“I guess the thing that bothers me is, the service is bad and rates keep increasing,” said Alan Letofsky, one of many customers who recently received a notice from Comcast saying they would need a digital-cable box to keep HBO, which telecasts The Sopranos. “We just don’t want to give any more money to Comcast.”
cable
No Sopranos For You: Comcast Says Switch To Digital Or Lose HBO
By 3.22.07
Get Comcast Internet Without $50 Activation Fee
By 3.19.07
Blueprint For Financial Prosperity tells us how to get Comcast internet installed without paying a $50 activation fee.
Circuit City's Firedog Charges $169 For 'Home Theater Installation', Doesn't Hook Up HDMI Cable
By 3.12.07
•Demonstrate operation of system
Use Your Phone As A Remote?
By 3.9.07
Usually when people talk about AT&T and Verizon becoming cable operators they spin a bunch of bull about how competition will lower your bill. So far, that isn’t happening. But what happens when the technology comes together? Will you be able to use your cell phone to control your DVR? From the Chicago Tribune:
[AT&T] this week began offering its “Homezone” customers the ability to control their digital video recorders through Web-enabled phones. The interface lets cell phone users schedule or delete recordings on their set-top boxes from anywhere.
Comcast Leaves Customer Without Forty-Eight Channels
By 3.3.07
Comcast has left reader Laura without forty-eight channels since early February. Laura has replaced four cable boxes, and spoken with several technicians. Each one suggests the same diagnosis.
Shockingly, it is not a problem with the line or the box. It is a problem with the coding coming in through the line. The technician tells us that our line is showing both Adelphia codes and Comcast codes coming through it. When both sets of codes hit the box, the box shuts down.
Diagnosing the problem is not the same as fixing the problem. Though aware of the issue, Comcast has not offered a solution. Laura is still without forty-eight channels. Comcast is still billing her for full service.
TiVO Tells You How To Defeat Their DRM To Keep You From Canceling
By 3.1.07
I explain to her that I know I can move the files over but raw TiVo files are encrypted and useless. She said you can just download an application to convert them yourself. I explained this would be illegal under the DMCA and TiVo somewhat agressevly tries to enforce the encryption. She said so there is no way you can get an application to convert the files. I told her that I could get such an application but that it is quite illegal and Tivo could sue me or worse. The total times she tryed to get me to do something illega so I would keep the TiVo service, about 4. If I wanted to be illegal I could just dump the cable too and friggin download everything DRM and commercial free, DUH.
TiVo2Go’s Terms and Conditions say:
The TiVoToGo feature includes security measures designed to prevent infringement of copyrighted works. You agree not to take any steps to defeat any TiVo security measures or to use any third party applications that may bypass any TiVo security measures.
It’s sad when your retention people have to talk customers into doing something against your Terms and Conditions in a desperate attempt to keep them. DRM gives The Consumerist a headache. DRM should be sponsored by Excedrin Migraine.—MEGHANN MARCO
1/4 Of HDTV Owners Do Not Realize They Are Not Watching HDTV
By 3.1.07
Anyone who thinks consumers understand high-definition television should consider a recent survey by Leichtman Research Group.
Ripped-Off Mom Gets Resolution From Comcast After We Intervene
By 2.23.07
David’s Mom just got her refund check, nearly bringing her issue with Comcast billing and harassing her for cable that was never installed to a close.
Cable War Fails To Lower Rates
By 2.19.07
Bills for thousands of Montgomery County cable viewers will increase by 4 percent starting March 1, when Comcast Corp., suburban Maryland’s largest cable television provider, raises rates throughout the Washington region.
MLB Extra Innings Going to DirecTV?
By 2.19.07
Those of us who are fans of an out-of-market NFL team know the pain: Unless you have enough cash to go to a bar every Sunday for 3 hours, you pretty much have to get DirecTV and NFL Sunday Ticket. Could this monopoly be coming to Major League Baseball?
Comcast Responds To Disconnecting "Unlimited" Customer For "Excessive" Use
By 2.13.07
Comcast issued The Consumerist a statement regarding, “Comcast Customer Uses “Unlimited Service” Excessively, Gets Disconnected For A Year“:
Comcast Customer Uses "Unlimited Service" Excessively, Gets Disconnected For A Year
By 2.10.07
UPDATE: Comcast responds.
Cable Out? Ask For "Refund For The Day"
By 2.2.07
Matt has Comcast and whenever service goes out he calls up, does a little bitching softshoe, and then asks for a refund for that day of service. Depending on your subscription plan, this could be anywhere from between $2 to $5.
Senior Citizen Gets Comcasticed! i.e. Ripped Off
By 1.30.07
What would you call getting a bill for services you never received? How about fraud? That’s what Comcast is doing to one blogger’s mother.
Comcast Does Away With “All Day” Waiting
By 1.25.07
Comcast has begun narrowing the window of time customers have to wait for technicians, says the Wall Street Journal.
iTunes + Netflix = Cancel Cable?
By 1.24.07
A blogger over at ZDNet realized that he could cancel part of his cable, order his shows on iTunes, watch movies on Netflix and save $300 a year.
Adelphia: I’ll Be Your Mirror
By 1.4.07
At one time or another, we’ve all felt like customer service has gotten it completely backwards.
Threatening To Cancel Cable Can Get You Discounts
By 1.3.07
As we mentioned yesterday, threatening to cancel your cable for another provider can sometimes unleash a shower of freebies and rebates as the company tries to get you to stay.
