Mediacom - www.mediacomcc.com
May: We bought our first home! As I began transferring utilities, I was unhappy to find that Comcast didnt provide service in the area to which we were moving. Bummer. So my only option was Mediacom. I called to set up service, and after I was on hold for 15 minutes, I was able to talk to a human. I was very disappointed with their plans, but I really had no other choice. They were $20 more expensive than Comcast for the exact same service. I decided to go ahead and sign up despite the bad reviews I had heard from friends. I was warned to check my bill each time it was sent, and the date it was due because others had been either early billed or double billed. So I kept that in the back of my mind. On May 18th (before we had moved any furniture into the house because we were still painting) the installers came to hook up the cable and internet. I was told when calling to establish service that we had need to pay $132 at the time of installation - it was payment for two months service. No problem I said. They came out and realized they needed to install an additional cable jack in the guest room for the internet - another $25. So total, we shelled out almost $160 in cash at the time of installation. They gave us the pink copy of our work order and the two guys left.
June: I got the first bill and BOY was I surprised! Balance Due? $193.34. Umm excuse me? I double checked the whole bill, and it stated that my Monthly Charges were $119.80 plus $69.90 for Installation Charges. Oh No Way! Keep in mind the service was installed on May 18th, and my bill was dated June 9th. Fishy? That is what I thought. So, I called the Customer Service 1-800 number. Was on hold for 15 minutes, then got a human. I explained the situation to the very nice guy, and he told me not to worry. Sometimes it takes a little time for the installers to post a payment to the account, so just make a payment of $70 when Augusts bill was due (because the payment made at installation was for May and June). No problem I said, Thanks for explaining everything to me.
July: I got the second bill. Once again, I was surprised, yet this time with a touch of annoyance. Balance Due? $259.81. That is right folks! I had a previous balance of $193.34 plus monthly charges of $59.90 (and taxes). Bill Date? July 9th. So, I called AGAIN. Held for 15 minutes, got to speak to a human. I explained the situation and once again, was told not to worry, they would check on it. Ok fine.
August: I made a payment of $70 online (printed out the receipt) on 8/7 for Julys service. Later that day (after running errands) I get home to find a pink slip on the door. The cable has been disconnected. Bovine Feces. The person that disconnected it left his number on the back for us to call to reconnect. I called. He explained that if we paid $193.34, he would reconnect our service for free. Ummm. No. I explained the situation - I had already PAID that money and was NOT going to pay it again. Of course, I got the I am just the sub-contractor, you will have to call Customer Service for that. Fantastic. The next day, I went to check the mail, and guess what was waiting for me in the mailbox. A bill from Mediacom. Balance Due? $609.01. My mouth hit the driveway. I was irate. SO, guess what I did? Yep, I called them AGAIN. Explained the whole situation YET AGAIN. After being placed on hold for 5 to 10 minutes at a time, they came to the conclusion that I had to fax in the receipt I had received from the installers on the day of installation (thank heavens I kept it). No problem - I will have to wait until the next morning because I do not own a fax machine. The Cust. Serv. Rep said that was fine. They also noted that I owed NOTHING for my service because after the last payment I made, I was current. I politely explained my dissatisfaction with they way this had been handled because at this point and time, I am fed up with having to call EVERY SINGLE MONTH. I was assured that this would never happen again, it would be taken care of because (quote) it is a bed reflection on us. (end quote) You are right about that one. I was told that after faxing the receipt to give them a day to research it, then call back. *sigh. Ok. The next morning the receipt was faxed (saved the fax confirmation that it was received on the other end), and then the next day I called to find out the status. After holding for 15 minutes, I got to speak to a human. I AGAIN explained the situation. They put me on hold for ANOTHER 15 minutes. When they returned to the line, they could not locate the Cust Serv Rep I had spoken to (even though I had her name) because it was a different office. That is right! They have an office in Pensacola and one in Gulfport that their 1-800 number sends you too - it is a crap shoot the one you end up with. I was then told that someone would have to call me back after researching it. GAAAAD!!! Ok, fine. Later that day, Zach received a call that someone would be out the next morning to reconnect our service, and they threw in a few (quote) so sorry, we will give you some discounts. (end quote) Ha ha ha. Yeah, right. Next morning, service was restored. I *assumed* that everything was taken care of. Ha.
September: Got the first bill after the fiasco. Balance Due? $356.45. Uh huh. Previous Balance? $170.01. Monthly Charges? $181.80. Bill Date? September 11th. Ok. The previous balance STILL included the installation fees and the monthly balance was for September AND October. Oh? So we are billing in two month increments these days? Not in my backyard. Here we go again. Before I could call them and complain, ONCE AGAIN, they shut off our internet. Grrr. The next day I called the Internet Support 1-866 line - BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT HERE - maybe it was just a problem with the line. Nope. (quote) Well, you have a past due balance (end quote) and before the poor girl could even finish I said, OH NO I DONT! If that is the reason the internet is not working, I need to speak to someone in Customer Service. I was transferred. Held for 15 minutes. Gave my account info to the next contestant, I mean Customer service rep, and said, I have had a problem with my bill since DAY ONE. I need to speak to a supervisor. The Rep didnt sound too happy about that, put me on hold again. I held for 15 more minutes, then since the supervisor never picked up, I was kicked out and sent to the very beginning of the operator recording. I had to hold 15 more minutes to get another Cust Serv Rep. (insert horror movie blood -curdling scream here). I told the guy my issues, again, he said that a supervisor was contacting a supervisor at the local office and that local super would be calling me shortly. He was attempting to reconnect the internet service, but they were sending a lot of signals at that time, so it would take about 15 to 20 minutes. Ok. Fine. The internet was never restored. The local super finally called me with a nice big attitude and said (quote) Well, my work order doesnt have that you have paid on it. (end quote) I said that all I had was the pink receipt the installers gave us, and that I had already faxed it last month to someone. Who? She asked. I gave her the fax number and she says (quote) Oh well, thats not our office. You need to send it here. (end quote) Ok, I said, whats the number and whats your name. I will have it faxed tomorrow morning. Now here is where I am even more irritated, you see. It seems that people automatically assume that when you say you paid in cash, you are a big fat liar liar pants on fire. There was no reason for her to give me attitude right off the bat. Anyway, I went to class, came home, and called again about the internet still being out. Explained the situation. Got TOTAL attitude from this girl too. She kept saying the line had been disconnected by a sub-contractor, but I knew better. I told her that I was still showing an internet connection, and when I pulled up my browser, I got the Mediacom sign-in screen where you enter your acct# and registration# - this is the first screen you have to go through to associate your modem with your account. If the connection had been physically disconnected, I would get a connection error screen when pulling up my browser. (quote) Oh no she said, it has been totally disconnected. (end quote) Bovine Feces. I give up. I hung up the phone. The next morning, the cable had been shut off. Ok by this point I am OVER the Customer service line. I am not holding for 15 minutes (and I promise you I am not exaggerating here - it really is a 15 minute wait - I watch the clock every time I hold) just to be told (quote) we are checking on it. (end quote) SO, I got Zach to personally go to the local office. Another WOW by Mediacom: they dont have a local phone number - just the 1-800 that sends you to either Gulfport or Pensacola. Comcast? Yeah, they have a local number AND answer your call in less than 5 minutes - not that I had any issues with Comcast. I called them twice - once to establish service and once to disconnect when we moved. He walks in and the local super that I was sending the fax too attempted to give him attitude. Once she realized it was MY account, she said (quote) Oh, I got your fax, and mine didnt have paid on it, so we are getting with the sub-contractor who is going to research with the installers that came that day. (end quote) Zach says Well, what needs to be done, is someone needs to come reconnect our service because this mess is not our fault. With a roll of her eyes and big sigh, she directs one of the counter assistants to call so-and-so and reconnect our service. Of course, at this late time in the day, they were unable to contact anyone. The next day Zach went BACK to the local office around noon, and they said someone would be out between 1 and 5. Ok. We waited and waited. I went to class, came home, still not service. The next day Zach went to the local office AGAIN. They said, well, the computer shows that you have been reconnected. Uh no we have not. More interesting news: the receipt we were given at the time of installation was completely different from the work order in our file - that is right - the computer generated numbers were not the same. Apparently, she had been on the phone with some guy in Birmingham trying to figure it out. So, Zach came home, fiddled with a few things, then went back to the office. Told them nothing was working. The sub-contractor was on his way there, so Zach waited and the guy followed him back to our house. The techs HAD come to the house yesterday to reconnect, however, they hooked up the wrong connectors. Yep. Stellar employees. So they fixed it, except the internet wasnt working. I called AGAIN. Oh, its a low signal. Someone will be out tomorrow morning to fix it. Oh. My. God. I AM SO OVER THIS! This morning, the tech came out (super nice guy) and fixed it. So for now, all is well. We still havent heard anything about our installation fees that we paid, but I can guarantee, if its not resolved by the next bill, I am switching to Bellsouth and I refuse to repay that $132. I would rather spend $1000 on a lawyer suing the pants off those 2 installers for losing our money than repay them.
For those of you who actually made it through this entire saga, thanks for reading it, and remember DONT USE MEDIACOM.
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