January 6
Comcast Corporation
Customer Service Department
Attn: Rick Germano
1500 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102-2100
(215) 665-1700
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to express my extreme displeasure with the customer service support that I have received throughout my time as a Comcast customer, which began late in April. There were issues with the quality of my service from the day I began as a customer. When my hardware was installed and service began, the cable line from the street to the outside box was not working properly and needed to be replaced. Over the past eight months, I have made a significant number of phone calls to Comcast (I would estimate between 40 60) in order to (1) resolve the service issue and (2) have a credit processed on my account for the period of time in which my service did not meet reasonable expectations. It took nearly four months, numerous phone calls, hours on the phone and various appointments until the outside cable line was properly replaced and my service functioned as expected.
Within the past five month, while trying to have the $504 credit that I was promised on August 23rd fully processed, I have again made numerous phone calls, spent endless hours of my time on the phone, been transferred between four supervisors and in the end, had a credit processed that was for significantly less than I was promised.in my time as a Comcast customer, I have experienced nothing but broken promises, incompetence, a total breakdown in communications between departments and a complete lack of accountability.
I initially wrote this letter to include a complete timeline of events from the beginning of my time as a Comcast customer until now. I felt that to get the full picture of my extreme frustration and the total disregard by Comcast for customer satisfaction and more importantly, for its unwillingness to properly resolve a problem, it would be helpful to mention:
every time in which someone at Comcast told me they would set something up for me, only to call Comcast days/weeks later to discover that nothing had been done
every time in which I was promised a supervisor would call me back to resolve the issue only to never receive a phone call
the hours upon hours Ive waited on hold until a supervisor who had the authority to actually resolve the issue could be located
the time a supervisor told me I could directly contact them going forward and they would personally resolve the issue, only to learn my ticket had been transferred to another supervisor, who I later learned did not even exist and,
the level of persistence needed by a customer to actually have a credit processed that was previously promised.
However, if I tried to discuss each of these things in detail, this letter would go on for page after page. So, in the spirit of brevity, here is a brief outline of my issues since my time as a customer. This is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of the problems I have had, the phone calls I have made or the time I have wasted to have this issue resolved.
April 27 Comcast comes to set up my cable, phone and internet service; I want to move the cable outlets to different locations in each room and am told I need a contractor to do that; he tells me he will have someone at Comcast get in touch with one of the contractors and have them call me within 48 hours to arrange a time to do the work; by May 1st, I still have not received a phone call from a contractor; when I call Comcast, they are not aware of any request for a contractor.
May 6 A contractor completes the wiring and the set-up of my cable, phone and internet service.
May 9 (and over the course of the week) The picture and sound on the On Demand service gets scrambled to the point where you cannot watch the program; it also often becomes frozen, causing me to shut down and restart the cable box; also, the internet often does not work at all; I call Comcast to schedule an appointment for them to come out and identify the problem.
May 14 (sometime during the week) Comcast comes to look at my equipment and identify the problem; he notes that the problem is clearly a lack of signal coming into the house; he is surprised I am even getting service; he says another technician will need to come to look at the outside box to determine how to increase the signal; he tells me that he will schedule a time for them to come.
Late June I am still having the same issues with my service; I call to inquire as to the solution from when the technicians checked the outside line; I am told that no one was ever scheduled to come out to look at the outside box.
Throughout July Various appointments are scheduled for Comcast to come back out; I am forced to make three appointments for one visit due to the Comcast technicians not receiving instructions on how to contact me prior to arriving; I had called to have a note added to my account noting this prior to the appointment; when they arrive, the check the service inside the house and specifically, the lack of service in the basement; the conclusion is again that the issue is with the outside box; an appointment is made to have this done.
In mid-August, a team comes out to look at the outside box; Im told the outside line coming into the box is not transmitting the signal properly and they have to dig up the line and replace it; it will take approximately a month for someone to get out and complete the work; the technician tells me he will submit the order that day to set up the appointment.
In the following week, my service continues to deteriorate; I now have issues watching regular cable TV, as it will sometimes become scrambled so I cannot watch it.
August 20 - I call to discuss the problem and the status of getting it resolved; Im told there is nothing noted on my account related to having the cable line dug up and replaced; Im given a ticket number and told a supervisor will call me within 48 hours to resolve the issue.
August 23 I have yet to speak with a supervisor from Comcast; after waiting on hold for 30 minutes, I am connected to a supervisor named Stella; she is extremely receptive and listens to all of my complaints related to my service over the past four months and the difficulties in getting it resolved; after reviewing my account, she offers to schedule the digging project for August 26th, significantly ahead of when it was initially scheduled; she also notes that I am due a full credit in excess of $500, although it cannot be processed until I am completely happy with the service; most importantly, Stella gives me her direct number and tells me that she will be my contact until this issue is resolved; I should contact her directly with any issues going forward and she will ensure it is promptly taken care of..
August 27 The line is replaced and my service improves, nearly four months after the problem was initially identified.
From August 27 through today:
o Shortly after my line is replaced, I leave three to four messages with Stella over the span of a two weeks to resolve the issue with the credit I am due; my calls are not returned.
O I call the Comcast call center to determine what happened to Stella and why this hasnt been resolved; the call center notes that the ticket has been escalated; Stella has transferred the ticket to another supervisor named Jimmy, who is not currently in the office but will call back shortly; Jimmy never returns my phone call; two days later, I call to the call center and demand to speak with Jimmy; Im told that there is no one who works at the call center named Jimmy.
O I demand to speak with another supervisor and am connected to Johnny Harris; he needs to speak with another department to approve the credit and will call back; I receive a message stating that I have good news as the credit has been approved for $300, which was MORE than expected; this is over $200 LESS than the amount noted on my account to be processed was $504); this refund was credited on my October statement.
O I continually call Mr. Harris to follow up on why the credit was not processed for the full amount and leave multiple messages; I never receive a return phone call.
O I finally am connected to another supervisor, Malcolm Faulkner. He is initially very helpful and assures me he will help me resolve the issue. Eventually, he notes that he has to check with Stella to find out the history related to the refund. I have now been trying to reach him for the past two months and it is impossible to get him on the phone. He will not return messages and when an operator looks for him in the office, he is always at lunch or with someone.
In summary, Comcast should be embarrassed with the customer support that it has provided to me in my short time as a customer. I had a simple request; fully functional service and a refund for the period of time that it was not fully functional, a refund which was promised to me but a Comcast representative. I WANT to pay my bill. I WANT my account to be current. I dont want to deal with problems.
Time and time again, Comcast representatives have initially said that right thing. However, when it is time to do the right thing, I am continuously passed on, with the hope that I will finally give up and go away. I have rarely been angered to the point to write letters or complain but my treatment in this case has appeared to be so intentional and directed, that I refuse to deal with it quietly any longer. I look forward to your response to this issue.
Sincerely,
Ryan *
Cc: Liz Crenshaw, NBC4 Consumer Watch, Washington, DC
Ross McLaughlin, ABC7 On Your Side, Washington, DC
Better Business Bureau, DC-Eastern PA
www.consumeraffairs.com
usacomplaints.com
Repp
Arlington, Virginia
U.S.A.
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