Consumerist reader Dan was just trying to cancel his Comcast cable and internet service when he suddenly found himself plunked down into a dark corner of the byzantine hedge maze that is Comcast customer service.

Writes Dan:

I canceled my service at the end of October and returned my cable boxes. When I was returning, the girl at the Palm Beach Gardens office said that I still need to return my cable modem. That’s all good, but I own my cable modem.

A few days after, I called Comcast, to try to sort it out, as the girl in the office said that she couldn’t. I spoke with a rep who said it shouldn’t be a problem, as there were “notes” in her Comtrack system that I owned the modem. That was on November 2.

Fast forward a few weeks. I start getting voicemails from Equipment Recovery to return my cable equipment. Then they started calling my cell phone. I answered and explained to them that I owned the cable modem and they said they wouldn’t call any more.

Next I got my final Comcast bill and there was a $35 charge for unreturned equipment. I called Comcast and they opened an investigation. The calls from Equipment Recovery have started again.

I asked the lady at Equipment Recovery for proof that Comcast owned the modem and she said they didn’t have access to that. My advice to all with Comcast is to make sure you keep your receipt for that modem you bought!

While Dan’s suggestion of keeping your receipts is a good one, it also should never, ever be necessary. Shouldn’t the burden of proof be on Comcast to prove that your cable modem actually belongs to them?

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