(By the way: for the Comcast hacks who are reading this, hello. This is Chat ID #EDF3552A-BD69-4B8C-93C3-49857AC2D365 I am talking about if you want to confirm that I’m not the one lying here.)
On March 5, 2012 when my cable bill more than doubled overnight, I went into a webchat with some operators at Comcast. Eventually I wound up with a supervisor allegedly named “June.” I had the foresight to print out the webchat so I had a permanent record of whatever was said.
After getting no love now that Verizon has announced the end of FiOS buildout (a half mile down the street from my neighborhood’s connection no less), Comcast has decided that they will not offer any incentives to customers in areas not covered by fiber to stay. They like having a monopoly in areas they have no competition and know that their customers really have no place to go.
Eventually, I dropped the bomb.
That’s right. I decided to cut the cable. I can get a top of the line antenna for two months’ worth of my Comcast bill. Installing it will be a pain since there don’t seem to be any professional installers around here, but it might be worth it in the end.
“June” pretended she didn’t know what I was talking about.
Please note my statement “the channels we watch outside of the networks” (which means those I can get with an antenna) “the most are BBC America, Current, GSN, AMC.” I forgot about LOGO, but now that almost all the gay programming is disappearing from it that’s not as big an issue as it might have been. So look at the four channels I mentioned.
So since I was talking about going antenna, June decides to be aggressive. Without permission from me she decides to downgrade my service.
Then, knowing that her customer is slipping away, comes the lie to keep me on for another month.
Got that? She says that the channels I mentioned (BBC America, Current, GSN, and AMC) are included in Digital Starter.
In case you want to double check for yourself, Comcast’s channel lineups can be found here. My ZIP code is 08361.
Under “All Channels,” here are the locations for those four channels.
73, 74, 107, and 114. Right?
Now let’s change the display to “Digital Starter,” shall we?
Wait, where’s 73? The operator told me that
73 was one of the channels I mentioned. It’s not included in Digital Starter.
But maybe 107 and 114 are, huh? Maybe I’d only be losing one channel.
No, 107 isn’t listed. 114 is listed now, but was not there when I pulled up the list the morning of 3/5 trying to find a way to lower my bill myself. Still, half of the channels that I called dealbreakers (the only reasons I had cable television in the first place) were not in the package she unilaterally decided to impose upon me before I forced her to stop, and lied to me to try and milk one last month of cable service out of me.
I watch so little on BBC America nowadays anyhow that it won’t be a sacrifice to dump it, but the other two are a big deal. I’m not joking that outside of the four networks and CW, those channels (plus Logo, which I forgot to mention and also isn’t included in Digital Starter) are literally the only channels we actually watch on cable. And AMC is only for stretches twice a year when The Walking Dead and Mad Men are on. But those two programs aren’t worth an extra $80.00 a month year round while we wait for them to come on.
This is now more than just a question of switching to antenna. This is a prime example of unfair commercial practices. If I can spare the $25.00 filing fee attached to it (and I just might) I will ask for a formal hearing before the BPU and include this chat transcript as evidence in my attempt to get a formal investigation of the company’s pricing and practices.
By the way, I think June might have realized there would be a paper trail on this conversation because she tried to get me to move it to the phone.
I immediately got suspicious.
That was not a lie on my part. Bryan was asleep as I was trying to deal with this. But Comcast won’t talk to you on the phone if you try to record the call, so there is no proof that anyone said or did anything. With chat there is. And that’s a problem for Comcast because…
I will start by saying we have the same viewing habits in our household and the same channels that are deal breakers. I was on an on-line chat the other day for over an hour and the rep told me the same thing about my essential channels being included if i switich to the digital economy which I could clearly see they were not. When I finally agreed to the downgrade he said he made a mistake and this wouldn’t save me any $$$!!
I dumped cable(Scumscast) simply because there was less and less on that I liked.
I dropped my Comcast cable for the very same reasons you mentioned, and right now I am using “rabbit ears” to get the basic networks only: ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS. Can you tell me how to get AMC without going through Comcast and actually being able to watch the shows as their air – not Netflix or HuluPlus where you get shows that have already aired?
I’m glad I stumbled upon your blog. I am dealing with the same crap from Comcast! A couple years ago I had the Digital Starter package at $29.99, then it went to $34.99 at 6 months, then to $69.99 after a year. That, combined with my internet, put my bill at about $100 a month, so a year ago I called Comcast and told them I refuse to pay that much to sit on my ass and watch TV. She told me I could downgrade to the Digital Economy (which was not even listed as an option anywhere on their website) , and I would only be losing some channels up in the 100′s. I told her I specifically needed Nickelodeon (Channel 38 in my area) for my son because I wanted him to have at least one cartoon channel. I also told them that I needed TLC (Channel 23 in my area). I was assured that both those channels were in the Digital Economy, and the price would be $29.99. So, I switched. I was very happy with my line up for the past year, although they raised my bill to $34.95 during that time. I get home today, and I’m missing many channels starting at 23 and on up to 38. Said “Not Authorized” on my screen. Hmmmm, imagine that. I call them and the guy was talking in circles….Rep: “Um, yeah, the package you have is not offered in your area.” Me: “Um, then why have I been getting it for the past year?” Rep: “Um, yeah, it looks like maybe it’s jut no longer offered, or maybe you got those channels by mistake.” I told him it was no mistake, I was clear last year what channels I was told I’d be getting and in what package. So he tells me he’s limited on what he can do but if I want to talk to their customer resolution center I could. Fine, transfer me. I get a gal who said that when I downgraded last year, none of those channels I’m now missing were supposed to be in the package I got, and for some reason, I must’ve been getting them by accident. Sometimes some sneak thru, but when they “scrub” the lines, it will remove any unauthorized channels. I told her I didn’t buy it because I specifically recall my phone discussion with the rep a year ago. She goes on to say she can offer me the Digital Starter for $29.99 for the first 6 mos., then it goes to $39.99, then at month 13 it goes to $64.25. Gee, I think I’m back where I was two years ago! So I ask her to reiterate the quote she gave me, and she changes the $39.99 to $49.99 and apologized for her “mistake.” Unfortunately I didn’t save my bills that far back but you better believe I’ll be saving every one of them from now on. I also asked for a channel line up and she told me where to find it on their website. Yeah, good luck with that. As I’m digging, a Chat agent (Chris) pops up asking if he/she can help. I asked where the channel lineups can be found, and can he/she provide me a copy of the channel line ups that existed a year ago. Again, talking in circles and asking for my address. I finally told Chris I would continue digging up this info on my own and will be keeping every bill and bit of documentation from now on so that I no longer get gipped by Comcast. I ended the chat, and have yet to find an actual line up for my area, even after I put in my zip code. I will be stopping into a branch office to get an official copy and will probably use my phone to video tape me scrolling through each channel as proof of what I’m getting today, ’cause guarantee you it won’t be the same in one year! Comcast are crooks and liars. I hate that I have to have them because I cannot get a satellite signal where my house I located.