The newest scam from Comcast

[Dan Mages]

Wifey and I would like to reduce our monthly bills and have decided to change our cable bundle package. I called Comcast to discuss our options and learned about how their scam works. We are currently grandfathered in at a cheaper rate. As such, we do not qualify for the promotional rates of the cheaper bundles and will therefore cost us MORE money to have fewer options than what we have now. He then went on to tell me how lucky I am that we have this grandfathered in rate because the current price is $15 more per month and does not include a channel or two that we already have.

And I thought deregulation will reduce costs and allow competition... yeah right. :mad:

Dab

[Gene Howe]

I don't know how they did it but, in AZ at least, if you are served by a cable co. (Comcast, Cox...etc) you are locked in to their service. The only option to cable then is satellite.
We are VERY rural here. We don't even have cable available. Just got DSL a few months ago. TV is via DTV or Dish. We have DTV.
Been thinking about a cellular option for all. Like I said...just thinking about it. Don't even know of a co. that offers that comprehensive of a service in our area.

[Lee Schierer]

I can't speak for Comcast, but Directtv kept advertising every where you would look for all the free stuff new subscribers would receive for signing up. All we had was the original equipment we had to buy. I was able to talk them into a new "free" DVR system because we have been a customer for many years by suggesting I might switch to their competitor. They paid for the equipment and installation, all I did was sign on for 2 more years.

[Greg Narozniak]

I have DirecTv (TV) as well as Comcast (Phone and Internet) and everytime I see those "promotions" they are for new customers only, Very Frustrating.

It reminds me of the TV commercial where they show kids playing with old broken crayons and then they introduce a new girl and they giver her a brand new set of like 300 crayons and they say "Because She's New"

Very Funny!

[Karlan Talkington]

I guess you could switch from DTV and cable every couple of years and get new equipment and new deals. :)

The idea of rewarding and treating long standing customers with any amount of respect is lost on the service industry IMHO.

[glenn bradley]

I simply rejoice in the absence of TV service and spend that valuable time doing something more interesting. It took years of explaining that I just don't have the need but the cable and dish companies have finally stopped calling ;-)

Don't get me wrong, if I want to watch something, I pick up a movie at he Red Box for a buck and watch it. I just can't get past paying for TV and then having to watch commercials anyway. When cable first came out in my area you paid for TV without commercials. Now they get you coming and going . . . and this is about to turn into a rant over the millions spent on lobbyists to continue this direction of force-fed . . . Oops, sorry.

[Julian Nicks]

All you need to do is know the different introductory plans before you call and tell the representative that you want the newer rate. If the representative won't help you then just keep asking to talk to a different representative till you find one who isn't lazy. By doing this I save over $60 a month on my outrageous bill from the almighty comcast monster.

[Joe Pelonio]

Rather than deal with the national call center, stop by the local office, where you would pick up equipment. Last time I was there to exchange a box, the woman offered me a bundle that included internet and land line for a lot less than we pay now and all the same channels. It seems that they have some flexibility too, I have spoken to friends here that have called to cancel to switch over to satellite and were offered amazing deals to stay. Just be careful, it may be for a short term like 6 months or one year unless you hold out for longer.

[Eric Roberge]

Cable, dish, or cell providers. They all got you all.
That's the price we pay for technology I guess.

One thing people never seem to understand is that a company like Comcast has to pay to carry channels. The more popular the channel the more expensive it is to carry. The networks like FX, Fox, CBS, Disney, etc... charge more and more to companies like Comcast to carry their networks.
As for dish, it looks like the cheaper alternative until you start to add hookups to multiple TV's.

Time Warner in my area almost dropped a local station because the station wanted to increase the rates and TW said c-ya. Half the people were ticked because they were going to lose a local channel and the other half didn't want to pay for the increase. Catch 22, but TW negotiated and got the rate reduced and kept the local on the air.

Turn off the TV and do some woodworking:D

[Dave Lehnert]

Time Warner keeps raising the cable bill. They advertise a savings rate and it's guaranteed rate for two years. Well the guarantee rate is nothing more than a two year contract they lock you into. Just happens that the local phone company is starting to offer cable tv service. Guess they want you locked in so you can't go with them.

How high will the cable bill go before we all dump it? It is a rip off now. We pay like $75 month and do not get any movie channels. Back in the 80's it was $18 and we had The Movie Channel.

[Mike Cutler]

Dan

I am going to take a slightly different point of view and say that you were lucky that you got such an honest person on the phone.
There are a lot of consumer protection laws in CT, especially concerning phone/cable/satellite. I un-knowningly restarted my Verizon service two years ago, and lost out on my initial introduction package. I didn't make the same mistake this time.;)
In CT once your initial contractual obligation has been fulfilled, you revert to a "pay as you go, month by month service" and the initial contract terms are still in effect. That's why I don't take the free Verizon phone upgrade they have been offering me. I'm not resetting the contract period.
I've heard rumor that the cable companies are no longer able to charge you for basic cable if you just want internet service. Have to check that out. I pay for basic cable to only get the internet. No TV in the house.

Now if the Attorney General would just get the propane guys under control here. That's like the wild wild west.:eek:

[Eric Roberge]

Time Warner keeps raising the cable bill. They advertise a savings rate and it's guaranteed rate for two years. Well the guarantee rate is nothing more than a two year contract they lock you into. Just happens that the local phone company is starting to offer cable tv service. Guess they want you locked in so you can't go with them.

How high will the cable bill go before we all dump it? It is a rip off now. We pay like $75 month and do not get any movie channels. Back in the 80's it was $18 and we had The Movie Channel.

Dave,
That is not an apple to apples comparison. When you were paying $18 a month, there was no HD and only a handful of channels. Automobilies in the 1980's were a lot cheaper too, but technology advancements raise costs, it works the same for the satellite and cable companies. One could make the argument for milk, bread, eggs, etc... Don't get me wrong, I pay $109/mo for standard service and internet and have no movie channels either, but it's all relative. Salaries are a lot higher now then in the 80's:)

[Pat Germain]

I went with satellite TV eight years ago and I'll never go back to cable. Cable just sucks is so many ways. Yeah, even satellite TV is overpriced. But with satellite TV, I get a crystal clear picture on non-HD channels and an AMAZING picture on HD channels. I get interactive schedules and menus which are very easy to use. I got a free HD DVR box. It's the greatest invention since bottled beer! And my satellite service NEVER goes out. When I had cable, the signal was constantly going out with no information from the cable company. No matter how often the signal was out, the bill was the same. Exept for the constant price hikes.

Everyone I know with cable gets half of their channels with snowy pictures. They just accept it as "normal". Even with digital cable, the interactive menus are lame and hard to use. The "DVR" my local cable company offers is some kind of remote service that records programs on a server back at the cable company; very slow, very lame.

One of my coworkers recently dumped satellite TV for a bundled cable package. Boy, is he steamed! He absolutely hates his cable "service". And, as I advised, it turns out he's really not saving any money after all the fees and taxes are added. But now he's locked into a two year contract.

My advice is to dump cable. Dump it, dump it, dump it! Satellite TV may not be cheaper, but the customer service and performance are just so much better than cable. That makes it a much better value.

[Dave Lehnert]

Dave,
That is not an apple to apples comparison. When you were paying $18 a month, there was no HD and only a handful of channels. Automobilies in the 1980's were a lot cheaper too, but technology advancements raise costs, it works the same for the satellite and cable companies. One could make the argument for milk, bread, eggs, etc... Don't get me wrong, I pay $109/mo for standard service and internet and have no movie channels either, but it's all relative. Salaries are a lot higher now then in the 80's:)
Yes, your right. Back then there were only 60 channels of nothing on now we have 200 of nothing on.
HD???? I was told back in the 80's my TV was crystal clear. Now they were just kidding. You need HD.

[Tom Veatch]

...Back then there were only 60 channels of nothing on now we have 200 of nothing on....

I'll have to take your word for it, 'cause I dropped out of TV when it was 40 channels of nothing on. Got one of those D/A converter boxes because my wife has one or two shows on broadcast TV that she likes. My TV watching has been limited to VHS and/or DVD for many years now. Books are much more entertaining/educational and no annoying, insulting commercials.

Do admit that I miss Discovery and History channels, at least as they were years ago, but not nearly enough to get a dish.

[David G Baker]

I have Charter Cable TV (with several premium channels), Internet, and phone (with unlimited local and long distance), my bundle price ends this month. I pay around $140 a month including taxes. In the next week or so I will get an outrageous bill like I have had at the tail end of the yearly deal so I have to call them and threaten them with switching to satellite to get their best bundle deal. What happens is every year the cost of the monthly package goes up $10 a month and eventually they are going to price themselves out of my home. If I could get High Speed Internet and TV from another source at a reasonable price I would go with it. I still have the option of going back to the hardwire phone but haven't checked the monthly cost of unlimited local and long distance for a few years.

[Pat Germain]

Do admit that I miss Discovery and History channels, at least as they were years ago, but not nearly enough to get a dish.

That's the primary reason I have satellite TV. Boy, it sure is frustrating having to pay all that money every month for only a few channels I want to watch. But whatcha gonna do? Mrs. Pat likes to watch a lot of shows on many channels.

I sure wish a la carte TV was here. I would love to pay for only what I watch.

I admit when I do watch TV, I sure like it to be in HD. I mean, truly, it's a completely different experience. So, I guess that helps to justify the cost. I bought a 52" plasma over two years ago when they cost a lot more than they do now. But it was still worth it. I especially enjoy watching movies on the big TV. After seeing them only on a small, low-def screen for many years, it's also a completely different experience.

[Chris Padilla]

Satellite and HD are the bee's knees. Amazing picture. I dumped my local cable (Comcast...although they still provide internet for us) for Dish Network.

Sports in HD...WOW.

[Dan Mages]

We have been looking into satellite TV, but then run into the problem of telephone and internet. My wife needs high speed access and unlimited internet for work, so it makes things more complicated.

Dan

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Dan,

I don't know that I would call it a scam but certainly a poor marketing idea. We had the same problem arise with our telephone provider a number of years ago. We'd been with them for 30 years. They started advertising "New Subscriber" rates that were much cheaper than we were paying. When we called them "Oh...well because you've been with us so long, it'd cost more". It didn't cost me more when I switched providers!

This type of marketing decisions really burns me up when it comes to elderly folks on a fixed income! We convinced our parents to change companies about that time too for the same reason!

[Randal Stevenson]

Deregulated is a joke, when it is a monopoly. Satellite is a different service and doesn't offer what I want. AT&T keeps mailing crp to me, about DSL, yet I am not in range (quite sending your junk mail then). They do, FINALLY offer a lower cost option, but YOU HAVE TO SPECIFICALLY request it. It's like having dial up download speed, with an always on connection (surfing is quick, just downloading large files takes a while). I may switch to it out of spite. They charge me a dollar less, then they would if I didn't have the tv service, which I don't use.

When the service line was knocked down, by a tree, they said they would send someone out to put up a new one. They called and canceled coming out, because I wasn't home :mad:
No Fence, No pets, No reason they couldn't have run the service line, that I didn't need to be here for them to originally run, I had to go to the office and get someone with a brain.
I want competition, let Time Warner AND Comcast service the SAME area, then see what happens.

[Craig Nickles]

That is exactly why I swithced over to DierctTv a few years ago. Not to mention all the times when the cable went out intermitently and sometime for hours at a time. I have not been sorry, nor will I ever go back. CHEAPER TOO!

[Tim Morton]

I am switching from comcast to DirectTV on monday:D

[Curt Harms]

[QUOTE=Tom Veatch;1113313

Do admit that I miss Discovery and History channels, at least as they were years ago, but not nearly enough to get a dish.[/QUOTE]

Those, local news & some PBS (Norm etc.) are my only reasons to watch TV. "How it's made" engages my brain more than most prime time dreck.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Deregulated is a joke, when it is a monopoly.

It's a bad joke even when it's not a monopoly. Here in NJ, electric utilities were deregulated to allow New Jerseyans to buy power from elsewhere in the country. All deregulation did was create middle man brokers skimming revenues with no value added. Our electric rates went from 10-11 cents per KwHr, to 17 cents per KwHr almost overnight.

Back to the point of the post...At one time, the FCC recommended that internet and cable TV be regulated as a utility whereas one entity maintained the hardware, and other entities compete for service. Needless to say, it was shot down.

On the positive side, Verizon FiOS is putting a lot of pressure on Comcast these days. Fiber optic cable is going up in my neighborhood as to replace old fashion copper as I type. From what I've seen, heard and read, it's very attractive for phone, internet and TV regarding cost and quality. However, when FiOS becomes more available and dominant in the communication market, I'm sure we'll feel financial pain and poor service once again.

-Jeff :)