Comcast fees and agreements

Florida.

I have a 2 year bundle agreement with comcast for phone, tv, and internet service. Before accepting this agreement I repeatedly asked if I would continue to get all my channels on all my other tv's without having to pay for a box. I was assured my other channel would be the same and I did not need to pay anything more for that.

Now 8 months later I have lost most of the channels on my other tv's, and they want me to pay $1.99 plus tax for each additional over the first two. That leaves me paying for 3 more.

In addition to that increase they have raised the price of my phone modem by $2.00 plus tax. Something I don't think they should be charging for in the first place, since I can't get the phone service I am paying for without their modem. I read about a lawsuit called "Tying" against comcast for doing this with the set top boxes.

I filed a complaint with the BBB and spoke with comcast twice. The first time they claim the government made them change to digital which is why the need for the tv boxes. Then today I got a call from them when they got the BBB complaint. This time they said the corporate office made the change. I really don't care who made the change. I just feel because I have a 2 year agreement I should not be charged. I told them what I was promised, and they said that was right 8 months ago and the sales people had no way of knowing this would happen. So I say again, I should not be charged until the end of my 2 year agreement.

Any thoughts on this?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

The line to complain about Comcast starts at the rear. Sorry about the long line. Read your agreement, you agreed to the part that prices and services may change during the life of the contract.

What I have found is that you can purchase an EMTA modem instead of renting it. I'm in the process of purchasing one myself cuz Comcast first, failed to tell me that I HAD to rent their modem, and then stated I could purchase it at Best Buy, but that wasn't true either.

I didn't have a contract to read. This was done over the phone, that is why I repeatedly asked the same question. And the guy I spoke with today agreed that was what was told to me over the phone because that was what they were selling at that time.

As far as buying the modem, I am told there is NO compatible modem for the comcast phone service. Only the intermet. I have no choice but to use their modem. Which is why I believe this goes against federal and state trade law.

so NOT true on the modem. Do NOT buy a used one, but there are NEW ones to be purchased. Find your modem and pull the model number off of it. Trust me on this one. Comcast will have to come out and reinstall the phone lines again, but I was told at no charge. Can you tell that I screamed loudly about this. I had purchased a modem to replace the rented one. then found out it wouldn't work, so that's when I started pursueing the problem.

there are a lot of modems that are compatible with Comcast voip. You should visit their site though. They do have a list of modems that are known to have problems with Comcast service.

From what I read (very quickly) you want a modem that is DOCSIS 3.0 compliant rather than 2.0.

I went and looked up the exact modem that was installed 3 weeks ago. They are available - just have to look. Comcast only lists the internet only modems and NOT the EMTA modems.

Thanks all,

A lot of good info, anything to save the additional $7.00 plus a month.

This is going to seem odd, but call a local area computer geek for help on getting a modem. Comcast has repeatedly been named as one of the worst companies in America. They tried forcing us to pay the $600-bill the previous tenants at an old apartment had left, even after the managers repeatedly told them that we were new tenants and not connected in any way with the previous ones. Comcast refused to start service and then stuck the other people's bill on OUR credit reports. Took a while to get it off all of our reports. They are really a company to avoid if you can and have any other options at all. DSL internet with someone else beats cable internet with them. There's a long list of complaints against them for a reason.

Anyway a local computer geek, you know, a friend's son, a friend of your own son, etc., will be able to help you buy a compatible modem. Then you won't have to rent. I agree that the fees are ridiculous. You'll pay off the cost of the modem in a handful of months, but be paying a rental fee for at least 3 times as long. You're better of buying one. But get help with this if you're not tech savvy.

Also tell Comcast you want a copy of what they consider to be the contract mailed to you. Basically what you did was agree to a contract without being able to read it, and you have no proof of any potential deviations from it. They can prove you agreed to the contract by your accepting their service. You just plain took their word for what was in it. You wouldn't buy a car and just trust the dealer when he tells you that a couple terms you want are in the contracts, right? You'd take it in your own hands and read it with your own eyes. You wouldn't just agree to what he said and drive the car off the lot.

windchime said:

I didn't have a contract to read. This was done over the phone, that is why I repeatedly asked the same question. And the guy I spoke with today agreed that was what was told to me over the phone because that was what they were selling at that time.

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Did you record the conversation? While it would not be legal in Florida without the consent of both parties, it can be asked for. Without the recording it is your word against theirs if they want to lie about it. And it may well be the particular representative is the only one that knows about promising more than the company promises.

windchime said:

As far as buying the modem, I am told there is NO compatible modem for the comcast phone service. Only the intermet. I have no choice but to use their modem. Which is why I believe this goes against federal and state trade law.

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They will tell you anything to get you to sign up for more services or things that help them get more commissions or meet their daily quotas. Ask them for permission to record what they are telling you. If they say yes, it might be true. If they say now ... well you can figure it out. Others have already pointed out that there are alternatives.

FYI, my father has a TV that has trouble with Comcast's HD box. Turns out it really is the TV's fault. It has similar troubles with Blu-Ray players. But their box also has its own issues. In most cases it is cheap shoddy programming. But hardware can be of poor design, too.