Without telling him there would be a fee, Comcast charged Tom $30 to fix the cable wiring going to his house. By simply questioning the charge and expressing his disappointment he wasn’t notified about it, Tom was able to get $20 back. Here is the chat transcript of his success, which is also enjoyable for the inane interjected advertisements that try to sound like human conversation.

Tom: I have a question about a “trouble call” on my bill and “additional digital equipment.”

Crystal: Hello Tom_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Crystal. Please give me one moment to review your information.

Crystal: How are you doing today?

Crystal: I thank you for giving us the opportunity to resolve this issue and I am happy to help you with it. As your service representative today, I want you to know that your satisfaction is of my topmost priority and I assure you that we can resolve this issue together on this chat.

Crystal: I understand that you have a problem with your bill. I do apologize for that. I’d be very much willing to help you with that.

Tom_: OK

Tom_: My acccount number is xxxxxxxxxxx

Crystal: Thank you.

Crystal: To verify security, could you please provide me the last four digits of your Social Security Number?

Tom_: mine are xxxx

Tom_: my wife’s is xxxx

Tom_: i think the account is under her name

Crystal: Thank you for the information that you have given me.

Crystal: Please give me a minute or two to review your bill.

Crystal: I appreciate your patience while on hold, I am still working/checking on your account. Please give me another 2 minutes for this, would that be okay?

Crystal: Did you know Comcast Customer Central is the one place for you to pay your bill, manage your account settings, and get help and support for all Comcast products. You can easily access Comcast Customer Central from Comcast.net. From http://www.comcast.net, you may find the links to Customer Central under the ‘Account Links’ option of your ‘My Comcast’ box at the top right of the page.

Tom_: ok

Crystal: Thank you for patiently waiting, Tom.

Crystal: I have reviewed your bill and the $6.99 charge is the amount added to your bill for the additional outlet for your digital cable box.

Tom_: Another outlet?

Tom_: I don’t understand

Tom_: I only have one box connected

Crystal: How many televisions do you have?

Tom_: Two

Crystal: That is it.

Crystal: The additional outlet charge is for the second television.

Tom_: I see

Tom_: The second television does not have a box, however.

Crystal: The cable box you have can support two television. The charge was for the additional outlet for your second tv.

Crystal: By the way, Comcast brings you thousands of movies and shows with On Demand and great picture quality–rain or shine. But your television experience doesn’t stop there. When you sign up for a Comcast Digital Cable package your subscription goes even further with dozens of other features that will keep you tuned in all day and all night–all at no additional charge.

Tom_: Okay

Tom_: Can you explain the trouble call?

Crystal: It’s been my pleasure to have assisted you . I am happy you contacted Comcast today.

Crystal: Is there anything else you’d like to clarify before you close our chat?

Tom_: Yes

Tom_: Please explain the trouble call

Tom_: I had a technician come to my house

Crystal: Sure thing.

Tom_: but I have never been charged $30 before

Tom_: why was this different?

Tom_: And why wasn’t I notified that I would be charged?

Crystal: If the technician determines your issue is not Comcast-related, you could be charged a service fee.

Tom_: The issue was a faulty component on the wires outside

Tom_: he had to get a ladder and climb up to fix it

Tom_: The fault wasn’t caused by user error

Tom_: That ‘s hard for me to understand

Crystal: Since the problem was with the wiring not with your Comcast equipment, you were charged for a trouble call fee for the technician appointment.

Tom_: I don’t understand

Tom_: is the wiring not comcast equipment?

Tom_: whose equipment was it then>?

Tom_: it certainly wasn’t mine

Crystal: I definitely know where you’re coming from and I truly apologize for the inconvenience. Comcast is determined to resolve your issue today and I know you we can do this together.

Tom_: My main concern is that I was blindsided by this charge.

Tom_: I would’ve appreciated it if a Comcast representative would have told me about the charge either before or after completing the service.

Tom_: It’s difficult for me to feel confident that I won’t be levied surprise charges in the future.

Tom_: I don’t have time to sift thru the fine print everytime comcast changes its terms

Tom_: It’s a great inconvenience to me and I am very uneasy with this practice

Crystal: I do apologize for any inconvenience or frustration that you may have experienced with this issue. I appreciate you for bringing this to our attention.

Crystal: What I can do is to process a $20.00 credit on the account. I apologize however that is the maximum amount I can process. Will that be fine with you?

Tom_: Yes, I appreciate it.

Tom_: Is there anyway that I can have a note put on my account so that Comcast representatives speaking with me will know to notiify me if I will be levied an additional charge beyond my typical monthly bill?

Crystal: Sure thing, Tom.

Crystal: I will note it here.

Tom_: Thank you very much

Crystal: You are most welcome, Tom.

Crystal: I have processed your request. The credit will be posted on your next bill.

Crystal: Is there anything else you’d like to clarify before you close our chat?

Crystal: There will be a 3 question survey that will follow our interaction. Please take moment for this, your feedback will greatly help us to continue improving how we serve you. Thank you very much.

Tom_: Nothing else. Thank you!

Crystal: You are most welcome.

Crystal: By the way, before we end the chat, let me remind you of the things that we have done on this chat today.

Crystal: We have discussed your bill and explained to you the charges. The trouble call charge has already been credited on the account.

Crystal: By the way, our phone service is available in your area.
With Comcast Digital Voice service you get one phone line. You have the option to add up to three additional lines for a small, monthly fee.

Crystal: It is with gratitude to have you as my customer on this chat and I appreciate the opportunity you’ve given us today to resolve your issue. Enjoy the rest of your day and take care. Do you want to watch full TV shows and movies online? Go to http://www.fancast.com. Thank you for choosing Comcast as your service provider and have a great day! Comcast appreciates your business and values you as a customer. Our goal is to provide you with excellent service. If you need further assistance, you can chat with one of our Customer Support Specialists 24 hour a day, 7 days a week at http://www.comcastsupport.com/videochat. To close this chat, please click the end session button at the top of your chat window.

Crystal: Analyst has closed chat and left the room

Squeaky wheel gets the grease.

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