Comcast

Description of Work: Most people who have Comcast/Xfinity could probably write a book, ha. Problems started the day a salesman came to my door. I had just recently moved in and had been wanting cable so, when he came, I subscribed. He told me all additional TV outlets were free. Then when I signed up for four total outlets, he suddenly remembered that not all of them were going to be free when I started to sign the contract. He said three would be free and I would be charged monthly for the other. So, I went ahead and had the additional cost put on the erroneous figure he originally quoted. The salesman put in the contract that they would put a new "drop" in from the utility pole outside, to my house. The installer who came to my house to wire in the cable, said he "wasn't about to go up on the pole" to put in the drop because it was starting to get dark. No technician ever came back to install a new drop line. Things were fine for several months, then billing problems arose when I added phone and internet service to the cable. It took several months (literally) to resolve the issue. Comcast tries to make up for problems by giving you a higher package, initially for free, but then when the free term runs out your bill skyrockets as you get charged for the going rate for this packet. Trying to get them to downgrade is near impossible. They tell their employees never to allow a customer to downgrade to a lower package. Suddenly, my bill goes up as the 3 "free" outlets were no longer "free". No previous warning, they just started charging me. So I let this go and just started paying for them. Then all of a sudden they started charging me extra for the modem. This increased twice. So I bought my own modem (which the FCC allows.) I returned theirs to the Comcast store. It took a great effort to get the new modem up and running and I kept having to talk to people in India. Finally, that got resolved. Then a few months later, they started charging me for my own modem. So I went to the Comcast store, and they took this off my bill. About a year or so later, they starting charging me for my own personal modem again. Once again I went to the Comcast store and this time they would not take it off my bill. I told them they were charging me for my own personal property. They said I must show a receipt to prove I had bought the modem, this time. So I drove back home, got my receipt from the modem and took it in. she faxed it to the Comcast Office. They still didn't take it off my bill the following month. So I after several phone calls and another two visits to the Comcast store, and some rude treatment, they finally stopped charging me for my own property. But then a couple months later, my bill jumped up again, with added charges like a "sports broadcast fee" and an increase in the overall monthly rate. Performance- wise, my internet speed kept dropping. So they came out and put in a line amplifier. This helped for a while, but speeds were never what were advertised. Finally, speeds were getting near a crawl. After two years, they put in a new drop, that was supposed to have been put in when the cable was first installed. From a performance standpoint, now things are functioning well. But my biggest complaint, is the price that originally quoted to you, does not include many other charges, such as FCC fine, line charges, sports broadcast fee, taxes, etc. So in my opinion, the advertised fee is an out and outright lie. And the difference is not a small amount. Plus, their rates for the basic service continue to rise. I finally cut off service for all outlets except one and, as mentioned, bought my own modem. Yet, I am still paying over $200 a month for cable, tv, and internet and the end is not in sight. I am sure they will continue to hike rates and add on for specific services. So would I recommend Comcast? No. Never. Not if you have an alternative. The only alternative for TV I have in my location is ATT or satellite. I hear ATT is even worse than Comcast and I don't like satellite dishes on my house. So I am stuck until something better comes along. When I lived in Ohio, I had Time/Warner Cable and they were friendly, responsive and really seemed to appreciate my business, and I never had any problems with them. When I went to the Time Warner Store, I felt welcomed. When I go to the Comcast Store, I get the impression that waiting on me is a bother. I didn't encounter the arrogance and rudeness that I did here in Tennessee at the Comcast Store and with the online service. Yes, some of the employees here at the Comcast store have been pleasant and worked to resolve issue, but several of them made it feel like they are doing me a favor to even talk to me and were argumentative, even though I never raised my voice or treated anyone rudely. I always try to treat people as I would like to be treated myself. In all fairness, however, the technicians who have come to my house for service, except for the one who refused to put in a new drop, have all been nice, punctual and a pleasure to work with. When I have called for technical service, on their 1-800 number, they online service reps have also been very friendly and helpful for the most part. But overall, if yo have an alternative to Comcast, I would go that route. If not, watch Comcast like a hawk and question every increase in billing. Don't take free upgrades to pacify you as you will shortly get an enormous price increase after the "free" period runs out.

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