Ever considered moving just to switch cable companies? I have. Here's why.
Written: Oct 07 '06
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Pros: Better than no cable...when it works.
Cons: Horrible service, bad customer service, fraudulent billing practices.
The Bottom Line: If you can find any way to avoid Comcast, do it. Personally, I am about to switch to DirecTV.
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| basilisk4's Full Review: Comcast |
Like electricity, natural gas, and water, cable television is one of those things that I just expect to be there when I need it. I really don't much care about some of the additional features, like "on demand" programming and all the other little "extras" that cable providers have been advertising lately to try to keep their customers from switching to satellite TV. No, all I really want from my cable company is the ensure that when I turn on the TV, I get a clear picture. Oh, and I also expect them not to overcharge me or try to steal money from me by charging me for items and services I haven't used.
My fiancee and I have had Comcast's "services" for about two years now. Within the first week of moving into our last apartment, we had problems with Comcast's cable internet service. Specifically, the service was significantly slower during peak times. Now, let me take this opportunity to explain that I have been using high-speed internet service of some form or another since at least 1995. I am fully aware of why the connection would be slower during peak times: Comcast is skimping on equipment and bandwidth. At close to $50 per month, I expect to be able to use my internet when I want to, not to have to wait until the middle of the night or skip work so I can use it when no one else is home.
Through no help from Comcast, these problems cleared up somewhat but remained intermittent. Then, the next summer, the real trouble began: at peak times, the internet did not work at all. It was SO slow that it sometimes took FIVE MINUTES to load a single webpage (longer if the page had any kind of Java or large pictures). After about two months like this and literally no fewer than 30 calls to Comcast, I finally gave up and switched to DSL.
In February of this year, my fiancee and I bought a new home. Thinking that our problems with the cable internet might have been related to the area, and not wanting to pay for a home phone line that we barely used, we decided to give Comcast another try. From the very beginning, the speed of the cable internet was awful in the new house. After about two months and dozens of calls, the problems subsided, and, actually, the internet has been fairly reliable for the last three or four months -- keep your fingers crossed. Since the beginning of July, however, now we have had intermittent problems with the picture of the cable TV freezing and pixellating. Sometimes it has been so bad that we couldn't watch TV at all. Comcast has been out at least three times to fix that particular problem, yet it persists.
Unfortunately, though, I haven't even gotten to the worst part about my experiences with Comcast over the past two years. In June 2005, having realized that we were paying for a second digital cable box that we never used, I called Comcast to come pick it up. They sent out a technician who, after showing up five hours late, picked up the box. At the time, I was so annoyed at his lateness that I didn't think to get a receipt. A couple of months later, in reviewing our bill, I noticed that we were still being charged for "Digital A/O," which I knew from prior experience was an additional digital outlet (i.e., the box we had returned)
To make a very long story short, after dozens of hours on the phone with various Comcast representatives and even a visit to a "Comcast store" at the insistence of one of their customer service reps, I still receive bills for the box that I returned now well over a year ago, and I'm still being billed for the "additional outlet" every month.
I wonder if Comcast has done this to other people. If so, I hope that someone gets together a class action lawsuit against Comcast and forces them to stop their dishonest and fraudulent behavior.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 50
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Epinions.com ID:
basilisk4
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Location: Atlanta, GA
Reviews written: 233
Trusted by: 214 members
About Me:
Soon-to-be married 26-year-old lawyer who likes electronics, computers, and cars.
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