Yep! That's ComCrap
I love inserting the word crap into crap companies names... try it. If you're in the Netherlands, think CrapPN. It's a game the whole family can enjoy!
How's this for customer service: Comcast calls bloke an A**HOLE – and even puts it in print
A Washington woman in the US has revealed how Comcast made her husband the butt of a joke – by changing his name to "Asshole" on their account. Journalist Christopher Elliott reports that Lisa Brown contacted him after a Comcast employee changed her hubby Ricardo's name on their records to "Asshole Brown" – as is clear in the …
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Monday 2nd February 2015 20:13 GMT Michael Wojcik
Re: Yep! That's ComCrap
From where I sit, that's any of the cable companies.
Some are worse than others. We currently have WOW, which really isn't all that bad. They keep dropping the channels we actually want, in favor of ones we don't, but aside from that we've had better service from them than from any other cable company I've had to deal with.
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Thursday 29th January 2015 09:29 GMT Lee D
Retention agents? I don't even talk to them.
My favourite phrase "I just have to ask you these questions, sir, before I can do X".
No. You don't. You just don't want me to say no without getting bored of your rhetoric first. At that point of the phone call, I generally just say "Sorry, no, no, no, no, no, not interested. You know who I am, you know what I'm requesting, I consider this conversation over, this is your notification of termination."
And there's a reason that I record my calls of complaint, and keep all letters of any import for a long time. Last year I had a car insurance company cancel my car insurance (retroactively, according to the postmark!) for non-payment when they never had any record of attempting to take payment whatsoever. They claimed there was a warning letter, but couldn't produce copies. They claimed they sent it out on X date. But a letter dated 2 days later was the only letter I ever received and it quite clearly stated that "No further payment is necessary" at that point and had no mention of any sort of cancellation. They then claimed the bank had refused the charge, which was news to my bank.
They eventually threatened court. I offered to initiate the action for them. After much back and forth where every claim in their letters was refuted with cast-iron physical proof in the letters I'd been given (many of which they had no copies of!) and an offer of a copy of the recordings I had where the woman on the phone TOLD me all these things and said it was a mistake, they offered me £50 "compensation". Given that they'd cost me much more than that already, I told them I'd be using it to initiate a small claims court case. Eventually got them moving when they realised that the court would quite literally tear them to pieces for not having any of the documentation that *I* had, and having their customer service reps admit that.
Luckily, by the time their investigation was completed (where they realised they had no copies of the letters I had been sent), it was many months later but I still had all the letters since the previous year. So I was able to refute every claim with their own paperwork. I kept hold of the postmarked envelope, even, in one case.
Sorry, but some companies you just can't trust and you won't know that until you try to complain or cancel. Invest in a device that can record phone calls with one press. And keep your old bills etc. for a year or so. It doesn't hurt at all, and it can make this sort of stuff go away.
"I've been put through to you, a company representative, after proving who I am, and now I'm telling you that I'm cancelling." That's it. That's the notification you need. If you want, I'll put it in writing instead and give you even less chance of backing out. That's the end of the matter. This WAS your notification. Goodbye.
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Thursday 29th January 2015 10:47 GMT paulf
@ Lee D Spot on - keep everything and use recorded delivery for letters. You never know when you'll need it because a company has decided it's YOUR turn to be shat upon from a great height (more than just the normal day to day crap). It is something that has served me well also. Even if you don't have the ability to record phone calls (can you suggest suitable kit for landline and mobile?) keep notes on every phone call (what was said, who you spoke to, time/date of call, number dialled) along with the phone bill showing the call was made in the first place. Being able to quote that kind of stuff is often enough to flummox the agent in the call centre as they know the usual BS won't cut it with this caller!
I hope you got a damn sight more than the £50 they offered - that was derisory considering you would have been driving without insurance and had you been called on this you'd have had twice the grief to deal with.
@ Julian Bradfield
Yes torn apart. In my experience and understanding (IANAL) Judges in the SCC get very tired very quickly of their court room being cluttered up with companies that are clearly taking the piss against a customer that can back up their opposing story with things like documentary evidence and facts.
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Thursday 29th January 2015 18:12 GMT Charles 9
"(can you suggest suitable kit for landline and mobile?)"
For landlines, your average answering machine should be able to perform a call record or digest of some sort. Just engage it while the call is in progress, and it will be treated like a standard message.
As for mobile, that depends. Some ROMs have the feature built-in, others can get an app to do the job. Based on your phone, YMMV.
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Monday 2nd February 2015 20:21 GMT Michael Wojcik
I think the word you were looking for was "metaphorically".
The judges would also have accepted "figuratively". Or just omit the adverb entirely, since it's merely being used for amplification and adds no content of its own.
That said, 1) "literally" is now widely used to mean "figuratively", and is by no means the only word in English with antithetical meanings (consider e.g. "wear"). While I too dislike this particular use, the ship has clearly sailed; we can complain about it, but we're not going to stop it. And 2), the use of "literally" for emphasis with no particular meaning beyond that seems to have been adopted into writing from speech, where it served much the same purpose as interjections and fillers - to convey a bit of tone while giving the speaker a bit more time to articulate the next phrase. Used this way, it's just padding that isn't meant to mean anything. So the real problem, insofar as there is one, is people writing in a manner that too closely resembles their speech, rather than taking more time to compose and edit. It's almost as if those posting a remark online have something better they should be doing.
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Thursday 29th January 2015 16:41 GMT Dylbot
I had a similar spat with an insurance company after cancelling a bike insurance policy. I paid my blood money to drop them and thought that was the end of it. Three months later, I received a final demand for payment of this extant 60-odd quid that they decided to stiff me for, and had already paid. After going backwards and forwards with the phone monkeys and providing proof of the payment being made, they said that my bank had somehow taken the money back after 2 months and refunded it to me.
Obviously that was complete bollocks (backed up by the rather bemused gentleman I contacted at my bank to make sure), so I told them I'd never received any such refund, that the whole thing was ludicrous, to which I got the greatest response: "Please provide proof that you haven't received a refund". Yes, of course, I will provide proof of the absence of a thing. Here, why not have my entire transaction history to check through and make sure that I haven't somehow strongarmed my bank into taking back that money.
Needless to say, it was "manager, please" repeatedly time, as the poor CC sods really don't get paid enough to endure the special mix of withering sarcasm and barely suppressed rage I had in store - I was balls deep in a mortgage application at the time, and I made it very clear that if it had gone to their debt recovery department and showed up on my credit report, sending mortgage lenders scattering like frightened pigeons, the next time I spoke to them would be in court.
Oddly enough, they couldn't produce any of the previous letters they had apparently sent me either, whereas I definitely had the one confirming the closure of my account. Useless bastards backed down in the end.
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Friday 30th January 2015 15:02 GMT Anonymous Coward
You are dead-on. Good advice.
Related: I was marked by T-Mobile. Whenever I spoke to there customer service rep, I was explicitly asked whether I was recording the call. They told me that they would not speak to me if I was. I would say that I am not recording the call, but my boss might be. I am self-employed.
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Thursday 29th January 2015 09:38 GMT Lionel Baden
She was on the phone to the rep
And you think the Rep was calling your husband an asshole ??? No no no They were calling you an asshole. Not defending comcast just due to the simple fact they have an atrocious track record, but would be interested in listening to the call.
*icon closest bum related one i can find *snirk
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Thursday 29th January 2015 15:14 GMT Ugotta B. Kiddingme
Re: HOW much?
Not sure your definition of "pretty basic" but, according to the Comcast website, that price gets you a 25Mbps service. Apart from areas served by Google Fiber/Verizon FIOS/etc, "basic internet" in the US is typically 5Mbps or less, depending upon the carrier.
I do agree it's overpriced, though. I get twice that speed for US$50 from a rival cable carrier - and with significantly better customer service, too.
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Thursday 29th January 2015 18:34 GMT tekHedd
Re: HOW much?
...well... 25Mbps *peak* service. It randomly slows to DSL rates, then surges back again if you go to a speedtest site. And randomly stops for a few minutes then starts again. But, yes, the peak speed is very impressive. Really not a great deal when you see how spotty it is.
(Cancelled my contract, now enjoying consistenly-fast-admittedly-after-first-fighting-for-a-month-with-a-broken-POS-VDSL-router performance with Centurylink.)
(Beer, because it's *always* beer. What are all those other icons for anyway?)
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Thursday 29th January 2015 11:21 GMT VinceH
Comcast aren't the only company to change a customer's name - though in Virgin Media's case it's just down to pure incompetence rather than malice.
Some years ago, they seemingly dropped my first name from my bill, replacing it with just the letter. Which, obviously, is no big deal.
They subsequently decided to expand the letter back into a name again - except they got it wrong, and I became Vernon on my next bill.
I contacted them, and they immediately changed it back to Vince.
A couple of years later, I decided it was about time I checked my records at the credit agencies again. I forget which one of the big three* it was, but one of them had Vernon down as an alias for me - that information having been provided/confirmed by Virgin Media.
* Another of the big three couldn't cope with my name anyway - their online form just wouldn't accept that my middle name is just an initial.
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Thursday 29th January 2015 20:35 GMT Gannon (J.) Dick
Re: Don't pay the bill
Their Lawyers would then argue that you demanded to be called Asshole and at least they spelled it right, although that could also be attributed to Professional Courtesy as they are the biggest assholes imaginable.
Not paying the bill is on the right track, though. If you could figure out a way not to have been billed double whenever you were not looking would really be progress.
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Thursday 29th January 2015 16:18 GMT Uncle Ron
Breathtaking
It is breathtaking to me that the US FCC (and the US Congress, the US Justice Department, the US Federal Trade Commission, the business press--just ANYBODY--is still considering allowing Comcast to buy Time Warner Cable, still taking it seriously--it's just unbelievable corruption. The authorities should be breaking up these cable monopolies not allowing them to strangle technology here.
If the merger is allowed, the "new" Comcast will control more than FIFTY PERCENT of the high-speed internet service in the US, and they have publicly stated they will start Metered Billing for internet service "across our footprint" very soon. They will own NBC, Universal Studios, E! Network, Bravo, MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, Telemundo, and soon, "ComcastFlix." They will essentially set the tone and the rules and the price for how the internet is run in America. This is all just too breathtaking. Just too much for me. This is -not- hyperbole: Comcast could become -the- most profitable company in America.
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Thursday 29th January 2015 17:43 GMT Rol
Re: Breathtaking
There is a possibility that Comcast will be left holding a dead canary. True, the immediate future looks grim, but technology and a willingness to deploy it, is on the horizon.
Low Earth Orbiting satellites will put a huge dent in fixed line internet, perhaps not immediately, but the demise of digging up roads and laying cable is written.
Consider for a moment the cost of renewing an entire county's fibre / cable / wire over the next few decades verses the deployment of a fleet of satellites. Readily expandable and highly customisable.
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Thursday 29th January 2015 18:18 GMT Charles 9
Re: Breathtaking
"Low Earth Orbiting satellites will put a huge dent in fixed line internet, perhaps not immediately, but the demise of digging up roads and laying cable is written."
I doubt it, given the sheer physical limitations on wireless spectrum no matter how much you stretch it. Like it or not, when higher than high speed is a must, you're just going to have to get dirty.
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Thursday 29th January 2015 20:50 GMT Tom 13
Re: Breathtaking
Yes, but remember, based on the stories I've heard, the Time Warner customers will still be getting an upgrade in service. Scary as that is.
On the up side, if Comcast really does control 50%+ of the cable market, I would be quite willing to classify them as a public utility.
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Thursday 29th January 2015 17:01 GMT Anonymous Coward
The U.S. federal consumer protection and regulation agencies have failed the populace
The U.S. FTC, SEC, FCC and state AGs all are fully aware of the massive violations of law by Comcast yet they do nothing to hold Comcast accountable for their crimes. This is a disgrace and the media should crucify both Comcast and the U.S. federal agencies who fail to protect the people from Comcast's violations of law and outright consumer abuse.
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Thursday 29th January 2015 18:57 GMT Florida1920
They can call me anything they like
If it gets me two years of free broadband! My Comcast experiences are mixed. Getting connected in the first place took >1 hour on the phone, getting bounced from customer service (?) to tech support, before finally getting lucky and talking to the only person who knew what to do. It was simple: Add a zed at the end of your account number. On the other hand, when a billing error (tried to double bill me last month) arose, I was able to resolve it through online chat with no hassles.
I live in an "adult" (55 or older) condo complex in Florida, and most of the time Internet access is solid and fast. A couple of brief outages over 2+ years. Sure better than ATT! I'm paying ~$70/mo for an "Up to 50 Mbps" connection, because I spend a lot of time on Netflix (+ VPN) and I want to avoid the unwritten data-cap issue. My basic cable TV fee is a mandatory part of my condo fee, so I overlook the ISP cost.
Comcast has many employees, and training/management issues. But these problems aren't limited to the cable industry; wherever money changes hands, "service" quality is going downhill. Having worked in phone tech support, I think I understand the underlying reasons. Personnel are given tight quotas for average call times, but limited authority or options for solving callers' problems. People charged with retaining unsatisfied customers must also have quotas. The stress level is high, and there's no relief. Disconnect from one call and another one is right there. No time to sit back and catch your breath. It's no excuse, I know, but it speaks loudly about the conditions of labor in a "service economy." The only stuff that trickles down in this economy is stuff you don't want landing on your head.
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Thursday 29th January 2015 20:57 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: They can call me anything they like
This customer being insulted is the least of Comcast's indiscretions. They routinely have service issues that they are unable to resolve be it internet, phone or TV. There are an incredible volume of complaints filed against Comcast for everything from consumer fraud to illegal credit checks, installing unprotected hotspots in peoples homes without notice along with over charges and many more issues.
While it's great that Comcast has some happy customers, basically Comcast is out of control and raking in fortunes from criminal activity. The other cable/Telco companies are not necessarily any better which means the entire industry needs to be properly policed and financially punished to the point where it hurts if they don't provide proper service and customer support because that is what people are paying for but not receiving.
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Thursday 29th January 2015 22:01 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: They can call me anything they like
"While it's great that Comcast has some happy customers, basically Comcast is out of control and raking in fortunes from criminal activity. The other cable/Telco companies are not necessarily any better which means the entire industry needs to be properly policed and financially punished to the point where it hurts if they don't provide proper service and customer support because that is what people are paying for but not receiving."
How can the regulators regulate when the cable cartel can simply counter with "an offer they can't refuse"?
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Friday 30th January 2015 04:47 GMT John Tserkezis
"...said Steve Kipp, Comcast’s vice president of communications for the Washington region"
"We have zero tolerance for this type of disrespectful behavior"
It appears their "retention specialist", "Comcast execs" and her "nearest store", all didn't get the memo.
For a communications company, they don't appear to be very good at communicating memos. It's as if this Steve Kipp character writes memos, shoves them in his desk drawer, and promptly forgets about them. I knew a few managers like that. Weren't fun to deal with either.
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Friday 30th January 2015 08:50 GMT Anonymous Coward
everybody has a story
I have two, both in France, where excellent customer service has long been one of the nation's most cherished values "/sarc"
In my experience, the larger the company the bigger the tool they ream you with.
Canal +
Scum of the earth, after I finally signed up for a decent ISP with TV all in, I tried to cancel my very long standing yearly contract for their terrestial service (at about 20 euro a month), It took over a year!
If you don't do it before March, you are automatically renewed for a year.
My bad, I guess, but when they tried to do it a second time (despite dated registered mail,etc.) I went ballistic on phone and mail. Finally extracted myself from their rotting fingers. The funny part is they still try to call and sell me pay TV packages.
I love calmly telling the C+ phone people why I will never, never ever pay Canal + a centime ever again. It gives me a warm fuzzy glow and puts a smile on my face for the rest of the day. They still keep calling though.
Orange,
Bought my wife a phone subscription, ran through the two year package, tried to cancel. Not easy. Despite documentary proof and credit card slips, overdue notices piled into the mailbox, frequently from different addresses. This was just before the FT / Orange merger, so I wrote a registered letter to the president of both companies and threatened to take my case to what passes for a Consumer Protection Agency in this otherwise beautiful country. Wow! That worked! Never heard from them again.
The threat of Scandal is the only thing these Ba*ds understand. Hope this Comcast story is not contrived and makes it to MANY mainstream press outlets. Also hope Comcast record updates are logged and electronically signed.
They should dump the idiot's manager as well for letting it happen.
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Friday 30th January 2015 17:44 GMT wollo
fund free wifi for your neighbours
The missus recently "upgraded" to ArseFinity because we apparently don't have enough Serbo-Croat and shopping channels bundled with the ones that the kids like.
There are about 12 compute devices in the house, and performance fell off a cliff after the new (and improved!) cable modem was installed. Turns out that we'd been turned into a wifi hotspot and anyone with a Con-Cast account could now connect through our wifi modem.
Had to go through two support escalations to get them to switch it into full bridged mode, but I'm off to but my own modem tomorrow. Virtual monopoly since Verizon pulled out of my local market, and the local phone company is a joke.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
