The Chicago tribune asked for letters of customer service problems. I loved the idea of venting about my dad’s problems. Unfortunately, the comment section is closed.
Dad’s cable nightmare.
Long ago dad moved in with his sister in Ca. Soon after she divorced her first husband. As the cable was in his name she cancelled and started new a week later when we moved to a cheaper apartment. They gave the box to her ex but he never returned it. The cable company put her name on the bill and charged her for the box. After trying in vain to get someone from the cable company to pick up the box at his apartment dad finally went there himself, got the box and returned it. It was too late there was a charge for returning the box late.
A few months later she moved. As dad didn't have a TV she canceled her cable. A second after canceling she asked the operator not to cancel the high-speed internet because dad used it. Too late, it took two months to get it turned back on.
When dad moved out a year later the final bill included the late fee for the unreturned box. Dad ignored it as he had bad credit. A few years later while trying to clean up his credit report he called Comcast and asked them to remove the charge for the box as he never had cable TV in his name.
After some time they finally relented as they had no record of him subscribing to cable TV.
A few months later he got a call from my sister. She had the cable box on her credit report now. The operator told her dad had them put it on her report because it wasn't his. When she questioned how that could be possible they suggested she sue him for fraud. Thankfully she did, but she was penalized with a slightly higher mortgage rate.
Does this end, not on your life. Dad has rarely owned a TV, but he loves high-speed internet. The problem, everywhere he has lived had one choice and one choice only, Comcast. At his last condo they required a credit card to be billed. They refused to send a paper bill. He didn't renew the card when it expired and forgot completely that Comcast was billing it. They never sent him a bill in paper, just to an email address he never used. So when they sent cut off notices he never got any. Everything was sent to an unused email address. If he had a choice he would have asked for a paper or at least an email sent to an address he used.
Dad was blissfully unaware that the cable would be shut off until it happened.
Dad immediately called and was informed of the problem. He gave them a good credit card number and paid in full right away. He was told his Internet would be restored in a day. They told him the same thing over and over again, day after day, week after week. Finally dad gave up and ordered new service. It was up and running the next day at a cheaper price.
I bet you thought it would be over? Ha, not yet. At the new house dad was sending the money automatically through bill pay from his bank. The problem was he missed a number. So what did Comcast do? That’s right they shut off the service. Dad called but got no help from the customer service people on the phone. He took me to Panera Bread to use the free Internet wi-fi there. After maybe ten or twenty minutes of typing they figured out he had the wrong account number.
The high-speed Internet connection was restored that evening, but dad had to call customer service again to reset the computer to accept the connection. Naturally, after getting the computer online again dad asked why they accepted the wire payment for an account that didn’t exist. Comcast said they would look into the matter. That was the last he heard of it.
If someone, anyone gets a high-speed Internet service around our new house, I don't care if they are twice as expensive dad is changing service. Remember though that if you are stuck with Comcast as your high-speed Internet service you don’t have to be over charged. Most of use started service with some promotion, but even if you didn’t you can try this. When Comcast starts charging you their full price threaten to leave, they should offer to continue the introductory price for 6 months or more. Keep doing this every six months because obviously $50 a month is more than what they need to bring in to make a profit. I’ve been told this by two different people.
Hello everyone. Sorry it has been so long since I last posted some pictures here. Life has been pretty busy for the last few months. Dad has been staying at home taking care of me for a while now. As you can see by my red eyes I like a bit of devilish fun now and then.
