Comcast Strikes Again

[HardOCP News]

House burned down? No worries, Comcast is here to help. JUST KIDDING!

Jimmy Ware lost all his possessions in the wind-whipped fire in St. Paul's North End on April 1. Since then, his daughter said, she had been calling Comcast but was unable to cut off his service until Tuesday, when the company did so and issued an apology.

 

[cyclone3d]

So, here is what I took away from the story.

1. Power line went down and started a fire
2. House burned down.
3. They called to cancel service but did not have the proper documentation in order to be able to satisfy Comcast's account security policies. Comcast finally canceled it after repeated calls.

Sure, maybe it wasn't handled perfectly, but it sure wasn't a huge deal like the other stories of changing customers' names to something derogatory were.

As far as the fire.. the guy didn't have insurance.. but I would think that since the fire was started by an electric pole going down, the electric company should be liable for all damages caused by said fire.

 

[kbrickley]

I know that Comcast is one of several perennial whipping boys (and they do their part to fuel the fire sometimes), but they have more than 22 million customers ... even assuming that they have 99% successful customer service (which would be world class), that would still leave 220,000 episodes of failure ... the stories singling them out often make them look much worse than they probably are

Now back to your regularly scheduled episode of let's beat up Comcast

 

[jon666]

I've heard stories of people receiving a bill for knocking down a light pole or powerline, have never heard about anyone receiving compensation when it affects them.

 

[rudy]

So, here is what I took away from the story.

1. Power line went down and started a fire
2. House burned down.
3. They called to cancel service but did not have the proper documentation in order to be able to satisfy Comcast's account security policies. Comcast finally canceled it after repeated calls.

Sure, maybe it wasn't handled perfectly, but it sure wasn't a huge deal like the other stories of changing customers' names to something derogatory were.

As far as the fire.. the guy didn't have insurance.. but I would think that since the fire was started by an electric pole going down, the electric company should be liable for all damages caused by said fire.

If you want to add service to Comcast it takes almost nothing to do it. You login online you call them doesn't matter they will add HBO to your package in a split second. And you can do it 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year. If you want to cancel a part or all of your service you can only do it during business hours (when you need to work) it wont work if you try to do it online, etc they make it difficult and require increased security and half the shit you cant even do in their offices have to call and wait for hours on the phone..... The whole point is that other people like this story because it strikes a cord they are very familiar with in Comcast's crap customer service.

 

[jstenuf]

So, here is what I took away from the story.

1. Power line went down and started a fire
2. House burned down.
3. They called to cancel service but did not have the proper documentation in order to be able to satisfy Comcast's account security policies. Comcast finally canceled it after repeated calls.

Sure, maybe it wasn't handled perfectly, but it sure wasn't a huge deal like the other stories of changing customers' names to something derogatory were.

As far as the fire.. the guy didn't have insurance.. but I would think that since the fire was started by an electric pole going down, the electric company should be liable for all damages caused by said fire.

The electric company will use "Act Of God" in order to eliminate any liability on their part.

 

[kbrickley]

The electric company will use "Act Of God" in order to eliminate any liability on their part.

In fairness, they are not liable for acts of nature unless specific wrongdoing is proven (they used substandard materials) ... which is why most people carry insurance on their homes

 

[cyclone3d]

In fairness, they are not liable for acts of nature unless specific wrongdoing is proven (they used substandard materials) ... which is why most people carry insurance on their homes

I can look out my window and across the street see a power pole that has been leaning more and more the past few years. It actually looks like it is going to snap in half.

I called the power company a couple years ago about it and their attitude was that they couldn't care less unless it is actually broken all the way.

I also wonder how often the power companies check their wooden power poles for rot at ground level. They do, after-all, sit in the ground rotting for years and years before they finally fall over and the power company finally replaces them.

Great way to run a company... unless it completely breaks, they refuse to do any maintenance whatsoever.

 

[Ragenrok]

IM failing to see how this is Comcast's fault? Guys house burned down from downed power line, Comcast wouldn't let his daughter cancel service for him at first. Comcast investigated the problem, called the daughter and apologized, canceled service and backdated his last bill to the day of fire PLUS wrote off the rental equipment for free. Well it may not of been perfectly smooth from reading Comcast didn't have her on his account as an authorized person to make changes so not their fault.

Sucks when something like this happens but when hes not responsible enough to even have insurance on his stuff I lean more towards moronic people at fault rather than burn company xyz for not making life super simple for the super simple.

I can look out my window and across the street see a power pole that has been leaning more and more the past few years. It actually looks like it is going to snap in half.

I called the power company a couple years ago about it and their attitude was that they couldn't care less unless it is actually broken all the way.

I also wonder how often the power companies check their wooden power poles for rot at ground level. They do, after-all, sit in the ground rotting for years and years before they finally fall over and the power company finally replaces them.

Great way to run a company... unless it completely breaks, they refuse to do any maintenance whatsoever.

Its more of an area by area thing, 2 years ago power company replaced every wooden pole along the roads here as they were all starting to lean or get damaged. Replaced them all with nice new metal ones.

 

[timta2]

I can look out my window and across the street see a power pole that has been leaning more and more the past few years. It actually looks like it is going to snap in half.

I called the power company a couple years ago about it and their attitude was that they couldn't care less unless it is actually broken all the way.

I also wonder how often the power companies check their wooden power poles for rot at ground level. They do, after-all, sit in the ground rotting for years and years before they finally fall over and the power company finally replaces them.

Great way to run a company... unless it completely breaks, they refuse to do any maintenance whatsoever.

That's the American Way of doing business, they don't want to do anything that cuts into profits. I have a rotten, cut in half power pole in my back yard that still has Time Warner and AT&T infrastructure on it, after the power company replaced the lines and poles in my back yard almost 5 years ago. AT&T sent some guys who dug up a 3' x 3' hole on the side of it and then left, without filling the hole, and never came back. My neighbor threw some concrete chunks in there, so kids wouldn't fall in there. It looks pretty sweet with the AT&T broken plastic junction box hanging above it, the one that has a black garbage bag wrapped around it that blows in the wind. I laugh when I hear about them "putting money into infrastructure".

 

[bonehead123]

Comcast + customer service = oxymoron......or is it more like moronic oxygen

 

[Evil]

Yeah fail to see how this is a issue with how incompetent their customer service is. The person on the phone is too moronic to get a manager on the phone to help her disconnect the customers service because they can't think for themselves and must be mentally challenged. I never had issues cancelling my service here before a move even when my roomate called but thankfully I don't have comcast here.

 

[cybrnook]

Have to agree here with cyclone, this seems to be a bit out of proportion. I mean sure it sucks for the family, and yes its a rough, out of the ordinary situation. But it would be similar to having your CC stolen I would think. If your calling the bank to report a lost/stolen card, there is a process you will have to follow that requires some detailed info. They won't just say "Oh geez, your card got stolen. I will go ahead and do whatever you want, no questions asked. Hope it all works out......"

 

[Sicario]

I still think they have better customer service than ATT. That's been my experience anyway.

 

[HardOCP News]

If you want to add service to Comcast it takes almost nothing to do it. You login online you call them doesn't matter they will add HBO to your package in a split second. And you can do it 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year. If you want to cancel a part or all of your service you can only do it during business hours (when you need to work) it wont work if you try to do it online, etc they make it difficult and require increased security and half the shit you cant even do in their offices have to call and wait for hours on the phone..... The whole point is that other people like this story because it strikes a cord they are very familiar with in Comcast's crap customer service.

This +1.

 

[MacLeod]

Roku + Netflix + Sling TV = FTW! No contracts, no bullshit no headaches and $28/month. I cut the cord almost 2 years ago and don't regret it a bit and stories like these just reaffirm to me that I made the right decision.

 

[amddragonpc]

I've always been wary of Comcast contracts. The one where you get a special rate for 1 year or 2 years. Does one have to keep paying after their house burns down and cannot utilize the service? I wouldn't put it past Comcast to make one to keep paying even after their house is gone.

 

[Ragenrok]

Roku + Netflix + Sling TV = FTW! No contracts, no bullshit no headaches and $28/month. I cut the cord almost 2 years ago and don't regret it a bit and stories like these just reaffirm to me that I made the right decision.

Unless your getting your internet by magical or nefarious means this would still apply to you, you would still need to call and cut your internet

 

[MacLeod]

Unless your getting your internet by magical or nefarious means this would still apply to you, you would still need to call and cut your internet

LOL! Yeah I didnt think of that. I get my internet from my local phone company with much better customer service.