Cable Company "slamed" Me Hard!

[Crusher]

So back at the end of Nov. I went to the local cable office to pick up a new HD digital cable box. Get to the office have box (minus some necessary items in hand which I had to return to pick up) and clerk expalains (while she reviews my account) how I have an outdated service package and she can SLAM (although she called it a "net savings") of a few dollars a month from my current "premium" service. I said "really?" and she confirmed "YES, It will save you $ 2 a month over your current bill. I said "sure sign me up" (MISTAKE).

Fast forward to the bill .... I now have POD (Preimium on Demand) service for all premium channels (HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Starz, The Movie Channel) as well as the normal broadcast premium service channels (whicj I had under the old plan) but the itemized bill indicates I am being charged an ADDITIONAL $37 a month for the friggin POD.

I make a phone call to the service call center and am informed by a KNOWLEDGABLE person who tells me that the old service (without POD) is no longer available as a package and the premium service channels are ALL tied to the POD service (which incurs an additional fees) and that the premium service channels CAN NOT be seperated out from the attached POD service which will automatically incur additional charges.

WOW by "the balls" I was SLAMMED............OUCH!

So this AM I am of to the local office to find (hunt) me a manager to try and regain my "old" package without the POD (Pile of DUNG!) service.

[raz-0]

Man I feel bad for you.

If it makes you feel any better I got screwed the exact opposite way.

My cable company restructured packages without providing any information about what was in the packages compared to what you had beyond the number of premium channels.

So for 6 months they were billing me $32 a month more than I should have been paying because they didn't update my package.

I also find it annoyig that you can't actually get information about any of the packages without threatening to downgrade your service other than a once a year mailing mandated by their local contract.

[bountyhunter]

That sucks. A long-distance service provider slammed my wife's account a while back with no warning at all. I called the SOB and he claimed my wife had 'signed up" and that he had her signature. I called him a liar and he said he would send it to me... of course, he couldn't.

She got screwed out of maybe $30 so we wrote it off. the dipwad company was based 2000 miles away.

[al503]

She got screwed out of maybe $30 so we wrote it off. the dipwad company was based 2000 miles away.

I don't mean this in a negative or disrespectful way but I'm thinking that this is what that company and many other companys count on.

$30 here, and there adds up quickly. My bud at work cancelled his internet service a few months ago. The customer service guy said fine but we'll give you 2 months free just in case you want to come back.

He ends up getting a bill for the third month on the 'renewed' contract. Apparently, he was renewing his contract even though he was never told that it would be renewed if he didn't cancel again during the 2 month 'trial' period.

He called his CC to dispute the charge and I think they'll drop it. However, I think more than a few just don't want to bother for the $10.

[Scooter]

My mom got sick and tired of the cable company constantly increasing the cable rates so she cancelled the service all together. It's been over 5 years now, and they have yet to shut off the line. Oh well.

[Micah]

The asshats at Time Warner are not much better. I got dinged several months ago for a late fee, when I never received a bill. I called customer service, and the lady that I spoke with was exceptionally rude, even yelling at me (thus I reverted to my cop-like "ma'am" tone). That call ended with a promise of a callback from her supervisor.

I called the next day and spoke to a gent who gave me the same reaction. Having enough of this over-the-phone bs, I went up to the corporate office in Centerville. I had my DVR unit in hand and told the manager that if it was worth $15 to them to lose me as a customer, than I was finished.

Face to face interaction always seems to bear the most fruit. I have worked in retail for years and can understand the fustrations over stupid customers, however I also realize the value of just one customer. These cable ******s could learn a thing or two.

[Bear23]

I got tired of paying 85$ for sh*t a*s TV.. I gave it up, now I Dry fire, cook, read, or have a frickin scotch by the fire place. Can't say i miss it at all.

[JFD]

What really sucks is paying for all those "premium" channels and the end result is there's still nothing good to watch.

[Lee Bell]

So back at the end of Nov. I went to the local cable office to pick up a new HD digital cable box. Get to the office have box (minus some necessary items in hand which I had to return to pick up) and clerk expalains (while she reviews my account) how I have an outdated service package and she can SLAM (although she called it a "net savings") of a few dollars a month from my current "premium" service. I said "really?" and she confirmed "YES, It will save you $ 2 a month over your current bill. I said "sure sign me up" (MISTAKE).

Fast forward to the bill .... I now have POD (Preimium on Demand) service for all premium channels (HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Starz, The Movie Channel) as well as the normal broadcast premium service channels (whicj I had under the old plan) but the itemized bill indicates I am being charged an ADDITIONAL $37 a month for the friggin POD.

I make a phone call to the service call center and am informed by a KNOWLEDGABLE person who tells me that the old service (without POD) is no longer available as a package and the premium service channels are ALL tied to the POD service (which incurs an additional fees) and that the premium service channels CAN NOT be seperated out from the attached POD service which will automatically incur additional charges.

WOW by "the balls" I was SLAMMED............OUCH!

So this AM I am of to the local office to find (hunt) me a manager to try and regain my "old" package without the POD (Pile of DUNG!) service.

Comcast tried something very similar to me. The only difference is that I caught on to the catch before they did their installation. They called and told me all about the new digital cable service that would not only be better than my analog service, but would also give me more channels, more options, and cost less money. Sounded good to me. Sure, I said, come on out. The guy showed up with a box for one of my TVs which may or may not have been included in the quoted price. What definitely was not included was boxes for the other 4 TVs, the ones in each of the bedrooms and on the patio, over the bar. Those, of course, would be extra now and extra every month. My response was, that's not what the telemarketer promised. When it was obvious that the installation guy was not in a position to do what had been promised, I invited him to pick up his stuff, get out of my house and off of my property. He had a bit of trouble understanding me. It appears that nobody had ever told him "take a hike, I don't do business with dishonest companies."

I got an apology from Comcast and kept my old service . . . kind of. They told me that HBO had not kept up with technology and could no longer be offered with the analog service, like I was supposed to believe them. So, no more HBO. They reduced the monthly bill accordingly, so in one sense, I got some of what they promised. My bill was smaller. If anyone actually comes up with a cost effective way to provide cable-like service for a reasonable price, without someone making it illegal for me to view it without paying a small fortune, I'll probably leave Comcast behind. Until then, I can live without HBO. Hell, I may even learn to live without cable.

Lee

Man I feel bad for you.

If it makes you feel any better I got screwed the exact opposite way.

My cable company restructured packages without providing any information about what was in the packages compared to what you had beyond the number of premium channels.

So for 6 months they were billing me $32 a month more than I should have been paying because they didn't update my package.

I also find it annoyig that you can't actually get information about any of the packages without threatening to downgrade your service other than a once a year mailing mandated by their local contract.

I believe the words that work best are "I can have the satelite dish installed by tomorrow."

Lee

[Gregory_k]

What really sucks is paying for all those "premium" channels and the end result is there's still nothing good to watch.

+1

[bountyhunter]

She got screwed out of maybe $30 so we wrote it off. the dipwad company was based 2000 miles away.

I don't mean this in a negative or disrespectful way but I'm thinking that this is what that company and many other companys count on.

$30 here, and there adds up quickly.

You're right, and in my younger days I would have gone to war over it but I have to pick my battles now.

What really sucks is paying for all those "premium" channels and the end result is there's still nothing good to watch.

YEP.... my mom buys the full enchilada and it amazes me how they can pack 114 channels with pure garbage.

It also amazes me that they charge you money to show you old reruns of shows from free TV... and as the final screw, they pack them so full of commercials you can't stand to watch.