utility service providers that suck and why

[Dustbuster]

rant mode on full bore

49 minutes on the phone w comcrap to get a bundle installed in a home  for someone, can u spell ##$%%^^holes

ATT U verse  LOL HAHAHAHAHAHA read the emperors clothes.........

ATT landline service 19 a month plus 25 in fees hahahahahaha god bless trackphone

please feel free to add on,im not a promoter of hate but im fed up w these companies that advertise painless service that is really a scam in the end

Edited May 3, 2013 by Dustbuster

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

Seems that most services now require you to bend over and lube up..

[Ted S.]

I've never had a bad experience with any service companies. The closest was when I was starting to think we were having poor Internet service from Charter, but after they came out and replaced an outdated router at no cost to us, it has really changed my mind about them.

 

Between several different cell carriers over the years, I've never had any issues with service that weren't outlined as what is to be expected of service from the carrier in their ''Terms and Conditions'' that each carrier provided to me before signing on for service.

 

I'm not trying to play devils advocate or anything, but the only thing I have ever disliked about service providers is the ''barriers of entry'' for possible competition, which drives up the price of service more than anything. But the only thing to do if you want to push a message across that you are fed up with the way they have disserviced you is to stop feeding the pig. We have the choice whether or not we want these companies to have our money. Most services are not necessities, but are luxuries.

 

Personally, these luxuries are things that I cannot possibly or affordably provide to myself on my own, and I have the choice to take it or leave it. With the exception of the Internet, I have largely decided to leave it.

 

Also, not having a phone number when one of the local merchants asks for it is such a liberating feeling!!

 

:usa:

Edited May 3, 2013 by Ted S.

[Raoul]

utility service providers that suck and why

ALL OF THEM

Because they can.

[DaveTN]

My Comcast internet and TV both rock. But I pay a high price for it. That is what happens when the government protects companies from competition.

 

 

 

[Metalhead]

I've never had any trouble out of Comcast. In fact, they've been downright pleasant to deal with thus far, saved me about $50 a month vs what I was paying them before just with a phone call to them. I think a lot of it has to do with how you treat them on the phone when you call, too.

[TripleDigitRide]

I've never had any trouble out of Comcast. In fact, they've been downright pleasant to deal with thus far, saved me about $50 a month vs what I was paying them before just with a phone call to them. I think a lot of it has to do with how you treat them on the phone when you call, too.

Ditto.

[Chucktshoes]

My experiences with Comcast here in Memphis have been terrible. They were terrible when they were Time Warner and they continued to be terrible until I fired them for AT&T. I have never had the service outage issues with AT&T that seems to be unceasing with Comcast.

[joustin]

Cable isn't a utility

Sent from my Kindle Fire

[MacGyver]

So long as they're defacto public monopolies, I don't expect much.

[npgunner]

Also, not having a phone number when one of the local merchants asks for it is such a liberating feeling!!

I realize this isn't the topic of this thread ... but when asked for a number by a local merchant I frequently give out a good friends number and say please call me with marketing.
HAHAHAHA
This started because he did the same to me.

[hipower]

My Comcast internet and TV both rock. But I pay a high price for it. That is what happens when the government protects companies from competition.

 Totally with you on this.

 

I've never had any trouble out of Comcast. In fact, they've been downright pleasant to deal with thus far, saved me about $50 a month vs what I was paying them before just with a phone call to them. I think a lot of it has to do with how you treat them on the phone when you call, too.

 I haven't been involved with them lately about getting some reduced rates, but some of my neighbors have and I'm hearing success stories from them.

[GlockSpock]

Signed up for Charter 11 months ago. 6 months into it they go from $29.99 a month to $49.99 a month. Of course, this was the end of their promotional pricing. I sucked it up and kept it (internet). Few weeks later I got a letter saying my bill would go up $2 a month. What? Sucked it up. Probably 5 times during this period I called and complained, asking for better rates. Last week I got on their webchat, simply stated I was looking for a better rate, and low and behold, this guy says he can give me the internet for $39 a month! So I actually am pretty happy right now with Charter...hopefully they won't screw it up anytime soon.

 

Verizon Wireless...yeah. About 3 weeks ago my phone charger broke (for a Samsung Alias 2). I was 2 weeks from being out of contract with them. I went in to tell them all I wanted to do was switch to their $35 prepaid plan and purchase a Samsung Intensity III at prepaid pricing. They couldn't (wouldn't) sell me anything. However, I needed a phone charger that day so the salesman convinced me to purchase a phone charger ($29.99-25% discount) and then bring it back when I got a new phone. I went for it because I didn't want to go all over town looking for Samsung's special charger. I didn't pay close enough attention to the receipt. I went Monday to take the charger back, roughly 2.5 weeks after the purchase, and that is when I found out Verizon has a 14 day return window for accessories. I assumed it'd be 30, but it wasn't. 

 

All in all, they lost me as a customer due to a lot of small things like that, and I switched to a MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) called Ting. Verizon was never at all willing to work with me just a bit. I even told them in the store that they could keep me as a customer by selling me the prepaid phone and switch me two weeks early to the prepaid pricing. I had actually already paid the following month's bill at the time, so financially speaking I was already out of contract. All in all I suppose they aren't interested in penny pinchers like me, they would rather spend time finding another person to pay well over a couple hundred for several smartphones in their family. 

 

Kudos to Verizon for having that much market share (if you will) that they don't feel they need to give me any bargaining power at all. I just know of all the bills I paid/have paid, Verizon was always the one that frustrated me the most.

[Guest RedLights&Sirens]

Comcast sucked in Connecticut. It could take weeks for them to come instal something if not longer, and that was after what felt like weeks on the phone with customer service. It was not for being a busy company either, they were just lazy.

Dont get me started on T-mobile.

[Jonnin]

I tossed comcast over their anti-gun policy and high prices, the service was as bad as anyone else, no better, no worse.   Some of the guys were pretty good really.  

[R_Bert]

So which company will make Al-Jazeera a opt-out?

 

That would probably increase subscribership exponentially for whoever does it first..

[willis68]

Cable isn't a utilitySent from my Kindle Fire

I beg to differ,

I worked for cable companies for over 20 years, and one thing I can tell you for certain is that there are people out there who will get their water turned off before losing their HBO, go with out eating out at places to keep their cable on with broadband Internet now it only reinforces people's dependencies to the cable companies

[monkeylizard]

The product Comcast provides has been excellent. The people I've spoken with are nice. They're either nice idiots or Comcast has some billing software designed by Satan. I have never not once no never ever ever been able to call them and make a change and the billing be done correctly. Without fail they will make the change I requested and add in something else that I didn't request. When I added HD service, I got HD service and 3 additional set top boxes according to my bill....erm....no...I didn't. I called once to report a service outage and ended up with an extra M-Card on my bill the next month. Seriously? I hate calling Comcast because I know that I'll be dealing with the fallout from that call for the next 1 to 2 months.

[2.ooohhh]

I love my actual comcast internet, but I will never understand how they can make so many billing errors.

 

 I gave comcast 50+ days notice I was moving using the "moving assistance" website and phone number. (I moved all of 7 miles) I thought all was well. . .

 

When I was finally setting up service at the new house they stated that I owed for the service at the property that wasn't paid up. I notified them that I had closed on the property the day before and provided my paperwork proving such. She told me that the man I bought the house from had stolen my Identity and used it to set up an account with comcast in 1997. Then she suggested that the best way to fix it was to get the police involved for the identity theft and bring back the police report so they could wipe the past debt on the address. . .  I politely explained that they had obviously just modified the previous owner's account in their database with my info instead of moving my account from the old address to the new, and that I would not be filing a false report with the police. She responded that it couldn't possibly have happened like that he must have stolen my identity. :stunned:

 

Her supervisor returns from a run to another store and gives me a billing number to resolve the situation, they finally did after nearly a week involving frequent hour plus phone calls.

 

Then just last month I get a forwarded collections notice for "unreturned equipment- cable modem" from when I stopped the service at my old address. I call them and informed them that I have NEVER rented ANY equipment from them for any service, they said "yeah, I'm looking at your account and I see no equipment linked to the account but the system automatically generates these if you don't return any equipment. I'll just remove it for you this time"  :squint:

[monkeylizard]

I'm glad I'm not the only one....

[JWC]

NES sucks. I live in Wilson County but have NES electric. When you call them it don't put you on hold it just immediately cuts you off. When my dad died they sent us a letter that we had 7 days,until xx date, to switch the bill or it'd be cut off. Of course we received the letter in the mail with 2 days until the date. Couldn't call because it just cuts you off. So a drive to downtown Nashville.

Of course I see one of them investigative reports on the news and NES officials have to answer to Metro Council for stuff and it pisses me off because if we had an issue we have no representative to even mention anything, being in another county and all. I miss MTEMC. Rates were cheaper and you could actually contact them.


Obviously it's been 20 years and i'm not sure how it'd go these days. But in the 1993 ice storm we felt we were put off longer than Davidson County residents to have our power restored also. Right at 2 weeks.

[Guest uofmeet]

I have comcast. The service is excellent, maybe out twice since i have them for the past 4 years, once I fixed it myself cause the box is in my back yard. I pay 40/month for 50down/10up and TV service, which i do not use. If you call up and complain enough, or threaten to cancel, they will lower your rate for a period of time. And when the time has expired, just call up and do it again.

 

I don't really care for ATT, but i still have unlimited data, so I just take it. I don't think any other provider has that good of coverage and unlimited data, So i will stick around and pay my 140/mo for me and my wife.

 

DirectTV for TV, and in about a month or so i will call and "cancel" and see what kind of deal I can work out with them.

 

I called sat radio to cancel, and after offering me some different prices, they finally gave it to me for free for about a month and a half hoping i won't remember to call up and cancel again.....

Edited May 9, 2013 by uofmeet

[Guest Keal G Seo]

My set up is this:
Phone- Magicjack @ 30/year (2.50/month), No problems thus far.
Internet- Cant beat Comcast @ 36/month for (actual) 25 down and 10 up
TV- DishNetwork @ 60/month for 2nd biggest package AND a 1 dvd at a time plan from Blockbuster

All and all I am paying about 120 month for all three. Only complaints I have about any of them is the Dish up here on the mountain in winter sucks. Snow will just collect on it and after about an inch it blocks the signal. I have had more power outages than I have had outages with Comcast. Magicjack has been wonderful since I got it about 6 months ago.

[ttocswob]

As one who works in electric power, I resemble that remark!

 

But every one of you has done this: on a dark stormy night, you know the power is out - yet upon entering the next room, you will flip the light switch. Why? Because a lifetime of reliable service has conditioned you to expect the light to come on.

[Guest uofmeet]

My set up is this:
Phone- Magicjack @ 30/year (2.50/month), No problems thus far.
Internet- Cant beat Comcast @ 36/month for (actual) 25 down and 10 up
TV- DishNetwork @ 60/month for 2nd biggest package AND a 1 dvd at a time plan from Blockbuster

All and all I am paying about 120 month for all three. Only complaints I have about any of them is the Dish up here on the mountain in winter sucks. Snow will just collect on it and after about an inch it blocks the signal. I have had more power outages than I have had outages with Comcast. Magicjack has been wonderful since I got it about 6 months ago.

Blockbuster still exist?