|
Battling Comcast
On February 4, 2022 at 12:35
P.M. — I had what I am hoping will be my last conversation with Comcast/Xfinity
ever. But things did not stop there. Rashea had phoned indicating they
(Comcast) had received a copy of my complaint filed with the Office
of the Attorney General in Michigan. Apparently, she simply wanted me
to know that they were replying I was just a routine delinquent account
who had not paid his bill as agreed. She even boldly stated that she
had copies of all my documentation, but it did not make any difference
in how they were going to respond. I told her I had all I wanted to
do with Comcast, and just make sure my entire account was cancelled,
including all of my Comcast emails. I also said they could show that
"Comcast Cares" by canceling the bogus past due balance they
keep billing me for. She said she could take care of the first two,
but that she had already made it clear that last one was not going to
happen. I got a letter from the Michigan Department of Attorney General
dated 2/10/22 indicating Comcast insists my "account was billed correctly."
The letter indicated I might wish "to consider filing a private civil
action," and suggested that I "consult with with a private attorney."
Everything was left there until . . . .
On Friday, March 4, I received
a letter from Eastern Accounting System of Connecticut, Inc. (a debt
collector). And, the day before on March 3, I also saw a Comcast email
among my Gmail addresses. It said "we're sad to hear you're changing
your Xfinity services. However, we're happy to let you know you can
continue using your Comcast email address . . . ." Just one more
thing Comcast did not follow through on. The debt collection letter
indicated I could "dispute all or part of the debt" in writing.
That is what is prompting this letter I am placing on my website, so
I do not have to keep printing all of the pages of documentation. I
had already sent printed copies of those to:
|
Attorney General
Consumer Complaints
G. Mennen Williams Bldg
P O Box 30212
Lansing, MI 48909
|
|
AARP
601 E St NW
Washington DC 20049
(where I am a member) |
|
Consumer
Reports
P O Box 2109
Harlan, IA 51593-0298
(where I am a member) |
Gary
Peters
724 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington DC 20510
(one of my U.S. senators) |
|
Debbie
Stabenow
731 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington DC 20510
(one of my U.S. senators) |
|
Tim
Walberg
2266 Rayburn HOB
Washington DC 20515
(my U.S. representative) |
Tom
Barrett
P O Box 30036
Lansing, MI 48909-7536
(my state senator) |
|
Angela
Witwer
Anderson House Office Bldg
124 N Capitol Ave
Lansing, MI 48933
(my state representative) |
|
And,
of course, all documents
were sent throughout these
months to Comcast by email,
and in writing. |
_____________
A Brief Synopsis Before All Documentation
For several years, we had to call the Customer Retention
Department at Comcast to get a rate we could actually afford. The rates
were only good for a year, then I had to call again for the next year.
I dreaded those calls. One Comcast person said we were supposed to receive
a notice when the rate was going to increase, but we never did. It was
only when the full price invoice arrived that I would know it was time
to call again. On the morning of August 30, 2021 I made my call, and
spoke with Jon who offered me a $30 monthly rate (automatic bank withdrawal),
and a $40 rate (billed). From prior experience, I knew the first person
you spoke with never gave the best rate available. I asked Jon if I
could speak with a supervisor to see if there was any chance I could
just stay at the $35 rate. Since they were working from home, he needed
to find someone who could call me back. But, no one ever did call
me back.
So, on August 31, 2021, I wrote a letter to Comcast
explaining what took place "yesterday." In that letter, which I signed,
I stated, "If you cannot keep my bill at $35 in perpetuity until
such day as I would change my type of service, and must change it to
the $40 Jon offered, I will accept that."
On September 30, 2021 Chris M. from Comcast Executive
Customer Relations sent me an email. He alluded to the executive office
contact they received, but never mention my acceptance of the $40 rate.
Instead, he claimed I was on a Performance Starter for $56 per month.
The invoice total was $59. An amount almost double Jon's best $30 offer.
Even though he already had a signed document in his possession agreeing
to the $40 amount, he said I needed to contact him.
I emailed Chris explaining on September 14, 2021
at 4:46 PM a message from Steve (866 642-4868 ext. 1323014), from his
same department, had been left on my home phone answering machine. I
returned Steve's call on 9/16/21 at 11:04 AM, and left a message on
his voicemail. We finally connected later in the day on Friday 9/17/21.
Steve repeated the same offer Jon made, which I had already agreed to
in writing. Steve said he needed to confirm the $40 by text, or email.
I explained I do not have a smart phone, and I had already shut down
my Internet for the Sabbath until Monday morning. Steve said it was
not a problem. He would call me back Monday morning when I had the availability
of Internet. Steve never called me back. I now had accepted the
$40 monthly rate twice. Once with a written signature. Once by
phone.
Yet, the higher bills persisted. So, I kept sending
the $35 I said I would until they got things fixed. At one point, I
even offered to prepay a year ($360) if they would give me the $30 rate.
I also put it in writing that when they cashed my $35 check they
were agreeing it was full payment for the month. If this was not acceptable
to them, they should simply return my check, and we would be done doing
business with one another. With every bill, I sent a printed copy
of my latest email, or written communication. With two phone promises
already broken by Comcast, I started refusing to discuss the matter
by phone, and asked for things to be in writing only.
I would never have agreed to a $56 ($59) rate plan,
and would have cancelled immediately if I had any inkling how deceptive
Comcast would become. Not once did they indicate they had rescinded
the $40 per month their representative offered (and I agreed to in writing),
or even the $30 offer. Had they made that clear, I would have indeed
cancelled everything immediately. I thought that, just like many years
before, their left hand simply never knew what their right hand was
doing, but they would eventually get it worked out. When I did answer
the phone for a Comcast call, nobody ever knew the history of the account,
so speaking with them was pointless.
When both my mother, and my wife's mother, died in
December 2021, I no longer had time for Comcast's ridiculous games.
I sent their invoice for the time period beginning January 1, 2022 back
with no money, and a note to cancel absolutely everything, including
the bogus past due balance. With all of their broken promises, including
their agreements, not even acknowledging any details of my communications,
and ignoring documentation, I should have known that with Comcast it
would not be as simple as that. And, so here I am now needing to spell
things out to Eastern Accounting System of Connecticut, Inc. (a debt
collections company).
_____________
The emails I sent were, as with
all emails, in descending order as a new reply was added to the previous
email. Even the printed packets to those mentioned above, were patterned
that way. To make things clearer here, and the progression easier to
understand, I will start with the earliest communication, and continue
in order until the most recent documents.
_____________
August 31, 2021
Dear Comcast (Xfinity),
I phoned 1-800-xfinity yesterday morning, and decided
to hold, putting my phone on speaker, rather than use your call back
system. In less than 10 minutes, as your prompts indicated, your customer
service representative, Jon, answered the call. I explained to Jon that
we had received a bill jumping from $35 to $56, which indicated to me
our one year contract was up, and I needed to be connected with the
customer retention department, as had been the case for several years
now. Jon told me that was his department. I suspect you have instructed
your employees to respond as such, since they are all in the business
of “customer retention.” Jon and I spoke for 52 minutes.
The first thing I explained to Jon was that I had
been a business man for all of my adult life, so I understood that,
as a person on the front lines, he does not make the rules, he just
has to deal with the fallout. I told him my situation of having been
a State Farm agent for twenty years before operating a spiritual resource
center for the past 26 years. But, those years were without pay, so
that is the reason I jump through the Comcast hoops every year to keep
my costs down on our limited budget.
I told Jon I did not understand a company that would
cause such aggravation every year to a customer who had been with them
for over thirty years. I would have left Comcast years ago if I did
not dislike shopping so much. I mentioned my conversation with a Comcast
Vice-President (customer relations) over a decade ago, where I told
the VP that I receive at least two pieces of mail a week soliciting
my business, but if they spent half that amount of money giving honest,
above board, true customer service, with fair rates, using them for
business, and additional services, would be an automatic.
All of this was while Jon was looking for “the best
deal he could currently offer me.” Finally, Jon said he could get me
down to $40 per month for one year. But, if I used automatic withdrawal,
he could go down to $30. I explained to Jon, the problem with that,
is that when my one year was up, you would “automatically” start taking
out $56, rather than the $30. Jon assured me I would continue to receive
an advance notice when my rates would be changing. I explained to Jon,
much to his surprise, that I had never been given any advance notice
before. I only knew my year was up when I received the higher invoice.
I expanded further that if Comcast were a company I could trust, I might
actually consider it.
Then I related one of my favorite Comcast stories
I share with people any time your company comes up in conversation.
I said I started with cable TV when Continental Cable (ultimately bought
out by Comcast) first came to Grand Ledge. Then in 2003, I added internet
service. They came as two separate bills for quite a while. Then I saw
the rates jump on both, so I called. I was told they had done an audit,
and since I had only one service, my rates had been adjusted. I explained
I had both TV and internet, but they came on two separate bills. Your
employee said it was an easy thing to change. To just pay the bill,
and they would get things corrected. I made that same call, every month,
for six straight months. Every month, I was reassured it was easy to
fix, and it would be taken care of. Finally, I sent a letter with my
bill stating I was sending no money, because by my accounting I had
already paid an extra month when paying the incorrect amounts being
billed. Sometime thereafter, I had a knock on my front door. It was
a Comcast field technician, who said he was there to disconnect my service
for non-payment. I explained that was fine, since there were plenty
of other options to Comcast, but that he might wish to look at my documentation
before doing so. Having his doubts, he said he would get the office
on speaker phone, while I retrieved my records. I brought him the bills,
the receipts, who I talked to each month, and what they had said. He
was surprised, to say the least. But then things really got interesting.
Your office rep asked him why he was even there, because I had no
current accounts with you. I listened as your field employee
argued with your office employee for half an hour that he was
looking at two current Comcast bills, had both the TV, and the internet,
turned on, and I was most definitely a Comcast customer. Finally she
(office rep) found some records, and relented. As he (your field rep)
was getting ready to leave, he asked if I had a copy machine. I told
him I did. He requested copies of all of my shared documentation, so
he would not have to “fight this same battle all over again” when he
got back to the office.
Jon understood why I would be reluctant to let you
have access to anything. I told John, if I approved the $40, it would
be my last year with Comcast. That would be a $5 increase two years
in a row, from what was $30 when I discontinued my cable TV on one of
these annual calls I am required to make. I asked John if he had a supervisor
who could authorize keeping me at the $35 rate. I then related the story
of the year I cancelled my Comcast cable TV. Every person I spoke with
started out by saying, wow, I see you have been with Comcast for thirty
years. I would reply that you would think that would count for something,
but it obviously does not. It seems Comcast is more interested in adding
new customers than keeping existing ones. When I owned my own State
Farm office, I would explain to new agents, and my employees, that a
satisfied customer who told others what a good place you were to do
business with was worth way more than thousands of dollars of advertising.
And, of course, vice-versa is also true, especially in these days of
social media, and instant communications. I would also explain to GM
employees who bragged about their security due to the size of their
company, that no company who forgets there is a customer who pays every
employee’s salary, or wage, is protected by their size, just ask any
former K-Mart employee. I can now add, just ask any former GM employee.
All that aside, I spoke to three different Comcast employees on the
day I discontinued my cable TV after 30 years. Each lowered the rate
a little, but they all said they could not budge on the cable TV portion.
When I finally said, then cancel it, I was told I would have to return
the cable box to a Comcast store. I indicated I did not have
to. I had been to the local Comcast store, and it was worse that the
long telephone calls. I was no longer a Comcast TV customer. The box
was of no further use to me. It could go in the trash if they (you)
did not wish to pick it up. I was given a number to call to set a time
for the pickup.
But that is not the whole story. When I called the
number (apparently a disabilities department), and explained why I was
calling, the lady (your employee) asked if she could see what she could
do rate wise. I explained that three people had indicated Comcast could
not come even close to what they had me paying the previous year, but
sure. She came back with a price that was less than a dollar different
than my previous year. I was inclined to change my decision, but when
I happened to flip on the TV, and saw that Comcast had already shut
off my signal, I was fed up. After 30 years, and numerous issues requiring
a lot of my time, it took no time at all for Comcast to cut me off.
I politely explained the facts to your employee, and said I was staying
with my decision. Why would any business treat customers like this I
marveled?
Jon assured me, even though he was working from home, he was trying
to find a supervisor to talk to me. We spoke some more while I was waiting.
Finally, I asked if he could simply have a supervisor call me back.
He said he could. When my wife came back home hours later, she asked
if anyone called? She was not surprised when I said no, then added,
Comcast is the worst example of a company whose left hand never knows
what the right hand is doing that I have ever seen.
I realize a $35 per month customer is of little importance
to you these days. But, that is your fault. I have paid much more per
month over the 30 plus years I have done business with you. I have a
sterling record of making your payments. If you could give me a $30
direct withdrawal rate, you can most certainly send me a paper monthly
bill at $35. That is what I am enclosing with my invoice. I will be
sending a copy of this to your president, and any vice-president of
customer relations. If you cannot keep my bill at $35 in perpetuity
until such day as I would change my type of service, and must change
it to the $40 Jon offered, I will accept that. But, like I told John,
it will be the last year I do business with Comcast. I do need the internet
connection once a week to upload my picture of the week, and other changes,
to my website. I do not have time to shop around now, but I have other
options. As a slow typist, it has taken me over two hours to compose
this letter. If I add that to the numerous hours with you on the telephone,
I am not sure why I have not made the effort to find other internet
service, and put you on my list of companies to never do business with
in the future.
If someone shows up at my door this time to disconnect
my internet on the spot because I only sent $35, I will simply print
additional copies of this letter to share with him (along with AARP,
and Consumers Reports, where I hold memberships).
| |
Respectfully,
|
| |
(printed copy was signed by
me) |
| |
William Gibbons Jr
(8529 11 402 0028837) |
_____________
From: CENDIV-Big Chi Hrt Executive Care [mailto:CENDIV_BigChiHrtExecutiveCare@comcast.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 30, 2021 9:05 AM
To: wsharing.com@gmail.com
Subject: Comcast Executive Customer Relations - ESL04108808
September 30, 2021
Dear William Gibbons,
Thank you for contacting our executive office with your questions
and concerns. We would like the opportunity to resolve your issue; however,
we are unable to reach you. Currently, you’re subscribed to the Performance
Starter for $56 per month. Contact with you would be necessary to discuss
your monthly rate.
Please contact me at 1-866-642-4868 Ex 1323028 at your earliest convenience
and reference ESL04108808so we can discuss your concerns. We are looking
forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Chris M.
Comcast Executive Customer Relations
Comcast | Division
Office Hours: Mon - Fri 8am - 5pm (CT)
_____________
From: William Gibbons Jr [mailto:wsharing.com@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, October 1, 2021 11:35 AM
To: 'CENDIV-Big Chi Hrt Executive Care' <CENDIV_BigChiHrtExecutiveCare@comcast.com>
Subject: RE: Comcast Executive Customer Relations - ESL04108808
Hi Chris,
I phoned 1-800-xfinity August 30, 2021. After a 10
minute hold, I spoke with your “customer retention” service representative
Jon for 52 minutes. Jon finally said “the best deal he could currently
offer me” was $40 per month for one year. But, if I used automatic withdrawal,
he could go down to $30 per month. More details of our conversation
were given in the below referenced letter. I asked if I could speak
with a supervisor, and held for some time while Jon tried to find one.
Finally, I asked if he could simply have a supervisor call me back.
He said he could. No one ever called me back.
On August 31, 2021, I composed, and sent, a letter
enclosing a copy with my bill explaining the situation, along with a
$35.00 check which was the last agreement amount I approved with Comcast.
I also sent copies to your corporate offices.
On September 14, 2021 at 4:46 PM, a message from
Steve (866 642-4868 ext. 1323014) was left on my home phone answering
machine. I returned his call 9/16/21 at 11:04 AM, and left a message
on his voicemail. We finally connected on Friday. Steve repeated the
same offer Jon made. I told Steve, if I approved the $40, it would
be my last year with Comcast. That would be a $5 increase two years
in a row, from what was $30 when I discontinued my cable TV because
of your tedious games on one of these annual calls I am required to
make. That represents a 33% increase in just two years. Steve said he
needed to confirm the $40 by text, or email. I explained I do not have
a smart phone, and I had already shut down my Internet, and my computer
would be off for the Sabbath until Monday morning. Steve said he would
call then. Steve never called me back.
I am a key volunteer in a small non-profit that has
a big event coming up. I do not have the time for Comcast’s ridiculous
games. I am enclosing a copy of this email with a $35 check to Xfinity,
which was the last agreed upon amount I approved with Comcast. I would
love to present all of my documentation in any legal proceeding that
tries to collect a penny more.
You do not do what you say you will do, and your
left hand never knows what your right hand is doing. You claim your
customer service is improving, but you remain at the bottom of my list
of worst companies to do business with. You are not trustworthy enough
to give you access to my bank account, but for the basic Internet use
I do, the $30 per month should be a permanent rate for us, after paying
all of your billings for over 30 years. Everybody in your company always
gives lip service to how much they appreciate my loyalty for the last
30 years, but nobody shows it. Why you (or any company) would want to
make it so difficult for a loyal 30 year customer to stay with you is
beyond my comprehension. But, it does not even seem to faze you. Your
rhetoric always remains the same. So, here is my offer.
I am not willing to commit to any more one year plans,
where I have to go through this nightmare all over again one year from
now. If you have to squeeze $40 from me, just start billing me for it
month to month. As, soon as I can find an alternative, I will get rid
of Comcast/Xfinity completely, and let people know why.
Or, you can start billing me at the $35 rate I am
paying without my constantly having to renew it each year, and get rid
of your accumulated overcharges on my bill.
Or, if you are willing to give me the $30 rate without
automatic withdrawal, I am willing to prepay one year in advance ($360).
However, I do not want to have to go through your insane annual ritual
anymore. Just send me a bill for $360 showing the one year time period,
and the removal of all of your overcharges, and I will pay it. Your
technical service has been reliable. If you keep sending bills
each year for $360, I will likely pay those too until the day I die.
If you choose to do nothing, I will keep paying the
$35 each month, regardless of the amount billed, because it is the last
agreement amount I approved with Comcast. Should you decide at
any point to disconnect my Internet service, I will take that as your
decision to end our 30 year business relationship.
I would in that case, of course, warn others to avoid
getting tangled up in your craziness, and explain why I am glad to be
done with your annual nightmare games. Believe me, I could document,
or even write a small book with, all the times Comcast has shown disregard
for the customer, and at times, complete incompetence.
I am still with you because over the years there
have been few options, and I do not like to shop for new anything. Plus,
like I said, your technical service has been reliable. But things are
changing, adding alternatives. The ball is now in your hands, and I
am exiting the court. I am done playing this particular game.
God’s peace,
william
Acts 5:29
_____________
Editorial note: Technically my "last agreement amount I approved with
Comcast" was the $40 per month I agreed to in writing with my first
letter to the Comcast executive officers. But, they were not billing
me for that rate, and I was still hoping they would let me pay the $30
rate they offered a year at a time rather than using a monthly withdrawal.
The $35 was both the previous year rate, and was halfway between the
two rates they offered for the current rate. Had I sent $40 instead,
I do not believe things would have gone any differently.
_____________
From: William Gibbons Jr [mailto:wsharing.com@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 4, 2021 12:17 PM
To: 'CENDIV-Big Chi Hrt Executive Care' <CENDIV_BigChiHrtExecutiveCare@comcast.com>
Subject: Second reply: Comcast Executive Customer Relations -
ESL04108808
Hello again Chris,
I have received another Comcast billing showing a
past due amount. In rereading your original email I noticed you
stated, “Currently, you’re subscribed to the Performance Starter for
$56 per month.” I thought I made it clear in my last reply that I am
not currently subscribed to anything. But, based on your company’s past
performance, I suspect it will take at least six months for your right
hand to know what your left hand is doing. So, let me make it perfectly
clear.
The $35 I am sending is not a partial payment
of a Performance Starter for $56 per month. It is the full monthly
payment for your provided service. When you cash my check, you agree
to this. If you do not agree to this, you should return my check
uncashed. Constantly showing a not agreed upon previous balance
is just a form of harassment, and intimidation. I will not waste any
more of my time calling your company by phone. Your inability to keep
your phone promises has already wasted enough of it. Put anything you
have to say in writing, and send it to me. My previous email made you
three offers.
In my Internet search for alternatives to Comcast/Xfinity,
I saw that Frontier offers a $38 lifetime rate option in my area. You
would think a company as big as yours could come up with something similar
at an even better rate. As a lifetime business owner, I am constantly
perplexed by why you would wish to hassle, and aggravate, your customers
as much as you do. I was at a gathering the other day, and mentioned
I was in the midst of my annual “battle” with you, and every single
person in the room said that Comcast/Xfinity is the absolute worst company
to deal with. Most said they are only still with you because good alternatives
are slow in coming. That is quite a reputation you are building. Which
is a shame, because like I said in my previous email, the technology
product you offer has been reliable.
As always, I will print a copy of this email, and
include it with my $35 (total monthly fee) check, even though
I suspect you are so automated no one will bother to even read it.
If you are incapable of correcting this at whatever
level you are in the company, perhaps you need to forward it to someone
higher with authority to resolve issues. In any case, rest assured,
just like the case years ago mentioned in my letter to your corporate
offices, I am retaining all of my documentation in case you cannot get
your act together this time as well.
God’s peace,
william
Acts 5:29
_____________
From: Xfinity [mailto:online.communications@alerts.comcast.net]
Sent: Friday, October 29, 2021 9:12 AM
To: wsharing.com@gmail.com
Subject: Important Information About Your Comcast Account
Important Information from Comcast My Account
Hello
This email is from Comcast with an important message regarding your
Comcast account. Please review your account at www.xfinity.com or call
our Customer Care Department at 1-800-xfinity (1-800-934-6489) as soon
as possible. We are available Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to
9 p.m. Central Standard Time.
Pay Your Balance Now
Pay Your Bill Store Locator
Apps My Account
THIS IS A SERVICE-RELATED EMAIL
Comcast will occasionally send you service-related emails to inform
you of service upgrades or new benefits.
Please do not reply to this email, it is not monitored.
If you'd like to contact us, please visit our website here.
Comcast respects your privacy. For a complete description of our
privacy policy, click here.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Comcast Cable, One Comcast Center
1701 JFK Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Attn: Email Communications
_____________
Editorial note: Many emails like the one above were
sent to me by Comcast. Tom Karinshak was the person one of the links
lead to, so I used the email as something to attach my original letter
(opening letter in this documentation) to, rather than explaining everything
all over again. That letter was an attachment in the below very short
message. All of the previous emails also followed the above one in the
email sent to Tom.
_____________
From: William Gibbons Jr [mailto:justwilliam@comcast.net]
Sent: Thursday, November 4, 2021 1:17 PM
To: 'tom_karinshak@cable.comcast.com' <tom_karinshak@cable.comcast.com>
Subject: Comcast emails do not have a clue what has been going
on
Hello Tom,
You were the linked to person, so here is the history of Comcast
falling down on the job again . . .
They are listed from the newest to the oldest.
_____________
From: William Gibbons Jr [mailto:justwilliam@comcast.net]
Sent: Tuesday, December 7, 2021 3:58 PM
To: 'tom_karinshak@cable.comcast.com'
Cc: 'CENDIV_BigChiHrtExecutiveCare@comcast.com'; 'brian_roberts@comcast.com';
'david_watson@cable.comcast.com'
Subject: Internet Service & Invoices
A copy of this email (with history) was printed and
sent with my full monthly Internet service payment of $35. It also had
a notation that the past due amount was inaccurate, and the documentation
would show why it is false. Automated calls continue to come to my phone.
But, I have seen nothing coming from Comcast in writing to resolve the
problem created when your people did not follow through with the calls
they committed to.
Hello Tom (and whoever else is reading this),
On November 29, 2021 Comcast appeared to
have shut off my Internet Service without any advance notification.
This triggered my taking action to obtain another Internet access option
immediately because I have a Picture of the Week that I upload to my
website each Thursday.
My documentation shows we have been having
interactions with you (Comcast/Xfinity) regarding our account since
August, when I was required to renew my $35 per month rate for only
internet service by calling your customer retention department. An annual
call I always dreaded by the way. As has been the case each month, I
will include a copy of this document in my current billing envelope.
My assumption my service had been turned
off by you was based on the following computer screens.
I looked at the “You may qualify for up to $50 a
month toward your Internet Service” emails from Xfinity. I do not qualify.
The documentation which follows should explain the
details of these months since I called you to renew my lower rate. In
a nutshell, you never followed through on what you said you would do
when we were going to finish the transaction with you calling me back
for an electronic signature. Then, for at least two billing periods,
I sent you three options (by email and hardcopy enclosed with my bill)
to enter into a new agreement, one of which was to simply prepay $360
for a year, instead of giving you access to my bank account for a $30
monthly rate you offered. I indicated I would not waste my time on the
phone with you, based on your past performance. I stated that you needed
to start billing me one of the three options, or put an alternative
in writing. All I have recently received from you are calls on my answering
machine telling me to phone you, and numerous (likely computer generated)
emails telling me to log onto my account online to do something about
the accumulating past due amount.
The last time I had a billing problem with you some
years ago, it took your field tech person (who ostensibly had come to
shut off my service) arguing for half an hour with your office representative,
based on my documentation, before things got worked out.
I just saw an Xfinity ad on TV the other day for
Internet only at $20 per month. I understand the concept of loss leaders
to attract new customers, but what about loyal 30 year customers. Based
on my actual use of the Internet, you have made a lot of excess profit
off us. Even though I now have an alternative in place, I would still
prefer to keep my Xfinity account so I am not rushed to set up a new
system. My personal preference, from the alternatives sent to you, is
to prepay for a year at $360, or less, now that I have seen the new
ad. But I do not want this hassle every year. I want a price I can simply
renew, when it comes due. Your product is great, your tech service rarely
needed has also been good, but 30 years of hassling with your customer
service because of your bizarre rate system is more than enough to have
put up with.
God’s peace,
william
Acts 5:29
www.wsharing.com
P.S. Whatever you choose to do, you need to erase
the false past due balance. I have made it perfectly clear that when
you cash my check, you are agreeing to continue that $35 rate (from
our previous agreement) as full payment for your services until we can
enter into a new agreement.
_____________
Editorial note: As it turned out, Comcast had not
shut down my Internet, as far as I know, because the next day it was
back up and running. As a domestic missionary, my take on this is, whatever
shut down my system, God was likely using it to get me motivated to
find Internet alternatives to Comcast/Xfinity. Little did I know at
the time, that before the month ended, our mothers would die, and I
would be so fed up with Comcast, I would tell them to "cancel everything."
_____________
From:CENDIV-Big Chi Hrt Executive Care [mailto:CENDIV_BigChiHrtExecutiveCare@comcast.com]
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2021 2:00 PM
To: justwilliam@comcast.net
Subject: Comcast Cares Mr. Gibbons ESL04154939 Latania H.
Good Day Mr. Gibbons,
Thank you for contacting our Executive Office regarding your Comcast-related
concerns. We would like the opportunity to resolve your issue
however we were unable to reach you today over the phone.
Our records reflect consent was received on August 26, 2020 for a
one year contract effective August 28, 2020 through August 28, 2021
(extended to end of billing cycle, August 31, 2021) for Connect (previously
Performance Starter) internet service for $53.00 per month with a monthly
contract discount for $18.00 ($21.00 as of January 1, 2021). The
year has concluded and the contract discount removed. The agreement
you made via the interactive voice response was an agreement which lasted
12 months only.
Our records further confirm you have been notified multiple times
of the contract discount end date on your statements dated October 18,
2020 through July 18, 2021. Your last statement for $35.00 was
dated July 18, 2021. The statement dated August 18, 2021 for service
September 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021 was for $56.00, the current
retail rate for Connect (formerly Performance Starter) internet service.
Finally, you declined to speak with me yesterday and requested a
response in writing, however our systems reflect your modem is offline
and I cannot troubleshoot without speaking you, nor can I schedule a
tech service call without your consent.
Please contact me directly at 866-642-4868 EXT 132-3004,
at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your concerns. I am available
between the hours of 10:00am-6:00pm CST Monday through Friday.
If your availability falls outside of those hours, you may communicate
through email and I will respond at my earliest convenience. I look
forward to speaking with you soon.
Sincerely,
Latania H.
Executive Customer Relations
Comcast Central Division
Office: 866-642-4868 Extension: 1323004
Office Hours: M – F 9:00am – 6pm
_____________
From: William Gibbons Jr [mailto:justwilliam@comcast.net]
Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2021 7:00 PM
To: 'CENDIV-Big Chi Hrt Executive Care' <CENDIV_BigChiHrtExecutiveCare@comcast.com>
Subject: RE: Comcast Cares Mr. Gibbons ESL04154939 Latania H.
Good Day Also To You Latania,
Your version of things is rather limited. So allow me to bring you
up to date.
“Finally, you declined to speak with me yesterday
and requested a response in writing, however our systems reflect your
modem is offline and I cannot troubleshoot without speaking you, nor
can I schedule a tech service call without your consent.”
First off, I keep my Internet turned off when I am
not using it. No tech is needed. Secondly, the reason I “declined to
speak with you” is because the last time we had a billing issue, I spoke
with “you” (i.e. Comcast) for six months straight, and every time I
was told the issue was easily corrected, but it never was actually corrected,
until I forced the issue by not paying a bill. This time, I have already
talked to “you” three times, and not one of you has done what “you”
said.
So, as Paul Harvey would say, “here is the rest of the story.”
God’s peace,
william
Acts 5:29
P.S. If “Comcast” really “cares,” y’all have a really strange way
of showing it.
_____________
Editorial note: Each of the preceding emails I sent
contained that first original corporate letter as an attachment, plus
all of the emails and replies in descending order. That is what here
is being referred to as “the rest of the story.”
_____________
From: William Gibbons Jr [mailto:justwilliam@comcast.net]
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2021 2:14 PM
To: 'CENDIV-Big Chi Hrt Executive Care'
Cc: 'tom_karinshak@cable.comcast.com'; 'brian_roberts@comcast.com';
'david_watson@cable.comcast.com'
Subject: RE: Comcast Cares Mr. Gibbons ESL04154939 Latania H.
Greetings to everyone at Comcast (Xfinity),
My wife has set yet another Comcast bill on my desk
showing that you have done nothing. It indicates a total amount due
of $208, which tells me that things have not changed much in the 30
years I have been with you. Your right hand still never knows what your
left hand is doing. The last email from Latania H was condescending,
incomplete in its facts, and tried to make it sound like I was the obstacle,
when in actuality it has been you that has failed to follow through
on your promises for the last six months. Every month, I replied with
documentation, and why I was continuing to send the $35 rate from the
previous contract. Every month, I would get calls, and emails, showing
you were totally oblivious to my attempts to get things settled. But,
I wanted it in writing, so there was a written record. Your phone promises
are worthless.
For the week ending December 17, 2021, both my 90
year old mother, and my wife’s 94 year old mother, were in the hospital
at the same time. My mother died on December 17, 2021. That same day,
my wife’s mother was taken to Stoneleigh Residence, a hospice facility.
She died yesterday, December 28, 2021.
We do not have the time, nor the inclination, for
these ridiculous games you play. The last time I had billing issues
with you I spent six months calling, and listening to your promises,
but it took not sending you any money, and a visit from your field tech
to shut off my service, and him arguing with your office personnel,
before things got resolved. He even asked me to photocopy all of my
documentation for him, so he did not have to fight that battle all over
again back at his office.
So, again, I am not sending you another dime. But,
this time I am cancelling you. As a lifelong businessman, I have never
been able to discern if you are incompetent, or simply uncaring. However,
either way, you have no trouble inconveniencing your customers, even
when documentation shows you, and your bizarre systems, to be the problem.
This bill shows a service period from January 1, 2022 to January 31,
2022. I will write “cancel everything” on it, and send a printed copy
of the first page of this email as explanation. I have already wasted
enough stamps sending copies of full documentation with my checks.
Well over a decade ago, I told one of your corporate
vice-presidents if you spent half of the money you waste soliciting
me for additional business, and used it for actual better service (not
just the lip service in your ads), plus a more consistent fairer rate
structure, I would have actually considered recommending using Comcast
in my other endeavors. But, that never happened. Your corporate
culture has never really changed, as far as I can discern. I can honestly
say thank you for a reliable product. But, dealing with you has been
a nightmare, any time I had to do anything beyond just paying my bill.
So, after 30 years, I guess all I can say is goodbye.
I do not expect we will ever be doing business with you again.
God’s peace,
william
Acts 5:29
_____________
General
Notes:
My computer is turned off at sundown on Friday (beginning
of the original Sabbath) through sundown on Saturday, and depending
how tired I am of working in front of a computer screen, often until
very late on Sunday (end of the Lord's Day). Therefore, I typically
do not see, nor have the opportunity to act on, or reply to emails except
on weekdays. And, even then, I only schedule checking emails on Monday
when I resume computer work, and on Thursday after I upload my picture
of the week. Depending on how the week goes, emails might not be seen
for several days (always not before Monday if you send one late on a
Friday). Please keep this in mind when deciding whether to email or
phone.
I am not on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social
media site. My online presence is the wsharing.com website. I encourage
you to visit it. I added a “what is new” page, linked at the top of
the home page, when I stopped sending notifications by email in 2017.
I no longer maintain a personal email list. The "what is new" page will
keep you informed of any changes, or additions, to my site. If you would
like to become connected, or involved, with the Teaching & Sharing Centers
non-profit, please visit the T&SC site (link on my homepage) for contact
information.
Helping to identify or stop spam, and the misuse of
your email address:
All emails from me clearly state the topic in the
subject line, and will have this signature in the body of the letter.
If there are any links, the complete URL is shown, and the reason for
the link described in the text. If I am including any attachments, they
will be mentioned and identified in the body of the letter as well.
My address books are kept only in my computer and not online anywhere.
I do not forward petitions, lists, or similar items that show addresses,
as these can be bogus attempts by spammers, or hackers, to collect them.
If you receive anything which states it is from me, but does not meet
the above criteria, delete the email without clicking on any links or
attachments. You might first forward it to me with “suspicious email”
as the subject.
If you add me to a list of yours, or whenever you are sending me
an email going to multiple recipients, I would appreciate it if you
would please use my wsharing.com@gmail.com email address. It is my most
public address.
“Overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth, and
hatred with love.” - Peace Pilgrim
“You can show your love to others by not wishing
that they should be better Christians.” - Francis of Assisi
“We must bear patiently not being good . . .
and not being thought good.” - Francis of Assisi
www.wsharing.com
_____________
Editorial note: The above general
notes always appeared on each of my emails as a part of my signature
lines. I saw no point in taking up space throughout the documentation,
but left it in on this last email I sent to Comcast/Xfinity. Comcast
(below) did respond to my final email.
_____________
From: CENDIV-Big Chi Hrt Executive Care [mailto:CENDIV_BigChiHrtExecutiveCare@comcast.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2021 8:21 PM
To: William Gibbons Jr <justwilliam@comcast.net>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] RE: Comcast Cares Mr. Gibbons ESL04154939
Latania H.
Good Day,
I offer you my sincere condolences on your multiple
losses. However, as previously advised, you have only made partial
payments causing the service to incur late fees and become past due.
The account will disconnect on December 30, 2021 for non-payment.
If you would like to discuss further, please contact me at your convenience.
Thanks
Latania
_____________
Editorial note: I used the above email to start an
introduction page when I sent the complete printed documentation to
the recipients listed toward the opening of this webpage. I replaced
the subject line with "Cold Corporate Response To All Of My Documentation."
Then after the email, I inserted the below text to complete the introduction
page.
_____________
To AARP, Consumer Reports, my Senators, and Congressional
Representatives.
Most of this dialogue with Comcast for over five
months (chronologically from most recent to oldest) should be pretty
self-explanatory. Comcast constantly pushed for phone conversations,
rather than responding in writing. I have come to believe that
is intentional, since their emails did not even mention my offers, or
documentation. With everything done by phone, the customer has
no written record of promises made, things offered, or agreed to.
They offered me a $30 monthly rate (automatic bank
withdrawal), and a $40 rate (billed). When they did not call me back
as they promised, I also offered, in writing, to prepay a year to get
the $30 rate, since I did not want to allow them access to my bank account.
I thought I went above and beyond considering their lack of follow through
on their commitments. If any of you believe I did not act in good faith
to finalize the agreement based on the rates they offered to me, and
am just fooling myself that I was more than reasonable considering their
past performance, I would like to know about it.
Everyone I talk to about Comcast/Xfinity, who does
business with them, seems to have similar stories, and complaints about
them. People need to be warned about what they are getting into with
Comcast/Xfinity. And, regulators need to know how Comcast treats its
customers. Ultimately, they closed my account as delinquent for nonpayment
(even though the past due balance was disputed) after I told them to
“cancel everything.” This prevents me from accessing the area necessary
to close/delete all of my Comcast email accounts/addresses.
They have called practically every day since then.
Both times I chose to answer, the person calling had no clue about the
history of the past months on my account. When I explain I wrote “cancel
everything” on the bill (which to me included the half dozen Comcast
email addresses, and the bogus past due amount), they simply say they
cannot do anything. One put me into their phone prompt system, after
hearing the details. I simply hung up. There was no point to explaining
to yet another person. So, if any of you can help to make sure “everything”
with Comcast got cancelled, deleted, and discontinued, I would greatly
appreciate it.
| |
God’s peace,
(printed copy was signed by me)
|
_____________
.jpg)
_____________
Editorial note: The first reply (below) I received
from the eight packets of documentation I sent, was from my State Senator
Tom Barrett. He included a booklet about consumer's rights in Michigan.
The second communication was from the attorney general's office (follows
Tom's reply).
_____________
.jpg)
_____________
.jpg)
_____________
.jpg)
_____________
Starting below are the communications received, mentioned
in my introduction above, which prompted me to create this webpage,
rather than constantly printing all of the documentation every time
someone pretends the past due balance billed by Comcast/Xfinity is legitimate.
Based on my conversations with dozens of people, I suspect there are
many who believe Comcast/Xfinity would fall into the category of
"unfair or deceptive business practices" mentioned at the end of
the letter from the Attorney General (above the Comcast reply).
Over this entire period of months, I found it particularly
interesting that in all of their written email communications, which
is the only time they put anything in writing, they only vaguely alluded
to my documentation with the use of phrases like, "Thank you for
contacting our executive office with your questions and concerns,"
without ever actually acknowledging it, or mentioning any details I
had provided in my "contact with their executive office." In not doing
so, I must presume the intent was to be able to perpetrate the false
claim that I had automatically, without consent, agreed to the higher
rate they were billing. That alone, considering they were in possession
of a signed written acceptance of the $40 rate right from the start
of all of this, suggests to me there might be a corporate strategy of
constantly pushing for phone contact so the customer never has anything
in writing showing the promises, and agreements, entered into by Comcast/Xfinity
representatives. It allows them to claim anything they want, rather
than trying to arrive at the truth of a situation.
_____________
.jpg)
_____________
.jpg)
_____________
Editorial note: My reply to the collections company was simply the return
of the above form with boxes checked, a copy of the introduction to
this webpage, and a link if they wish to review all the documentation
available to support my stance on the matter.
As for the email from Xfinity regarding my former email addresses,
I used Word to add my response here to their offer which was sent to
the address shown in the email:
PLEASE CANCEL/CLOSE ALL OF MY COMCAST/XFINITY
EMAIL ADDRESSES/ACCOUNTS
justwilliam@comcast.net
atouchofwilliam@comcast.net
CherokeeBill@comcast.net
wsharing.com@comcast.net
TSCenters@comcast.net
I WISH TO HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING MORE TO DO WITH
COMCAST/XFINITY
(printed copy was signed by me)
William Edward Gibbons Jr
March 4, 2022
And just to make sure they got the point, the below
letter was also sent with it on my letterhead.
_____________
Comcast Cable
One Comcast Center
1701 JFK Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Attn: Email Communications,
I have told people in your organization numerous
times, and I have put it in writing at least twice, that all
my Comcast email addresses are to be closed/cancelled/deleted, or whatever
other term makes it clear to you they are to be completely gone immediately.
You will get no free advertising from me by the continued use of your
email.
Respectfully,
(printed copy was signed by me)
William Gibbons Jr
March 10, 2022
_____________
Editorial note: On Wednesday,
March 9th, I decided to take the time to check my email addresses by
borrowing my wife's smart phone to create a Wi-Fi hotspot. I discovered
that I had my first contact from Angela Witwer’s office among my emails.
_____________
From: Jocelyn McMichael
Sent: Wednesday, March 9, 2022 at 1:15 PM
To: William Gibbons Jr
Subject: Comcast/Xfinity Concern- William Gibbons Jr.
Hi William,
My name is Joci, and I am the Constituent Services
staffer in State Representative Angela Witwer’s office. I am looking
over the documents you sent to our office regarding your experiences
with Comcast/Xfinity. I wanted to let you know I have reached out to
our legislative liaisons at the Michigan Public Service Commission to
see if there is anything the state can do to help you in your situation.
I will be in touch once more information is received.
Please let me know if you have any additional questions
or concerns or need further assistance at this time.
Thanks,
Joci McMichael
Constituent Services
Office of State Representative Angela Witwer
Michigan’s 71st House District
N-1090 House Office Building
P.O Box 30014
Lansing, MI 48909-7514
(P) 517.373.0853
(F) 517.373.6589
jmcmichael@house.mi.gov
Legal Disclaimer: Please note that this email
does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice or a legal
opinion. All information and materials provided here are for general
informational purposes only. An attorney should be contacted for advice
on specific legal issues.
_____________
From: William Gibbons Jr
Sent: Wednesday, March 9, 2022 at 2:53 PM
To: Jocelyn McMichael
Subject: Re: Comcast/Xfinity Concern- William Gibbons Jr.
Hi Joci,
In the last three days, I have been preparing a webpage
response to the collections agency Comcast sent their bogus past due
balance to.
I figured this way I do not have to keep printing
all those pages of documentation. Plus, it starts at the beginning and
progresses through chronologically, so it is easier to follow. I will
be uploading it late tomorrow, if you would like to see it on Friday,
or whenever after that.
https://www.wsharing.com/WS-NLE-220307-MD.htm
Thank you so very much for your response.
God's peace,
william
_____________
From: Jocelyn McMichael
Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 10:46 AM
To: William Gibbons Jr
Subject: Comcast/Xfinity Concern- William Gibbons Jr.
Hi William,
Thank you for that information. As mentioned, I did contact our legislative
liaisons at the Michigan Public Service Commission about your inquiry
and their response is below:
“We can reach out to Comcast and check on information
regarding any remaining balance, the status of the account, and whether
equipment was returned or remains outstanding.”
They are going to keep me updated with more information
as it is received.
Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
Best,
Joci McMichael
Constituent Services
Office of State Representative Angela Witwer
Michigan’s 71st House District
N-1090 House Office Building
P.O Box 30014
Lansing, MI 48909-7514
(P) 517.373.0853
(F) 517.373.6589
jmcmichael@house.mi.gov
Legal Disclaimer: Please note that this email
does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice or a legal
opinion. All information and materials provided here are for general
informational purposes only. An attorney should be contacted for advice
on specific legal issues.
_____________
Editorial note: On either Wednesday (3/16), or Thursday
(3/17), I checked my voicemail, and found one from the Michigan Public
Service Commission, indicating Comcast had responded to them that they
were unable to reach me to resolve my issue. The email from Joci at
Angela Witwer's office on March 9, 2022 had informed me she contacted
MPSC on my behalf. I returned the MPSC call at 4:35 p.m. but their offices
closed at 4:30, so I left a message explaining the pointlessness of
returning Comcast phone calls, but that I had replied to their email.
I presume the email from Comcast (below) was prompted by a contact from
the MPSC, as it had a new case number. This was the typical very vague
Comcast email (consistent wording has me thinking it is a form letter),
but my response was not at all vague. I used to bring all of my emails
into Outlook in my computer, where I could take my time composing responses,
or deciding what to do with them. Since I have limited access to the
Internet now, I dispensed with formalities, and got right to the point.
_____________
From: CENDIV-Big Chi Hrt Executive Care [mailto:CENDIV_BigChiHrtExecutiveCare@comcast.com]
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2022 at 4:26 PM
To: William Gibbons Jr
Subject: Comcast Executive Customer Relations Re: ESL04216738
Dear William Gibbons Jr,
Thank you for contacting our executive office with
your questions and concerns. We would like the opportunity to resolve
your issue; however, we are unable to reach you.
Please contact me at (866) 642-4868 ext. 132-3023
at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your concerns. We are
looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Matthew W.
Executive Customer Relations
Comcast- Central Division
Office: 866-642-4868 Ext. 132-3023
Fax: 734-254-1861
Office Hours Mon-Fri: 8:00 am-5:00 pm (CT)
_____________
From: William Gibbons Jr
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2022 at 11:05 PM
To: CENDIV-Big Chi Hrt Executive Care [CENDIV_BigChiHrtExecutiveCare@comcast.com]
Subject: Comcast Executive Customer Relations Re: ESL04216738
The only things left to resolve are the removal of
your bogus balance due, and the closing of all my Comcast email accounts.
I do not return your calls because you do not keep your phone promises,
and then I have no written documentation of your offers, and agreements.
You have been twisting the truth for months.
You can see the documentation I sent to your collections
agency at:
https://www.wsharing.com/WS-NLE-220307-BC.htm
_____________
From: Jocelyn McMichael
Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2022 at 3:33 PM
To: William Gibbons Jr
Subject: Re: Comcast/Xfinity Concern- William Gibbons Jr.
Hi William,
My apologies for missing your call earlier today
regarding your case; however, I did listen to the voicemail, and you
mentioned you received a call from the Michigan Public Service Commission.
Are you able to provide more insight into that call? What was the outcome?
Are you still in need of further assistance with Comcast?
Please let me know!
Thanks,
Joci McMichael
Constituent Services
Office of State Representative Angela Witwer
Michigan’s 71st House District
N-1090 House Office Building
P.O Box 30014
Lansing, MI 48909-7514
(P) 517.373.0853
(F) 517.373.6589
jmcmichael@house.mi.gov
Legal Disclaimer: Please note that this email
does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice or a legal
opinion. All information and materials provided here are for general
informational purposes only. An attorney should be contacted for advice
on specific legal issues.
_____________
From: William Gibbons Jr
Sent: Thursday, March 24, after I uploaded my picture of the
week (pasted copy just said "today.")
To: Jocelyn McMichael
Subject: Re: Comcast/Xfinity Concern- William Gibbons Jr.
Hi Joci,
They just said that Comcast told them they were trying
to resolve the issue, but could not reach me. The Comcast person who
called, also sent a very generic email, to which I replied. I have heard
nothing from the collections agency. I just uploaded the additional
documentation to my webpage at https://www.wsharing.com/WS-NLE-220307-BC.htm
God's peace,
william
_____________
On March 25, 2022 we had a message on our land line
answering machine from Matt at Comcast Executive Offices. Our machine
recorded it came in at 9:34 A.M. (Matt indicated it was 8:35 A.M. central
time). Along with some niceties, Matt said, "I just wanted to advise.
Your account balance has been cleared. We have no equipment located
on your account. Your account is closed."
_____________
It is finished.
(see "closing thoughts" at the end to understand why
I chose that phrase here)
After getting into my day, I phoned those still involved
to let them know about it.
_____________
On Wednesday, March 30, 2022 at 10:38 A.M. we had one more message from
Comcast on our answering machine. This one was from Patrick at the Comcast
Corporate Office. He said he had "received your [my] email indicating
you [I] wanted all of those emails associated with Comcast deactivated-deleted
. . . we have completed that process." He closed his call with his
phone number and the words, "I wanted to follow up with you to see
if there was anything else you needed?"
_____________
On Thursday, March 31, 2022 at 12:05 P.M. we had yet another call from
Comcast. This one came to my cell phone. I was out doing my cardiac
walk, and had forgotten my phone, but caller ID showed the missed call
as Comcast, and there was a voicemail left from the same person as yesterday's
answering machine message. His name was not clear, so I am not sure
if "Patrick" is the correct name of the caller, but he did identify
himself as being from Comcast Corporate, and said he was calling again
"to check to see if there was anything we needed to [still] do here?"
I will not waste any more of my time returning calls
to Comcast. However, if anyone from Comcast Corporate Offices is reading
this, as long as my account is completely closed, my email addresses
completely deactivated, and the bogus past due balance has been completely
cleared, just like your phone messages have indicated they all are,
then we are indeed finished.
_____________
Editorial note: The next, and hopefully final, entries
are not necessarily in order based on when they were sent, but are in
the order I saw them, and finally replied to the last Comcast email.
I only get access to the Internet when I borrow my wife's smart phone
to create a WiFi hotspot, or when I use the WiFi at Immanuel on Thursdays
to upload my picture of the week to my website. I did not see the first
two emails until late afternoon on Thursday, March 31. I was done with
my work, and did not have the time to reply, but made myself a note
to reply to Patrick the next time I was online. It was Tuesday, April
4th before that happened. Then I saw that Patrick had sent a second
(similar) email on April 1st, to which I replied.
_____________
.jpg)
From: lara-mpsc-complaints@michigan.gov
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2022 at 8:30 AM
To: William Gibbons Jr
Subject: MPSC Case #: 01553107
Dear Mr. Gibbons,
Please see below for additional information I received
from Comcast after closing your complaint:
Mr. Gibbon’s account is indeed closed and on 03/25/22, we have applied
a one-time credit of 124.00 to clear the remaining balance on the account.
In concern to the Comcast.net email addresses,
which are complimentary and are not billed for, that the customer has
requested closed, we are not able to deactivate the email accounts.
The customer however, can access his xfinity.com account, log into his
account and deactivate the email addresses associated with the account
if he wishes to do so.
I did receive your voicemail message regarding the
credit that was applied to your account, but wanted to pass along the
information regarding closing your Comcast email accounts.
If you should have any other video/cable television concerns in the
future, you may contact the MPSC online at www.michigan.gov/mpsc or
by calling 1-800-292-9555.
Sincerely,
Cindy Stephens
_____________
From: CENDIV-Big Chi Hrt Executive Care
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2022 at 11:05 AM
To: William Gibbons Jr
Subject: Comcast Executive Customer Relations Re: ESL04228255
Dear Mr. Gibbons
Thank you for contacting our executive office with your questions
and concerns. Per your request, I have disabled the email addresses
justwilliam@comcast.net
atouchofwilliam@comcast.net
cherokeebill@comcast.net
TSCenters@comcast.net
wsharing.com@comcast.net
Comcast strives to provide outstanding customer service and I appreciate
your bringing this matter to my attention
Regards,
Patrick H.
Executive Customer Relations
Comcast | Central Division
Office: 866-642-4868 Ext. 1323041
Office Hours: Tues- Sat 8am – 5pm (CT)
_____________
On Friday, April 1, 2022 at 9:35 A.M. there was yet
another call from Patrick on our home answering machine. He asked that
I give him a call, and reiterated that he was calling "once again
to just double check and see if there was anything else you [we] needed?"
_____________
From: CENDIV-Big Chi Hrt Executive Care
Sent: Friday, April 1, 2022 at 9:00 AM
To: William Gibbons Jr
Subject: Comcast Executive Customer Relations Re: ESL04228255
Dear Mr. Gibbons
Thank you again for contacting our executive office with your questions
and concerns. Per your request, I have disabled the email addresses
justwilliam@comcast.net
atouchofwilliam@comcast.net
cherokeebill@comcast.net
TSCenters@comcast.net
wsharing.com@comcast.net
Please feel free to reach out to us, if you need any further assistance.
Comcast strives to provide outstanding customer service and I appreciate
your bringing this matter to my attention
Regards,
Patrick H.
Executive Customer Relations
Comcast | Central Division
Office: 866-642-4868 Ext. 1323041
Office Hours: Tues- Sat 8am – 5pm (CT)
_____________
From: william's works
Sent: Tuesday, April 5, 2022 at 12:50 AM
To: CENDIV-Big Chi Hrt Executive Care
Subject: Comcast Executive Customer Relations Re: ESL04228255
The entry shown as Thursday, March 31, 2022 at 12:05 P.M. explaining
I had another Comcast call has the following note . . .
I will not waste any more of my time returning calls to Comcast.
However, if anyone from Comcast Corporate Offices is reading this, as
long as my account is completely closed, my email addresses completely
deactivated, and the bogus past due balance has been completely cleared,
just like your phone messages have indicated they all are, then we are
indeed finished.
I did not see your email until later in the day, when I went to a
local church to use their WiFi.
I am just now seeing your April 1, 2022 email.
As the above says, if Comcast has done everything its calls have
said, we are finished.
This entry will be added to https://www.wsharing.com/WS-NLE-220307-BC.htm
on Thursday when I return to the church to upload my picture of the
week.
God's peace,
william
_____________
Plus From The Past
_____________
Editorial note: In the process of getting the information
from my files for this webpage, I found that there was yet another time
that Comcast/Xfinity tried to bill me for something contrary to promises
they had made. I usually only remember the one story of their tech person
coming to the door to shut off my services, and his frustration in dealing
with his Comcast/Xfinity office counterpart for half an hour. But, here
is what I discovered in my Comcast/Xfinity folder about the second,
of what I realize has now been three times when their right hand had
no clue what their left hand had agreed to do, and they tried to bully
me into paying something I did not owe to them.
_____________
Sent 5/6/13 through an online form . . .
Last week I called customer service, and was given the standard Comcast
Catch-22.
A long time ago I had told you I was receiving more
channels than I should on my plan. You said I was not. Somebody
finally figured out I was right, and I received a letter advising me
of the change I would see in my service. So far, just fine.
The brochure showing the channel listings, however,
said I should have been getting channels 401-446 (music), so I called.
Your rep advised me I needed a different box to get what I was entitle
to. You would be happy to send me one for $10, or bring one out
and put it in for $30. Typical Comcast situation, so I told them
to forget it. Oh, I could have gone to a Comcast location 20 minutes
away and waited for over an hour (the last time I did that) using up
my gasoline, if I wanted to pick one up for free. I never even
thought to ask if the new box came with an extra monthly cost, which
would have made this even more absurd. Fine, this is my typical
Comcast experience, so no thanks.
That would have been the end of the story except
in the last week I received my bill on which you wanted to "thank [me]
for being a valued Comcast customer." I also received four solicitations
from Comcast business to expand the business I do with you. Bottom
line . . .
I have had the same cable service since Continental
Cable first came to Grand Ledge, MI. So, I truly should be a very
valued customer . . . but your words are hollow. I receive so
many solicitations at my business from you, you likely spend more on
mailings to me in a year than waiving the $30 would have cost you to
show me real service. I may have basic TV, but I also have high
speed Internet with you. I have never changed companies there
either. But, I would not even consider giving you more of my business,
precisely because of the poor and disjointed way you handle customer
service.
I have been a business owner all of my life (I am
62 years old), I have weathered your ineptness when it took me six months
of regularly calling to get a billing problem straightened out.
And then, it only happened when I stopped sending payments, and the
service tech showed up to shut off my service. Even after he saw
my documentation, it took HIM half an hour of arguing with your office
people to convince them of what I had been saying all along, to get
the situation rectified.
You give all sorts of credits and discounted services
to attract new business. Over the years you have eliminated more
and more channels from the basic service. The selections go down
and the costs go up. If you want me to feel like you actually
value me as a customer? Just come out and put the !@#*! box in
that I need for the channels I am supposed to already be getting, without
squeezing more money out of me.
I do not have the time to look around for other services,
so I will not even pretend that, but maybe it would start to give me
a little different opinion of you. One thing I have learned in
forty years in business, a truly satisfied customer is really of more
VALUE than all your advertising dollars. And, enough people thinking
you do not really care . . . well, even the corporate giants (kind of
like you are now) have learned that lesson the hard way.
God's peace,
william
William Gibbons Jr
01721 146110-01-1
_____________
Want to call us?
Our agents are available by phone 24/7 at 1-800-XFINITY (1-800-934-6489)
Have a question about your Business Class service?
Find answers at businesshelp.comcast.com
.jpg)
Hello, I'm Tom Karinshak, Senior Vice President of
Customer Experience at Comcast. Every day, our thousands of Comcast
employees across the country are working tirelessly to make sure we
deliver the superior experience you deserve. We are here for you. If
you have a question or a concern about your service, we have different
ways for you to reach us. Choose one that’s convenient for you and connect
with our team.
Read a letter from Tom
. . . This is just the beginning. As we move through
2013 and beyond, we will continue our investments in our service to
you. Bringing you the best customer experience every time, every
interaction - that’s our number one goal.
Tom Karinshak
Senior Vice President of Customer Experience
Email us here.
_____________
Dear Comcast,
I tried your email option twice and got an error message both times.
I tried your chat option and was told no one was available . . .
but I was free to waste my time waiting.
All this after wasting 45 minutes with you on the phone.
The emails explaining this are attached.
william
_____________
Original Message Follows:
The following information was submitted from the Comcast Web site
Name: William Gibbons
Account Number: 01721 146110-01-1
Phone Number on Account: (517) 627-3462
Contact Phone No: (517) 627-3462
Zip Code: 48837
Email Address: justwilliam@comcast.net
Comcast Email Address: justwilliam@comcast.net
Category: Billing Inquiries
Has Previously Contacted: True
Response Expected: True
Inquiry: "The Best Customer Experience, that’s what
we strive for every day" is what you wrote. Well, I have been in business
for over 40 years and you continue to provide one of the worst customer
experiences I can imagine, or have encountered.
"We have been making significant progress in transforming
the way we do business - online, through chat, on customer forums, as
well as in person. We respect your time with innovations to" . . . wrong
again, I just spent 45 minutes getting nowhere with your customer service
by phone.
On 5/6/13 I sent an email through this online form which
began . . .
Last week I called customer service, and was given the
standard Comcast Catch-22.
A long time ago I had told you I was receiving more
channels than I should on my plan. You said I was not. Somebody finally
figured out I was right and I received a letter advising me of the change
I would see in my service. So far, just fine.
The brochure showing the channel listings, however,
said I should have been getting channels 401-446 (music), so I called.
Your rep advised me I needed a different box to get what I was entitle
to. You would be happy to send me one for $10, or bring one out and
put it in for $30. Typical Comcast situation, so I told them to forget
it. Oh, I could have gone to a Comcast location 20 minutes away and
waited for over an hour (the last time I did that) using up my gasoline,
if I wanted to pick one up for free. I never even thought to ask if
the new box came with an extra monthly cost, which would have made this
even more absurd. Fine, this is my typical Comcast experience, so no
thanks.
. . . I will not reproduce the entire letter here, but
it is saved if you need it.
A couple of days after the email, I received a call from your office
(unfortunately, I misplaced her name and the exact date) indicating
you would come out and put in the correct box with no cost to me. I
was assured ALL charges would be credited back. But, when I received
my 5/21/13 bill you had two $30 charges and only one was credited back.
I did not even have an additional outlet installed, but that is beside
the point.
Doris, at 1-877-842-6622, insisted that if you had
intended to refund the service costs, you would have. I asked for a
supervisor and was put on hold only to get Doris back. After 45 minutes,
I had had enough. Your advertising is total BS. Like I said in my original
letter, if I had not had you since the day that Continental Cable came
to Grand Ledge, and have my Internet service and email addresses already
established through you, I would not even hesitate to go elsewhere.
I was not willing to pay an extra $10 to resolve
the issue initially, and I certainly will not pay you $30 simply because
your complete incompetence is costing me valuable time. Get your act
together, and get this taken care of.
Respectfully
william
_____________
From: Comcast ECARE
Sent: Wednesday, June 12, 2013 2:57 PM
To: justwilliam@comcast.net
Subject: Re: Comments for Tom Karinshak (KMM20654511V63386L0KM)
Dear Mr. Gibbons,
Good afternoon and thank you for contacting the Office
of Tom Karinshak. My name is Shannon, and I apologize for the delay
in responding to your inquiry. I do greatly apologize for the many inconveniences
you experienced with the customer services, and a $30.00 service charge
added to your account. You have stated that we informed you that the
installation would be free of charge. At this time, you would like this
issue to be resolved in a timely manner. I do understand your concern,
for if I were in the same situation, I would be just as frustrated.
You have reached the right person, and I can definitely address your
concerns today.
After reviewing your e-mail, I have taken a closer
look at your account and I will use all of the resources available to
me to assist in resolving this issue. Please know that we are continuously
working to increase customer satisfaction and are putting a tremendous
amount of resources into improving our customers' experiences with us.
We want to assure you that we do in fact recognize and acknowledge that
we have room for improvement in our customer service, and that we are
working diligently to ensure we can deliver a great experience to your
every time.
Also, I have applied a one-time courtesy credit
to your account for the inconvenience you have experienced with the
installation cost. Please allow 1 to 2 billing cycles to view this
credit on your monthly statement. However, in order to provide any information
concerning the amount of your credit, please respond directly to this
e-mail with your Full Service Address. Here at Comcast, the protection
of our customers’ information is one of our highest priorities and we
cannot thoroughly discuss any billing concerns or make account changes
without the account being secured.
If you have any additional questions or concerns,
please contact us at 1-800-266-2278 or respond directly to this e-mail.
As part of our Comcast Customer Guarantee, we are available to you 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, by calling 1-800-Comcast (1-800-266-2278),
or by contacting us again via e-mail or live chat at https://www.comcastsupport.com/ChatEntry
Again Mr. Gibbons, I apologize for the inconvenience
that you have experienced on behalf of Comcast. If you have any additional
questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We know your time is
important, so I want to thank you again for contacting us here at Comcast
and allowing me to assist you. We are grateful to have you as a Comcast
Customer.
Sincerely,
Shannon
Office of Tom Karinshak
_____________
From: William Gibbons Jr <justwilliam@comcast.net>
Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2013 8:39 PM
To: 'Comcast ECARE'
Subject: RE: Comments for Tom Karinshak (KMM20654511V63386L0KM)
Hi Shannon,
Well, things just keep getting more interesting.
Obviously you received the online email form, even though when I clicked
on the submit button I received an ERROR 505 message on my screen, which
I assumed meant the email never went. I tried re-entering the
information again and got the same error message when I clicked submit.
So, you might get it twice.
Plus, since I was of the impression my emails never
went through, I printed the text (I learned early on to copy online
text to a word document before sending) along with the text of my original
email (which prompted the free box replacement), and a copy of Tom Karinshak’s
online message, with a note on it for someone to please take care of
this, and sent copies to the Comcast Cable President at your corporate
offices, Tom Karinshak (your office) at the corporate address, my local
(Lansing, MI) service center office, and with my bill (without payment)
to wherever your pre-addressed bills return to.
The reason I did not send a reduced payment is, the
last time I had a billing problem, I made monthly calls for six months
to resolve the issue. Each time I was assured by the customer
service rep (and once a manager) they had resolved the problem.
Finally, I had overpaid enough that I figured I had a full month credit
coming, so I sent in the bill with just a note and no check.
Shortly thereafter, a Comcast Technician showed up
knocking at my door saying he was here to disconnect my service.
I told him I would be happy to let him do so, and I would finally take
the time to go looking for a new company to do business with, but he
might want to look at all my documentation before he did so. Having
heard many such stories before, I am sure, he said he would call the
customer service office and put them on speaker phone while I grabbed
my paperwork. After seeing my billings and records of conversations,
I had the pleasure of listening to him argue with your office person
for twenty minutes, who insisted they did not know why he was even here
because I no longer had TV cable and Internet services. I had
both the Internet and the TV turned on for him and the many months of
two separate bills I had been receiving, and he kept explaining to the
office that he was looking directly at the very things your office said
did not exist. The two of them finally worked it out, but before
he left (with both my services still intact) he asked if I could possibly
make copies for him of my documentation, because he had no confidence
the office would get it taken care of properly.
So, the bottom line is, I need a new bill in order
to pay what I actually owe. By the way, my copy of the bill says
one of the $30 charges was to “Install – Add’l Outlet Unwired Home.”
There was no additional outlet installed, and I surely hope I will not
have to deal with an erroneous monthly charge for one in the future.
All your tech person did was brought the box I was supposed to have
to begin with, and took back the box which was incapable of receiving
the channels I was supposed to be getting. It ticked me off that
you wanted to charge me $10 to send me the correct box and make me do
the switch myself, so I initially said no thanks. But, when I
almost immediately received several solicitations from Comcast Business
offering me great service and great prices, I had had enough and sent
the first email. In fairness to Doris, I am sure she hears all
sorts of song and dance routines, many of which are total BS.
But, I can say with relative certainty that since I was unwilling to
pay $10 to resolve the issue from the start (with me doing all the work),
I most certainly would not have agreed to pay $30 (since I am clearly
intelligent enough to have done the work myself). In fact, I specifically
asked the woman, who called from your (Tom Karinshak) office after the
first email, to verify several times that I would see absolutely no
cost to me to have you replace the wrong box with the right one.
Which she assured me of.
This might seem like a long answer to your request
for my service details, but it is actually the Reader’s Digest version
compared with the amount of time I have had to waste with actual conversations,
emails, and documentation.
You sound like a person who earnestly wishes to do
right. It would be really nice not to have to call back because
a late charge shows up while this latest Comcast mess is being resolved.
Here is the information (which is also incorrect by the way) as it appears
on your bill:
William Gibbons
419 S Bridge St 2nd A
Grand Ledge, MI 48837-1501
Acct # 01721 146110-01-1
For what it is worth, if you really would like to
clean up your records of me, I am actually William Gibbons Jr., and
I always use the Jr. wherever my name appears without my wife’s name.
And, there is no “2nd A” in our address. 419 S Bridge
St is a single family residence. I would guess the “2nd
A” somehow became a part of my address when you were sending me two
separate billings (2nd account maybe?) and insisting I only
had one type of service with you. I never tried to correct
it because I did not want a new mess over something rather inconsequential.
The post office simply ignores the nonsense after my real address, and
the bill gets to me.
I cannot see anything else on the bill I think you
would need. Let me know if there is. Thank you for caring.
God’s peace,
william
_____________
Editorial note: I find it mildly amusing that both Rashea's response
to the Attorney General, and the collection letter from the Eastern
Accounting System of Connecticut, Inc., still show the incorrect address
that was supposedly going to be corrected in 2013, as referenced in
the above email.
_____________
On Thursday 10/6/2016 4:02 PM Comcast sent me an email which read in
part . . . "We’re writing to let you know that we will be activating
a new XFINITY Internet Data Usage Plan in your area. Effective November
1, 2016, your XFINITY Internet service will include one terabyte (that’s
1,024 GB) of data usage per month. With a terabyte of data you can stream
between 600 and 700 hours of HD video, play more than 12,000 hours of
online games, or download 60,000 high-res photos in a month. For the
past three months, your average data usage was only 8 GB. Based on your
usage history, you can still stream, surf, game, download and do whatever
you want to do online, worry free." I did not remember having an example
of how little I have used their service for the cost.
In 2019, at one of these annual "review" times of
what rate we were going to be charged for the next year, Comcast followed
up with a survey. This was the year I cancelled my cable TV because
three different people told me they could not get close to the rate
I paid the previous year. When I called to schedule a time for them
to pick up their converter box, that person asked if it was OK to see
what she could do. Her rate was less than a dollar different than the
rate I was paying before. But, they had already shut off my TV signal.
I told her since after so many years of paying monthly fees to Comcast/Xfinity
it only took them 10 minutes to disconnect me, I thought it best to
just leave it that way. My responses (below) to the survey questions
reflected my frustration.
_____________
From: Xfinity [mailto:xfinity@emails.xfinity.com]
Sent: Saturday, August 31, 2019 7:21 PM
To: justwilliam@comcast.net
Subject: 5 questions about your recent call
We'd like your feedback
Thanks for calling us on August 28th.
We wanted to check in and see how it went. Your feedback helps us know
what's working – and what's not – so we can get better in the future.
It's all part of our commitment to improve your experience.
Please let us know your thoughts about your recent call with 5 quick
questions. You can get started with the first one right here:
How likely are you to recommend
Xfinity from Comcast to friends and family?
|
Not at all likely
|
Extremely likely
|
We look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
Charlie Herrin
Customer Experience Team
My responses:
How likely are you to recommend XFINITY from Comcast to friends and
family?
0 - Not at all likely
Why?
Your pricing system is too subjective and random.
I got different prices from each person I talked to. Each of them said
"let me see what I can do." By the time we got to a price I could afford,
which was basically the same as I had been paying for a year, you had
already turned off my TV service since the previous person could not
offer that price, and I chose to go with only Internet. Every person
I talked with remarked about my having been with Comcast since 1989.
But being a 30 year customer of yours is apparently irrelevant to you.
You have wasted my time and my money too often over the years. I told
a VP of yours years ago, if you took the money you use to constantly
solicit my business connections, and used it for better service and
pricing for being a longtime loyal customer, I might actually consider
recommending to the non-profit which grew out of my work giving you
their business. Your people are exceedingly nice and patient, but there
is nothing in the way you market your products, or your pricing systems,
that would cause me to recommend you to anyone. If you jerk me around
a year from now, my Xfinity internet will be gone as well . . . after
31 years of being a loyal (pays the bill every month) customer.
How would you rate the overall service provided by
the Comcast Representative with whom you last spoke?
4 - Highly Satisfied
How did your experience speaking with us affect your
overall likelihood to recommend XFINITY from Comcast?
1 - Decreased a lot
What could we do better?
You could have just said, after thirty years of being
a loyal customer, your current rate will continue unchanged, unless
you should decide to add something in the future.
Did the agent resolve your issue?
No.
There was no option for comment.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
_____________
I found it rather interesting that Rashea's phone call showed up
on caller ID as an unknown number. Oh, I am sure there is no shortage
of people who lie, try to cheat, and then attempt to avoid all calls
from Comcast. I simply am not one of them. We never answer our land
line home phone until we hear a familiar, or legitimate, voice being
recorded on the answering machine. We get too many junk calls. The reason
I did not wish to talk to Comcast by phone is they almost never had
a clue about the history of the account. When they started to lie that
I had somehow magically agreed to a rate that was almost 40% higher
than I was looking for, and way more than we had agreed upon
(by phone and in writing), phone conversations became a pointless
waste of time. They kept cashing my checks, which they were told, and
often retold, represented the full monthly payment based on the previous
year, and present year offers, until they could get things fixed. They
never returned my check as directed. They just kept perpetuating their
lie, and not acknowledge anything else. Why would a company want to
do that to a good paying customer of over three decades? It makes me
wonder if this is just one more example of our "compete and compare"
culture, and they actually are trying
to prove through intimidation they are the big giant corporation,
and no miniscule individual is going to keep them from doing whatever
they want? But, "living the real truth sets you free." And, after the
course of however long Comcast wishes to perpetuate their twisted truth
of omission, I will indeed be free of their many games. Finding out
how easy it is to live without Comcast, makes me wonder why it took
the stress of both our mothers dying in December for me to finally tell
Xfinity to take its ridiculous games, and get out of my life.
_____________
My son, who is much more knowledgeable than I, called from Colorado
on one of the days I was working on this webpage. He suggested the possibility
of speaking with a lawyer who handles class action suits. Since I have
such complete documentation, and there are so many dissatisfied, and
disgruntled, Comcast/Xfinity customers (almost every time I speak with
someone about this, I get smiles, or chuckles, that bring out their
stories of how badly Comcast/Xfinity treated them), he felt it might
be worth looking into. However, Scripture tells me to settle with others
outside of court if possible. As a domestic missionary who promotes
using the question "what would Jesus have me do?" in all decisions Christians
face, I must take His admonition in Scripture seriously. So, unless
Comcast decides to keep pushing things, I will be content when they
erase their bogus balance due, and I can be rid of them completely.
Editorial note: This letter is now a part of my
Newsletters, Letters, & Emails archives. It will remain here
in perpetuity. If someday it should help other Comcast/Xfinity customers
find relief, or even restitution, for wrongs perpetrated against them,
that would not hurt my feelings at all.
_____________
As a lifelong small business owner, to this day it perplexes me why
a company as big as Comcast would wish to aggravate, and antagonize,
so many of its customers. Customers are the foundation upon which every
business is built. Sure, I will point out below (I wrote that before
this) how just a couple extra dollars per customer can translate into
huge profits if you have enough customers, but if this is the reason,
it is so shortsighted. I actually started out with Continental Cable.
In the early days of the Internet, companies got exclusive contracts
from a municipality, effectively creating a monopoly in any given area.
That, of course, is rapidly changing these days. There are so many options
now, you can no longer presume your customers have no place else to
go.
When I was growing up, used car salesmen were the
least trusted occupation (in surveys) of the general public. Comcast
might just give them a run for their money. I even have a lower opinion
of NBC now, because Comcast is somehow connected with them.
It really is a shame. Comcast/Xfinity has a good product, and most of
their people I have dealt with are polite, and patient. Even so, their
embedded corporate culture, and systems, seem to render them incapable
of living up to what becomes just advertising rhetoric without substance.
Plus, it interferes with the ability of their employees to keep the
promises being made
to Comcast/Xfinity customers.
_____________
With all the demands on my time, one might wonder why I would spend
so much of it doing this? The last line in the Cherokee Bill's Teaching
& Trade Center Mission Statement reads, "To heighten awareness of
historical and present injustice and prejudice." I do not see Comcast/Xfinity
as a company who shows prejudice as our culture defines it. Based on
my conversations with many people, I have come to believe they treat
people equally poorly across the board without prejudice. But, I also
have concluded, the system they use for establishing rates, and the
inconveniences, especially time, they burden their customers with, reeks
of injustice.
A close friend of mine was recently promised his
rate would not change at all for a year. A couple of months later his
bill went up by $2, but he was told the rate itself did not change.
Who wants to waste the time to do battle over two dollars? However,
as I have explained to a number of people, if Comcast can unjustly squeeze
$2 per month from a million customers, that is an extra $2,000,000 in
their pockets every month. I cannot say what their corporate culture
promotes. But, after years of experience with them, they rank at the
top of my list of a handful of companies I do not wish to do business
with for the rest of my life.
Comcast/Xfinity has a lot of good advertising. I
suspect that is because, these days, people have more options than when
I first signed up with Continental Cable over 30 years ago. Let this
be a word of caution, however, regardless of how enticing an introductory
offer might look. If you jump into bed with Xfinity (Comcast), you might
just end up getting . . . .
. . . . well there is enough documentation here for
you to draw your own conclusions.
_____________
Final note: I was in the shower when my wife came in and said there
was a message from Comcast on our land line answering machine that their
"past due balance is closed." Those were her words. The verbatim message
is quoted earlier in this document. Honest to God, the first thought
that jumped into my head, after I heard her words, was of Jesus on the
cross declaring "it is finished." I am not kidding. Maybe the proximity
to Easter had something to do with it. Maybe the Holy Spirit just wanted
to emphasize the joy, and relief, of the moment. All I can say is "praise
God!"
|
.jpg)
.jpg)