Comcast Users & Former Users: Comcast = CONcast?

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Background: I went without cable and internet for three months because I had my hours cut at work, as you probably already know, if you've been keeping up with my posts. I couldn't afford to get those hooked up because of this reason, plus I had used all of the money that I had originally saved to pay off a credit card, in order to move. Bellsouth/AT&T messed up my phone bill and overcharged me. It took me two months of aggravation to get that bill straightened out, and in the process I became so furious and aggravated at one of their representatives calling me a flat out liar, that I cancelled my phone service with them. Here is where Comcast comes in: I called Comcast because they had that Triple Play package deal going on: $33/mo for cable, $33/mo for high-speed internet, and $33/mo digital voice phone service (with all the bells and whistles you don't get with AT&T unless you want to pay extra)... All this in one package from Comcast for $99/mo, total. I thought this would be great, since I was paying $140/mo with Bellsouth/AT&T for only phone and DSL internet - which was as slow as molases in January - and Bellsouth/AT&T didn't even cover cable. I spoke to the Comcast representative to set up a time for the technician/cable guy to come by and hook everything up. I asked her - specifically - "what type of payment can I give him when he arrives? Can I pay with my debit card?" The representative told me, "yes." I also told her I needed cable set up in two rooms; she said, "no problem." A week later, the technician/cable guy came to hook everything up for me, but only in my living room. When I asked him about the bedroom, he was confused; he only had a work order stating it was for one room, and only had enough materials to hook up one room. He or another guy would have to come back, and I was going to be charged again for another call. Um... I don't think so - especially when it's not my fault the lady didn't put my call in properly. I refuse to pay for someone else's mistakes! I figured it was best it happened this way, because he also informed me that I would have to rent the other box for the other room, once the cable guy comes back to install it. Why didn't the phone representative tell me all of this from the start? So, I go to pay the guy with my debit card, and he looks at me like I have three heads. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I can't take that form of payment. It has to be cash or check." I repsonded with, "but I asked the girl specifically over the phone if debit cards were ok, and she told me yes. This is all I have..." Had she given me the proper answer, I could have stopped by the ATM the night before. My blood was already begining to boil from the constant aggravation. I had just moved; I couldn't afford to have internet & cable for three months, and was finally able to, and couldn't even order my checks with my new address so I had no choice but to pay the man cash. This meant he had to sit outside my apartment in the hot South Florida sun, blistering hot and sweating until I can get back from the ATM - 15 minutes later. And of course, you can never get the exact amount you need out of an ATM. All this aggravation because the phone representative told me wrong information about the payment methods preferred. I was ready to hunt her down and strangle her! My bill at the time services were rendered was for $138.68; I had to withdraw $140 from the ATM. Anyway, I get back; the guy marks my receipt as CASH payment, $140. We're good to go. Phew! Well, three weeks later, I get a bill from Comcast for $142 plus change. An alarm goes off in my mind so I call Comcast. I had to tell them the whole story about how the rep screwed up the house call, how I paid the guy the same day in cash, etc. I ended up having to go to the Comcast office not once, but TWICE. (The first time, the guy said his manager wasn't there). Of course not - that would make things easier, and make the process smoother. However, he did take copies of my bill and my receipt, and said the manager would call me on Monday (9-8-08). Monday came and went; I never heard from the so-called manager. I waited a few days because I figured maybe she was swamped. I've been a manager before and I know what it's like. Thursday comes (9-11-08) and I get yet another bill saying I owe $253.93 DUE IMMEDIATELY. Ok, this ticked me off. I called Comcast - IMMEDIATELY - and told them this was incorrect, and had to explain everything all over again. They told me they would work on it, etc., because they didn't see that my payment had been processed. Two days later, I call, and they say my payment was processed on 9-11-08!!! Keep in mind that they could have told me this on Thursday, (which happened to be 9-11-08), but also, that's almost an entire month before my cash payment on 8-16-08 had been processed!!! That's absolutely rediculous, and there's no excuse for that! I calmed myself down, sighed, and figured, "Well, at least the problem is resolved." Wrong... I called yesterday (9-18-08) to see what I really owe, since I thought the billing issue had been set straight. They told me I owe $115. I asked, "why is my bill so high? The rep that intially set all this up for me - (the one I wanted to strangle) - said that my bill would be around $107 after taxes." The rep on 9-18-08 had explained that my payment that was processed on 9-11-08 was processed as a credit card payment over the phone, and that they charge a $4 fee to pay over the phone. I told her, "Wait a minute! I never paid over the phone, and most certainly not with a credit card - they don't even have my card information on file, so how could they process it as a credit card payment?" The answer I got was, "Well, they did." I lost it. I told her, "How hard can your jobs be as phone representatives? Honestly! All these stupid mistakes, and I'm the one having to pay for them? I don't think so! Someone needs to take this bogus charge off of my account TODAY, or I'm contacting the news media, and an attorney for a class action lawsuit. I've had it with people screwing up my bills!" So, now I'm having to fight to get that bogus charge off my account BEFORE I pay one more red cent to that company. Plus, their OnDemand service hardly ever works properly, and they don't have much of anything on it worth watching when it does decide to work, *AND* the playlist never gets updated with any new material. I am so close to caneling my Comcast service, it's not even funny. I figure if I can go for three months without internet and cable, I can live without it, period. It is not like I don't have family who would be willing to let me use their computer. I don't have a lot of money to be throwing away because someone at Comcast either doesn't want to do their job properly, or wants to screw with my bill in order to line their pockets. Has anyone else here had such a hassle with Comcast... Or shall I say, "CON"cast?