Consumerist
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comcast executive email carpet bomb
Warn Comcast You're Moving, Lose Your Internet Access
Chris gave Comcast a heads up that he was moving and wanted to arrange a transfer date ahead of time, and they disconnected his present internet access instead. Gahhhhhhh! Ahhhh!!! When he made various calls to various Comcast departments, various employees agreed it was messed up, but all refused to actually solve the problem. So Chris, using some email addresses we posted, sent out a well-crafted executive email carpet bomb... More » -
sunwave
Sunwave CSR Isn't Rude, He's Offering You An Education
Emmanuel wrote in to share with us an appalling exchange he had with a CSR for Sunwave Communications, the hosting company for his website. After days of no visible progress on an open support ticket, he asked online support for more information. The first time he admitted to not knowing something, he was met with sarcasm. In a fairly short chat session the CSR became increasingly belligerent, until a stunned Emmanuel commented he was at a loss for words. The CSR's reply? “You are at a loss for knowledge.” Emmanuel is no longer a customer. Read their chat, inside. More » -
privacy
UPDATE: Charter Will Track Your Internet Activity Regardless Of Whether You Opt Out
Last week, we wrote about Charter's decision to begin tracking its users internet activity and inserting targeted ads. One of our readers wrote in to let us know he discovered that Charter's insecure opt-out solution—downloading a cookie that must be downloaded for each user and browser, and downloading it again whenever the cache is cleared—only blocks the ads from showing up; it doesn't block Charter from monitoring users' searches and web activity. More » -
privacy
Charter To Begin Tracking Users' Searches And Inserting Targeted Ads
Charter Communications is sending letters to its customers informing them of an "enhanced online experience" that involves Charter monitoring its users' searches and the websites they visit, and inserting targeted third-party ads based on their web activity. Charter, which serves nearly six million customers, is requiring users who want to keep their activity private to submit their personal information to Charter via an unencrypted form and download a privacy cookie that must be downloaded again each time a user clears his web cache or uses a different browser. More » -
how to
Quit AOL Using Highlighters
It looks like AOL is up to its old shenanigans and is still making hard for some people to cancel service (yes there are still some people using AOL), but reader Richard figured out a way to finally get through to them, with a highlighter. He writes:I could not find a way to contact AOL to stop my service. So I took a yellow marker, drew a line though that line item on my credit card bill, and wrote on the bill...."Do not pay, account in dispute". I paid all the other items on the CC bill that month. It took AOL about 2 weeks to call me.....I told them what I thought of their service, and instructed them to terminate my account, while I was still on the phone. It worked. They seem to understand when you tell them you are not going to pay.
That's one way to go about it. You could also call up your credit card company and request a chargeback, but this has the added benefit of zero hold time. First rebates, now AOL cancellations, this highlighter is starting to look mighty potent. -
followups
Comcast Apologizes For Tech's Van Blocking Driveway
Frank Eliason from Comcast Executive Customer Service provided the following statement regarding the San Fransican whose Comcast cable service mysteriously shut off 10 minutes after asking a tech to move his van from in front of his driveway: More » -
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comcast
Ask Comcast Tech To Move His Van, Mysteriously Lose Signal
Reader Daniel lives in San Francisco, where parking is notoriously impossible. He came home one morning to find a Comcast van blocking his drive way, and politely asked the driver to move. Ten minutes later he lost his internet and TV signal. Mysterious coincidence, or malevolent tech? Check out the details, inside. More » -
fees
Sprint Gouges Business Customer For Over $30,000 In Inflated Fees
Allen Harkleroad of GMP Services writes, "A warning to all Sprint corporate customers that have dedicated access (T1's, etc.) if you are out of contract Sprint may be gouging you and claiming outrageously high local loop charges as the cause." More » -
rants
"HughesNet is Absolutely, Without A Doubt, The Worst Company I Have Ever Had The Misfortune of Relying On"
Reader Jeff isn't pleased with HughesNet and has cc'd us on his email so that we can listen in. It's more of a warning than a specific complaint that can be resolved:I would just like to take this opportunity to reiterate, for the hundredth time, how much I loathe HughesNet. I have just been FAPed again. No one here is downloading any movies, music, books, or much of anything — just using the Internet. I have a guest visiting, and I'm assuming their additional drain on the ridiculously small 375 MB cap we're afforded is what's knocked us over the limit...so now I'm stuck at sub-dialup speeds for the next 24 hours.
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peer-to-peer
Comcast Impersonates Users' Computers To Meddle With Internet Traffic
Comcast uses its own computers to masquerade as those of its users in order to disrupt and throttle internet traffic—specifically the peer-to-peer kind—whenever it chooses, according to nationwide independent tests carried out by the Associated Press. A Comcast rep dances around the charge by saying that the company doesn't "block" access to anything—but he makes no mention of throttling or disrupting connections to shape traffic, probably because if he did, he'd have to admit to it or blatantly lie. More »
isp
New York, 1:31 AM
Wed Dec 3
16 posts in the last 24 hours
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