Reader Allison wrote her Congressional rep in regards to Comcast defrauding her:

Dear Representative Snyder,

My husband and I moved home to Arkansas three months ago. I am a nurse and mother of an infant; he teaches Spanish at a Catholic high school. I’m writing because Comcast Corporation is attempting to defraud us, threatening to put our credit rating at risk if we don’t pay them for service that we did not order.

We initially contacted Comcast via the internet to establish the most basic service plan that they offer: $9-$10 per month for network channels only. Comcast received the work order and came to our house to set up service. The technician that came tried to sell me on the upgrade package and did everything he could to get us to agree to the next level up, including trying to get me to agree to have a converter box installed “in case I changed my mind.” We were firm that we wanted the least expensive option available, and were confused when he left us with access to channels 2-40. When we asked the technician about this, he assured us it would be fine, and that we would be billed correctly.

On our bills we have been charged for a package that includes channels 2-98 and costs $49.95 a month–a significant financial burden on us that we had not asked for. We contacted Comcast multiple times to correct the problem, waited more than half an hour on hold each time, and were told that it would be taken care of. We took days off to be available for technicians to come check our traps that block channels, each time with no technician showing up. We were promised calls back after “research” was done on the issue, with no follow up.
Comcast is now demanding that we pay the bill in its entirety for the months of the expanded service despite the fact that they understand that is not what we ordered. They are threatening to terminate our cable service and report us to creditors if the bill goes unpaid. They are further saying that they cannot resolve the issue until the bill is paid in full.

We would very much appreciate your help in resolving this matter. Further, we are worried that other young families in a similar situation may be falling victim to these dishonest tactics. Please let us know if there is any more information we can provide to assist your efforts to protect Arkansas consumers from Comcast Corporation.

Respectfully,
Allison M.

cc: Jennifer Khoury
Senior Director of Corporate & Consumer Communications
Comcast Corporation
1500 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102

Reg Griffin
Vice President of Communications
600 Galleria Parkway Suite 1100
Atlanta, GA 30339

Gloria Rush
Public Relations/ Marketing
600 Galleria Parkway Suite 1100
Atlanta, GA 30339

Mr. Roberts, if you really hope your company’s bad reputation isn’t “universal,” maybe you could start by not scamming Allison and her husband. Allison could also try sending her complaint letter to this list of Comcast Executives, including brian_roberts@comcast.com.

(Photo: Steve Rhodes)

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