The Comcast Saga

I am not alone. And that feels good.

5 1/2 months ago I moved into a new place. Switching the utilities over to the new address was not an altogether pleasant experience, but not too much of a hassle. Well, everything but cable. Comcast took customer disservice to a whole new level.

When I called to transfer service to the new address, I had already moved into the new place. "John" answered my call, and proceeded to sell me on the benefits of the $99/month "Triple Play". Cable. Phone. Internet. All for $99/month. Considering I was already paying $130/month for cable & Internet, it sounded like a good idea at the time.

Then "John" proceeded to sell me the HBO/Starz for an additional $10/month. OK. So for $109/month I get cable & movies. Still a deal.

The day for installation came. I took a Thursday afternoon off work to be home between the hours of 12 & 4 pm so I could have my cable hooked up. 12:30 came. 1:30 came. 2:30 came. 4 pm came. Comcast did not.

I called Comcast the next day to see what happened. It seems "John" never scheduled my installation. And the address was wrong. Comcast apologized and scheduled installation for the next day (Saturday).

Saturday arrived and so did Comcast. Amazingly "John" had failed to mention that I already had HD cable, so I was able to keep my cable box, but the impact of this omission would become evident later.

Weeks later I received my first bill. The address was still wrong, but the note online claimed this was normal, and that within a few weeks this would be corrected. I paid my bill and didn't think anything of it.

The next week I received another bill, this time for my new address. I ignored this bill, since I had already paid. Later another bill arrived, still claiming I had not paid. At this point I called Comcast to check on the situation. I was assured everything was fine.

I received another bill, again for the old address. I paid it, assuming Comcast had a handle on the situation. At this point I started getting bills from Comcast for the installation and stating I was 2 months overdue and I now owed more than $300.

I called Comcast again to find out what was going on. It seems their computer system couldn't accept payments for the SAME account from DIFFERENT addresses. Or at least, not apply them to the same bill. Eventually Comcast figured it out, my account was credited the proper amount and all was forgotten.

At least I'm not the only one.
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/01/comcast-please.html

Save! Save! Save! DANCE!

Best. Commercial. Ever.



Ever.

Word of the Week

The Glitter End: (thə glĭt'ər ěnd)
n.
1. The spectacular train wreck of celebrity that feeds the tabloids.
2. Brilliant and tragic flame out into psychosis or untimely overdose caused by a combination of celebrity, drugs, and showy, often superficial attractiveness.

See also: Britney Spears, Heath Ledger, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Anna Nicole Smith, etc.