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Old 03-24-2010, 03:08 PM   #1
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I hate cable service providers.

I recently dropped the television portion of my cable service and kept just the internet service which is listed at 42.95 a month on Comcasts website. So I get my bill and there is this $12.00 monthly charge listed as "Performance Tier WOC."

So I called and asked what that was all about and it was explained that WOC means With-Out-Cable and that I have to pay that extra $12.00 because I don't have any television service. WTF? Not that 12 bucks is a big deal, but why the frig don't they just list it as $54.95 instead of listing the $12.00 as a "Performance Tier" making one believe they are getting something extra when it's clearly a penalty for not having basic television cable service?

Worst part is that Comcast has a monopoly in my area and I don't have any recourse other than to go DSL which by the way also requires basic phone service to get whatever pricing they list on their site ( I dropped my land line some time ago as well in favor of cell phone service only.)

Why can't companies just be straight up with their customers? I'm far more inclined to cancel a service after I find out about these sorts of duplicitous tactics than I would be inclined to not purchase in the first place if they'd just tell me the actual cost up front and not try to bullshit me by listing a penalty fee as a "Performance Tier."

*sigh*
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Old 03-24-2010, 03:35 PM   #2
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Welcome to the world. Just bend over and smile. It's not the end, there's more!
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Old 03-24-2010, 03:50 PM   #3
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Welcome to the world. Just bend over and smile. It's not the end, there's more!
This I know all too well. It's just irritating. Sometimes makes we want to pull a Michael Douglas like he did in the movie Falling Down. Too many people are far too willing to smile in your face as they stab you in the back.
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Old 03-24-2010, 03:57 PM   #4
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I love that movie! no one seems to know or remember what it is though.
as for the "service" sometimes politely bitching and complaining works to get discounts.
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Old 03-24-2010, 04:13 PM   #5
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if you get it in your area i have ATT dsl w/o phone for 45..... i love it
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Old 03-24-2010, 04:32 PM   #6
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Welcome to the world. Just bend over and smile. It's not the end, there's more!


isn't that the truth!

I hate that. I have Comcast and I wanted to drop my TV subscription in June when my trial period is up, and only keep internet, so thanks for the heads up.

$55 for internet only isn't cheap. (plus tax?!! that's close to $65 here) Grrrrrrrr
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Old 03-24-2010, 04:41 PM   #7
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I love that movie! no one seems to know or remember what it is though.
It is a good movie. Here's a little tidbit for those that haven't seen it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eREiQhBDIk The video is a little screwed up at the start.
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Old 03-24-2010, 04:58 PM   #8
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Falling Down is great. Comcast sucks. Their customer service scores are consistently low, and they don't even seem to care. Once the digital transition happened, we cancelled our cable and we just get free over-the-air TV now... fewer channels, but all the stuff we really watched anyway, and the quality is usually the same as cable. BTW, in most markets you can get standalone DSL without a home phone line now... and I think the pricing is the same.
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Old 03-24-2010, 05:33 PM   #9
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Regarding DSL - my only choice is Qwest and their pricing for service without a phone and for a slower speed than I'm getting now is only slightly less than Comcast. Not really worth it for me.

I think I might call Comcast again and tell them I'm canceling to see what offers they throw at me. But again, it just forces them to throw me a bone to keep me happy when they could just as easily offer the lower price without treating me like a circus monkey performing tricks.
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Old 03-24-2010, 05:42 PM   #10
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they could just as easily offer the lower price without treating me like a circus monkey performing tricks.
But that wouldn't be nearly as much fun for them.
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Old 03-24-2010, 06:34 PM   #11
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I think I might call Comcast again and tell them I'm canceling to see what offers they throw at me. But again, it just forces them to throw me a bone to keep me happy when they could just as easily offer the lower price without treating me like a circus monkey performing tricks.
that's what they do. I called them once to complain about my package (when I signed on, I was quoted $129 for all 3, internet, basic digital cable and phone, and when I got the bill it was closer to $150*. They neglected to say there were taxes and other stuff tagged on. Learn from me, ALWAYS ask what it will cost INCLUDING TAX AND FEES, because it can make a difference. In California our taxes are close to 10%)

Anyway, I called them to complain and they just threw a couple more channels in the package to calm me down. I don't even know which one to be honest.

I like having access to some TV but I'm not willing to spend a lot of money to watch average programming. I have Netflix for movies anyway, and get my news off the Internet.

Out here AT&T offers u-verse, seems pretty decent, but I hate having to deal with AT&T again.

Not to thread jack or anything but what do you guys have, and how much do you all pay for Internet, Phone, and TV? Oh and where are you located?


* that's an introductory price. Will go through the roof when my trial period is over.
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Old 03-24-2010, 06:40 PM   #12
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For the record, AT&T was a fine company for years, until they got bought up or split or something a few years back. Then the service went downhill, the bill went through the roof, some of the jobs went overseas, classic story. I got bills hitting close to $90 some dollars per month on a regular basis for a landline I hardly ever used

By comparison, Comcast's VOIP phone is outstanding, call clarity is excellent, price is fair and you know what to expect every month.
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Old 03-24-2010, 06:41 PM   #13
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Agreed on the Comcast sucks. I had to fight tooth and nail to get them to take back their DVR and install a CableCard in homemade DVR I made. Had to tell them it was a Tivo in order to get the installer out to put the card in.

I did call in and complain one night when I had the time to kill. 3 reps and 2 supervisors and managed to get the Speed channel for free for a year, which made me happy.
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Old 03-24-2010, 06:49 PM   #14
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Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. A couple of years ago, I was without internet for several months on and off (signal came in and out whenever). It took many phone calls, several visits from people who couldn't figure out what's wrong. Comcast decided the problem was with the building and wanted to drill a hole on the side of the building to get the cable through, was adamant the problem was with the building. One day a supervisor shows up, and find that all that time, my cable was just pinched downstairs in the utility box. Whoever closed the box last didn't notice my cable was sticking out slightly and closed the box right on it, so that's why there was a bad connection.

Months of grief and phone calls and Comcast pointing fingers back to me, and it was something that stupid their own Comcast tech did ...
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Old 03-24-2010, 07:09 PM   #15
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But that wouldn't be nearly as much fun for them.
lol - bitches.
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Old 03-24-2010, 07:32 PM   #16
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After leaving AT&T for years after learning of the "snoop center" they had set up for the Bush administration in San Francisco (which happens to be the ring most of my traffic goes through) we came back to them late last year. We have their U-Verse package for Internet (12MB/2MB) and Television (U200 package (only wanted U100 and a DVR, but the U200 package is the same price and includes a DVR) and the non-premium HD channels) for $105/month. This reflects a semi-permanent $30/month discount due to my high-level griping about their bullshit local trial for data caps and surcharges.


Funny story about Charter Cable: Last year AT&T said they couldn't get to us for 10 days, and we rely on a Net connection for telecommuting. Charter said they'd be out the next day, so despite knowing their horrible track record regarding customer service and fiscal management (they file for bankruptcy every 4-5 years) we went with them.

The installer looked around our culdesac for an hour, trying to locate the tap that connects to our house. He was digging under snow piles and whatnot and never actually found it. Without my prior knowledge or consent he reported our installation as canceled.

So I call Charter and they send someone else out who actually locates the tap and gets us up and running, but I discovered in the first hour that something was totally screwed up within their email systems. I host our own email server but they force me to route all outgoing mail through them. This wouldn't be much of a problem but whenever we try to forward spam message to SpamCop or the FTC it eats them as spam. (?!)

This is an easy fix that requires their support staff to add just one line to a configuration file which whitelists us as a sender. Simple, that is, until I encountered their support system. To make a long and painful story short it took 3 days, 17 dropped phone calls, being hung up on twice, 4 emails and 2 supervisors for me to learn that they simply could not help me due to the absolute lack of communication and accountability within and between their support units.

I canceled and it was back dated to the point that I only owed them $17 to close the account. However, a few weeks later I received not just one but two offers for free $25 gift cards, one for each of our supposed installations. I used them both, so in effect Charter paid *me* $33 to fight with their support staff.
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Old 03-25-2010, 07:04 AM   #17
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Not to thread jack or anything but what do you guys have, and how much do you all pay for Internet, Phone, and TV? Oh and where are you located?
I pay $29.99/month for 1.5Mbps down with Verizon.

I actually talked to a representative yesterday about their 7.0Mbps plan for $39.99/month and found out that because of my location, I'm capped out at 1.5Mbps and can't receive anything faster.
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Old 03-25-2010, 10:53 AM   #18
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I dropped all premium channels like Starz, Showtime, HBO, Cinemax, etc...so now my digital cable bill is only $88.00 per month.
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