would get a call to set this up. I never got a phone call. When I called in to ask about it, I was told that the last tech never closed his invoice and never requested the line tech. I was then assured the line tech would be out that afternoon, I didn't have to be there but they would call me with what they found. I never got a call. I called in to ask what happened. I was told the appt had been moved moved to the coming Friday but I would get that phone call. I never got the call. Today they tell me the appt is still open, I was misinformaed about the promised window for the appt, that the line tech will run the call up to 10 days from the requested date but they have no idea exactly when. But I will get that phone call when he does! After talking to their call-center apparently the only way to speak to a supervisor with any authority is to drive to the local office.

Barbara from Pasadena, MD, wrote in August 2005

Could you please tell me where one can REALLY go to complain and get some kind of reaction from COMCAST? I've had problems since October 2004 with intermittent to very slow to no connection. Dozens of visits to my home by techs have achieved NOTHING. IN fact, the last few visits each time things have gotten WORSE. Where can one really go for representation in such matters! Thank you.

Frederick from North Plainfield, NJ, wrote in August 2005

My wife and I are not Comcast subscribers. Previous tenants were subscribers many years ago. We had an antenna installed. We have gotten adequate reception for many years. About 2 months ago our reception became terrible. We thought it was a problem with our antenna. Perhaps there was storm damage. My son had seen Comcast technicians in front of our house around this time and speculated that maybe they had done something. We laughed him off. Today - August 26, 2005 - we noticed two trucks in front of our house again. He came by and said that he had to do some work on the cable to our house. We said that we were not subscribers. He then said that we were hooked up at the pole. We told him again that we were not subscribers. He then said that he would disconnect us at the pole. I go back into my house and suddenly we have our normal antenna reception back. This is suspicious to us. Are there other people having this problem? It looks like a scam, but maybe it's some weird technical problem.

An Employee Spouse in South Carolina wrote in June 2005

My husband is a cable installer/service tech at the Comcast office in _______. My daughters and I have not seen him in months. He goes to work at 8 in the morning and comes home after 10 pm every night. He's sick and still goes to work, often with upper respiratory infections, but Comcast doesn't care. He doesn't eat all day because he doesn't have time to stop. He's dehydrated, eats after 10 pm, inflamming his reflux attacks again. I fear for his health, our marriage and the emotional health of our children. Now Comcast wants to change the schedule so that he works weekends, only getting a weekend off every three months, further ripping our family apart.

Thomas from Baltimore, MD, wrote in June 2005

On a scale of 1 to 100, Comcast Rates #1 as the worst in product and service. Without a doubt.

David from Laurel, MD, wrote in June 2005

Has anyone thought about filing a class action against Comcast for Breach of Contract or Misrepresentation due to poor service?.... I am ready to explore this option since I have been fighting them from over a year to correct the terrible internet connection.

An Ex-Customer in San Jose, CA, wrote in June 2005

I can't get rid of Comcast. After years of poor service, bad reception, and numerous long black-out periods I finally said enough is enough. I subscibed to satellite TV and thought my problems with Comcast were over. Or so I thought. After happily being without Comcast for over 2 years now, they have returned to haunt me. In the morning I sat upon my front porch having a cup of coffee. I noticed several Comcast service trucks on the street (one of them blocking my neighbor's driveway) and a half dozen workers fumbling about with wires and ladders. I watched 2 of the workers trying to man-handle a large extension ladder, which they didn't know how to do. It was like watching an old Abbott and Costello show. After several minutes of this, I had enough of the comedy show and returned inside the house. Several minutes later, the men were knocking on my door. They said they were doing a system upgrade and needed to check the grounding wires of my cable. I told them I don't even use their cable and they could remove the old one if they wanted. They said they still needed to check. I said OK and they went in the back of the house. A few minutes later I heard drilling in the walls. I went out and stopped them and asked them why are they drilling holes in my house. The repeated their story about how they had to upgrade the grounding wires. I told them to forget about the upgrade, I'm not using the cable and please just remove it. They told me I would have to "pay" to have the cable removed, then they started to argue with me and tell me it was a city code requirement to do the work they were doing. By now I was already 1/2 hour late for work. I didn't have time to argue. When I returned home that evening I found they had made Swiss-Cheese out of my electrical box and done a Mickey-Mouse job of installing grounding clamps and wires. All this and I don't even subscribe to their service. Someone run these clowns out of San Jose!!!

A Comcast Consumer in Texas wrote in June 2005

We had an installation technician here to install a 2nd line in my home. He fell off his ladder. I saw him falling and caught him. He and the ladder fell on my knee and crushed my foot. I want Comcast to pay for pain and suffering. Ii was off from work a couple of weeks and still suffer. I'm a diabetic. He state he is an independant contractor and Comcast is not responsible. They're trying to wiggle their way out of it, and I think my attorney is in on it.... I just want a fair settlement.

A Comcast Consumer in Oakland, CA wrote in June 2005

Heads Up, Comcast video Customers with On-Demand. I wondered why the On Demand selection of free movies was so scant, until I went to comcast website and looked at their supposedly "now playing" On Demand listings. I discovered that I have no listing or availability for at least 15 movies being advertised as currently available for free, and, I've only checked 2 movie categories so far! When I called up comcast service to check this out, I was told that some of the servers haven't even been upgraded yet, and there was no way for them to estimate a time when that would be complete. Eventually I harangued them into setting up a trouble ticket which may or may not be resolved in a day or so. Now I'm wondering how many other customers are getting the short end here and don't even know it. They are advertising the free availability of these On-Demand movies, on their website, in their sales literature, in their promotional materials, and are probably not even providing access to them for half their customer base! To check if your On-Demand service is working as advertised, go to http://comcast.m0.net/m/p/com/mic/view_free_movies.asp?email=&cmp=&custom= Check the listings, and make sure you are getting the service you are paying for. If not, call Comcast and demand to know why. Tell them you will write or call your local franchise authority to complain. (Your local franchise authority is printed out on all Comcast bills, in little tiny letters, on the back)

A Consumer in Illinois wrote in June 2005

I have been living in this apartment for 14 months now, and despite my best efforts, I cannot seem to get Comcast to stop sending me the bills for the person who vacated before I arrived here. I have repeatedly phoned the local office to stop sending ____'s statements to this address. I have sent the bills back time and time again marked "No Such Person," and they still don't seem to get it. After seven attempts to get these folks to stop bothering me about someone else's financial obligations, I am at my wit's end. In the last phone conversation I had with one of the company's representatives, he kept telling me I needed to send the bills back to get them to stop, and I was literally screaming into the telephone that I'd already done that to no avail. It seems rather funny to me that I haven't been badgered by any of Mr. Wright's other service providers. All of them obviously received change of address information, and have proceeded accordingly.

An Anonymous Employee wrote in June 2005

I just read some of the stories of other ex-employees of Comcast. I've have just been put on suspension for standing up against Comcast, and their unlawful work practices. I refused to work over time, and was told I didn't have a choice. I came back to work after my weekend off, to find out that I had a full investigation going on, because I told the manager _______ he had no right to force me to work overtime. Now here I wait to see if I still have a job. This is not the only unlawful activities that go on in this company. Big cocerns in safety for employees, no lunch breaks, I could on and on. I have been in the Cable buisness for 7 years and this is by far the worst company I have been with both in terms of employee morale and customer care.

Cheryl in Los Angeles wrote in May 2005

I would like to complain about really shabby service by Comcast in Los Angeles. I cannot get them to provide the service, i.e., channels, I pay for, nor can I get them to refund my money. They told me this afternoon, at the service counter that there was nowhere to make a complaint. None of the extensive phone conversations with them have been recorded into their system. Can you advise me please? I am so very angry and outraged. Thanks, cheryl

An Anonymous Employee wrote in May 2005

Comcast's president made $45 million last year and most comcasters make around $33,000/ yr. The benefits and the 6% toward 401k do not compensate. No can afford the 401k due to the fact that most money must be used just to survive. This company is selfish and needs to change and realize that the employees help keep the company functioning! Mr. Roberts and all tha board members are SELFISH and that's bull! Pay the people correctly, so they can live and love the company, not the low wages they currently pay! I'd like to see THOSE guys and girls UP there live off $33,000/yr. I doubt they COULD!

An Anonymous Ex-Employee wrote in May 2005

I worked in a large Comcast call center. I was terminated for filing a charge of discrimination against Comcast and for opposing practices by Comcast that I believed to be violations of the American With Disabilities Act. Additionally, during my last year of employment Comcast refused to provide reasonale accommodations that would allow me to perform the essential functions of my job but instead they chose to retaliate and issued disciplinary warnings and finally terminated my employment. Employment in an "at will" environment does not allow coprorations to break the law.

Virginia from Clarkston, MI, writes in May 2005

I signed up for internet at a second location (a home that I am renovating) and was quoted $19.99 for the 1st six months and then $42.00 after that. At the end of six months it went up to $57.95 just for Internet service. They claim I needed cable at this location too for an aditional $30.00 to get the $42.00 price?? They knew this location was Internet only before the quote, now they refuse to honor the price. On top of this rip-off, they're trying to add services?! Needless to say, I'm looking for another providor for my service at home and for the house I'm renovating. I wish we had a choice when it come to cable services. This is not democracy.

Beth from Arlington writes:
I have been trying to get Comcast to fix this connection problem for months. Sometimes I can't even get thru to anyone. Their recording will say "we are unavailable at this time, call back later". I am so fed up that I have connected to a dial up service waiting for them to come do something. I am at the end of my patient with Comcast!!!!!!

Donna from Dallas writes:
Comcast called me and solicited by business. I agreed and I was to have cable hooked up 4/12/05. After disconnecting my satelite dish, installer found the tap was dead. He said someone would be here 4/13 to fix it and he would be back 4/14. Nothing ever happened. After many calls, I was told the tap would be fixed 4/19 and installation 4/20. There were supposed to be people here on 4/14,4/15, phone calls returned and nothing happened. Customer service people are always apologetic but of course that doesn't do anything except make me even more angry. No tv due to their lousy service and disconnected my present service. When I told one of the customer service reps I was so tired of hearing "I'm sorry", she informed me I just didn't want to hear what they were saying. Needless to say, I told them to cancel the install. I do customer service 6 days a week and would expect to be fired if I did service like I was given this week by Comcast.

Anonymous writes:
I'm an employee at Comcast in one of the call centers. I have read the customer comments and I hear the compalaints every day. What the cusomers don't understand is that its not the custumer service representitives that are at fault. I assure you that we do everything that we can. The prolem is the poor training and the lack of working tools. Comcast needs to put some serious money into fixing the software that control our system. They also need to upgrade the lines and nodes in the field. We want to serve the customer but it is hard to do when Comcast won't spend the money to do the job right.

Bob from Saratoga writes:
I have been fighting Comcast in Saratoga, Ca for over 12 months now with regard to their poor service for our community. In Saratoga and several surrounding communities, Comcast offers less than 1/2 the number of digital and HDTV channels than other communities receive, yet charges us the same or MORE than other communities.

Joe from Chicago wrote:
Another price hike!Come on! Someone out there please make them stop!

Peter wrote:
Comcast digital cable is unreliable. Some of the channels I pay for say "temporary unavailable, will resume momentarily".
The momentarily time period has lasted for months.

L C wrote:
Did you know that Comcast Homeworx Hisu boxes on homes provide no lightening protection for inside wiring as required by law? If the installer doesn't steal the phone company's protector, the customer gets no protection, only the ground of the cable plant. There are no gas tubes, or carbons. Its on the top of the page in the manufacturers training manual stating so. I had lightening destroy three phones, and a PC because of it. Below is the box;
https://www6.adc.com/ecom/hier?NODE=OND71120

Jim from San Jose wrote:
Comcast has provided the worst service I have seen in years. Their "rebuild" in the San Jose area has been going on for over 6 months. They claim it would be over by Dec, but it is still going on.

In Sept they "repaired" the drop point for my building. The repair took out half the channels for the entire building and took 2 weeks of calls and complaints and finally a call to the local news paper to get fixed. Today they changed our channel line up for the second time in a year with out warning. Comcast needs to be run our of San Jose before nothing is left of our cable network.

Anthony wrote:
What do you think the fair wage is for someone who installs all three video, HSD and telephone? $10.50 an hour does not seem right?

Jamie wrote:
Comcast Contractors Rupture Gas Pipe in New Bedford Massachusetts:
http://www.s-t.com/daily/11-04/11-05-04/a04lo874.htm
"The pipe was punctured by Mirra Co. of Georgetown. The company was subcontracting from Comcast to install two 4-inch conduits, according to a work permit filed with the city." It scares me to think the infrastructure in our communities is left in the hands of the lowest bidder!

Curt wrote:
This is a copy of a note that I have tried to get to Comcast.

They haven't resolved this issue yet. I was trying to get the name and contact number for the head of their Operations or Customer Service. In the process I saw the compensation packages for the Comcast Management.

They certainly aren't spending it on customer service and they are raking it in big time.

They make the old Robber Barons look good.

RE: Customer Problem - Tag #17947723

Attached please find a copy of my e-mail of 6/30/04 including the distribution list.

Yesterday morning, 6/30/04, I sent out a few e-mail messages. One was a joke that I sent to a distribution list of approximately 100 individuals.

It became apparent that the message was being duplicated. The message was not hung up in my Outlook outbox and I deleted it from the sent mail in case that was the source.

My computer is scanned for viruses with updated definitions three times a week. It is scanned for spyware and the internet history is purged every night. The problem was not my computer, but I shut the computer off and left it off until 6 in the evening. The message had continued to duplicate itself every 15 minutes.

I decided to call Comcast Customer Support:

In the last 24 hours I have spoken to Patrick, Adolpho, Jerry, Eola, Howard, Henry (twice).Cheri, George (3 times and one message), Bruce and Frizel.

Adolpho, George and Henry all promised to call me back and failed to make good on that promise. George said he had the answer and a phone number to call but never called me back to share that information. George also asked for permission to change my password (permission was given) but he never changed it back.

24 hours later, the distribution list has received a copy of this message every fifteen minutes - do the math. When the Support Desk finally decides to reinstall my password I imagine I am going to have a large and wonderful collection of e-mail to read. Don't you think???

Additionally, six of the mentioned individuals said they would update my contact information (telephone number) as of this afternoon that still hadn't been accomplished.

The only one of these individuals that was helpful, professional and truly courteous was Cheri (Sherri, Sherry, Cherry???). Who finally escalated the issue upwards so they could BEGIN to address the issue that was this afternoon. More than 24 hours after the problem began.

None of the Comcast staff provided a last name and only one person, Henry, gave me a number to reach him at. The only rep who expressed any remorse was Jerry who also advised that I should disconnect my cable connection.

I could regale you with stories about poor communication skills, ineffective training, questionable supervision, and a lack of a customer orientation, poor telephone etiquette, and inability to deliver a positive outcome, poor triage of complaints, but I feel you probably know all this.

The thing that keeps hitting me in the face is the lack of urgency or an understanding of the impact of this snafu on 100 individuals who are trying to go about their jobs and lives.

In short, nobody really cares. So I am stuck, the 100 individuals are stuck, and we are all waiting on your customer support desk.

Bob from Michigan
Great idea and thank you!

Yvonne From Pennsylvania
Comcast scheduled pickup of equipment on 9/31, the day I was moving. Stressed, it was imperative pickup was that day. Ended calling 3 times and waiting for 3 hours after movers left. Manager locked box up and gave it to Comcast when they finally showed up on 10/2. December, I received bill for $309 for unreturned equip. I called Comcast and the first guy said he had to transfer me because my bill was all messed up. I talked to a supervisor downtown and he was going to put a tracer on it. I never heard from them but got a 2nd notice from a collection agency. I called the rental agent for the apartments and she said the box was definitely picked up. I called Comcast back and talked to customer service. The person I talked to kept insisting I bring the box down or pay the money. I told her the box was picked up. She said where is your slip. I told her the man did not leave a slip with the manager, he took the box and left. She was very rude. I told her I was disabled and it was their fault for not keeping their appointment in the first place.

This has caused deterioration in my health. I am in pain most of the time from a neuro-muscular disease that is worsened by stress. I have seen on several consumer web sites that Comcast has pulled this on consumers who moved out of state or a distance. At least 2 or 3 others mentioned it. This makes me wonder how many people just pay it because it is too much of a nuisance to fight it when they are so far away.

Stephen from Michigan
I have had nothing but problems with Comcast. My most recent problem I am having is when a door-to-door sales person asked me if I wanted cable with high speed Internet. I informed him of all the problems I have had in the past with Comcast, including problems with contractors for Comcast. But I decided to give Comcast another try. When the door-to-door sales person came back to install my service, he informed me that Comcast computers showed my address as â€œcannot be servicedâ€. He then informed me that he had no idea why this was, as he could physically turn the service on, but was instructed the address cannot be serviced. I then placed several calls to the Comcast customer service number and they confirmed that there was service at my address before, but the address showed that the address was unserviceable. When I asked why, I was told the computer only showed Per Division, address not serviceable. No one has been able to tell me why the address is not serviceable.

I even inquired if the people before me left a prior balance or if possibly their computer showed I had a prior balance, the CSR informed my neither had any open balance.

All I keep getting told is I will get a call back. I must admit over the last two weeks I did get two calls back, the first was from Comcast saying that someone would call me back; and the second was from my City Manager asking if someone called me back.

I am aware of at least two lawsuits by customers in my county where Comcast was sued for poor service. As an attorney, I know Michigan state law provides for attorney fees for these types of claims. Maybe if Comcast keeps paying for legal cost to fight these types of law- suits, they will get the idea, it is much cheaper to simply provide better customer service. If anyone else were having problems like this in the State of Michigan, I would love to hear from them personally.

John from California
For two and a half years, the County has been negotiating for a new franchise agreement. Over $500,000 tax payers dollars has been spent on trying to make Comcast do the right thing.

Melvin from Maryland
I read about the study you funded in Detroit, regarding safety code violations. Here in Montgomery County Maryland, our inspectors - Columbia Telecommunications Corporation - conducts quarterly inspections of the plant, but not subscriber drops. This is a summary of the violations over the last two years.

2002 Q1: 4,367
2002 Q2: 2,670
2002 Q3: 1,577
2002 Q4: 3,453
2003 Q1: 2,858
2003 Q2: 2,500
2003 Q3: 2,320
2003 Q4: 1,991

Is there any chance you would do something similar here?

Jan from Delaware
I do have a comment to make. I used to work for the Comcast Cable Call Center in New Castle, DE. I was recently let go. I have diabetes and have for almost 12 years. They had a problem with me getting up from my desk and using unscheduled time.

Mary from California
Comcast won't let our community TV station on local cable in our own town!

Please tell us more about the cable company's public file obligations.

Would like to do a TV call in talk show with you folks ASAP.

Joe from Michigan
I am an employee of Comcast and wanted to send some comments on how the workers and customers are being treated. I also want to tell you about so-called rebuilds, which are only upgrades. I wish to keep my name private at this time. Is that possible?

Dan from Illinois
Interested in NEC violations, grounding issues and verifiable fires. I am a city electrical inspector and an IBEW member.

Bruce from Texas
I had to drop Comcast Internet Cable Service because the so-called technical help just does not know what they are doing. I could not get on the Internet and phoned for technical help, the end result of this help was that I had to go back to where I purchased my computer, the technician found that the settings on the Ethernet card were changed, costing me $40 for the mistake made by Comcast. I no longer have Comcast for Internet provider.

Ron from California
Our management firm represents homeowners associations who are serviced by Comcast. They have punched holes through our roofs, draped cables along sides of walls, etc., and no one will take responsibility for workmanship. It's nearly impossible to get a direct number to customer service. Can you point me in the right direction?

Jessica from Michigan
I am trying to dispute my bill, although after many calls I haven't gotten any answers and after being promised a call back by three different people I still haven't gotten any call backs. I will not pay this bill. This is the worst service I have ever received by any company, I am absolutely disgusted with this service and will make sure that ever person I come in contact with knows what kind of shoddy service this company runs.

In response to the "insist on a Comcast technician" article. My parents recently had a cable problem.. I looked at the problem and told them that it was a problem at the pole and they would need to call in for a service call. Having worked at the same cable company for 9 years previous to getting a job a Bell Atlantic/Verizon, I knew what the problem was. I even left a note for the technician when he came.

Well, three large men (contractors) came to their house to fix the problem. First of all they showed up about 2 hours late and they didnt fix the problem. It was obvious from what I was told the they really didnt know how to trouble shoot a problem. All three men were all over the house trying to figure things out. All they did was change a spitter and some fittings at the groundblock outside. The also adjusted the sharpness control on their TV all the way down in an attempt to "mask" the trouble.

They didnt even go to the tap on the pole (which is were I told them the problem was all along). Then when they tried to get them to sign the paperwork.. they checked that they were on time... which my parents crossed out and put "not on time"... to which they looked at each other and sighed and made a face... not only didnt they fix the problem, they tried to lie about being on time.

Once I came over to check to see if the problem was fixed... I showed my parents what they had done to "mask" the problem instead of trying to actually fix the problem. I had them call in for another service call.

The second time a tech came out he was actually a Comcast Technician and not a contractor. A single technician came out and was very polite and curtious. This technician knew what he was doing and fixed the problem... which was on the pole as I had originally told the first three contractors that came out to try to fix it.

My parents commented on how nice and pleasant the service call went and how refreshing it was that everything went so smoothly.