If you have Comcast, what's your opinion about this? Is it ok? Do you feel duped? Are you satisfied with Comcast service?

Is it Ok? No. Duped? Yes. Satisfied? Absolutely not.

But, they have a monopoly in my area...there are no other cable companies operating where I live. They pretty much have a LOT of their customers over a barrel. If you want high speed internet, cable is the way to go IMO...I've had DSL and it just doesn't get the speed that broadband cable does. However, the contracts that Comcast has with the local governments are monopolistic in nature, they fear competition...so they arrange it with the GOB network to shut out competitors in their market. AND they get tax breaks to do it.

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"You can't fix stupid..." ~ Ron White"
"I never said I wasn't a brat..." ~ Talidapali

Satisfied? At $45.95 per month for internet? No, but there aren't any less evil options. (at&t)

I pay $3 per month to rent Comcast's cable modem, but it gets fried by lighting/power spikes about once a year and has to be replaced on their dime, so I'm OK with the rental fee. Service is hit and miss, usually taking at least two tries to get things fixed. On the TV end, Comcast is a huge rip-off compared to DirectTV/Dish.

Based mostly on their outrageous monopolistic pricing and crappy service, Comcast routinely makes it into the final four for "worst company in america" on consumerist.com, and they're a number one seed again this year (here's the 2009 bracket)... probably going to be tough to beat AIG.

Is that even legal to include an insurance/service plan charge without your consent? Can't you just call them and say you don't want it and have it taken off?

We can't get cable here because of the monopoly the company has with Blount County gov't. They don't HAVE to provide service in our area, so they don't.

I do feel duped and called to get the charge removed. I got through very quickly and the phone rep was pleasant. Went through the rigamarole over how it would save money if my wires were messed up. I told her I'd take my chances since any problems I've had over the past couple of years have been Comcast's fault and not my "wires." She offered to bump it to a supervisor to see about a year's retroactive credit on the charge without much hassling from me. Stay tuned....

I got totally ripped off on this deal. After asking if I should bring my faulty modem in for a free exchange they said I could have the service guy come out and change it for free at my home since it's a comcast problem at no fault of my own. He wrote up the ticket as "no charge". I'm cool right? No, I'm not cool, I'm not cool at all, my next comcast bill had a $35 service charge for the modem exchange. They said the operator thought I had the service insurance when she told me it was free. WHY IS THAT MY PROBLEM!!
They said they were sorry but the charge could not be taken off. I come un-glued.
This is one of many issues over the years from a lack of communications issues that cost us money and a fee structure built around unjust charges. What an incredibly incompetent company.

I can't imagine how much of my/our lives are spent on the phone with numbnut cable, cellphone, insurance, credit card, etc companies. I probably spend several hours a month, and there is nothing really that prevents them from doing what they want (thanks to conglomeration, there aren't a lot of options, and everyone has the same stupid policies).

I try to give any business to a small "mom and pop" shop when I can, but it's not an option for some services.

Some activities need to be considered fraudulent, and we need better regulators in Nashville to pursue these kinds of cases. Just pursuing a few would make dozens of companies think twice before crossing the line (legally).

Barring that, we're turning into a kingdom of the blind, where the one-eyed man is king.

In Blount County, we have a Cable TV Authority -- a County Commission Committee. Do you have that in Knox County and can you take your complaints to them and expect results?

Maybe these problems can help the Authority negotiate something better next time around, especially if the complaints seem consistently about one aspect of service.

Comcast added this charge, unordered, and unexplained to our current bill.

Comcast service has been above board with me. I think they have come a long way in the past several years in the service area. I always negotiate any new charges that I notice on my bill. And, they usually take anything strange that I complain about, off.

I wrote the Tn Regulatory Commission about Comcast having a change of service charge on my last bill that I did not make The first two service people kept saying that I changed my service and since I knew I did not I kept on until I got someone that said their auditor changed my service and billed and prorated me for it. As I told TRC I believe it should be illegal for a company to change something and then state on the bill customer change of service. I really believe they hope they can stick unauthorized charges on there and we won't notice or go through what we have to endure to make them correct it. I think if enough of us would complain to TRC they would stop putting false charges on our bill.

A couple of years ago, I subscibed to the Comcast Wire Protection Plan after being told by a Comcast representative that, if anything went wrong with the cables inside my home, Comcast would make repairs at no charge to me. Several months ago, a Technician told me that a cable needed to be replaced inside my home but that the techs are not allowed to fish wire through the walls of a home. I then called Comcast and a technician read from her manual verifying what the technician said. I then did a Google search and saw the same thing on the internet. Recently, I needed to exchange a digital box at the cable office. While there, I asked the representative how the wire protection plan works. She to;d me that if anything happened in my home with the cables, Comcast would fix the problem at no charge. I then told the representative that she is spreading incorrect information and should not be telling people that. How many millions of dollars is Comcast taking in each month by misleading customers into beliebing that their wire protection plan takes care of any cable problems inside a customer's home? This is something consumer agencies and the state attorney's office should be investigating.