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comcast and alternatives
we currently have comcast. i used to say that i had no problem with them, until recently.
in the past 30 days, we've had service outages with no explanation. then comcast accidentally turned off one of our boxes and couldn't turn it back on without a service call they wanted us to pay for (uh, no). we've had to make two trips to the comcast store front for new boxes because the ones they gave didn't work with our tv (and one didn't have a time read out...why even make a box like that?). plus, we've had to make several calls for reboots and our OnDemand frequently doesn't work.
finally yesterday, our bill was deducted from our bank account in excess of $340 more than it should have been. i can't get anyone to explain to me why this happened, or refund it (i ultimately filed a claim with the bank and had it reversed, but who has time for this?). i spent 4 hours waiting for a supervisor to come to the phone yesterday in 5 separate phone calls.
so today i'm going to make the cancellation call. i don't really want to leave comcast because we can't get fios in our neighborhood and i don't like the alternatives (dish and direct tv). however, comcast doesn't need to know that! i need to know all about my options before i call so that i have leverage.
what do you use for phone/internet/tv and if you are comfortable sharing, how much do you pay for each? also, are your services bundled?
thanks! and feel free to post your comcast horror stories here, too; it will make me feel better!
Re: comcast and alternatives
We use Comcast and have always had crap service. I know that part of the reason is that we live in Old Town, so the infrastructure is part of the problem, but we have outages and issues all the time.
Our worst issue was when we bought a modem instead of renting one from them and I spent 6 hours trying to find someone to connect it correctly- thankfully the last guy I got did it, and it has worked ever since.
We pay about $110 after taxes for HD cable, a dvr and internet.
ETA: H had Fios when he lived in Crystal City and it was a hundred million times better than Comcast. If we were able to be wired for it we'd switch in a heartbeat. It is a much better alternative, although from your post it sounds like you can't get it either.
It may be worth looking into U-verse (ATT's version of Fios). My parents have it and are happy with their service.
Stand up for something you believe in.
We have Comcast and are stuck as well. We've had crappy service severral times. The most recent was when they were deducting the autopay from my bank account late for three months in a row, and charging me a late fee! It's your flippin service, not my fault you are pulling the money out late! They gave us free HBO for that one...
We were planning to switch to FIos when we moved, but alas it is not available! I wouldn't count on them not knowing you have no other alternative though. They know exactly where Fios is and isn't available...bastards...
Can you get RCN? I think thats the only other alternative since you don't want a dish and can't get fios. Unless you just get hulu or something through your computer?
We haven't had much trouble with comcast. Every 6 months I call them and they lower my bill without a hassle and it only takes about 10 minutes.
My one complaint was that when we moved in, our house wasn't cable ready (for reals?! it's the 21st century!)... and instead of plumbing the house for cable with cable outlets, they just ran a cord from one side of the house to the other and drilled through the window to run it to our tv. I was so pissed, but they credited our account a bunch, and after fighting with them to get someone out to do it properly, I just washed my hands of the situation. We rent, so it's probably best we didn't get cable outlets installed, but it really ticked my off for a little bit.
We make the rockin' world go 'round.
i haven't heard of RCN or AT&T's service. will look into both.
i meant that comcast didn't need to know that i don't want either the dish or direct tv.
for those of you who don't get fios in your neighborhood, do you still get bombarded with junk mail from verizon about how wonderful fios is? hella irritating when they don't even offer it here!
thanks for all the recs!
ETA: bummer, no RCN or U-verse (at&t's service) in my area.
WnW - no cox in alexandria either!
definitely sounds like satellite is the only option.
calling comcast after lunch. sigh.
We have three choices in my area - Verizon (Fios), Comcast, and RCN. Maybe others, too.
Urgh I hate Cox. I pay that much for the "cheap" value internet package and expanded basic cable. No digital boxes, no dvr, nothing. I think I'm getting hosed.
I feel the same way - we're in Old Town too, and stuck with Comcast!
We've been through 3 cable boxes in the last 3 months, and with in/out On Demand service for the last month. We pay $120 a month too - we're supposedly getting a $20 credit for the On Demand issues next month....we'll see.
I do like the customer service "chat" option (grasping at straws for a positive!).
True in some places but not everywhere. MoCo might be more open to competition or easier for cable companies to work with than Alexandria.
so i called comcast and asked to have my service cancelled. the customer rep was incredibly rude and never asked why i wanted to cancel. seriously??? you don't want to know if i'm moving or unhappy, or got a better deal?
so after cancelling, effective tonight, i called back and spoke to someone else and told them how disappointed i was that no one has called me back about yesterday's billing snafu, and how clearly comcast didn't want my business since they didn't even bother to try to keep me.
well that got me a supervisor. she was very helpful, could clearly see what the problems were with the billing (inept technical support adding things to our service in order to troubleshoot problems with service outages on certain channels - instead of crediting, we were debited). we were also charged for the service call that was supposed to be free and an overnighted box, which was also supposed to be free.
hopefully she will be able to straighten everything out and keep my business. i really don't want to deal with satellite options either.
We're in a similar constant price war with Comcast as whomever calls every 6 months from the above post. We'll pay like, $140-160 one month a year after the adjustment then yell at them and they'll readjust down, but it is never easy or pleasant for us.
Stand up for something you believe in.
Well crap Lindsey- you can't get Fios? Move out here with me- we can watch Fios together!