Consumerist: Comcast

Happy Comcast Employees Make Customers Happier

Marc Perton — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:07:12 EST

Want to know the secret to Comcast's success? No, it's not high rates, poor service or random porn broadcasts. It's much more basic: The company's employees just love working there, and want to share their love with customers. Yay!

According to The Boston Globe, Comcast has:

...a corporate philosophy that aims to have even its subscribers love the cable giant as much as workers do. The underlying principle is simple: Happy employees make happy customers. "Everything is delivered through our employees," said Stephen L. Hackley, senior vice president for the Greater Boston region. "If employees are satisfied and happy, it comes through on the phones, it comes through in the field. They are the difference makers."

Some of those cheerful "difference makers" gushed to the Globe about their great jobs — and about how great it is to be serving those happy customers. "I have more freedom and more responsibility, and as long as I don't make any mistakes, no one is on my back," said James Mendes, a field technician. "I'm allowed to fix all the problems and make the customer happy. I've never been happier."

The Globe recently named Comcast, which has 4,000 employees in Massachusetts, the top place to work in the state. The cable giant beat out employers like Harmonix Music, which makes a little game called Rock Band, and Google, which gives all employees FREE FOOD — because of little things like a 401k match, flexible shifts, and policies that encourage them to become "discerning consumer advocates." We assume the free porn and comfy customer couches are just icing on the happy, happy cake.

A cable company that listens [The Boston Globe]

(Photo: Eli Hodapp)

(Thanks, Jimmy!)

Reach Comcast Corporate Escalations

Ben Popken — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:32:54 EDT

Frank Eliason is a great pointman for escalating Comcast customer service issues, but what if he dies, gets promoted, a new job, or decides we're all just too annoying? Then you might want to have some backup executive customer service info:

Jim Weeder
Corporate Escalations
National Customer Service Deployment Center
720-268-8800 ext. 53233
1-800-718-7419 ext. 53233
M-F 6AM to 2:30PM MTN

(Photo: flaimo)

Streaming Cable Content: For Comcast Subscribers Only

Laura Northrup — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:04:32 EDT

Yesterday's news that Hulu soon plans to start charging for its service actually came fresh on the heels of Comcast's announcement that it's about to officially launch online streaming video for subscribers to both their cable TV and Internet services.

Viewers can access the cable shows and movies through Comcast-owned Comcast.net and Fancast.com and eventually on the Web site of cable networks such as AMC, which is owned by Cablevision Systems Corp. After users log in, the cable system will perform such checks as whether a Comcast cable modem is being used.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts showed off the new service at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco on Tuesday, likening it to "video on demand on steroids."

Comcast has no plans to offer an online-only subscription for cable channels, a move that could cannibalize its own cable TV offerings. However, it will expand ways in which viewers can rent and buy shows and movies through an integrated store on Fancast.com.

It's been mentioned that the shows included in this program will include HBO content—but it's unclear whether this will be available only to cable subscribers who already pay for HBO.

Comcast to debut cable shows online by year's end [AP]

(Photo: Scurzuzu)

Woman Struggles Through Comcast's Outsourced Rebate Maze

Phil Villarreal — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:11:35 EDT

Coaxed by the promise of rebates, Rhea took the Comcast high-speed internet plunge, but found it difficult to get her money, since Comcast had outsourced its rebates to a company called OfferWire.

She blogged about her difficulties in getting the rebate, having to go through a convoluted process, and sent us the link asking for help. She writes:

I ordered high-speed Internet service after putting it off for years (we were able to pick up a neighbor's signal). And as I had always feared, the process has been one enormous hassle after another. First I was told by Comcast that I could install my own service using their handy Self-Installation kit. I spent a few hours with wires, disks, a modem and a router, and no dice. Then I made an appointment to have the Comcast worker come in, and guess what. He told me I could never have installed it myself. There were multiple problems and old wiring and it took him - a very experienced technician - two hours to get the signal!

Then I went online to try to apply for the rebates the original operator promised me. Have you ever done this? It's through a company called OfferWire, which seems like a complete scam. There is no clear way to find the forms you need to fill out for the rebates. They make you register on the site and at every step along the way you are offered all manner of crap that they would like to see you spend your rebate money on. No, I want my cash. Then when I finally did reach the page where I select my rebates, the list of rules and regulations is staggering. This is a complete joke. I am pissed off. Frankly, Comcast accomplished what it had hoped for: I don't have the time or patience to collect the forms and information they demand in order for me to get my rebates, worth about $140. WHO ELSE HERE HAS TRIED TO CLAIM THEIR COMCAST REBATES AND HAS GONE THROUGH THIS?

Does anyone have tips on how to navigate OfferWire to get their Comcast cash?

A Comcast Rant!!! [The Boomer Chronicles]
(Photo: mojojornjorn)

Comcast Sends Out Phone Sex Number, Apologizes

Phil Villarreal — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:20:32 EDT

The Harrisburg, Pa. Patriot-News reports Comcast sent out a service upgrades flier with a number for a phone sex line.

The story says:

The company by mistake listed an 800-number prefix on a flier that was mailed to certain customers regarding service upgrades to HBO and Cinemax. The flier was supposed to have an 866-number prefix. The mistake was from a printing error, Comcast said.

At least Comcast handed out a customer service number that left its customers fulfilled for once.

Previously: Porn Interrupts Comcast Super Bowl Broadcast

Comcast apologizes for error that led to callers being connected to phone sex line [Patriot-News]
(Photo: chrismaverick)
(Thanks, John!)

Comcast To Warn You If Your Zombie Computer Is Secretly Spamming People

Meg Marco — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:57:29 EDT

Where does spam come from? Well, there are these things called botnets. They're networks of hijacked computers that secretly do the bidding of their masters. Often, they send out spam. Comcast plans to offer an automated service that will inform you, within your browser, if your computer is behaving as if it has been compromised by malware.

How shall this be determined? PCMag says:

To gather information about infected computers, Comcast receives data from Internet research groups like Spamhaus that specialize in identifying bots – data that includes lists of infected IP addresses. Comcast keeps an eye out for malicious bot behavior like spam, denial-of-service attacks, and repeated connection requests. All of that data is then aggregated to see if a customer's computer has been infected.

Comcast said it is the first ISP to provide this type of in-browser notification.

Comcast says:

A bot is a type of virus that allows an attacker to force your computer to perform actions, usually without your knowledge. Once a bot is in control of your computer, it can be used to send spam, host phishing sites or infect other computers. Online thieves use bots to collect personal data such as Social Security numbers, bank account information and credit card numbers. When this personal data is collected without your permission, it's often used to steal your identity, withdraw money from your bank account(s), and make fraudulent purchases on your credit card(s).

What do you think of this?

[Comcast Constant Guard]
Comcast Unveils Comprehensive "Constant Guard" Internet Security Program [Comcast]
Comcast to Warn PC Users If They're Infected [PC Mag]

Comcast Tells Customer On Demand Doesn't Work For Many Chicagoans At Night

Phil Villarreal — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:55:14 EDT

Mike writes us to say Comcast's On Demand service in Chicago is suffering from dropsies reminiscent of Bears receivers. He says a CSR admitted as much when he called to complain. He writes:

I had an open admission from Comcast tonight on the phone about 28 hours of downtime per month for the entire city of Chicago for their widely advertised "On Demand" service. Here are the details.

Over the past 6 months or more, I've noticed my "On Demand" highly-advertised feature of Comcast Digital Cable has basically gone offline between 2 or 3am and about 7am more than once a week. The past month has been especially bad when trying to rent films on "On Demand" and halfway through, several films cut out completely and a screen came up saying "Unable to Process Request. Call 1-800-594-1234."

As I've done at least half a dozen times, I called Comcast. The number provided says they're only available starting at 5am. So I called 1-800-Comcast and was put on a hold line that said the wait would be 15 minutes. I waited 20 and finally got ahold of someone. After a 38 minute conversation, I was told management had recently had a meeting 1.5 months ago about the late night On Demand issue. This is a minor part of my complaint.

The customer service rep (I have his name and employee number available for legal purposes should it come to it) admitted that from 3am-7am for about a week to a week-and-a-half every single month in the Chicago market, On Demand goes down for maintenance. He offered a weeks worth of credit, but I quickly calculated that I'd have to call back in 7 weeks to get another bundle of credit for the downtime. He said this is fine, but offered no other solution. When I asked him if he personally thought this was unethical to require customers to call and ask for this credit when they advertise a flawless product, he simply told me about their meeting and that as a late night worker, this is all he deals with. I do not blame him for anything, in fact he was polite and informative. I do blame Comcast for charging exorbitant prices for a product that is simply not what they advertise to the general public... especially to people who don't have the patience or ability to call and inquire why their "On Demand" doesn't work at certain hours for an entire week or more.

How many people are they ripping off if there's more than a total day (28 hours by my calculations and by admission of their customer service rep) of On Demand per month unavailable to their customers? Every 7 weeks I have to call them up for a credit of the On Demand not available to me nor anyone in Chicago.

I've had similar problems with Comcast On Demand in Tucson, and when I've called to complain I've often got the response that since it's a free service, I'm not entitled to a bill credit. One time they gave me free HBO for three months, though, so it just depends on which way the wind's blowing.

Anyone else have Comcast On Demand stories, horror or otherwise?

(Photo: honeylamb)

Comcast Unleashes CustomerCentral

Phil Villarreal — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:13:11 EDT

Comcast sent me an e-mail with this alert/warning that the company is about to change its billing/customer service interface.

The oddly formatted Comcast customerCentral promises you'll be able to pay your bills online, manage email accounts, update personal preferences and get help and support — all of which could be done before. Well, that is if you consider what Comcast does when you call them "help and support." I perused the apparently redesigned site and didn't notice any significant changes.

Have any of you tried this redesigned billing site and found something I missed? It would be great if Comcast actually made some changes for the better, but because this is Comcast I've got to admit I'm sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop here, like the scene in "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" episode "The Nightman Cometh" where Charlie tells the gang he's staging a musical, and they all reply "Who's the mark?"

Comcast customerCentral [Comcast]

Comcast May Buy Controlling Stake Of NBC Universal

Chris Walters — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:33:18 EDT

Hey, are you ready for Comcast to take more control over your entertainment? Then great news for you! Yesterday a rumor leaked that the cable giant is negotiating to buy 51% of NBC Universal, which includes the movie studio Universal, Universal theme parks, the NBC network, and shows like 30 Rock and SNL.

Under the arrangement being discussed, NBC Universal would be spun off into a standalone company, with Comcast owning 51% and GE holding 49%. There will be a window of opportunity for new ownership between mid-November and mid-December, when France's Vivendi, which presently has 20% of NBC, has an option to sell up.

"Cable TV giant Comcast in talks to buy majority stake in NBC" [Guardian]

EECB Results In Deluge Of Comcast Callbacks, Quick Fix

Phil Villarreal — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:46:20 EDT

CJ responded to his daylong Comcast outage with an Executive Email Carpet Bomb that hit its target with vigor. He says within 20 minutes his phone was bombarded with calls from company reps around the country, who managed to restore his service within four hours.

Here's the letter he wrote:

First off, I'm a business class customer.
My account number: XXXXXXXXXXXX

Here is my situation:

I own a small computer company in Virginia. I host some websites for other businesses in the region. I depend on my Internet service in order to be able to service MY customers.

Sept 21 @ 4:00PM - My Internet service starts randomly dropping. Staying up only about 4 or 5 minutes at a time. I call tech support. Immediately the tech tells me to check the Amperage on the transformer thats plugged into the modem, along with the modem itself. They did not match up, so he said my modem is fried, and will have a tech bring me another one. In the morning. I understand it was after 2PM, so its next day service. OK. Well he tells me the tech will be here between 7AM-10AM. I rearrange my schedule, and wait.

Sept 22 @ 10:00AM - Internet Service has been essentially down now for 18 hours. No tech has shown. I call back to tech support and am informed that the appointment was for 11AM-2PM. I explain that the tech from the previous call told me 7AM-10AM. The guy on the phone didn't care and said the tech would be out between 10 and 2. I have appointments to make, so I leave instructions for the tech to just leave the equipment, and Ill hook it up when I return in the evening.

Sept 22 @ 3:30PM - Internet Service has been essentially down for 23 1/2 hours. I return from the field, and enter my office to connect the new modem. All the technician dropped off were several new power supplies, all different voltages and amperages. He left instructions to use the one I needed and toss the rest. I plug in the 1Amp 12V connector, and wait for the modem to boot up. Within 4 minutes the connection dropped again. I call back to tech support. I get Joan Employee #66064. I explain the situation. She runs some test and says I have low signal on some line, and will need to send a line tech. I ask how long it will be, she says "Not long." I ask "5 minutes, 10 minutes, an hour, tomorrow?" She says "Oh it will be tomorrow, as Im passed the 2PM deadline for same day service. I explain the issue was reported on 9/21 ~ 4:00PM, and that was well before the 9/22 2PM deadline. She gets hostile, I got hostile. I end up hanging up on her.

Sept 22 @ 4:30PM - Internet Service has been essentially down for 24 1/2 hours. I notice on the workorder the tech left when here this morning, that I have been charge $164.95. I call billing to find out why. Im told I am two months behind on my bill. I pull up my old bills and explain that I am in fact, NOT behind on my bill. I am told a Billing Specilist will need to call me back. In typical Comcast fashion, this will be 24 - 48 hours.

Sept 22 @ 5:00PM - Internet Service has been essentially down for 25 hours. I call back to tech support to see if Joan put in the workorder to have a line tech come out. Chris #66011 tells me he wants to run some tests. I give him the MAC off of the modem, he puts me on hold. He comes back on the line and asks if I had unplugged the modem. I say "No, thats what Im trying to explain to you, the modem just keeps" and he rudely puts me on hold mid-sentence. He comes back on in a little bit and says "It appears your modem is cycling power on its own." I say "Thats what Ive been trying to tell you." he the informs me that I have an open ticket for 9/22 between 11AM and 2PM, and that another work order cant be entered until that one is closed. I explain that the tech was here at 11AM, clearly 6 hours ago at this point. He says there isnt anything he can do and that the tech needs to close his ticket. So I ask him "Are you telling me, that because your tech is slow to close his ticket, that my service is going to be down another 24 hours?" His reply was "No, they typically close them within a couple hours of completeing the work." I explain that its been six hours since he completed the work. He says "Call back in a couple hours, maybe he will have closed it by then."

Sept 22 @ 5:30PM - Internet Service has been essentially down for 25 1/2 hours. Here I sit. Internet down, erroneous charges on my account, and no way to have anyone fix my service. Customers calling me beating me up about their sites being down. My hands are tied. It should have been fixed today between 7AM and 10AM as I was originally told.

I've already dropped your cable service for DirecTV becvause of similar problems. If this problem is not remedied ASAP, I will be dropping my Comcast Internet service and getting Verizon FIOS.

I get email on my cell, so I am available via email at anytime, or phone at XXX-XXX-XXXX

Bookmark and save for future reference. By the way, here are the email addresses on that letter:

We_Can_Help@cable.comcast.com, david_cohen@comcast.com, ralph_roberts@comcast.com, marlene_dooner@comcast.com, marlene_s_dooner@comcast.com, leslie_a_arena@comcast.com, leslie_arena@comcast.com, daniel_j_goodwin@comcast.com, daniel_goodwin@comcast.com, payne_d_brown@comcast.com, payne_brown@comcast.com, kerry_knott@comcast.com, joseph_w_waz@comcast.com, joseph_waz@comcast.com, victoria_clarke@comcast.com, jim_coltharp@comcast.com, sena_fitzmaurice@comcast.com, susan_gonzales@comcast.com, brian_kelly@comcast.com, melissa_maxfield@comcast.com, cindy_parsons@cable.comcast.com, eilene_vaughn-pickrell@cable.comcast.com, theressa_davis@cable.comcast.com, kelle_maslyn@cable.comcast.com, ray_child@cable.comcast.com, steve_kipp@cable.comcast.com, lurlean_davis2@cable.comcast.com, tom_yates@cable.comcast.com, helen_bell@cable.comcast.com, bob_curtis@cable.comcast.com, jim_beletti@cable.comcast.com, greg_aschenbach@cable.comcast.com, lori_kohler2@cable.comcast.com, ralph_roberts@cable.comcast.com, joseph_collins@cable.comcast.com, decker_anstrom@cable.comcast.com, sheldon_bonovitz@cable.comcast.com, michael_sovern@cable.comcast.com, kenneth_bacon@cable.comcast.com, jeffrey_honickman@cable.comcast.com, brian_roberts@cable.comcast.com, jeff_shell@cable.comcast.com, sherman_henderson@cable.comcast.com, george_roberts@cable.comcast.com, derrick_clark@cable.comcast.com, esl_corp@cable.comcast.com, stephen_burke@cable.comcast.com, david_watson@cable.comcast.com, john_schanz@cable.comcast.com, william_connors@cable.comcast.com, michael_doyle@cable.comcast.com, john_ridall@cable.comcast.com, bradley_dusto@cable.comcast.com, bill_connors@cable.comcast.com, douglas_gaston@cable.comcast.com, kevin_casey@cable.comcast.com, brian_roberts@comcast.com, john_morabito@comcast.com, kim_scardino@comcast.com, joe_waz@comcast.com, audit_committee_chairman@comcast.com, smbonovitz@duanemorris.com, ralph_j_roberts@comcast.com, julian_a_brodsky@comcast.com, julian_brodsky@comcast.com, roger_paul@cable.comcast.com, marc_broadnax1@cable.comcast.com, wayne_hall@cable.comcast.com, charlie_kennamer@cable.comcast.com, andrea_agnew@comcast.com, brooke_manbeck@comcast.com, jerome_espy@cable.comcast.com, marybeth_schubert@cable.comcast.com, mark_apple@cable.comcast.com, darcy_rudnay@comcast.com, darcy_rudnay@cable.comcast.com, jennifer_khoury@comcast.com, jennifer_khoury@cable.comcast.com, jenni_moyer@comcast.com, jenni_moyer@cable.omcast.com, charlie_douglas@comcast.com, charlie_douglas@cable.comcast.com, john_demming@comcast.com, john_demming@cable.comcast.com, sena_fitzmaurice@cable.comcast.com, colleen_rooney@comcast.com, colleen_rooney@cable.comcast.com, corporate_communications@comcast.com, shawn_feddeman@cable.comcast.com, eastern_press@cable.comcast.com, rich_ruggiero@cable.comcast.com, reg_griffin@cable.comcast.com, erica_smith1@cable.comcast.com, elizabeth_mars@cable.comcast.com, andrew_c_johnson@cable.comcast.com, david_johnson@cable.comcast.com, dave_johnson@cable.comcast.com, sherman_peterson@cable.comcast.com, steve_burke@cable.comcast.com, peter_golfinopoulos@cable.comcast.com, jim_bellamy@cable.comcast.com.com, john_colucci@cable.comcast.com, bobillinois_cole@cable.comcast.com
Cc: jay.matthews@vaxicom.com

(Photo: happy*cherry)

FCC Proposes New, Awesome, Net Neutrality Rules

Ben Popken — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:46:40 EDT

The FCC today proposed new rules to protect and preserve "net neutrality," the idea that ISPs must treat all users the same and not prejudice against different types of customers. In a speech, Chairman Julius Genachowski supported adopting the "Four Freedoms" first articulated by the FCC in 2004 (PDF) not just as principles but as formal rules, and adding two more: "non-discrimination" and "transparency." The big networks are, naturally, incensed.

More specifically, the new principles are:

5) Non-discrimination — broadband providers cannot discriminate against particular Internet content or applications.
6) Transparency — providers of broadband Internet access must be transparent about their network management practices.

And to recap, The "Four Freedoms" are:

1) Freedom to Access Content: Consumers should have access to their choice of legal content
2) Freedom to Use Applications: Consumers should be able to run applications of their choice
3) Freedom to Attach Personal Devices: Consumers should be permitted to attach any devices they choose to the connection in their homes
4) Freedom to Obtain Service Plan Information: Consumers should receive meaningful information regarding their service plans."

With the fifth principle, it's like they're staring directly at Comcast.

"Preserving a Free and Open Internet: A Platform for Innovation, Opportunity, and Prosperity" Prepared Remarks of
Chairman Julius Genachowski The Brookings Institution, Washington DC September 21, 2009 [FCC]

Comcast Contractors Caught Disconnecting Competitor's Service Then Peddling Wares

Phil Villarreal — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:00:49 EDT

So you're working as a door-to-door contractor for Comcast, faced with the task of convincing subscribers to a competitor to get Comcastic and net you some commission. So naturally you decide, "why not disconnect their service, then step in and offer my wares when they'll be more appreciated?"

Unfortunately for you but luckily for your would-be customers, Johnny law does not approve of such tactics. The News-Herald of Panama City, Fla. reports:

Springfield police say that on Sept. 9 Kennedy Cao, 33, interrupted the Springfield Cable service to Myrtle Danley, a Springfield Cable customer and the mother of Commissioner Carl Curti. Danley stalled Cao long enough for Springfield police to arrive, and after Cao confessed to interrupting the service he was arrested and charged with unauthorized tampering with communications services, according to documents released by the Springfield Police Department.

Danley and dozens of other Springfield Cable customers, including Mayor Robert Walker, have had their service disconnected by contractors working for Comcast for the past several weeks, said Springfield Police Chief Phillip Thorne. One customer had her Springfield Cable service cut off four separate times, he added.

So remember, Comcast contractors, win over prospective customers not by tricky, criminal shenanigans, but by preaching about how great Comcast is. Oh, wait...

Comcast, Springfield Cable disagreement leads to arrest [News-Herald]
(Photo: dmuth) (Thanks, Peter!)

Comcast Raising Cable Modem Rental Fees This Fall

Chris Walters — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:43:09 EDT

Comcast is going to start rolling out a $2 fee hike across the country this fall, which means your cable modem rental fee will go from $3 to $5 by the end of the year. Comcast says they absolutely have to do this or they'll never be able to pay for service and equipment upgrades, which makes us wonder how the poor underfunded company manages to stay afloat at all.

Multichannel News notes that you can buy your own cable modem for around $100, which will pay for itself in less than two years at Comcast's new rental rate.

"Comcast Hiking Cable-Modem Fee to $5 From $3 Monthly Nationwide" [Multichannel News via dslreports] (Thanks to CZ!)
(Photo: scriptingnews)

No HD Red Zone Channel For You, Comcast Tells Chicago

Phil Villarreal — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 09:28:21 EDT

There are three ways in which HDTV blows your mind: It lets you read too-small text in video games and movie subtitles, makes the picture on DVDs take up the entire screen, and in football games lets you see more of the field, and in such stunning detail you can make out the tears on Buffalo Bills fans' faces as their team blows 11-point leads in the final two minutes.

Once you've come to expect football in HD, watching it in standard definition feels like you've got cataracts. So you can understand the disappointment of Chicago resident Chris, who must deal not only with his Bears trying ill-advised fake punts that cause them to lose games, [ed. note- Sure, rub it in, Phil. -Meg] but not having the NFL Network's Red Zone channel in HD, even when advertisements have promised it. He writes:

As a subscriber to both Comcast in the Chicago area, and their sports and entertainment package, I was excited to find out we were getting the red zone channel. The promos on the NFL network mention many times 'Live in HD'.

You can imagine my anger and surprise when I found the channel (411 in the Chicago area), and discovered that Comcast doesn't carry the channel in HD, only standard definition.

What exactly is that supposed to accomplish? I still watched it all day, but I have an HDTV almost specifically for football games. It seems like either an egregious over sight, or some type of punitive action against the NFL by Comcast for their little disagreement earlier in the summer.

I called Comcast to verify/comain, but I imagine my pleas fell on deaf, first level of CS ears.

Any news on this travesty, or what I can do to get Comcast to carry this channel I HD?

We brought up the concern to the all-knowing and ever-helpful Comcast Frank, who shot back this reply from his BlackBerry:

The advertisements on the NFL Network were provided by that network and not Comcast. At this time we are not currently offering the HD version of this channel in the Chicago area, but that may change in the future based on available bandwidth and interest from our Customers. We will share the feedback regarding the availability.

As indicated in the email chain we are in the process of shifting the expanded basic analog channels to digital. As part of this effort we are providing up to 3 boxes (1 full featured box and 2 digital to analog devices). This effort will result in better quality and it will free the bandwidth for a lot more services, such as additional HD channels. To read more about this visit: Comcast DigitalNow.

So, Chris, "that may change" is the best Comcast can do for you right now. Basically the same promise Detroit Lions' management gives to fans depressed about their everlasting suckage. Just be thankful your Red Zone Channel isn't in black & white.

Comcast: You're Too Far Away For Cable But Your Neighbor Isn't

Meg Marco — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:59:57 EDT

Attention: A satisfied Comcast customer has written to this website. Sadly, reader Kevin is now being denied the delicious shivery pleasure of Comcast's services — because his new house is 600' too far away.

Here's the letter he wrote to Comcast's executive customer service team after being denied cable:

Comcast Cares team,

I've been mulling the answer I was given to my no-cable dilemma. The woman who called me to tell me the address is not serviceable was nice and polite, but did give some confoundingly interesting facts.

The cable is "over a mile away" across "6 utility poles"... which I know are not spaced 900 feet apart. The cable is actually 600-700 feet away according to google maps street view and the actual distance to the neighbor that has cable. Unless I misheard something, there has to be another reason Comcast will service my neighbor but not me.

The house was built in 1940s so there have been plenty of chances to run cable to it. The house 3 poles down and ~600-700 feet away gets cable. This neighbor with cable is [redacted]. If you look at google maps street view you can see where the cable stops and exactly how many poles away my house is at [redacted] (it's the white/blue one with all the cars in front).

I've been made to believe that Comcast will hook someone up if they are under 250 feet away - In fact there are multiple success stories on the Internet where Comcast and other cable companies have hooked up users even though they were much, much farther away from the cable than 250 feet. The other 350-450 feet in the grand scheme of things is not a ridiculously long distance, especially when considering the poles are already there and the house is right up on the street next to one of these poles. It's not like I'm asking Comcast to dig a ditch and bury a wire for a house located a mile away in the middle of a forest. I absolutely do not want 1.5mbps "broadband" DSL which is why I am trying to get Comcast to give me a good reason why I can't have cable or to hook me up (I'm more than willing to sign a long term contract for my service.) It's a shame because I really do enjoy my cable service here in Florida and am not looking forward to being without it. Please Comcast, let me know if you change your mind.

Poor Kevin. He does so love you, Comcast. Can't you make his dream a reality? Or at least let him down easy...

(Photo:happy*cherry)

Comcast Guarantees You Will Have Your Entire Day Wasted

Chris Walters — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:54:26 EDT

We're happy for Comcast that it's a giant company and all, but is it really that impossible to have someone in Connecticut talk on the phone with a Connecticut-based customer about a no-show installation tech who we presume should also be in Connecticut? Maybe that's the problem—maybe the technician was accidentally outsourced and is presently driving around Mexico or the Antarctic looking for Karah's address.

George Gombossy reprinted a letter from Karahs' father, as well as the full chat transcript between Kara and Comcast, explaining the entire installation fiasco yesterday. Go there to read the full chat, which is a textbook study of pointless "customer service" designed to waste the customer's time. In the meantime, here are the highlights:

Comcast guaranteed installation between 8 and 10am yesterday morning.
At 10:15 Comcast called and said someone was at the apartment. Only that was not true, as Karah could prove by opening and closing her front door.
Karah's father called Comcast at 10:40, was placed on hold for 26 minutes, then transferred twice, at which point a Comcast employee in Mexico promised to call back within 90 minutes.
At 1:50 (more than 90 minutes even if the call lasted until 11:50), the father called back. He was told to expect an installation between 4 and 7 pm.
At 6:30, Karah went online to confirm the technician was on his way. She was told it had been rescheduled—without her acknowledgment—for September 18th.

We don't know how you went online to chat, Karah, but we hope that you have access to that Wifi-sharing coffee shop or friendly neighbor for the next two and half weeks.

"Waiting for Comcast "guaranteed" installation: holding your breath not a good idea" [Connecticut Watchdog]
(Photo: ericskiff)

Why Commercials Sometimes Aren't Perfectly Synced With The Shows

Laura Northrup — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:14:36 EDT

Zac read our recent post about Comcast randomly throwing advertisements in the middle of cartoons and other programming. He let us know that the errant commercials can be explained by science. Broadcasting technology science, that is!

Basically, the cable companies (Time Warner, Comcast, etc.) pay subscription fees to cable networks (CNN, ESPN, etc.). The cable companies pay a lot for the channels, and in return get the right to air their own commercials for a specified time every hour. They then get the revenue from the commercial airings.

The networks send a signal, usually inaudible, that tells the local cable company when to insert the local commercial. It is not time based triggering, it is based on this signal.

If you listened to CNN years ago, you used to be able to hear the audible cue tones (like a touch tone phone) just before the commercial breaks.

It appears that the local company or the network is signaling incorrectly that a local ad can run.

Aha! So our readers who theorized that something might be wrong with the ad-serving software at local Comcast headquarters. This probably also explains why, heading back to "The Daily Show" from commercial break, I sometimes see half a second of the Enzyte commercial that would have aired had my local Time Warner not inserted their own ad instead.

A little bit of research turned up the specifications for some channels' local avail signaling tones. For example. here are the notes given to cable providers about when they can place ads on CNBC (even during infomercials):

CUE TONES: Tones are generated on a dedicated DTMF port on the rear of the IRD. Please consult the manufacturers documentation for connection information.
PRE-ROLL: 08
3 MINUTES PER HOUR: CNBC Programming
Local Commercial Times : :60 Floating Break Between :03 - :17
:60 Floating Break Between :24 - :34
:60 Floating Break Between :41 - :51

Sponsored Programming:
:28: 30 :90 Hard Break
:58: 30 :90 Hard Break

TONES: 622* (Local avail on)
622# (Local avail off)

PREVIOUSLY: Comcast Won't Let Me Watch Cartoons!

Comcast Won't Let Me Watch Cartoons!

Carrie McLaren — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:48:37 EDT

According to reader Chris, Comcast in South Florida has been cutting into TV programming with commercials, preventing viewers from watching various kinds of shows. Reader Chris H. writes:

Yesterday my kid brother told me that a commercial had started in the middle of a cartoon (not a normal commercial break) and when the commercial finished, the cartoon ending credits were playing. I figured it was just a glitch in their system, then I witnessed it for myself. Right after a standard commercial break, the show I was watching resumed and not even 2 minutes into it, a commercial for a local pizzeria had started playing, followed by local car dealership commercials, and by the time they were done i had missed a good chunk of the show.

Chris said that it happens with network TV commercials as well.

If you're a Comcast customer and have this problem, we'd encourage you to call Comcast directly and complain. You can even reach them on Twitter (@comcastcares). You may also want to contact the advertisers, who probably aren't aware of what's happening and should be concerned about angering the people they are paying to reach.

Anyone else in South Florida have this problem?

(Photo: someToast)

Comcast Says Lightning Caused Emergency Alert System To Show QVC

Carey Alexander — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:00:16 EDT

Remember Jim? His Comcast cable box randomly responded to the emergency alert system (EAS) by tuning in to QVC. According to a source inside Comcast, rogue lightning strikes set off the EAS, even though there wasn't an emergency. Two things happen when the EAS activates: the cable box switches to a local channel, and Comcast replaces the local programming with an alert. In Jim's case, the box switched to the emergency channel—which happened to be QVC—but since there wasn't an emergency, there was no special broadcast. So what can you do next time your cable box independently declares an emergency?

Call it in!

If they have digital cable and their box flips channels on it's own for no reason (or says EAS on the front, if they have a model of box with an LED on the front), or if the channel randomly changes for no reason, they can call in and say hey, my EAS doesn't work, and we can try and correlate an issue with the local video engineering folks.

Most people don't bother to call the company, but that's the first step towards fixing any Comcast problem. If that still doesn't resolve the issue, then contact our Tipline, the FCC, or start tweeting—but always call first.

PREVIOUSLY: Comcast: In Case Of Emergency, Remain Calm, Watch QVC
(Photo: Elsie esq.)

Type The Wrong URL? Comcast Redirects You To An Advertising Page

Meg Marco — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:26:24 EDT

According to PCWorld, Comcast is testing a program called "Domain Helper" that will redirect you to an advertising page if you type the wrong URL.

Comcast says:

Today, we're beginning to roll out something new to help high-speed Internet customers get where they want to go online even faster and easier than before. It's called the Domain Helper service and we're introducing it as a market trial in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington.

...
With the Domain Helper service we are testing now, we will instead help direct your Web browser to an easy-to-use page with suggestions and links to get you back on track. We also provide a seamless search experience on this page, which is powered by Yahoo!, so you can find relevant search information, or simply perform another search.

The program is opt-out — which means you'll automatically be enrolled. This new "feature" isn't exactly going over too well in the comments.

For example:

"... just started the ridiculous opt-out process.
This is not a "best practice"; It is one of the WORST practices that an ISP can become involved in. You are breaking fundamental rules that govern the architecture of the internet. Further, your attempt to spin this into a positive feature is an outright lie."

and

"It is not surprising that Comcast cannot be trusted to conform to a standard, time tested protocol. Instead they have willfully chosen to damage the user experience in an effort to squeeze a few extra dollars from a service we are already paying for. To expect Comcast to be reasonable and customer focused on this issue is expecting too much. I think the only option is to complain to the FCC. It is what I am doing and I encourage others to do so as well."

and

This is unwanted, unneeded, and unwelcome. You're doing this as a market trial to get user feedback, yes? Well here's your feedback from Utah: Stay the hell away from my browsing!

You can check out all the backlash here.

Comcast Redirects Bad URLs to Pages With Advertising [PCWorld] (Thanks, David!)
Domain Helper service: Here to help you [Comcast Voices]
(Photo:mojojornjorn)

Comcast Auto-Payment Charges Account In Perpetuity; CSR Tells Cardholder To Cancel Card

Phil Villarreal — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:20:25 EDT

Marian adorably paid her son's cable, phone and internet bills as he attended grad school in Chicago. All were handled by a company called... Comcast. Duh duh duuuuuuh!

She signed up for the automatic payment plan ("Nooooo!" You'd scream at her if she were a character in a movie. "Don't open that closet!") and sure enough Comcast not only over-charged her but continued to automatically charge her card even after her son closed his account, paid off what was supposed to have been the final balance and moved to California.

Her story:

Things went well until some time in February or March 2009 when, apparently, Comcast's system crashed and, according to the company reps I spoke with subsequently, all of their automatic charge information was "lost." My son and I didn't initially realize that this had happened until he got a notice saying his service was going to be cut off because of non-payment, and I received my April 2009 credit card statement indicating I had been charged $396.55 by Comcast. I then realized that my card had not been charged in March; however, the $396.55 bore no relationship to my son's actual charges, AND the money, I later learned, had not even been credited to his account! No one could tell me where the money had actually gone.

The short version: I contacted my credit card company (Bank of America) and contested the amount — they notified Comcast about the error and credited the money back to my card. My son closed out the account with Comcast because he's moving to California, and paid the remainder of his bill in cash. However, on the 29th of June and the 29th of July, there were two more automatic charges to my account from Comcast — each of them for just over $200.

What I believe has happened, and what I have repeatedly tried to suggest to Comcast, is that somehow, during their purported "crash," my credit card information became linked to some other (real or imagined) account, and that's why my card is being charged. But Comcast appears unable to fix the problem. On several occasions it was suggested by them that I "just cancel my credit card." Which would of course create a lot of effort by ME because of several other automatic payments, etc. And it's THEIR fault! (There have been no other unauthorized charges to my account other than from Comcast, and each of these charges has been an automatic deduction on the 29th of the month. Which to me indicates that this is an error involving Comcast's system.)

Comcast reps told me several times that I needed to find out from Bank of America where the payment was actually going — that Comcast was unable to track it down from their end without some kind of reference number from Bank of America. Bank of America tells me this is not the case—they get the request from Comcast and they charge my card — Bank of America states that Comcast should have some tracking device that connects the card number to an actual account. (What a concept!) In fact, Comcast is being charged a fee by Bank of America each time this happens, so one would think they might actually pay attention. Nah.

Marian says she's looking forward to seeing what happens on Aug. 29. She warns people about signing up for auto-pay. It may be convenient to streamline your bills via auto-pay but it's an absolute must that you keep an eye on your credit card statements to look out for not-so-funny business.

(Photo: honeylamb)

Comcast Employee Rescues Driver From A Submerged Car

Meg Marco — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:19:46 EDT

Add "rescue people from an underwater car" to the list of things Comcast is better at than installing cable.

From The Oregonian:

According to Oregon State Police, Mendoza Olvera was driving south on Interstate 5 near milepost 230 when it accelerated and hit the back of a commercial semi-trailer. Mendoza Olvera's Suzuki Sidekick then went into the center median and continued several hundred feet before going over a 40-foot embankment and into Oak Creek. The car was upside down in about four to five feet of water.

Police said Comcast employee Jay Burris, 36, from Salem, stopped to help. He ran down to the water and pulled Olvera out. She regained consciousness after being pulled from the water.

Two other men also stopped to help and the three of them flipped the car over to make sure there were no more passengers. The person they rescued was cited for reckless driving and not having a license.

Driver rescued from submerged car by bystander [The Oregonian]
(Photo: Oregon State Police)

Comcast: In Case Of Emergency, Remain Calm, Watch QVC

Carey Alexander — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:00:49 EDT

When Comcast activates the emergency alert system, Jim's cable box snaps into action and tunes itself to QVC. The locked cable box refuses to tune to any other channel, so Jim is left wondering what emergency information he's missing while staring at the latest deals on cubic zirconia bracelets.

Jim writes:

On Sunday we had severe thunderstorms here in Philly. During that time Comcast switched and locked their boxes to their EAS system. But instead of important messages, here in Philly we were forced to watch QVC. Guess we should be buying things in an emergency.

The box isn't tuning itself to QVC so much as it's tuning itself to channel 3, which happens to broadcast QVC. Somewhere down the pipe someone is supposed to switch to the programming to emergency notifications, and that isn't happening. Asking Comcast to fix the problem will be as useful as shopping through QVC. Go straight over their head and instead file a complaint directly with the FCC.

FCC Consumer Complaints [FCC]

Switch To FiOs An Unmitigated Disaster

Ben Popken — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:13:35 EDT

Do you know that Comcast commercial where this homeowner gets FiOs installed against his will and then all these bulldozers tear up his lawn and bumbling contractors cause an electrical short? Lelah's letter describes a process that's very similar, except worse and much longer. And then this salesman just picks up her guitar and starts playing it and singing without even asking first. No wonder, by story's end, she's been driven to the brink of insanity, demanding compensation for 5 missed days of work. So far, they're offering her $25.

Lelah writes:"Dear:

Mr. Ivan G. Seidenberg

Mr. Robert E. Ingalls Jr.

Mr. William Barr

As President of my own company, I have to say, this is the first time in my career that I have gone so far as to send a letter to the top of the food chain regarding the unbelievable service I have received from Verizon. Let me say that if I had this type of service in my company, I would have fired the lot of them and held my head in shame as their leader. Verizon has taken customer no-service to a whole new level. Allow me to share with you my story. I am sure you will be as appalled as I am once you read through the nightmare.

THE VERIZON MELTDOWN:

Saturday, May 30, 2009:

2 door to door salesman wearing Verizon shirts arrived at my door on the morning of Saturday, May 30, 2009. The main salesman, Vadim Kushnirov announced that he was with Verizon and wanted to discuss the possibility of switching my Comcast service to Verizon. The other young man was in training. I didn't get his name however he was very inquisitive. A regular Q & A session that was so out there I had to really question who the heck interviewed him for this job in the first place. "So are you still married, he asked?" "Boyfriend?" "Your daughter is cute, almost as cute as her Mom." "Why did you get a divorce?" "Do you still love him?" "Does he pay child support?" "What do you do for a living?" "Do you make lots of money?"….HUH?" Ok…a little weird. Most would have asked him to leave, however, past the questions, he seemed like a nice kid. After Vadim offered a better deal than Comcast, (so I thought), I decided to switch services. I asked both inside my home for iced tea while Vadim proceeded to contact an office somewhere in the Midwest to get the set up started. While he was in the process of arguing with a gal over her misunderstanding of what needed to be done to get the order in place, the intern went to the couch in my living room, picked up my guitar and started playing it…a little singing went along with it. By the end of the very long session I was ready to smash the guitar over his head just to make him stop. Rude and annoying. Over at the counter, Vadim, obviously frustrated with the new gal on the other end of the line, went through several people to try to get the service set up. When the new gal got back on the line, she repeated the order back to me. It was incorrect and we started the process over and over again. This entire order entry took over 3 hours. I was patient but extremely annoyed that my Saturday was now completely shot due to incompetent customer service. When the order was finally placed, I was told by Vadim that the service would be installed on Friday, June 12. 2009. He left me his number to call if I had questions or problems. (503) xxx-xxxx. I must say, of all of the people in this entire process, he is the only one that really had enough integrity to get anything done. He did his job well, however, most of what you are about to read was completely out of his control.

Between May 30 and June 8, 2009, 3 different contractors (that I knew of) showed up at my home, unannounced, without appointments and to my knowledge, began a pre-set up for the Fios.

Monday, June 8: At approximately 10AM, a gentleman contracted by Verizon showed up at my home, unannounced. without an appointment, and knocked at the door. As no one answered the door, he proceeded to begin a set-up function that was connected with the Fios install. I happened to be at home (prior to going to my work appointment) and noticed someone in the yard. After about 10 minutes, I went outside and asked him what he was doing. He said he was with Verizon and doing some pre-set up. I went back inside and was trying to answer a few emails on my computer. Suddenly, the internet access was unavailable. I figured it was temporary but proceeded to contact Comcast as I thought the problem might be with them. The phone was dead also. I went to the neighbors home where their Comcast service was working fine. I contacted Vadim and mentioned that I thought whoever was here from Verizon, must have knocked out the Comcast Service. He asked me to turn on the TV to see if it worked. It was down also. I told him that I needed the service back up immediately. We have several users in the house and having the service down was not an option. I cancelled my appointment and stayed home from work as I thought someone would be back to connect the service. No one called or showed up until 4:00PM in the afternoon. It was someone from Comcast checking the lines. They asked me when Verizon was at the house, I told them that morning. He proceeded to tell me that whoever was there, cut all of the Comcast lines, left wires lying everywhere exposed and I wanted Comcast to reconnect, I would be charged to reset everything and re-install the lines. He was unable to do anything that evening but said he could come back the next morning and start the re-install. I told him I would call Vadim to see if we could move up the install date with Verizon. That afternoon at 4:35PM, I received a call from someone named Kirt (503) xxx-xxxx who scheduled the installs for Verizon. He told me he would have the install team at my home at 8AM sharp the next morning. Someone over 18 had to be there and it would take about 5 hours. I agreed and took Tuesday, June 9 off from work.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009:

…9AM, 10AM, 11AM….I call Vadim… "What's up, I ask?" "Where's the Network?" He's on it…. I get a call about 3PM…they are coming in the next few hours, (my thought is hurry up and wait)!

5:18PM, another lost day at work, the first of the Network makes an entrance. He has no service order and being Union, can't get started until the order comes in. "What do you want done, he asks." I explain the 6 rooms of cable connections, 2 phone lines and 300 channels of digital. He seemed annoyed and less than impressed considering it is now 5:30PM, he hasn't eaten all day and he is now on overtime. The rest of the Network shows closer to 6PM, about 5-6 of them. Still no service orders from Verizon. They all beam in on me and start discussing charges I don't remember ever hearing about. (connections, installation charges, etc). I call Vadim again as I feel like I have a bunch of guys coming up with their own set of rules and charges…Vadim shows up armed with electronic leash, headset and already patched into headquarters…He's on it, making the adjustments while arguing 2 hours in my driveway about the install charges with the Network. On with the install! 9:35PM…. I am trying out the new Fios! Wow…this is super fast…only 45 seconds to get Google launched. Who would have thought you could go faster than dial up? (I am kidding…considering I had a perfectly good high speed connection with Comcast prior to this install)! I called in the roommate to show off the new system! She was as impressed as I was! We immediately called in the Network to praise the fine work that was less than acceptable! We were told it wasn't the Fios, the awesome no-speed was due to the computer having issues? Hummm, funny how it worked just fine when it was on Comcast prior to 10AM, and since I switched back to Comcast, we are back to full speed. I made a note on Brian's (the technician) paperwork that stated the internet was less than acceptable. He left, he was on overtime, never heard back! Dennis, the phone guy is going on 4+ hours of OT…phones are not cooperating…no dial tone. "Perhaps a little CPR would help, is it dead, I asked?" He's done…no dial tone, it's time to go home…did I mention no dial tone….???? "I'll be back at 8 in the morning to get the line working, said Dennis." I suppose if I needed to call 911 for any reason, the neighbors are just 3 minutes away! In the mean time, I was supposed to be enjoying my new phone service with jimmied lines and splitters everywhere! Nice!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009:

Wednesday morning I noticed the trampling of some of my outdoor plants…basically where the lines went through the property. Not happy. I took the day off from work as I had to be at home for the set up at 8AM. Still no phone service and no technician to fix the problem… it's 9am….going on 3:41 PM…no sign of life from the Network and still no dial tone. Phone wires are lying all around my den. I call Vadim again…Vad, this is now out of your control…I need a Supervisor to call me right away. WAITING! 7:15PM, I get a 3-way call from Vadim and a Supervisor in Tech Support named James, no last name, no phone number. James assured me that someone would be out at 8AM on Thursday to set up the phone lines and make sure everything else was working correctly. It seems to me we have already had the 8AM conversation 3 times now. I told him I was done. I no longer wanted the service, Verizon or any part of the Fios experience. I would contact Comcast and have them re-connect the service in the morning which would in fact, cost me another day off at work to deal with the mess Verizon created. I also didn't want them to install because apparently, Comcast still held the phone numbers that were to be transferred to Verizon. Officially, these numbers were not going to be released until Friday, the original install date. I would have had my service reinstalled right away as I was still paying for service with Comcast. After 17 minutes and 27 seconds of conversation and making sure everyone understood that I didn't want Verizon service, guess what happened on Thursday morning?

Thursday, June 11, 2009:

Thursday morning my phone lines were full speed…guess who connected? (Verizon…after I specifically told them not to connect). Not only were the lines connected, they all went to the same phone number and gave anyone who called a fax signal! How special! Half the time the dial tone didn't work, other times people calling in would get a message that said the line was not in working order. Working order???? Was it ever? Another day off from work to deal with the nightmare. I called Comcast. They said unfortunately since Verizon took control of the numbers, It would take up to 2 weeks to get the numbers back. I was livid. Now I had to wait until June 18 to get normal phone service back. I had been using a cell phone throughout the week to contact Verizon…on hold most of the time or shifted from person to person. No one at Verizon seems to be able to make a decision, no less fix anything.

Friday, June 12, 2009:

I spent most of the day trying to figure out how to get everything back on track. It didn't happen. The phone lines were still recovery after the surgical mess left on both the inside and outside of my home.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN:

Many Calls between: Friday, June 19, 2009- June 28th!

I called the 888 customer service line early in the morning to make certain my Verizon Service was cancelled. To cancel the service, the entire process took 57 minutes, 42 seconds (I have a timer). Let me engage you in the cancellation process. It begins with prompts that send you to new prompts, that offer additional choices that make absolutely no sense considering all you want to do is cancel service. I eventually got to someone named Karen in Damage and Claims, told her the whole story. This went on for about 8 minutes. Guess what, I was transferred, surprise…. Repeat conversation…see above! 9:10AM…new supervisor, no luck, another transfer! Now I have someone named Mamour over in Dallas, the supervisor's Manager. A few order numbers thrown at me ON9xxxxxx and ORDROxxxxx…what this means is beyond me? They are all convinced that insulting me with an offer of a $25 performance guarantee reimbursement should do the trick… WOW…I'm impressed! That's some offer! Please…. It cost me more to write you this letter! I asked Mamour what I should do with the equipment that Verizon still has at the house. He informed me I would have to take them to a drop off station for credit. Hummm…Verizon left it here, now I am expected to drive it somewhere to get credit? One thing I found very interesting, I was told to call 2 numbers to get the closest drop off location. Ok, here we go 800-209-4455 (We're sorry, we can not continue to process your call, please hang up and try again)! I gave #2 a try, 800-436-1300…It's the HOME SHOPPING NETWORK… Am I now on the hook to sell this stuff at a discount? Frustration sets in as I do not want another 57 minute phone conversation with a Verizon female computer voice recorder that actually has attitude built into the voice when you don't give her the answers she wants.

One day a gentleman named Adam Brooks showed up on my doorstep. I opened the door. He was with Verizon. He wanted to know if I was pleased with the install? Does Verizon not communicate? For a communications company, I am a bit surprised that no one there does! Back to the story, one more time. He makes notes and tells me someone will be calling me. Actually, Adam was a really nice guy and seemed to have compassion for the situation. I have to give him credit for being very professional and following through. (503) xxx-xxxx. He said he would have the contractor that installed the lines contact me. I got a call from the contractor a week later, however, it appears that the cut lines were caused by Verizon when they installed the boxes on the wall. The contractor came out and showed me where everything took place and where the problems occurred. The contractor gave me a check for $43 to compensate for damaged plants on the property. I was told that someone named Dan Ferguson would contact me from Consumer Relations with Verizon, however, I never received a phone call from him.

Well now that everything was cancelled, I was told there would be no charges! Oh look, on June 25th, I was sent a bill in the amount of $157.50. Swell! Here we go, more phone calls.

July 16, 2009: I still have a balance of 157.50 on my billing. I contact Verizon again to have the charges removed. I spoke with Chris I think (not sure, a little confusion, see July 22 notes) who after 15 minutes of repeating the story again so that I could be compensated, she informs me her computer is down (it happened the day before as well-seems to be the norm there…If I can't get working internet service from a company who provides and charges for it, why should their customer service have access to working internet)? Go Figure! She said she would call me back…never did.

On Tuesday , July 21, 2009, 9:50AM. I contacted Customer Service and was connected to someone by the name of Neil 888-xxx-xxxx. Nice guy and he seemed to have it together. He read his notes and said that I talked to Angela on Thursday, she sits close by so he will talk to her and get the scoop on the billing problem and call me back. Angela? Well ok Angela, Chris… I've been through so many people at this point, I guess it doesn't matter because no one there can make decisions that make sense anyway. I get a call from Chris…she very firmly advised me that she was right and I was wrong in a very righteous way repeating statements from her notes that she perceived to be things that I said (considering her computer went down and she had to re-construct the conversation, I suppose anything goes…She also informed me (very directly I might add) that she left a message on my voice mail stating that the charges were reversed. I suppose if I had a message on my voice mail it makes all the sense in the world for me to call customer service and find out why no one called me to inform me of a credit…If I knew I had one, would I be calling??? I really have nothing better to do with my time. I am told that as far as additional compensation I could receive the really great performance guarantee check of $25…seems everyone there has the magic check to hand out. (I lost 5 days at work and about 11 days of phone service along with trampled plants in my yard. Did I mention Comcast has to rerun all of the lines again and bury them due to the cutting of the cables)? Ok, so the $25 again is a slap in the face. Chris tells me her supervisor will give me a call…she can't give me his number but assures me he'll call…Waiting…I talked to Chris around 10AM… Matt the Supervisor calls me at 11AM. Matt is not willing to work with me…he too wants to offer the $25 slap in the face and says he can not accommodate my 5 days of work missed due to Verizon not showing up when scheduled…although it's a different compensation when I was expected to wait for contractors that didn't show up as scheduled. I explained to Matt that if I didn't show up for the appointment, I am sure that Verizon would charge me…or would that be Frontier Communications that is taking over Verizon in the NW? By the way, no one ever informed me that my service provider would be Frontier Communications…I found this out from one of the Comcast contractors.

Now let me throw out a few more one liners that were fascinating to me:

Matt: I asked him for a supervisor. He was quick to tell me she was unavailable (how did he know that without even taking a breath to ask her, does he man the Supervisor calendar)?

Matt: I asked him for the supervisor's name, Kim he replied. I asked for a last name…He refused to give me the last name, stating that for security reasons, he is not allowed to give out last names.

Matt: I asked for Kim's phone number, he stated she didn't have one! (I am becoming amused)!

Matt: He also told me Kim would not be able to give me any answers that were different from his… Why have a Supervisor if her subordinate can always make instant decisions and answer for her? Glad we cleared that one up!

Matt: I asked him where the corporate office was. He said St Petersburg FL

Matt: I asked for the Corporate phone number: Classic response, "They don't have one!"

I am seriously amused at this point!

My response: "Wow Matt, A communications company that provides phone service all over the country and they doesn't have a phone of their own?" "No wonder my phones never worked!" "They haven't figured out how to hook up the first one over at headquarters! "

Matt: "I can give you an address, you can write to them!" PO Box ya da ya da ya da! Thank you, so helpful.

Matt: I asked for a physical address, he wouldn't give me one.

Matt: I told him I wanted compensation for the 5 days I took off from work to accommodate Verizon's necessity for me to be home, although they didn't show up when promised. His response…The $25 performance guarantee. I told him I make no less than $65 an hour and that's what I expect as compensation….8 hrs x 5 days even though I have spend endless additional hours trying to get this mess straightened out. He told me that he can not just whip out a check. It's against Verizon guidelines. I asked him to send me a copy of the guidelines. He said he couldn't do that. He told me that it is against policy to compensate for work lost or send out a copy of the guidelines! I asked him for a copy of the policy… No, he can't do that either. He also told me, and I quote "It was against FCC rules." That's a new one!

Well…he told me he would have Kim call me sometime between noon and 5PM! Nice… I wasn't sure how that would be possible considering Kim didn't have a phone! Am I missing something here?

1:30: Kim leaves a voice mail…with no return phone number! She must have borrowed a phone from AT & T! She said she would call me sometime the next day! So, do I wait for the call? Maybe sometime between 8AM-5PM!

Wednesday, July 23: Kim calls the other phone number that I rarely answer at 11:30AM. She is not willing to offer more than $25. As I mentioned to Matt, if I was going to hear the same song and dance each time I hear from another Manager, then send me to someone else. I told Kim the same thing. At least she didn't make any decisions for the next Manager in line. That would be James. He is supposed to call me sometime between now and 5:00PM. Hurry up and wait some more. I get the call from James at 3:30PM. Amazingly, he is one of the few at Verizon that is allowed to have a phone. I guess security isn't an issue for him and going against Verizon policy is ok, because he did give me his last name (Hobson) and a phone number where he could be reached. 636-xxx-xxxx. I did ask for an employee ID#, but he said he couldn't offer that as it was an internal number and policy not to give it out. (Lots of policies)! Of course I was offered the usual $25. I think if they keep offering the $25 dollars, I suppose it would add up each time and eventually I could collect a lot of checks for $25 until I got the compensation I deserve. I let James know that $25 is not acceptable and, like Matt, asked him if he would work for $25 a week. Of course he said no. I asked him why than should I be any different? As you can imagine, we wasted another 20 minutes on the phone going nowhere. I did ask for the Corporate number. He put me on hold for at least 5 minutes and came back with a "We can't seem to find it." He informed me that someone would call me within 24 hours with the number.

Well, as you can see, it is now Friday, July 24 at 9:35AM. No phone call from anyone, at Verizon Corporate if there is such a thing!

July 23, 2009: I received a call from Wendy Allen…somewhere in Texas. She proclaimed to be the Manager of the entire building, as she put it. She said she was in control of Texas, California and some other state (not mine). Twice she repeated these states, Oregon was never included. I asked her why she was calling me as she was not in my state. She corrected herself at that point and told me she had the west coast. Of course, $25 was her best offer and not acceptable to me. I am now frustrated. I told her I would locate someone on my own that could make decisions. Wendy's offered her number at 972-xxx-xxxx. So, I guess the policy doesn't work here either cause I got both last name and phone number. Different rules for different schools!

Next step? I will continue my quest and just keep adding to my list of notes from May 30 and send this letter out to anyone who will listen. My next step (consumer advocates who are receiving a blind copy of this letter), the FCC, government officials (I am well connected), who may have more contacts than I do. Eventually someone will listen but I would like to see Verizon do the right thing and just compensate me for the 5 days I missed from work. They expected me to be here, I lived up to my end of the bargain. It will be interesting to see what happens next!"

Even Waiting Outside Your Local Comcast Office Will Not Get Your Bill Corrected

Meg Marco — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:26:25 EDT

Reader Kevin would like to be billed the correct amount for his internet service from Comcast. This is a dream we all share, so let us give our support to Kevin in this dark hour. In his letter to the CEO of Comcast, Kevin says that he has tried many tactics in order to get Comcast to charge him the correct amount — including — but not limited to —- going to the Comcast office and sitting outside in the hope that the account executive would show up. He didn't. This mysterious account executive has also failed to answer messages left on his work voicemail and his cellphone. Perhaps he has become hopelessly trapped under a vending machine somewhere. Someone should try to find him before the scorpions show up.

Kevin writes:

Beginning last February, my credit card (which is on autopay) began to be charged $181 per month for cable Internet and a block of 13 static IP addresses. Yes, that's correct, one hundred and eighty one dollars per month just for Internet access.

Obviously, that was wrong so I looked into it and I found that I had been on a contracted rate with Comcast which had been assigned as a promo rate; however, I'm almost certain that nothing I ever signed specified that rate as being a promo rate OR that the rate would end. I'm highly against rate increases because of promotions and would have never signed anything to that effect unless it was not properly noted and/or explained to me.

So beginning last February, and without any notice, Comcast began charging me almost double what I should be paying for Internet.

My account executive Scott explained what was going on and said that he would fix it. I signed a new 2 year contract that was backdated and amounts ($275.25) were credited onto my account. I pointed out the fact that I was still being charged $181 and he said he'd fix that too but it hasn't happened.

***For the current bill cycle alone, Comcast needs to refund me $74.57.***

This needs to stop so I tried to get it solved by calling the commercial billing support line and they were unable to help me. Another month went by with wrong billing so I began to get more serious about fixing this. For the past month and a half, I have left many voicemails, gone to the local Comcast office to find my account executive—and infact waited for him to arrive for more than 30 minutes without luck. I've left messages for him at work, on his cell phone, at the office, EVERYWHERE.

I've tried all this and yet I'm being billed $181 per month instead of $106 per month since February.

Can someone there spend some time to help a consumer that just happens to have a business account? (for the static IP addresses)

Thank you,
Kevin

(Photo:diaper)

Comcast Installer Robs Check Cashing Store

Chris Walters — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:47:05 EDT

Hey dumb crooks, if you're going to rob a place be sure not to wear a uniform with your company's name on it and drive a van plastered with a nationally recognized logo. It makes it really easy for the police to catch you. On second thought, do just that, please.

According to KPTV in Oregon,

At about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, the man walked into the Ace Checks Cashed on Southeast 73rd Avenue and Powell Street, where he attacked and robbed a woman who works in the store, police said. Officers have identified the employee as 37-year-old Nicole Loundree, of Portland.

Workers at a nearby business said they noticed something suspicious at the check-cashing store and then saw a man in a Comcast uniform rush out and leave in a Comcast van.

The police stopped two nearby Comcast vans and arrested one of the drivers, 25-year-old Michael Clarence Hagen, and charged him with attempted aggravated murder, assault, and robbery.

Hilariously, at least one local Comcast customer has decided this spells doom for her future Comcast dealings:

That frightens me because Comcast was just at our house this morning just at 9 o'clock fixing our wireless Internet, because our modems were broken, and you don't know who you're letting in your home," [Michelle] Gardner said.

We know we like to cover bad things that Comcast does, but we're pretty sure they don't hire criminals at any higher a rate than other companies.

"Comcast Worker Jailed; Robbery Victim Recovering" [KPTV] (Thanks to Kevin!)

Hey, look! Comcast has their very own blog! ...

Laura Northrup — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:10:04 EDT

Hey, look! Comcast has their very own blog! It features mostly regular company news about Comcast services and the adventures of employees and executives, but at least it allows comments. Even Consumerist favorite Frank Eliason, Director of Digital Care (aka @comcastcares on Twitter) has joined in the fun.

Want NFL Network, Comcasters? That'll Still Be An Extra $60 (Or $200) A Year

Phil Villarreal — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:00:53 EDT

Comcast-subscribing NFL fans did the Ickey Shuffle back in May when the NFL Network and Comcast revealed that they'd made nice and the channel would made available to Comcasters on the "Digital Classic" package for no additional charge Aug. 1.

It turns out there's nothing to celebrate, because apparently Digital Classic no longer exists and subscribers who want the channel will still have to shell out $5 as before. Digital Classic has been absorbed by the more expensive "Digital Preferred" tier, a customer service rep told me.

A message from Comcast and a couple calls to customer service revealed that nothing has changed from the previous setup between the domineering cable giant and the greedy NFL's pet keepaway network. If you want the NFL Network but happen to get the $57.69 (in Tucson) Digital Starter package, you'll still need to cough up $5 a month for the 14-channel Sports Entertainment package. Either that or upgrade to Digital Preferred at $74.64 monthly.

Verdict: The compromise between Comcast and the NFL Network did nothing for consumers.

(Photo: Tom Simpson)

What, You Expect Comcast To Stop Billing You Just Because You Canceled Your Account?

Carey Alexander — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 10:00:54 EDT

Look, Comcast, when you take back someone's equipment and give them a receipt confirming that their account has no balance, it's not unreasonable for them to think that their account is canceled. Don't keep billing them for service and equipment rentals, and don't tell them that you "can keep [the account] active and [bill] indefinitely until [you] decide to disconnect it." Because if you do, they're going to call their state Attorney General's office. At least that's how Paul convinced Comcast to finally cancel his account.

Shannon, Paul's girlfriend, writes:

I have had an unusually bad experience that is still unresolved with Comcast Cable.

My boyfriend, Paul, canceled his Comcast account over three weeks ago, returning all of the company's equipment and obtaining a receipt that reflected a zero balance.

Comcast has since continued to send bills for future service and rental for the returned equipment. Three customer service representatives have told us that it is company policy that they can keep your account active and bill you indefinitely until they decide to disconnect it. You have no real power to cancel your own account.

The disconnection appears to be scheduled each day for the current day and is automatically rescheduled at the end of every day for the following day when it is not done.

In addition to speaking with customer service reps over the phone, we have attempted to contact them through email to no avail.

He has filed a complaint with the attorney general of our state because he believes Comcast is using his old account information to maintain a fraudulent account.

I just wanted to warn other customers of this company policy.

Shannon later sent us an update:

I wanted to let you know about the conclusion of the story (I hope).

I had filed a complaint with the Connecticut State Attorney General's Department of Public Utility Control and they called Comcast on my behalf.

As a result, Comcast resolved the dispute and pro-rated the last month of service.

The actual disconnection was finally performed, possibly related to the fact that I filed a complaint with the FCC for leaking RF signal, though I do not know this for sure.

So, it was not a normal channel for resolution, but it's resolved nonetheless.

Cable Providers Stream Shows Online, Require Subscriber Authentication

Laura Northrup — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:15:31 EDT

How are cable providers reacting to the threat posed by online streaming of shows? Forget bandwidth caps for now—how about online access to cable programs, limited to cable subscribers?

Comcast and Time Warner Cable are working to bring this to you, starting with Turner Broadcasting programs. BusinesWeek has the details:

Here's how the trial will work: Starting in July, 5,000 Comcast subscribers will be able to see shows online from Turner Broadcasting's TNT and TBS channels, like The Closer and Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns. But first, they each will have to demonstrate that they're a Comcast cable-TV subscriber through a screening called authentication. That most likely will entail a user name and password. Comcast will offer the shows on Comcast.net and Fancast.com, and Turner on TNT.tv and TBS.com.

Cable companies hope to stop users from giving up cable entirely through evil plans such as cable subscriber authentication and charging for sites like Hulu. Will media companies succeed in breaking younger consumers' belief that content should be free?

Time Warner, Comcast Plan to Wall Off Online TV [BusinessWeek]

(Photo: LAYeiser)

Is This Rogue Installer Running A Scam On Comcast Customers?

Chris Walters — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:25:27 EDT

If you live near Burke, Virginia, you might want to pay close attention when the contractor hired by Comcast comes to install your service. Rick runs a computer repair company and has twice run into the same problem with Comcast customers, where they can no longer access the Internet after an upgrade and are offered an off-the-books repair service.

I run a small computer repair and troubleshooting shop in Alexandria, VA and have been doing all kinds of computer/ networking jobs for more than 12 years.

Yesterday, I received a call from a very nice (elderly) couple who were having connectivity issues with their new Comcast 3 in 1 package installation (Phone, Cable, Internet). Basically, they were not able to connect to any internet sites after the installation, though; they had no issues prior to upgrading their service with Comcast. The service technician that came out and upgraded their service installed the new hardware and "helped" connect their computer, but was unable to do so. The couple said that the technician attempted to establish a connection for more than 2 hours but at the end failed to do so. All the while telling the couple that he was actually a contractor for Comcast and actually does computer repair/ troubleshooting as his primary job with his own little company.

Anyway, the Comcast technician finally told them that the issue was with their computer and that the operating system (Vista Home Edition) needed to be reinstalled. Here is the catch, the technician told the couple that he could do this for them but that it would not be part of the Comcast service contract. He offered to help provided they called him after he got off work for the low price of $199.99 (hmm... I've heard that before). The couple told him that they appreciated his effort and would consider doing so but wanted to try and get help as part of the Comcast service contract. They are on a fixed budget since they were retired.

The couple then contact every customer support number they had for their equipment to include the computer manufacturer, Router manufacturer, and Comcast once again to resolve the issue. Alas, none were able to assist since none could connect to their system and Comcast emphatically denied that it was an issue with their modem.

As a last resort they called me as I was recommended by a neighbor and asked if I could take a look at their computer. I agreed and made my way over that afternoon. Once I arrived I talked to the husband for a few minutes to get an idea of the issue and started my preliminary testing. This is how it went down:

1) I verified that the devices worked properly. Blinky lights — OK

2) I connected my own laptop to the modem. Everything was OK there too. I got an IP with no issues (68.86.X.X — I am making this number up since I do not recall the exact IP)

3) I connect to the Router (Linksys). Everything was OK there too. I got another internal IP (192.168.1.101) with no issues.

4) I verified that the Router was getting an IP from the Modem. OK there too and I was able to cruise the internet. So it must be the computer.

5) I checked the computer's security settings (Firewall & Anti-Virus) — Everything looked OK there too.

6) I check the IP that was given to the computer from the Router via the command console by typing "ipconfig". 10.1.10.1/ 24 — Screeech— What the heck? This isn't right! It should have been 192.168.1.X something. Let's see here—the network connection was assigned a static IP. Hmmm. I asked the husband if he had changed the connection to a static IP. He didn't know what I was talking about so I went back into the Router to check that the router didn't reset itself. It hadn't, all the original configuration settings that it originally had were still the same (Wireless name was the same and didn't default to "linksys", DHCP was enabled and the IP address scope was 192.168.1.100 - 200).

7) So I reset the Connection to receive an IP from the router dynamically and low and behold, everything worked.

Now here is what makes me sick to my stomach. I had the same exact issue with another customer a few weeks prior no more than 2 blocks away from the current residence. They were also not able to connect to the internet after an upgrade and were also offered to have the problem fixed for a price. I wasn't aware then that the technician was selling his reported services by piggy backing off of Comcast service calls at that time so I wasn't able to connect the two events immediately since I believed that the price was an actual Comcast service quote.

I am definitely not a conspiracy theorist, but, the similarities between the two events were just uncanny.

1) The same issues after an upgrade

2) The same price to fix the problem

3) Within walking distance of each other

4) The same misconfiguration of IPs on both systems

5) The real Comcast service call prices were nowhere near the price that was quoted by the technician

6) Both customers that I helped were elderly and limited in their computing knowledge (not trying to sound arrogant)

It is my belief that there is one rogue individual who is contracted by Comcast that is exploiting Comcast customers by intentionally misconfiguring computers to put a couple extra dollars into his pocket. This is entirely unethical behavior and probably illegal. It makes me ill to think that some sleazy technician is exploiting elderly in such a way.

In any case, I wanted to make you and your readers aware of what has recently transpired in the hopes of warning any future customers from getting suckered that live in the Burke area of Virginia.

Thanks, Rick! We hope you shared this information with the couple and urged them to contact Comcast to complain. But if not, posting it here should get the message out.

(Photo: Justin Marty)

Asking Comcast To Lower Your Bill Results In Comcast Lowering Your Bill

Meg Marco — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:59:12 EDT

If you're paying too much for cable these days, it really doesn't hurt to call and ask for a discount. You never know, your cable company might surprise you. That's what happened to reader Nitin.

Nitin says:

i'm a Comcast customer, i currently have the digital cable package with high-speed internet, DVR, Hi-Def TV, and HBO/Cinemax. my monthly bill has been about $160/month. i'm going back to school full-time in the fall, and can't really afford to keep paying that much. so i called Comcast to see what they could do. After being on hold for a couple minutes, I was connected to a very pleasant and friendly customer service representative who listened to my "tale of woe", and very quickly offered me a discounted rate, keeping all the services i have now, of $100/month. it was a surprisingly pleasant and pain-free interaction with a company that hasn't always provided me with such great service in the past. in hindsight, i guess i should have gotten the CSR's name so i could offer a commendation to her superiors, but i guess the submission of this story to Consumerist will have to do instead. Thanks!

You don't have to be a Comcast subscriber to take advantage of your cable company's generosity. Here's a post that will help you negotiate your way to a cheaper bill.

(Photo:Groovnick)

Indie Flicks Now Come To Cable Boxes As Soon As They Hit Theaters

Phil Villarreal — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:46:11 EDT

It used to be Steven Soderbergh who could get away with bringing indie films to cable on-demand services on their theatrical opening day

Now IFC Entertainment has reached a deal with Comcast and Cablevision that pipes all its films, in HD, to cable boxes, giving moviegoers an option to ditch their local art houses.

Hollywood blogger Nikki Finke reports Cablevision charges $6.95 for either standard definition or high-definition, while Comcast charges $6.99 for SD and $7.99 for HD. Here's a look at the current slate, which includes older films as well as new ones.

New Alphabet For Indie Fans: IFC-HD-VOD [Deadline Hollywood Daily]
(Photo: videovdcombo)

Comcast Takes Setting Your House On Fire "Very Seriously"

Meg Marco — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:57:10 EDT

If a Comcast subcontractor accidentally drills into your electrical box and sets fire to your home — rest assured that the company will take it seriously. One Pennsylvania homeowner is feeling the seriousness right now. It all started when she asked Comcast to install a cable outlet in her kitchen, and it ended with smoke and flames and $20,000 in damage.

From the Pottstown Mercury:

"I called Comcast because I wanted the kitchen TV hooked up to cable," she said, describing how the digital TV converter box hadn't worked as planned. "They said no problem, we can do it, no extra charge." Tyson was already a Comcast subscriber before the incident Monday.

"They drilled right into the electrical box," Tyson said in disbelief, looking over at the side of her home where a long black burn mark extended up to the roof from a burnt electrical box and meter.

Luckily, she had a fire extinguisher handy or the damage might have been much worse. As it is, a local Fire Marshall told the paper that the damage was probably about $20,000 — and that Tyson would have to live somewhere else while the repairs are being made.

Comcast says they're taking all of this very seriously:

"Our first priority is the comfort and well-being of our customer and dog. The first thing we did was to offer accommodations while repairs are made to the home.

"We take this matter very seriously," [a Comcast spokesperson] said. "We are going to review the details of the fire with the contractor and local officials as they investigate."

House fire started by cable worker [Pottstown Mercury] (Thanks, Ed!)
(Photo:Tyler Yip)

Looking for some inexpensive entertainment ...

Laura Northrup — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:48:39 EDT

Looking for some inexpensive entertainment this weekend? It's HBO and Cinemax free preview weekend at a number of major cable providers, including Charter, Comcast, Cox, Time Warner, and Verizon FIOS. If that doesn't include you, keep an eye on the FreePreview.tv site to learn when your provider's previews are coming up. [FreePreview.tv] (Thanks, Tim!)

Comcast Programming Guides Won't Display Porn Next To Kid's Shows Anymore

Carey Alexander — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:00:25 EDT

Sorry kids, your days of catching enticingly named porn listed next to your cuddly family shows on Comcast's programming guide are over. Comcast will now place "blocks of dummy channels" to keep family programs away from the racy pay per view channels.

Earlier this month, Ian Goodson discovered this close encounter. It disturbed him, because his 9-year-old daughter regularly checks the programming guide to see what's playing on ABC Family HD and Disney HD. Even though all she might see is a few suggestive words, rather than the programs themselves, Goodson does not want his daughter to stumble upon the obscene while seeking out the wholesome.

"At noon there's pornography right above the kids' channel stuff," Goodson, 28, a sales rep who lives in Minnetonka. "It just doesn't make any logical sense at all."

Comcast already offers a way to screen what it calls "rather graphic" titles out of the programming guide, but even cable execs should realize that kids shows and porn shouldn't play anywhere near each other.

Comcast agrees with angry parent: no more close encounters between porn channels and kids' channels in program guide [The Star Tribune]

"Help, My Comcast Bill This Month Jumped To $457!"

Chris Walters — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:41:58 EDT

This is a sad evening for Consumerist, because this post is about Comcast sending a gigantic bill to an unsuspecting customer and yet we're going to side with Comcast.

Ben writes,

I signed up for Comcast High Speed Internet and Digital Cable back in August '08. I was given a 6 month promotional rate and my month bills started rolling in at $65. A couple months ago, I was still getting the bills for $65. I thought it was strange that the rate hadn't gone up, but at the time, I couldn't remember exactly how long the promotional rate was for. I was worried about it, but I was also finishing my last semester of college, so I didn't have time to call them and offer them more of my money.

I just got my bill for this month and instead of the usual $65, Comcast wants $457. Apparently my instincts were correct and Comcast didn't up my rate over 4 months ago when they should have. To correct the problem, they billed me for the last four months of stuff they missed in this month's bill. Can they do this? I have always paid my bill on time and I am willing to pay the new, higher rate on the monthly bill that I just recieved, but there is no way I can pay them almost $400 for 4 months of back billing. I am going to call and talk to them in the morning when their billing office opens. Do you have any advice for this situaiton?

Here's the deal: you owe them the money. If they'd been over billing you for four months and you'd just discovered it, you would rightly demand that they reimburse you immediately. We accept that you were too busy—the final weeks of a term can be insane as far as available time—but if you suspected they were under billing you, you could have put aside the money you thought you owed and then contacted them when you had some breathing room.

As for what you can do, we think the most straightforward solution is to pay it off as quickly as possible, even if that means having your cable/Internet cut off for the next 4-8 weeks. Of course, if you call them and luck into finding a friendly CSR, you might be able to work out a payment plan and avoid a service disruption, or possibly even a penalty.

For the rest of us, it's a good lesson that when a company screws up their side of a business agreement, it shouldn't automatically absolve you from your obligations. Contact the company and try to find out what's gone wrong—the sooner you solve the problem, the less of a headache it will ultimately turn out to be.

(Photo: adria.richards)

Comcast Will Probably Charge Customers Extra For Red Zone

Phil Villarreal — Mon, 25 May 2009 13:35:52 EDT

Last week's word that Comcast and the NFL finally put their blood feud behind them to make the elusive NFL Network available on the basic digital tier was nice and all, but the out-of-nowhere bonus that the Comcast would also snag Red Zone Channel, which lets you keep tabs on all the games simultaneously, was a phenomenal revelation.

But before you could say "too good to be true," along comes word — via Sports Illustrated's Peter King — that customers will most likely have to fork over some extra scratch to enter the Red Zone:

Clarifying one thing about the Red Zone Channel on Comcast. Last week, I said the league's smart deal with the cable giant would put the Red Zone (the channel that jumps from game to game on Sundays, showing all scoring opportunities) on Comcast's digital tier. No so, most likely.

Other cable outfits who make deals to put NFL Network on their digital cable tiers will probably place Red Zone on a pay tier similar to the one the league argued the Network shouldn't be on. The reason is because the Red Zone Channel is added value, not something the league wanted to give Big Cable as part of the deal to make the Network more widely distributed on the regular digital tier. So if you've got Comcast, and you want this premium channel, you'll likely have to pay an additional $7 or so per month to get it, which, over a four-month term, is probably a reasonable cost if you're an NFL devotee who loves immediacy and can't wait for the halftime or post-game highlights.

As a Comcast customer and Red Zone Channel lust mongerer, I've got the mixed emotions you feel when your team scores a touchdown but is flagged for a 15-yard excessive celebration penalty.

Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback [Sports Illustrated]
(Photo:gumblyliberation)

Comcast Threatens To Cut You Off Unless You Pay $0.00

Meg Marco — Fri, 22 May 2009 11:25:14 EDT

This should be an easy one to resolve. Readers Rich and Alisa doesn't owe Comcast any money, and Comcast doesn't want them to pay any money. Still, despite this agreement about what is owed, the cable giant still felt the need to threaten to cut off their cable.

Alisa says:

So apparently, if we don't pay Comcast $0.00 by Monday, we'll get cut off.

Hey, we think you should pay them. If you don't, it says they'll cut off your 911 service.

NFL Network And Comcast Finally Kiss And Make Up

Meg Marco — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:44:59 EDT

It's official, the NFL Network and Comcast have finally reached an agreement that will bring the football-only network to the majority of Comcast's subscribers. So, who caved?

According to the NYT, the NFL agreed to lower the price it charges Comcast in exchange for the cable giant placing the channel on its Digital Classic tier.

"We are very pleased that NFL Network and other N.F.L. content will be widely distributed in millions of more homes on Comcast's service," Roger Goodell, the league's commissioner, said in a statement. Brian L. Roberts, Comcast's chairman, said, "Our goal has always been to provide our digital customers with access to the N.F.L.'s unique content and, working together, we have struck the right balance between value and distribution."

Comcast also got video-on-demand rights and the ability to show DirecTV's Red Zone Channel, also known as the greatest invention in the history of mankind.

(For those of you who don't have Sunday Ticket, the Red Zone Channel is a commercial free channel that's hosted by a guy who watches all the games and switches over whenever anyone is about to score. If I had a choice between food and the Red Zone Channel, I would always pick the Red Zone Channel.)

Time Warner and Cablevision are the last remaining NFL channel holdouts, so cross your fingers.

Comcast Reaches Deal on NFL Network [NYT]
(Photo:Mr. Usaji)