Comcast waits three months to refund credit balances
Summary: Comcast uses a due standard - one for payments it is owed and one for payments it owes customers
After using Comcast for many years, I was persuaded to move to Verizon's FiOS. After the much delayed and troubled installation of FiOS (see Embarking on a FiOS adventure Day 3), I brought all of Comast's equipment to the local Comcast office. FiOS, by the way, has worked very well once all of the start-up problems were resolved.
Paying the final bill
I tried to pay the final Comcast bill at the time that I returned the company's cable modem and set top box, but was told that I'd have to wait for the final bill to be calculated. I was told, however, that I'd receive a credit for the unused service rather than having to pay Comcast anything. Later I received a normal bill, called the Comcast hotline and was told that should be the final bill. Nothing was said about the credit at that time.Well, what do you know? I am owed a credit
Now I see that I did receive a credit for both the unused service and for the payment I had just made. When I called Comcast and was finally able to hack my way through the jungle of their voice response system (it took three calls before I was finally able to speak with a human being named "Jaun"), I was told that the credit would be refunded in the form of a check in late March. That means Comcast plans to hold onto the money owed me for three months!Unasked for shoot-from-the-hip advice to Comast
- Comcast, first of all, get rid of your voice response system. It is angering people. I imagine that your first line of sales and technical support are getting roasted once a customer does finally get through.
- You'd shut off the service of someone who waited three months to make a payment. You insist on payment 15 days after the bill is printed. You must live up to the same terms. Refunds should be processed and delivered in the same amount of time. A three month wait for a refund is unacceptable.
Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.
Talkback
Welcome to Customer-No-Service
Comcast is the scum of the earth
RE: Comcast waits three months to refund credit balances
Had the same issue as Dan, it just took me 6 months to get my refund. I had to contact the BBB and threaten a lawsuit to get it.
Their internet access was down daily. When they asked why I was leaving, I told them about all of the times I had called previously about the internet being down and they had no record of my calls.
I have knology now, but would use my cell phone for internet before going back to Comcast. I tell everyone I meet to avoid them like the plague.
RE: Comcast waits three months to refund credit balances
LOUSY ISP service is one reason why I decided to participate in the FCC's `Sam Knows` ISP evaluation project. After submitting my service details, and on being informed that I fit the type of customer they wish to include in their testing program, I got the `white box`
The `white box` happens to be a Netgear router with some extra software that intermittently checks the quality of my service. When I am not using my computer, it gets powered down; (can't hack a powered down computer, now can you?). So, one night, I came into my "office' and noted that traffic was spewing on the modem. Obviously, a test in progress.
I looked at the graph of the varied tests performed, and noted some interesting items. Like which time of day DNS queries were sluggish, etc.
The only way ISP are ever going to admit to how s----y their service actually is, <b>is with detailed test results garnered from real time, continuous testing</b>. Perhaps with <b>real data</b>, they will realize that the <i>con job</i> they have attempted for so long is finally over.
RE: Comcast waits three months to refund credit balances
Comcast... no wonder everyone calls them Comcrap!
RE: Comcast waits three months to refund credit balances
I apologize for the frustrations we caused.
Mark Casem
Comcast Corp.
National Customer Operations
We_can_help@cable.comcast.com
RE: Comcast waits three months to refund credit balances
WEAK!
Your company, sir...
Thanks to FiOS, we now have some [b]real[/b] competition in our area.
Signed,
Happy FiOS switcher :)
I hope an asteroid falls out of the heavens
DirecTV is wonderful, by the way. Very responsive customer service as well.
Stop feeding the cable pig.
RE: Comcast waits three months to refund credit balances
RE: Comcast waits three months to refund credit balances
RE: Comcast waits three months to refund credit balances
Other cable companies can be worse
Later I lived in an apartment complex that switched from a smaller cable company to Comcast. It took them several months to even stop billing me, even though the entire apartment complex had been switched. It took three separate phone calls, over four months time, each one saying "a check would be there in 6-8 weeks", each one with no record of the previous phone call at all, until I finally got my check.
No problems with Comcast so far (other than the steady creep of the prices... it's nearly doubled since I first signed up, though that does include moving into the city from the suburbs which for whatever reason included not just $10 in city fees but also $20 in the prices of the packages themselves).
Anyways, there's no reason why refund checks can't be automatic; bills go out on time like clockwork so why not checks? Shouldn't take *too* long to have a human verify the checks before they are sent out.
Or switch to direct deposit; even the federal government gets my tax refunds into my account in no time.
Based on my two previous experiences, companies delay/don't send checks on purpose because they figure enough people won't bother to call and they'll get to keep some extra money.
RE: Comcast waits three months to refund credit balances
Ain't it wonderful?
RE: Comcast waits three months to refund credit balances
A bit pricey, but internet speeds are really fast, and after some initial reliabilty issue's it's been very solid.
Their phone system is a JOKE, a disgraceful JOKE.
But ever notice if you buy something online, they hit your CC immediately, but a refund is 5 to 7 days.
Opt out of a mailing list, same thing. They can add you in seconds, but up to 30 days to remove ??
But I agree, they should cough up the money on the same schedule they expect you to pay them.
RE: Comcast waits three months to refund credit balances
RE: Comcast waits three months to refund credit balances
Silly Dan...
I find that the service provided on Twitter far exceeds any phone service from either of these companies. They must have more authority.
BTW: Kudos to Mark for apologizing in this space.
RE: Comcast waits three months to refund credit balances
Actually, Clark Howard (Atlanta-based radio consumer guru, referenced above) recommends finding a snail-mail address for the company officials responsible for that department (and higher types - like the President) and write them directly.
RE: Comcast waits three months to refund credit balances
Apologies don't cut it. Only when [b]TRUE[/b] competition came into our area was I finally able to dump them (and their lousy, deceitful service) into the garbage once and for all.