Comcast Internet Customer Service Jail
I just switched to DSL from Cable Internet which I have had for years. SBC-Yahoo DSL Pro @ $21.99 a month is just a better deal then the $41.99 I was paying with Comcast Cable Internet. In order to cancel the Comcast Internet you can’t go online…no, that would be too easy! So I had to call Comcast to sever our relationship. So I call 1-800-COMCAST I dial the appropriate numbers in the computer system to get to the Cable Internet Cancellation Department and…and…guess what happened? A commercial! Comcast made me listen to a Pay-Per View Commercial that lasted 30 seconds. Don’t believe me, try calling the number and getting to the internet customer service department.
To add insult to injury after I waited through the inane advertisement they tell me that the department is closed on the weekend and I need to call back during the week. I did. When I went through the entire process a second time and finally was able to talk to a human I was extremely happy to say the words “I would like to cancel my internet service”. It’s soo nice to get bad customer service and be able to take action upon it. After I told the Comcast representative why I wanted to cancel, she asked me why I hadn’t called and asked for the same rate from Comcast. HAH! I just laughed….I told her that Comcast should have just offered me the deal in the first place…without the forced advertisement!
Too bad I did not see this list before I called? (Link via Newmarks Door)
Update: More Comcast horror stories here, here, and here.
Update II: Thanks for the link Prof. DeLong.
on December 6th, 2005 at 5:59 pm
you might be able to get dsl even cheaper from ameritech sbc if you bundle the dsl with local and long distance service
on July 11th, 2006 at 12:31 am
I would just like to point out that you people really should read up about the differences between DSL and Cable .. THEY ARE 2 DIFFERENT KINDS OF INTERNET! DSL is slow compared to cable and that is why you PAY MORE! Do you think faster speeds are cheap? Come on??? Get bend folks .. you pay more for faster internet .. it costs money to keep those servers at those speeds.
on July 11th, 2006 at 7:38 am
3 Mbps vs. 4 Mbps is not a substantial difference for the average internet consumer, myself included. Why would you ASSUME I don’t understand that there is a difference?
I am not interested in the marginal cost of Mbps…I want usability at the lowest cost possible…My current strategy to achieve this goal is to switch from DSL to Cable and then back every six months at prices ranging from 14.99 to 19.99. I don’t pay more then $20 a month for high speed internet.
on July 12th, 2006 at 6:59 am
The problem with Comcast is reliability. When they go down, they stay down for DAYS and DAYS. My service has been down since July 3rd and it is now July 12th. Hello? They say my modem is connected and working fine. Right. I’m starting up a new business which requires reliable online access, not the fastest speed, but reliable and faster than dial-up. Hello BellSouth Ultra DSL, goodbye Comcast.
on September 14th, 2006 at 7:24 am
Comcast repair response is awful. I have been down for over 2 weeks. I have had 3 techs come out. They get me on and within a day I’m off again. They all admit I need a new cable to the house but it is impossible to get THAT department to respond to the request. There is no preference given to a repeat problem. Totally unreliable. I am writing this on verizon DSL which I got up and running sooner than comact has repaired my cable. Speed is nice but not if it doesn’t work. I’m dumping Comcast.
on June 6th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Exactly, you’re paying more for faster internet that rarely works at the speed and consistancy you’re paying more for…time to cancel
on October 10th, 2007 at 9:52 am
I have Comcast and have never had a problem. I compared against DSL and there just is no comparison, cable is better. I gladly pay extra for the faster speeds and reliable service. I’ve been in IT for over 10 years and 9 times out of 10 the problem lies between the seat and the keyboard.
on November 26th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
I have also been in the IT field for over 8 years, I have worked in installation, implementation, and support. I did this in the military and as a civilian. I can honestly say that I had the exact same problem as every other costomre here. Intermittent interent connections, slow response to any issue, and no effective corrective action being taken. If you call about about internet issues there expert advise is to unplug my moden and plug it back in to recycle it, Very technical stuff, and if you call about the same issue they never elevate the severity of the issue the keep the responding with the same level of support, sending a tech ( who’s sole ability to correct the issue is replacing the modem, reterminating the connection, using a meter to determine signal strength) or unplugging your modem. They give you incredible amounts of grief if you asked to be credited for times you don’t have service, they even went so far as to tell me they are not in the business of giving away free service, as if I were trying to con them into givng me a credit so I would not have to pay my bill, insulting!!! I don’t know about you but when I, as a consumer, don’t receive the product or service I am suppose to receive I should not have to pay for it, and any sensible company that knows their product, industry and customers should acknowledge this. DSL is the superior product, in terms of reliability, cost, and relative speed per dollar spent.
on December 11th, 2007 at 9:38 am
I work for Comcast. Roger McCook Please understand, that if you work from home….YOU NEED A BUSINESS ACCOUNT! It is against our Terms of Service agreement to run a business with a residential account.
Also, yes, our technical support department will give you info on how to get your modem back up and running. If that doesn’t work, we send a tech. It is up to the tech to figure out the issue from there.
9 times out of 10 the problem lies between the seat and the keyboard.
That is the truest statement ever. We deal with the dumbest customers in the world. Sometimes I wonder how these people manage their lives if they can’t open a web browser.
Another thing, everyone wants credit, credit, credit! Well, let me ask you, does the Electric company give you credit on a bill becasue your power was knocked out? NO!
LIVE WITH IT!
on January 2nd, 2008 at 7:51 am
wow anonymous… i guess we should just live with horrible customer service from what you’re saying… straight from someone that works there.
on January 11th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
To the Anonymous Comcast rep,
“does the Electric company give you credit on a bill becasue your power was knocked out? NO!”
Man, you have got to be the biggest friggin dumbass this end of the Milky Way. When your electricity is (very rarely) out, you dont need a service credit for the simple reason that YOU’RE NOT PAYING FOR CONSUMPTION WHEN THE SERVICE IS DOWN, moron.
Comcast charges a flat free irrespective of consumption, so a service credit can be reasonably expected when there is a service outage.
And another thing - MRTG is the world standard when it comes to measuring bandwidth. I know this because I’m work for a datacenter. Ive installed MRTG on my machine, and your so-called 6 mbps connection falls to less than 1 mbps the moment you try and reach a server or website hosted OUTSIDE the US.
But, I’m sure youve got another one of your flippant, uninformed answers to this as well.
on April 4th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Man …. Comcast has the worste Customer Service known to man. Too bad they have a monopoly in my area. If you are debating whether or not to use Comcast …… JUST DON’T.
on May 27th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
comcast makes me want to cry.
and it has succeeded in that, on multiple occasions.
on May 30th, 2008 at 6:54 am
Folks, the Comcast Employee above displays exactly what’s wrong, that screw them attitude from Comcast. I had a billing issue and made 21 phone call sent 5 emails and faxed copies of checks 9 times and all I got is smart-ass remarks hours of hold time and pissed off. I went into their local office placed my cable box and modem on the counter and wait for the 300pound black girl to get through talking on the phone about going to lunch. I left feeling like a fool for giving these people such much money. I advise anyone to avoid these people…
on June 11th, 2008 at 10:39 am
If you have a brain in your head - You will NOT use Comcast.
They have the worst customer service of all time and it doesnt look like they are about to change it - no matter how many complaints they get.
It doesnt make any sense to pay more money for a “faster” conection which is usually down anyway.
Why not go DSL(A little slower, but allways working, and I would rather deal with there customer service anytime!!!
It wont be too long before Comcast goes out of business anyway based on the number of people they piss off and there sadass reputation.
—SDC
FORMER comcast customer
They should shit or get off the pot.
on July 12th, 2008 at 5:53 am
Ok so ive just been doing some research, within the next week i will be moving to a location which is solely served by Qwest and Comcast. I have really Thought about this alot, DsL is only available at 1.5mb/896k and Cable well you know ALOT greater than that. I game online every single day and also use several wireless devices at the same time, 1.5mb will not do the trick. Although the broadband im looking at with comcast is twice as much i dont mind it as long as i dont have any of these complications that many people have expirienced i just need a little feedback on what people recommend… also in regards to wiring issues, there will be new coax lines being ran from the terminal to the home and a new jack installed, dedicated to the broadband, so do you people think i will have any problems???
Oh one last thing, NO friggin way am i going with their cable!!
Just standalone BroadBand…
on August 4th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Tsk, tsk the comcst employee that was foolish enough to say the electric company does not give credit if your powers goes is a fool.
Of course they do! Electricty is a measured service, you pay for what you use. Cable and internet are not measured services. If you pay $45.95 for 30 days (24/7) internet service and it is out, you should received credit.
on August 12th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I’m tired of calling them now I am seeing how many websites I can post the speeds I am getting from them. My download speed with comcast drops every night around 9pm. see foryourself.
:::.. Download Stats ..:::
Download Connection is:: 1699 Kbps about 1.7 Mbps (tested with 1536 kB)
Download Speed is:: 207 kB/s
Tested From:: http://testmy.net/ (Main)
Test Time:: 2008/08/12 - 7:40pm
Bottom Line:: 30X faster than 56K 1MB Download in 4.95 sec
Tested from a 1536 kB file and took 7.406 seconds to complete
Download Diagnosis:: May need help : running at only 27.28 % of your hosts average (comcast.net)
D-Validation Link:: http://testmy.net/stats/id-1B0YGP47N
User Agent:: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727) [!]
on October 2nd, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Hate Comcast like poison. Had service go down due to power outtage THREE weeks ago. The power came back after 36 hours, but not the internet. Comcast told me it would be up in a few days due to a general outtage in the area. After a week with no service, I was told the general outtage was fixed and it was just a couple of us that were still down. They scheduled a techician to come out two weeks later (very busy due to storm). Okay. Day of the appointment I called just to make sure they were coming out (it was 2pm at this point) and was told Comcast cancelled the appointment due to a general outtage in the area that had occured the day before, but was now fixed. Since. I wss told that the problem had nothing to do with a general problem, why the #*?! had they taken it upon themselves to cancel the appointment. Got the less than helpful answer that “I can only tell you what I see on my screen”. Next appointment …10 days. So I cancelled Comcast. Their super fast service is a joke, anyway. All the commercials in the world won’t make up for a poor product and worse customer service. We now have AT and T and it runs just as fast. Explain that one, Comcast.
on January 18th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Nice to see I’m not the only one…I spent th entire day Friday talking to 13 people at Comcast to get them to fix THEIR mistake…see my blog about it:: http://wizbut.blogspot.com/2009/01/cable-tv.html
on February 5th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
comcast blows and that guy who works there is a prime example of how the people that work there don’t know what they’re talking about. what an idiot. i have had horrible service over the past year and they have sent about 7 techs out to my house and they have all done the same thing and nothing ever works. and of course they charge you to come out and do nothing. great. so as of tomorrow i am switching to verizon FIOS… OoOo
on June 3rd, 2009 at 11:32 am
What do you do when the only cable company you can get is comcast??? I hate their customer service but I have no choice! My landlord won’t let me get dish and fios is not available in my area yet (I heard it could take up to 7 years!!!!) This blows!!!
on August 8th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Yes I just learned how horrible Comcast is. I signed up for their 6 month promo internet package that was $19.99 and then went up to $41 after 6 months. They started charging me the full amount after 3 months, so I called them to tell them what I signed up for. At first I went back and forth with some a**hole who kept saying my name after every sentence (like this is supposed to make it more personal or make me feel better?), he wouldn’t change it but after a lot of nagging he finally gave in. Then I said I didn’t want to pay the full bill where I was charged too much mistakenly, and he said “you can pay whatever amount you want, but you’ll get a past due on your account.” WTF? So I finally got him to say they’ll take the extra $20 off my next bill…we’ll see if that ends up happening. I hate Comcast!!
on December 31st, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I would have to agree with most of you because I have comcast 16mbs plan that is supose to be $30 and they are charging me $80,I have Talked to a rep several times with their IM thing and they all admit that Comcast is at fault however they have yet to change my bill.About a weeks ago when I went in to the local Comcast Billing center I brought all of the chats that I have had with the rep’s on my Flash Drive,I payed my full bill and asked the 200+ pound bitch behind the desk to lower bill after I informed her about the Problem and my chat logs witch all have unique service id numbers and she told me that she could not plug in my flashdrive to look at the log and must come in with a printed copy so i walked over to a near by kinkos and copy the papers when I returned She told me she couldn’t credit my account for what they over charged me,because those papers could just be fake but she would help meout anyway,She told me that my new bill would be the correct $30 however i checked a few minutes ago and it is still $80 a month.
I HATE YOU COMCAST
P.S.
However I have had a %100 reliable connection.
on February 24th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
Wow, we must be the exception. Our cable box was going out, so I called Comcast at 1:30 today. The Customer Service person was exceptionally friendly and helpful, and said she would have a tech out between 2:00 and 6:00. Ten minutes later, the phone rang. It was the Comcast tech saying he just finished a job near our home, and was it all right if he came over early to give us a new cable box. He was there immediately, was friendly, helpful and competent. Half an hour later, he was gone and our new box works perfectly. From the Customer Service rep to the tech, we could not have had better service.
on February 25th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Hi,
My name is Julia and I am a High Speed Internet and Digital Voice Technician for Comcast. I would just like to say on a personal note from Comcast that for those of you who have had the unfortunate fate of having intermittent issues, I greatly apologize for the inconvenience. I know you guys are probably used to hearing that, but believe it or not, there are representatives who do care about the customers. I may be only the Technician Representative you talk to through the phone, but I believe that Customer Serice is very important within every conversation I have with a customer. You guys may take my words as dirt, but I assure you that we really do try our hardest to get your issue resolved through the phone. And about you guys being upset about having to repeat the same processes everytime you call in…We repeat the process because we need to ensure that what steps were taken the first and second time you’ve called in. I am only a Customer Service Representative that you call when you first call in to speak with tech support for HSI or CDV, and I may not be able to speak for most agents you speak with, but i do know for a fact that there are a great number of agents who care about their jobs and those of which they talk to everyday. We provide free technical support through the phone 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Certain jobs and situations can and will be resolved through the phone, but unfortunately in some cases a technician out to one’s house is needed. And I do understand that in some cases there is an ongoing intermittent issue with your services. One should just look at those incidences as a sign to switch providers. I would like to personally see people happy, no matter which provider they may choose. Thank you guys for your time,
Julia, CSR and Phone Technician
on March 28th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Yeah, I had ATT DSL before and switched to Comcast Cable. There isn’t much difference in speed especially when you use a wireless router. Comcast constantly goes down in my area and I have to reset my modem at least once a week. When I had ATT DSL I never had to reset anything. While Comcast may be a faster connection it’s reliability is not as good as DSL. Also there is the fact that Comcast won’t let you know what your bandwith speed is and if you go over it, they can sever your connection without notifying you about it. I’m not for bashing either company I’m just stating fact. I think we all would just like a good company that gives good reliable service. I even ordered the HD package from Comcast when I first got the service. The installer brought all the wrong equipment and set everything up. I had no idea. He said it would usually take about a day for a good signal to connect through. So I waited for 3 days and still no signal for TV, Internet or phone. So I called back to Comcast and another tech had to come out. When he showed up he said that the first installer gave me all the wrong equipment, wrong modem and a normal cable box not an HD cable box. That is why nothing worked. I’ll probably end up changing back to DSL just cause I’m tired of resetting everything and the fact that contacting Comcast is like pulling your own teeth out. Its true you pay for what you get. When your paying $100 a month or more. You shouldn’t have problem with anything, and if you do the issue should be resolved right away.
on April 20th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
You know what, yes, Comcast sucks big time in many of the cases.
It is an expensive service that is not worthy in most of the situations and services will fail many times… and yes, you will have a hell of a time trying to get that fixed, probably.
And I can say this because I work in a call center attending their calls(not even in the US, after all they also want to save money by hiring cheaper working services in another country) and nop, I wont speak nicely about them just like other rep commenting.
And you know what, we go through the same hell than you do as a customer…the only difference is that we live it almost everyday but we do not have any other option if we want to have a work.
And all of it because we want to better ourselves. At the moment I’m studying the university and this is almost the only work I can get now… and you will see most of the people working in this call center thorugh the same situation, after all this is only a temporary job.
Sure, not all of us try to do a nice job with the customer, I won’t deny that fact… I just would like you to rememeber the next time you call that one of us answers trying to be nice and work fine before you vent all of you anger in us… after all we’re just the wall between you and the sucky company that doesnt want to talk to you.