Cable companies must constantly prove their worth to local franchise authorities. The authorities grant the cable providers permission to operate, and can whip them into action for failing to meet basic customer service standards, as reader Darren shows.
cable
Comcast Installers Save 2 From Burning Building
By 12.14.07
Comcast gets a lot of knocks around here but you gotta give a thumbs up to these three Comcast installers who saved two people from a burning building building in Chicago. The contractors were on their way to install when they saw flames coming from a building with a pharmacy downstairs and residences upstairs. They turned around, got a ladder off their truck, and started banging on the windows. “If it weren’t for the cable workers, I’d probably be burnt up,” said one of the tenants. The fire department says the fire was started by a thrown Moltov cocktail, but perhaps they should also check if any FiOs trucks were in the nearby vicinity.
By 12.12.07
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Yesterday, AT&T announced it will stop selling DirecTV satellite service in the first quarter of 2008, triggering speculation it may enter an exclusive partnership with satellite television company EchoStar later next year. [Reuters]
Comcast Solves Problems For ComcastMustDie Readers
By 12.10.07
Want to get your Comcast issue resolved? Post it and your account number over ComcastMustDie.com. The guy who started the blog, journalist Bob Garfield, was interviewed on NPR’s On The Media yesterday and he said that everyone who has done so has gotten a followup call from Comcast to look into their problem. If you look at the people who commented on the post, “Has Comcast Gotten Back to You?” you’ll see a number several people saying the executive office reached out to them (Some people initially say Comcast didn’t respond, but then a few days later write again to say that Comcast had). So, if you’ve got an unresolved Comcast issue, it can’t hurt to give posting it and your account number over at ComcastMustDie a try.
Comcast Encourages Employees To Stuff Comcast vs FiOs Poll
By 12.7.07
Comcast told its employees to vote in the Consumerist reader poll asking readers what they thought was better, Comcast, or FiOs. Above is the employee email blast they sent, provided to us by several different Comcast employees: Now, we’re definitely more amused than this than anything else, but it certainly was odd. Why would Comcast want to interfere with the torrents of peer to peer opinion sharing? In any event, Fios won, 784 to 277.
SOLVED: Comcast Charges You For Service You Never Ordered, Threatens To Ruin Your Credit
By 12.3.07
After her story appeared on The Consumerist, Allison is no longer being defrauded and threatened to be sent to collections by Comcast to pay for service she never ordered. A rep in the Comcast executive office contacted us, we put them together and the problem got solved.
Comcast: Wanna Pay An Extra $2.95 A Month For TiVo?
By 12.1.07
TiVo says that you will soon have the privilege of paying Comcast an extra $2.95 a month for TiVo service (on top of what you already pay for a DVR).
“We are very excited by the emphasis that Comcast has placed on this product within its organization and their plans to aggressively market it at a $2.95 up-charge as well as through packaged bundles and win-back offers,” Rogers said. “Further, we are pleased with Comcast’s plans to promote and market the value of the TiVo experience, which will leverage many of their marketing assets including cross-channel TV.”
Comcast Raises Prices In Washington, With A Smile
By 11.30.07
Comcast is raising its prices in Washington, DC. Basic cable is going from $13.45 to $15.24, Digital Classic $11.96 to $14.95, Digital Premier from $110.10 to $115.45. If a tech has to come out to your home, the fee will go from $19.95 to $29.95. Relocating an outlet, however, dropped from $24.95 to $21.35.Best of all is the charming paragraph on the letter introducing the bill changes.
Is Comcast Overloaded With Last-Minute Orders For The NFL Network?
By 11.29.07
Reader Dana is trying to order the Comcast Sports Tier in time for tonight’s “Old Favre, Young Favre” battle between the Packers and the Cowboys, but she says she can’t even get Comcast on the phone.
Comcast Charges You For Service You Never Ordered, Threatens To Ruin Your Credit
By 11.29.07
Reader Allison wrote her Congressional rep in regards to Comcast defrauding her:
Dear Representative Snyder,
EFF Confirms Comcast Mucks With BitTorrent
By 11.29.07
The elite cyber-squad freedom fighters of the The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) released findings today that Comcast does indeed meddle with peer-to-peer file sharing. They’re also giving away some software you can install to test your own ISP. The FCC still has yet to respond to complaints and reports of Comcast’s interference.
Wide Open West Blacks Out NFL Network Games Because It "Can't Afford Them"
By 11.28.07
These NFL Network vs. Cable shenanigans are starting to really bug us. Reader Andy writes in to let us know that Wide Open West offers the NFL Network, but is blacking out the games because it can’t afford to pay the NFL Network to run them.
Lobbyists 1, Kevin Martin 0: FCC Compromises On New Proposal
By 11.28.07
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin thought he had the support of the two Democratic commissioners when he went forward with a proposal to invoke powers given to the FCC in the 1984 Cable Communications Act. The 70/70 rule, as it’s called, allows the FCC to adopt any rules necessary to promote a “diversity of information sources,” once 70% of households can receive cable and 70% of them subscribe.
Comcast Sends Cease And Desist Letter To The NFL
By 11.21.07
Comcast is fed up with the NFL telling its customers to switch providers because the cable company has chosen to offer the NFL network only on their sports tier.
FiOS TV Prices Are Going Up
By 11.21.07
Verizon is rasing prices on its standalone TV FiOS service, says BusinessWeek.
Tech Didn't Show Up? Email Time Warner Cable
By 11.20.07
Reader G writes in with a success story. After her husband took off work to meet a Time Warner technician, they found out that their appointment time had been mysteriously changed. A quick search on Consumerist for some Time Warner executives and a polite email later, G had a technician at her home.
"Comcast Flat-Out Calls Me A Liar"
By 11.19.07
Reader George is unhappy with Comcast and he doesn’t even have it yet.
45 Direct Phone Numbers For Comcast Departments
By 11.19.07
Here’s 45 direct-to-department phone numbers for Comcast, because sometimes reaching the right person at Comcast is so maddening you want to start swinging a hammer in the local branch office. This isn’t to say these people will magically fix your problem, but at least they can leapfrog you past the three-headed watchdog of low-level customer service reps (the heads’ names are Incompetence, Sloth, and Apathy). The escalation and retention numbers, which might be of particular interest for people with big complaints, are marked with an asterix. We tested about 1/3 of these, let us know in the comments if any disconnect….
