Comcast, From Hell's Heart, I Stab at Thee

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
My favorite cable company (read: only) has just decided to alter the terms of my contract without notice. NFL Network, which was included in my absurdly expensive digital/HD/DVR/Internet package, has been moved (without notice) to a premium sports package. That means I bought a product, and that product has changed substantially without notice. It's no different than if you bought 600 cell minutes and they downgraded it to 450 without notice.



I called them and the idiot I got on the phone was speechless. She had no solutions, even after I told her I was about to call and see if I could get FioS. It's not yet available, by the way. So I'm stuck with fucking Comcast.



I realize that channel lineups change, but this is horse shit. I am going to call Comcast Retention Department and read them the riot act. Your thoughts....

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    flounderflounder Posts: 2,674member
    Yup, they had a big battle in court with the NFL over it. Where I'm from, comcast has always had NFL network on the sports tier (at least since I got here last december). I'm sure as heck not going to shell out an extra $120 a year just to watch a half-dozen football games I may or may not be interested in (and I sure as hell don't care about NBATV).



    If it's a game I really want to watch I'll just go to a bar.
  • Reply 2 of 16
    k squaredk squared Posts: 608member
    It's not surprising that the Comcast rep couldn't help you. A coworker of mine called Comcast to report that his DVR's pause function wasn't working...the customer rep actually told him "that's impossible! You can't pause live TV." My coworker actually has to explain to the Comcast rep what a DVR was.
  • Reply 3 of 16
    Blame the NFL. The NFL knows they hold so much power that they can basically do whatever the hell they want and people will take it in the a$$ with a smile.



    If it's really that much of a problem, then why not just get the dish? You can get every NFL game with that and only the lowest plan doesn't get the NFL channel.



    Either way, you are going to get fucked one way or another.
  • Reply 4 of 16
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Flounder View Post


    Yup, they had a big battle in court with the NFL over it. Where I'm from, comcast has always had NFL network on the sports tier (at least since I got here last december). I'm sure as heck not going to shell out an extra $120 a year just to watch a half-dozen football games I may or may not be interested in (and I sure as hell don't care about NBATV).



    If it's a game I really want to watch I'll just go to a bar.



    Well I called the "Threaten to Cancel" department and they surprisingly did nothing. They usually cave. The lady tried to tell me the NFL was responsible. I told her that was an excuse....and blatantly not true. She was a lackey though, so I can't be mad at her.



    I investigated Direct TV. I am thinking about it. I am in an apartment and there are two problems:



    1. Location of the dish...I'm on the bad side of the building, so I'm not sure how it would work.



    2. It looks like I have to pay $199 for the HD-DVR, even with the top package.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by k squared View Post


    It's not surprising that the Comcast rep couldn't help you. A coworker of mine called Comcast to report that his DVR's pause function wasn't working...the customer rep actually told him "that's impossible! You can't pause live TV." My coworker actually has to explain to the Comcast rep what a DVR was.



    That is unreal.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wojciechowski View Post


    Blame the NFL. The NFL knows they hold so much power that they can basically do whatever the hell they want and people will take it in the a$$ with a smile.



    If it's really that much of a problem, then why not just get the dish? You can get every NFL game with that and only the lowest plan doesn't get the NFL channel.



    Either way, you are going to get fucked one way or another.



    Agreed, agreed and agreed. Dish is a real possibility.
  • Reply 5 of 16
    groveratgroverat Posts: 10,872member
    I just had to fix one of my favorite literary references.



    "To the last I grapple with thee, from hell's heart I stab at thee, for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee!"
  • Reply 6 of 16
    Yeah Comcast can lick my nuts. Their cable internet, though fast down speeds, is unreliable and PowerBoost is probably the worst thing ever conceived. Let's give people 30 seconds of normal upload speed then cut them at the knees back to shit-ass speed!



    I hope they all burn in hell. (Okay I'm done.)
  • Reply 7 of 16
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post


    I called them and the idiot I got on the phone was speechless. She had no solutions, even after I told her I was about to call and see if I could get FioS. It's not yet available, by the way. So I'm stuck with fucking Comcast.



    I realize that channel lineups change, but this is horse shit. I am going to call Comcast Retention Department and read them the riot act. Your thoughts....



    I don't think the people on the other end of the line care that much. They are there to perform a cookie-cutter service, which, honestly, is about all you can ask them to do: the founders of the company aren't answering phones.



    I would love to get FiOS myself. $40/month, and I would have all the channels I could possibly want, in HD, no less. Cable (Comcast) is such a racket that I simply don't get cable TV. Ironically, while the town I live in is the "birthplace of Silicon Valley" and surrounded by a two-mile fiber ring, all we get is comcast and dsl. I just started a 6 month special deal where I get internet for $25/month. I'm hoping that FiOS comes to town by then. If not, I'm going straight to DSL.
  • Reply 8 of 16
    flounderflounder Posts: 2,674member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wojciechowski View Post


    Blame the NFL. The NFL knows they hold so much power that they can basically do whatever the hell they want and people will take it in the a$$ with a smile.





    Not saying the NFL doesn't do shitty things because of the power they hold, but the whole court battle was about comcast being able to put NFL network on the sports tier. So you're wrong in this instance. The NFL lost.
  • Reply 9 of 16
    iposteriposter Posts: 1,560member
    Cable TV providing has to be one of the biggest corporate scams around. Generally only one provider per area, so you have no choice and they can charge what they want. I can only imagine what their margins are, and people spend all their time complaining about Big Oil?



    I'm just waiting for channel by channel subscriptions, if that day ever actually comes. I could cut out about 50% of the channels in my DishTV package, not miss anything I'm not interested in, and save a bundle!



  • Reply 10 of 16
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by groverat View Post


    I just had to fix one of my favorite literary references.



    "To the last I grapple with thee, from hell's heart I stab at thee, for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee!"



    Thanks...I looked at it last night and it was different. Thought maybe I had been boozin again. Fucking Ricardo Montalban's accent does it to me every time.
  • Reply 11 of 16
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    I know it's just one channel, but to be honest this morning I am still fuming. I would happy to give Comcast the boot for TV and go Direct TV. The problem is there is not comparable internet service, so I would have to keep that, and pay more. Also, I have Comcast phone. I might bag that and get something else cheap.



    But with Direct TV, it looks like I have to buy the HD-DVR. Any chance of getting one for less...or free?
  • Reply 12 of 16
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iPoster View Post


    I'm just waiting for channel by channel subscriptions, if that day ever actually comes. I could cut out about 50% of the channels in my DishTV package, not miss anything I'm not interested in, and save a bundle!







    Don't hold your breath.
  • Reply 13 of 16
    iposteriposter Posts: 1,560member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by backtomac View Post


    Don't hold your breath.



    I know. I can always hope! The technology is here (digital cable or satellite), but like always, 'money talks, and..' you know the rest!
  • Reply 14 of 16
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post


    Also, I have Comcast phone. I might bag that and get something else cheap.



    You could consolidate your cell phone and home phone service into one with the iPhone...







    Just kidding. Won't go there...
  • Reply 15 of 16
    sequitursequitur Posts: 1,910member
    Mass. 5th in U.S. download speed



    Looking for the fastest download in the US? Try Rhode Island. Or Kansas.



    Ranked by Internet speed, Massachusetts comes in fifth nationally according to a report issued this afternoon by the Communications Workers of America.



    Bay Staters eat the downloading dust of New York, New Jersey, Kansas, and Rhode Island -- which came in first, with a median download speed of 5 megabits per second.



    But even consumers in the speediest states will find their YouTube video downloads lagging behind other countries. Japan's median download speed is 61 megabits per second; South Korea follows at 45.6 megabits per second, and Canada is more than double Massachusetts' median speed, at 7.6 megabits per second, according to the report.



    "The United States is the only industrialized nation without a national policy to promote universal, high-speed Internet access," Larry Cohen, president of the CWA said in a statement.



    The data was collected through an online speed test that measures a user's Internet connection, sending a request to the nearest server and measuring the time it takes to get a response.



    The bottom of the list was dominated by rural states: Iowa, Wyoming, West Virginia, South Dakota, and Alaska.



    "From e-government and distance learning to telemedicine and public safety, high-speed Internet access for all Americans--from the rural plains to the inner cities--is essential to improving the quality of our economic, civic and personal lives," Cohen said.

    (By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe staff)

    Posted by Boston Globe Business Team at 01:23 PM
  • Reply 16 of 16
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sequitur View Post


    Mass. 5th in U.S. download speed



    Looking for the fastest download in the US? Try Rhode Island. Or Kansas.



    I think Provo, Utah is probably the king, with their iProvo project the reason. Palo Alto, CA tried to do a similar project in 2004, but it never panned out beyond the trial. If it did, I wouldn't be running comcast. 100Mbps fiber!
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