The death of a family member is never easy to handle. And the last thing you need in the wake of a tragic loss is to get caught up in red tape and incompetence over something as minor as canceling your late loved one’s Comcast account. Unfortunately for Consumerist reader Wyatt, that’s exactly what is happening to him and his family right now.

Wyatt’s father passed away in February and of all the hassles involved in closing out the estate, Wyatt says his dealings with Comcast have been the worst of the lost.

Writes Wyatt:

The story starts back in early March, after the funeral and all the immediate issues had been taken care of. My family and I began identifying services that could be cut right away — cable and television being at the top of the list.

I called Comcast, who assured me that the service could be canceled, as soon as I faxed over a death certificate. I sent one over, problem solved. Except… bills kept arriving.

I called again — this time, it’s a mix-up, service will be canceled shortly.

Another bill arrives. I call again, and they insist they need their equipment back before anything can be done.

None of the other representatives mentioned that before, but okay, they need their equipment back. Makes sense. I have relatives visit the house and deliver the boxes to a local retail center (I’m 8 hours away at school, and can’t do it myself.) Predictably, another bill arrives.

No cancellation of service — instead, we’ve got a bill for continued service of $580 and change. After another, angrier call, I’m told they need the death certificate again. I fax the certificate again, and my reward? An updated bill in late July, where service is finally canceled… and backdated 49 days, to the middle of June. Comcast still insists the estate owes $370, despite nearly all of that bill being for services they were told to stop providing for a dead man.

Once again, I called Comcast. This time, I was told that there was nothing they could tell me, because I wasn’t the owner of the account. They insisted I would need to fax the death certificate to them a third time, or take it into a local service center (the nearest one for me being over 50 miles away) before they could even discuss the account with me.

So even though Wyatt has made countless calls on behalf of his late father and sent multiple copies of the death certificate, Comcast now insists they can’t talk to him because he’s not the deceased?

Sounds like Comcast has kick-started their campaign to win the next Worst Company in America tournament.

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