Comcast Video Self-Install Kit charges of $15 even when you install it yourself Seattle Washington

Comcast has lately been rolling in $$$. It recently wrapped its octopus arms around Universal Pictures and MSNBC.  This is robber-baron capitalism, 21st-century-style, all under the watch of Obama. And yet they cut corners on training at the same time they raise their rates.  For instance, after 5 p.m., all calls are forwarded to their support center in The Philippines.  Those young women are probably the only ones who can put up with the ire that Comcast customers take out on them. 

And still Comcast rolls out all the time new gimmicks designed to entice people to buy more stuff they don't need and also to justify across the board  price hikes.  Defective Comcast equipment, which you're paying for, anyway, and their incompetence and mistakes--simply gives Comcast another opportunity to do a soft sell ("bait-and-switch").  Hard sell comes later.

I wonder how many millions Comcast execs make off the backs of the American public and why Congress doesn't investigate them.  Or how it persuades its thousands of employees to lie to and mislead customers.  It's very likely they get bonuses for tacking on as many fees and charges as possible.

For example:

At least half a dozen mistakes--serious enough to make me seriously consider cancelling all my Comcast services within a 48-hour period.

I now have fear having to call Comcast and wind up wasting hours talking to someone incompetent or rude.

For the past week, my digital cable box had been misbehaving and after two long telephone calls, I was promised a new cable box that would arrive by UPS in 3 days.

The next day I discovered that I had been "enrolled" in an Xfinity Bundled Service (Blast Plus!).  The rep had told me simply that along with a new cable box, I would get a six-months rebate on my Basic Cable plus a three-month rebate on my International Premium Channel.

(Most of the reps speak English as a second-language, so even though they may be friendly, communication is not easy).

* He mistakenly arranged for a technician to come out the next day to unblock equipment.  (A wasted trip, according to him).

* He also mistakenly cancelled my International Premium Channel.   (The only reason I subscribe to cable).

* He didn't tell me that I was getting Blast Plus.  He never mentioned this to me.

So in total I spent 2-1/2  hours talking to five (5) different people just to get a new cable box, which arrived in four business days.  After programming it, the Xfinity remote control does not work.

Nowhere on the Comcast website can I find any mention, much less explanation, of Blast Plus, so there are no guarantees of anything.

After six months, the Blast Plus will jump by $20 and in a year another $10.  Installation fee $15 (someone at Comcast has to press a button to "activate").  And who knows what else.

But I still have to get a tech to come out to be able to restore my International Premium Channel.

When he does arrive, it takes him 15 seconds to fix things, explains that someone at Comcast screwed up when they set up Blast Plus.  On the way out he leaves me a bill for $32 ("kit installation)."

I'm sure Comcast is counting on customers to not remember.  Meanwhile, every few months it hikes its prices on all cable-related services, hoping that subscribers won't notice or protest.

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To install the new cable box, I spent at least three hours fiddling around with the box and remote control as well as trying to activate my service online. And they charge you a "video installation fee" when you do it all by yourself with no help from them!  Totally bogus.

In the end, I still could not watch the one premium channel that I have been watching for the past ten years.   So I have to wait another three days for a technician to come out.

Also, my Internet speed has not changed, and I am still getting limited Basic, with no new channels.  I should never have allowed myself to be persuaded...

What happened to Comcast's "satisfaction guarantee"?

What about a lawsuit against Comcast for false and deceptive advertising?  What about rebates to all its customers of the past 10 years for shameless profit gouging.

http://www.ripoffreport.…

What about applying anti-trust laws to break up monopolies like Comcast?

* * * * *

Beware of Comcast's bait-and-switch tentacles, now Xfinite and self-propagating.

DOESN'T THE CITY OWN THE FIBER OPTICAL CABLES UNDERNEATH?   WHY DOESN'T IT UNILATERALLY RAISE 'EXCISE TAXES' ON COMCAST THE WAY COMCAST DOES TO ITS CUSTOMERS.

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Heidi Fleiss could have said of Comcast, "These guys are really sleazy.  Top-drawer sleazy."

"High-tier services for corporate clients?   I'll get you to the supervisor."

"Our XXXfinity services will knock their socks off.  Our lineup is XXXcellent."

A rotten apple by any other name  smell as bad.