Yet another Comcast rant...

[10-Ring]

I'm not even sure what the are doing is legal but I don't really know how to go about doing anything about it short of spending a bunch of money on a lawyer.  Our Comcast bill has jumped from $86 to $107 a month, according to Comcast this is due to "fees and taxes" I believe is what my wife told me.  If we had ANY other viable option we would be switching our provider but Comcast is the only broadband provider in our area.  We have looked into getting a hotspot from Straight Talk but the data is so limited.  My wife needs internet access for classes that she is taking, and seeing as we haven't had cable in about a year (After Comcast decided that they needed an additional $100 a month for that) we really do use a lot of streaming.  Unfortunately our house sits in a hole and a TV antenna won't work at all so we really do kind of depend on internet.  I'm sure that Comcast is not charging this rate in areas where they have any competition, I really feel like we are being gouged and taken advantage of. 

[2.ooohhh]

http://business.comcast.com/local/nashville seriously best option for you I was stuck in the same position. PM me if you need details but I can assure you the business internet is much better in MANY ways. One being the set price for the length of the contract.

[Oh Shoot]

Simply compare your bills before and after price change, at least you can see where the charges are before you go all Don Quixote.

 

There are rate increases every year. There is also of course the hike once your initial "deal" limit expires.

 

- OS

[10-Ring]

http://business.comcast.com/local/nashville seriously best option for you I was stuck in the same position. PM me if you need details but I can assure you the business internet is much better in MANY ways. One being the set price for the length of the contract.

 

Thanks but the location in question is actually our house in Maryville which is deceptive by my location on my profile, I moved out here for a job and my wife and daughter are still in Maryville until they finish their respective school years, and we find a house here. 

[2.ooohhh]

My entire bill is 69.95 a month and will be for the life of my contract.

Truck rolls happen much faster should you lose service.

NO BANDWIDTH CAPS LIMITS OR OVERAGES. (really I downloaded 2.3 TB rebuilding a server last month from an off-site backup)

Still have access to xfinity hotspots nationwide.

Traffic prioritization over non business network traffic.

 

Is far as I can tell comcast business services anywhere comcast residential will. Worth a call at least. They are technically only supposed to sell to "businesses" so be sure to tell them you have a small home business. :)

[bubbadavis]

I'm longing for the day Google fiber is available. I can't wait to call Comcast and tell them to cancel. The conversation with the retention department will be fun...

[2.ooohhh]

I'm longing for the day Google fiber is available. I can't wait to call Comcast and tell them to cancel. The conversation with the retention department will be fun...

 

This is what I'm anxiously counting down as well, but int he time being business class is a drastic improvement over the BS that comcast residential tried to pull.

[Fourtyfive]

My bill is different every month , I think they do it to see if I will call again ; well I do. I have a bathroom TV that is almost impossible to get cable to unless I drill tile. I've used a few different rabbit ears with general success. Then I stumbled on this

http://t.homedepot.com/p/Winegard-Flatwave-Razor-Thin-Indoor-HDTV-Antenna-FL5000H/203972854/

They make the same antenna I use on my Airstream , it ROCKS , please try it , worst case senerio is you return it , there is even an outdoor version I think. Do a search , this design is good.

Here ya go .... http://www.amazon.com/Winegard-FL5500A-FlatWave-Amplified-Antenna/dp/B00BN5Z2WM Edited April 2, 2015 by Fourtyfive

[R1100R]

I'm with BUBBA on this. They first chance I can drop Comcast, I will.

[bubbadavis]

Comcast keeps trying to charge me rent on my cable modem. I've called and corrected them at least four times now.

[vontar]

Comcast keeps trying to charge me rent on my cable modem. I've called and corrected them at least four times now.

that happens to me from time to time, a quick call and it is fixed again.  But it tells me that they probably try that every so often to see who is watching their bill and who isn't.  If they can, they are going to charge you for your own modem I believe which is very shady, as I believe they do it on purpose.

Edited April 2, 2015 by vontar

[Fourtyfive]

Comcast keeps trying to charge me rent on my cable modem. I've called and corrected them at least four times now.

Just buy one , it will pay for itself in about 8 months ..... oops , just caught the MY ....been through that too ...

Edited April 2, 2015 by Fourtyfive

[R1100R]

Just buy one , it will pay for itself in about 8 months .....

That is what he is implying. He owns his own, and they keep trying to charge him.

[bubbadavis]

That is what he is implying. He owns his own, and they keep trying to charge him.

 

It's good business, if you can get away with it (at least in Comcast's eyes)!

[Sam1]

My entire bill is 69.95 a month and will be for the life of my contract.

Truck rolls happen much faster should you lose service.

NO BANDWIDTH CAPS LIMITS OR OVERAGES. (really I downloaded 2.3 TB rebuilding a server last month from an off-site backup)

Still have access to xfinity hotspots nationwide.

Traffic prioritization over non business network traffic.

 

Is far as I can tell comcast business services anywhere comcast residential will. Worth a call at least. They are technically only supposed to sell to "businesses" so be sure to tell them you have a small home business. :)

 

For the $70, what is your speed?  We pay that now for the 125mb, (no tv with them), and if the ping is better, we'd be willing to drop some speed within reason.

[Fourtyfive]

That is what he is implying. He owns his own, and they keep trying to charge him.

Yup , just fixed that ...

[btq96r]

Simply compare your bills before and after price change, at least you can see where the charges are before you go all Don Quixote.

 

There are rate increases every year. There is also of course the hike once your initial "deal" limit expires.

 

- OS

 

Best advise right here. 

[Mike.357]

there is no contract with Comcast.

 

You can cancel at any time with no fee.

 

What they do is guarantee you a price for a set amount of time.  After that time is up your rate will most likely go up.

 

I call them annually when my bill jacks up and ask to speak to a Retention Manager.  I certainly don't expect them to tow the line on prices forever.  All prices go up.  But every time I have been able to come to an amiable solution.  Sometimes I have lowered my service level, sometimes they have raised,  both have lowered the price.

 

I have lived in four major cities in my life.  Comcast is not a nightmare like some believe.  Try Adelphia in South Florida, you will learn what shady business practice is.

[Guest Spru]

Do like we do and call every year, cancel and change who's name it is in. Say between you and your wife's name. After 6 months you are considered a new customer and qualify for the new customer deals again. They are generally good for a year and don't have contracts.

[2.ooohhh]

For the $70, what is your speed?  We pay that now for the 125mb, (no tv with them), and if the ping is better, we'd be willing to drop some speed within reason.

 

 

It's no fiber but loosing the bandwidth cap was worth the difference alone. Connection uptime has been great as well at 1 year 1 month and 2 weeks without my router sending any traffic over to our failover provider. I technically pay for 12/3 speed wise but have never had a test that low. The down fluctuates from around 16-24 and the up seems to stay around 3 or just shy even with my outgoing video traffic. When I signed up for business the tech came out and replaced every inch of cable to my rack before he was happy with the test results.(40 year old house)

 

PS they may give you a hard time at first if you bring your own modem but if yours is on the approved list they can't deny it. No way I was gonna let them provide the router. lol

Edited April 2, 2015 by 2.ooohhh

[Oh Shoot]

 

 

.....

 

That is really quite slow for cable, but reeeaaallly sloooow for "business class". Grade C indeed.

 

- OS

[10-Ring]

I'm longing for the day Google fiber is available. I can't wait to call Comcast and tell them to cancel. The conversation with the retention department will be fun...

Comcast has a retention department?  I cancelled them once before and the response I got when I told them that I wanted to cancel was "Okay we can do that" they didn't care one bit that I was cancelling nor did they try to even mention me not cancelling. 

 

that happens to me from time to time, a quick call and it is fixed again.  But it tells me that they probably try that every so often to see who is watching their bill and who isn't.  If they can, they are going to charge you for your own modem I believe which is very shady, as I believe they do it on purpose.

Please tell me how you make a quick call with Comcast?  Last time I called them I spent 18 minutes on the phone before I could even speak with anyone. 

 

 

 

What we will probably wind up doing is sucking it up and paying there stupid high bill because we (actually just the wife) and daughter will be there for a few more months.  But I promise you all I will never ever hear the words "you had a choice and you choose Comcast."

[DaveTN]

I don’t have any complaints with the quality of my Comcast service. Over 100 Mbps cable, almost every TV channel known to man, DVR, and On-demand. Over the years I have had some issues with equipment; I just take it into the office and they give me new.

But the price is crazy because they don’t have any competition. I’m hoping Google Fiber will cause some competition and drive the price down; but they may be just as much and will have limited service area.

Some of the networks lock out fast forward on their on-demand channels. I pay a lot for the TV I watch and I shouldn’t have to watch commercials.

No breaks for loyal customers is another gripe. They will say and do anything to get new customers, but every year or so they jack our bill up and we have to renegotiate. How about taking care of those of us that are taking care of you.

And yes they do have contracts. The last time they jacked the bill way up my wife took care of it and got it lowered. She then told me she had to agree to a two year contract. I asked “Why would you agree to a contract?” She said “You have a contract with Verizon.” I said Verizon gives us deals on phones for a contract. What is Comcast giving you other than a lower price we should get anyway?”

We pay a lot for cable services because local governments are allowed to control access.

[Mike.357]

nope, no contract here.

[JayC]

Except everywhere else on the planet bandwidth prices are going down...   Comcast can buy 1 Mbps of bandwidth for 1/10th what it cost them 4 years ago.... You and I can buy bandwidth for a fraction of the cost....  I can get 200 Mbits (up and down) in a datacenter for $100 a month... Comcast can buy it even cheaper...  why is it my monthly bill is $100+ for 50 Mbits down and 10 Mbits up?

 

There is a reason Comcast is making record profits on the Internet business.... 50% profit margins don't happen for years in a row in a free market.

 

there is no contract with Comcast.

 

You can cancel at any time with no fee.

 

What they do is guarantee you a price for a set amount of time.  After that time is up your rate will most likely go up.

 

I call them annually when my bill jacks up and ask to speak to a Retention Manager.  I certainly don't expect them to tow the line on prices forever.  All prices go up.  But every time I have been able to come to an amiable solution.  Sometimes I have lowered my service level, sometimes they have raised,  both have lowered the price.

 

I have lived in four major cities in my life.  Comcast is not a nightmare like some believe.  Try Adelphia in South Florida, you will learn what shady business practice is.