Billing

[jwhyrock]

Awesome info Comcon and welcome to the trauma ward for the anally violated!  Plenty more victims on the way I'm sure.  Glad this forum is still doing some good.  =)

[jeremy.hepburn]

I am in the same boat.  I was told my contract ended on 05/28/2012 by a Comcast CSR over a year ago and to call back at that time to cancel my service and to avoid paying the cancellation fees.  Okay - so I set a reminder in my calender to call back after 05/28/2012.  I called back today and was transferred to the "Business Loyalty Department".  I was then informed that my previous 2-year contract had "auto-renewed" by another year because I did not cancel on the 28th and $2,615.88 would be due if I wanted to cancel today.  What a joke!  All I wanted to do was drop down to a residential service as I do not need the Comcast Business Gold Package that I have been paying $215/month for over two years on.  I think I am going to shop for another ISP at this point.  I feel taken advantage of!

[CCCarole]

jeremy.hepburn,

The Administrator has been notifed of your post.  Watch for a reply please.

[Anon1499164]

Jeremy.hepburn:  We have prepared a letter to the Federal Trade Commission asking it to use its regulatory powers to stop Comcast from engaging in the deceptive practices associated with auto-renewal and early termination fees.  If you want to review the letter and see if you'd like to sign on, send me a private message on this board with your contact info.

Thanks,

Steve

[robster4321]

I have also had a similar problem with Comcast's auto-renewal. The service was being provided to a rental house, of which I made very clear to the salesman that I would no longer be there after a year. I was lead to believe that the service would end after my 1 year contract, and there was made no mention of any sort of auto-renewal. Before now, I had every intention of switching back to residential after finding a new place to live. Both myself and the owners of the house are very upset about this deception.

I tried sending an email to we_can_help@cable.comcast.com as instructed earlier in this thread, however the account is marked as being full, and my email is returned as undeliverable. I have also been attempting to contact someone about the problem via the phone. I was told that I would be contacted within 72 hours.. its been a week already.

[jwhyrock]

Hi Robster,

As Anon/Steve mentions in the post before yours feel free to join our effort and shoot him a PM if you're interested.

--Jeremy

[robster4321]

I already did

But, I'm still going to do whatever I can with Comcast as well. Hopefully I get a response from them on here..

[CCCarole]

robster4321:

I have notifed the Administrator of your post.  Watch for his reply.  I also noted to him that you stated there is currently a problem with the We Can Help email address.

CC

[Grechoe]

I am not at all surprised by what I'm reading. These types of shady business practices are common w/Comcast and not an isolated issue w/unauthorized charges...I find services arbitrarily added to my bill almost monthly, and none are authorized. 'Have to call them to remove so frequently, it's now evident it's not accidental......when you call, they claim it's complimentary (until the next billing period!); then watch out! How about we contact a TV station.....that will put a stop to it!

[jeremy.hepburn]

CCCarole:

No information has been received to date.  I also mailed the we_can_help address without a response thus far. 

[CCCarole]

---

jeremy.hepburn wrote:

CCCarole:

No information has been received to date.  I also mailed the we_can_help address without a response thus far. 

---

It has only been a day.  Please remember that the Administrator receives many requests each day and does he best to act on them as soon as he possibly can.  They are answered in the order in which they are received.  See if you hear back from either one tomorrow.  If not, post back please.

CC

[jeremy.hepburn]

CCCarole -

No response from anyone. Can you assist?

[CCCarole]

I am escalating now.  I hope you hear back soon.

CC 

[KuroK9]

We likewise have the same issue that we just learned about today.

[tdeluiz23]

I'm not sure if this is still active, but it may be helpful:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/comcast-business-class-concord 

[jwhyrock]

I edited my main/original post to show the following:

***PLEASE NOTE: Whether you have posted already in this thread or not, I think it would be helpful for us to get a better and clear understanding of the overall situation if you could post and/or repost with the following items:

**Describe your situation specifics

**Please provide which State your contract was in

--As I mention elsewhere in this thread please contact me via private message on these forums (My user name is jwhyrock) in addition to posting in this forum as it is often times a better way to get into a lot of detail that you may not want to post on a public forum.  I suggest posting what you want to in the main thread, but definitely shoot me the private message either way.

Again please contact me by PM in addition to whatever you post in the main thread.

Thank you!

-jwhyrock

[jwhyrock]

deleted

[tik27]

I tried to switch to residentail 1 year ago, they even came and changed out the modem.  That is when i found out about the auto- renewal.  Residential did not even know about it, they called business but could not budge, so they had to come back and change the modem out again.  Im waiting this year out and canceling as soon as i can

[CCBS_Victim]

Hello everyone, my name is Todd, and I'm a victim. I completed a 2 year INITIAL SERVICE TERM as stated on my Comcast Business SOA (expired 5/18/2012). I then called to cancel my business service and switch to a residential bundle to save over $60 /month on identical voice & internet services. Like many of you, I also called a couple of months prior to the expiration date of my INITIAL SERVICES TERM to inquire about canceling my Business Service upon it's expiration, and was told "no problem just call back after it expires", and, of course, they made no mention of Auto Renewal. I now am told by the Retention Dept. that I will be charged a Termination Fee of $702 if I cancel now (2 months into the 12 month Renewal Term). You all know the looping routine from this point, contact Corporate Office, call back from Escalation Dept. only to have the same lady that I First spoke with in the Retention Dept. call me saying the same thing, "you have to pay the termination fee". I finally made contact with a Corporate Executive in the VP's office. He promptly informed me that he would have The Termination Fee waived for me. I was relieved by this, but, still asked if he would make an effort to look into this crooked practice. He said that he would. Now, for the main purpose of my post; Although, they are rather obscure, if you read the General Terms and Conditions -

http://business.comcast.com/smb/terms-conditions/terms-conditions-archive - refered to in your SOA in their entirety, paying special attention to relevant sections, i.e.. Page 1, Article 1 Definitions - Service Commencement Date, Service Term, Termination Charges. Page 4, ARTICLE 4. TERM -
4.1 Agreement Term, 4.2 Service Order Renewal. ARTICLE 5. TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT AND/OR A SALES ORDER - 5.1 Termination for Convenience,

Page 5, 5.3 Effect of Expiration or Termination of the Agreement or a Service Order, you will see that that as it reads, there is a clear distinction between the Service Term, also refered to as the Initial Service Term and a Renewal Term, and that the stated 75% Termination Charge only applies to the Initial Service Term being canceled prior to it's expiration. It does not apply to the cancellation, early, or otherwise, of a Renewal Term. This is also the case with Custom Constrution Fees, if applicable. The language in section 4.2 simply means that the services stated in your SOA won't suddenly stop the day your Initial Service Term expires, but will atomatically renew or continue. And, if your services continue automatically, the agreement will also continue, because you cant have services without an agreement. However, this same agreement that automatically renews in conjunction with the automatic renwal of your services also states that Termination Charges apply only to the early termination of you Initial Srevice Term. So, wether or not you give comcast notice of Non Auto Renwal at least 30 days prior to the expiration of your Initial Service Term or, the then Current Renewal Term has nothing to do with a Termination Charge, because, according to the Terms and Conditions the 75% Termination Charge applies only to the early termination of the Initial Srevice Term and not a Renewal Term. Yet, Comcast continues to charge canceling customers in a Renewal Term a Termination Fee even though the Terms and Conditions read otherwise. They are confusing customers about this Termination Fee issue by incorrectly making reference to Section 4.2 regarding Service Auto Renewal when Section 4.2 states nothing about Termination Charges. but, they avoid the rest of the Agreement, especially the Sections that contradict their claims that they can charge a Termination Fee for canceling during a Renewal Term. 

[jpkrautw]

Count me in as a victim.  I am beyond angry at this point.  I cannot wait to move my business elsewhere.  I've given our main office a heads-up about the auto-renewal, and all 6 of our national office locations will be moving to competing services within the next year.  And since I'm also an independent IT contractor, I will make sure that every single one of my 100+ clients drops their Comcast service as well.  

Why does being Comcast's customer consistently feel like being the victim of a scam?

 No notification about renewal?  No mention of the auto-renewal by any number of the salespeople that I spoke with?  The terms hidden on page 5 of a separate document linked to from the contract?    I signed a 1 year agreement last May.  Auto-renewal was never mentioned, and I received NO notification this year of a pending auto-renewal.  So absurd of me that I thought that signing a 1 year contract meant that I was signing a 1 year contract.  

[jwhyrock]

Thank you very much for the info and I'm sorry to see more people being taken advantage of.

Please private message me when you get time (applies to all three of the new posters)

--Jeremy

[tdeluiz23]

If you’re really apologetic of our feelings why can’t you enclose the Ext # of the Executive Customer Care, Washington Market 1800-666-3458, jwhyrock?

[Lanbeast]

I also signed up for a one year promotion at the end of July, 2011. The promotion changed my $60 internet only bill, to $70 for the same internet, but included basic cable + HBO + DVR. When I informed the rep that I definitely only wanted the one year of service because TV isn't that important to me, she stated that I should call at the end of July when the year is up, to cancel. I logged into my account today to gather some information for when I call tonight, but found once logged in that as of August 1, 2012, I owe twice as much as my usual amount.

I'm assuming they auto-renewed my plan at a new higher rate. Hopefully I don't run into the same issues as others in this thread when I call tonight, since their rep told me to wait until now to cancel or else I would be charged an early termination fee.

[fedupfred]

They got me as well. In June of 2011 I agreed to what I was told was a 1 year contract. I called to sign up for a less expensive service and I was told that I signed into a 2 year contract. I saved the email with the link to the agreement and that link went stale. Just like every one else, my complaints fell of deaf ears. I signed up for Uvers today and the $300 dollar gift card I will be getting is making the pain of the early termination fee I am going to pay more bearable. I have been a customer for 8 years+. This is how they treat us loyal customers. They always want us to play the stupid game of threatening to cancel and then they will give us a better rate. I am tired of that game nor do I have time to waste on this game. Im so done with them. Additionally the monthyl appears to be 20-45 dollars less and includes a phone line. I am willing to join in on any lawsuits.

[pbhas85]

Wow - I hate to say that I am glad I am not the only one who feels completely victimized by Comcast, but I actually am glad I am not the only one who feels this way.  Thank you for the advice regarding legal action.  I recently graduated law school and after studying deceptive trade practice law for the bar exam this summer, and doing some extraneous research on it as well, I'm certain that Comcast engages in such practices, and should not only be dealt with by a governmental agency, but should be subject to civil suit as well.  Has anybody else considered this avenue?  Their alleged billing "mistakes" and the like cause a lot of headache for people seeking simple things, such as cancellation of service and the like; it would be nice to make an impact on the company so as to change the way they treat their customers!

[jwhyrock]

@pbhas85 private message me via this website when you can

[tdeluiz23]

Just wanted to thank you again jwhyrock, for your help as you've proven to a great ally in our time of need. And I look forward in talking with you soon via email.

[jwhyrock]

Thx tdeluiz23! That's what this thread is all about. Talk to you soon. =)

[Grechoe]

AMEN!  The get away with it because they can.....

[Anon382103]

I was just hit by this today.  To top things off, I think that I have an even greater legal basis for termination without payment.

My initial contract has been expired for 30 months.  Moving service requires a brand new contract with a higher fee structure. Changes in payments trigger an exit clause without penalty.

When I requested that the CSR escalate the case, he refused, and when I asked to speak to his manager he was very reluctant and only agreed after telling me that it would take 48 hours for a callback, even though he said that he had just been in communication with a floor manager immediately prior to our call.

[jbxnw]

My parents just got hosed by Comcast's unethical auto-renewal policy.

They were never provided with the actual "Terms and Conditions" at the time of sign-up (two years ago) and when they called to cancel, the contract was already auto-renewed. When they signed up, they signed below some small print text saying they were agreeing to Comcast's terms, but again NEVER actually advised on or provided with those terms.

The services were at a business. They could not continue using Comcast as the connection was frequently causing the credit card machine to fail, so they ended up canceling and later incurred about a $500 "early termination" fee. Not only that, they also got charged for a couple months of services NOT provided as the equipment was already gone but they didnt care, since they never "officially" cancelled. Hours wasted on hold, unhonored promises of call backs, offensively phony pandering to try and placate over to phone with bogus ticket numbers only to get totally ignore in the end. Way to look out for small business, huh?

What a horrendous company. The sad part being they have a monopoly and can get away with these clearly unethical practices. Obviously this has been going on for years. WHY IS THIS LEGAL!? There is something wrong with the world, and definitely something wrong with the execs at this company. The blind chase of profits has become down right counter-productive, viral, and degrading to society. Politicians pander about small business all the time, but "private" enterprise like Comcast gets away with murder and Joe-Dem or even worse Joe-Rep do not care, until poor business practices finally blow up the economy...then it's some more pandering. Ridiculous.