Customer Service

[ffred1465]

Recently had Extreme 105 installed and was told by the sales representative about the $249.00 installation charge.  We went back and forward with him and his manager for about two days to solve this issue.  They then informed us that the charge is there in case there has to be some major work done to get the service up and running.  They advised me to call back in case the installation is minimal to get the charge removed or drastically reduced. (They have not returned our call up to this day).

At the time of installation we had the original technician, then his partner that drove by, dispatch and their supervisor tell us (after laughing at us when bringing out that charge…thank you Comcast for the embarrassment) that the charge is just ridiculous and that the homerun (which is supposed to be covered by Comcast) and a single drop (which usually runs around $60-$70 according to the technician) does not merit a $249.00 installation charge (the technician recommended running the new lines as he felt that the service would perform better).  To add insult to injury we’ve not even been getting the speed we should.

It’s now been now about 5 days and several phone calls and hours later with no reply from anyone.  The billing department was kind enough not to care about our concern.  Yet on the flip side were more than willing and happy to transfer us to the retention department to cancel our service.

So before we cancel we were told that the online representatives are much more capable of handling these issues.  We would greatly appreciate any help we can get in getting this outrageous charge removed or drastically removed as we never before paid to for getting Internet connected at our home.

Thank you.

[rog286713]

I don't know what you mean about online agents, they certainly can't mean the chat people but this is mainly a user to user forum.  For help try sending an email here.

Though it’s not clear this is primarily a customer to customer forum

To get help, you can drop a note to Comcast corporate customer service (we_can_help@cable.comcast.com).

For the quickest response, please include:
Your full name;
Service address;
Phone number & an alternate number if possible;
Account number;
A link to your post

[ffred1465]

Thank you, I will write them immediately.

With online agents I meant their online customer support.

Has anyone had any experience with dealing with such an installation charge?

[ComcastNick]

I am not completely familiar with the installation process for the extreme 105, but I know that $249 installation fee includes more than just the initial visit.  It includes some preinstall work on the node, and extra scheduled service checks to ensure the service isn't degraded.

Since your local billing department has not been the most helpful then you would want to contact the we can help team for further assistance.  They will be able to help you out.

[ffred1465]

Thank you for your reply.

No details have been given to me about the "supposed" process of the installation.  What the sales person told me was very similar to your statement except they said "if necessary" things will be done.  The technician did not even see it necessary to run a new home run or drop (no mention of any pre-work done) but insisted on it saying that he wanted to make sure things such as the speed were working fine (which is another issue).

Anyway, as you recommended I've contaced the online help team.  Hopefully something can be resolved as we would not prefer to switch services.

[ffred1465 · Accepted solution]

Want to let all know that the Fort Myers branch was more than kind to investigate our case.  They kindly removed all installation charges and even credited us a portion of the bill to make up for the lack of service we received.  Over all we appreciate the effort made by this particular branch and the representative that took the time to help us.  The rest of Comcast customer service and sales can learn a lesson from this branch and representative in what it means to treat new and current customers.

Thank you again.

[BWGSF]

I signed up for the Comcast Extreme 105 and realized my new comcast bill had gone up to $542.27 from $114/month.  Obviously, that concerned me.  When I realized that I had been charged $249 for "Installation," I immediately called Comcast Customer Service.  The representative that I spoke to, while nice, was unable to help me with the issue that I wanted to address which was that I had never been told that there was any installation charge at all.  It came as a complete shock to me that the gentleman that showed up to install my new service was costing me a penny.  It was even more shocking that in the 5 minutes it took him to do so there could be any justification for the $249 charge.  This amounts to FRAUD in my opinion.  I would have never agreed to this charge if I would have been told anything about it.  Comcast knows that I pay my bill every single month without fail for a very long time.  I don't have the time to be on the phone with a customer service representative for 40 minutes and still not have my problem resolved and to be told that someone would be calling me on Friday about it.  The representative indicated that she could not do anything about it.  This kind of customer service is infuriating!  I will not tolerate this inept, unhelpful and circular response to my problems.  There is simply no time for this in 2012.  I have every reason to believe that there is competition to your service and I have every intention to spend 40 more minutes shopping it around.  Comcast has worked my LAST nerve on this one.  SO UNACCEPTABLE!

[ffred1465]

I'm sure many of us know how you feel.  Some of us got "lucky" and had someone reasonable get in touch with us from Comcast.  The sad reality is that most of us do not even have another option but Comcast in our area.  I've spoken to many people in my county and all I can say is that if there was another provider (such as Verizon with their FIOS service) that 99.9% of these current comcast customers would change in a heart beat and be happy to pay even an early termination fee to avoid Comcast.

Anyway, hope something works out for you.

[John_Robb]

Fred shows one thing:

If you complain enough to the local representatitve, you can get the charge removed.  

I suspect it will take a week of complaining to pull it off though.  Don't give up.  

Here's how to do it:

Every call you make where they tell you they can't change the charge, is an "unsuccessful" or "unrespnsive" experience.  

FIve or ten calls where the representative doesn't change the charge is a "customer nightmare"

If you follow the above formula, you can get almost any charge reversed (it doesn't just work with Comcast).

Good luck.