I am so regretful I left Directv and AT&T

I have been a customer since April 2010.  I was content with AT&T, and elated with my Directv -- no better customer service.

I received a triple play package offer, promising 12 mbps (with levels of 16 - 25 mbps).  As I wanted faster broadband, I made the change, with some reluctance.  It's been a horror story since day 1.

Bad Install:

The cable guy cut existing cables and left them hanging without ends.  He installed triple splitters with empty ports on two splitters.  He didn't tighten the coax cables properly.  He was an hour late, and rushed off too early.  He left the plates for my coax off at 2 different sites.  He couldn't locate the comcast line, and he found it by routing into to lines off my directv routes, resulting in much longer runs.  He needed to use my tools.  He didn't bring instructions.  He only gave me on HDMI DVR, even though I signed up and paid for 2.  He gave me the old style boxes with deficient memory, and told me I had no choice.  Both DVRs have been used and abused, and the remotes are totally worn out.

They gave my assigned phone number to another customer, so I had no phone for 2 weeks.  The technician didn't bother checking for a dial tone.

He fraudulently charged me for an additional jack, even though he merely split the existing cable line -- he didn't even run cable.
It took 2 months before they coded my account properly to watch premium stations online.  I spent a good 6 hours on the issue.

Cable/Broadband Quality:

From the beginning, broadband speeds were around 5 mbps, with frequent timeouts.  TV picture tiled,  And phone intermittently lacked a connection.

And it got way worse.  After about 35 days, I called, and said things had become intolerable.  Initially, they told me if nothing was wrong, I would be charged for the visit.  Yet, they test the line and it revealed deficiencies.  Cable guy came out several days later.  At first he cold not figure out the wiring.  Then he did.  He told me that Directv line should not have been tied to, because of different coax rating.  He also said it should not have been split multiple times.  He checked signal at wall, and said was bad.  So he tested another port, unused, and said it was good, but that I would have to tear into the wall so he could access the connection which has deep in the box. I tore out the wall the following day, and called him, and he returned.  He connected to that port, yet failed to place a connector on the coax box, such it was just a cable.  He ran 20 feet of cable across my apt, without any tacking or anything.  The next day, I ran tests, etc. and realized nothing had improved. To add salt to the wound, my cable bill contained 2 service calls, totaling $90 dollars.  Are you kidding me?

I called back, and representative concluded that they needed to send out a tech who could access the box.  I asked for a supervisor, with the ability to work in my apt and at the box.  I made an appointment, which they confirmed the day of.  Nonetheless, they sent the same guy out as the first time, who admitted he couldn't work the box.  He said his boss was in a meeting,  The next day (and the 5th visit from the cable company), they went into the box, and learned that I had a bad connection.  They tested the speed and it was bad.  They said they couldn't figure out what to do, or how to fix, but that they shook things around, and finally the speeds increased.  I commented, "are you sure that this is a proper fix?"  They assured me it was.

It gets much worse.  Speeds were strong for a few days, and then declined agin.  TV and broadband continued to get worse.  Most of the time, I receive on-deman errors.  Speeds are slower and drop offs more quickly.  So I escalated the matter to a district supervisor, Steve.  Day later, Steve and his tech specialist, Perry, came to my home for the entire day.  They set up a test line and hooked up a separate modem in my unit.  Perry also tightened connections throughout my home, and said some of the splitters were bleeding the signal. By the end of the day, it was testing pretty quickly.  Perry came back the following day, still trying to figure out what was going on with the main line, and it's slower speed, but could not.  I asked it keeping the extra modem was an option, and assurances that I would not pay to rent it.  He called in, and Comcast said I needed to pay $5.  I didn't want 2 devices, and I certainly wasn't going to pay $5 more for Comcast's issues.  He set up my original battery-back up modem, VOIP, and it tested fast now.  He said he did not know what to do with the cable picture.  I told him we could deal with that next, and that broadband was the most impt thing, as it was affecting my business.

Because of all my troubles, which wasted a good 20 hours of my time, and not providing the products that I ordered and paid for, Steve reversed 2 months of the bill for my triple play, and reversed the bogus repair calls.

After about another month, I called in, and said that the "repair," which was really a repair in name only, didn't stick, and that I assumed there was a problem in the box or on the line.  I called Steve directly.  He sent a tech out.  Again, the tech did not have the ability to do the necessary things.  So he came back the following day with another guy.  They never even came to my apartment to see my tv picture.  They claimed to change out my port, and fix the amp on the line, both which were impairing my signal.

The following day, things were the same.  I called Steve again, and said it looked like things needed to be escalated further.  I suggested that he just tell me if they couldnt fix it so we dont waste more time.  He assure me he was determined.  He told me escalated my ticket, including conveying all my information to his boss.  His boss called me on both my phone numbers, but no one answered. I called back, and left a voice mail. I never heard back, so I called Steve again.  He said, "yeah that's the right number.
  I called a second and third time, still no responses.  I called Steve back, and he said he was having some personal issues, and that he could not help me write now.

A few weeks later, my speeds were worse than ever. Under 2 mbps, with very frequent time outs.  Worse yet, I was getting tiling on my TV that was so bad that I could not watch ball games or a number of other channels/shows.  I have the proof on my DVR.  The straw that broke the camel's back is that I lost 1/2 my local channels.

Consequently, I chatted on the online tech help.  I called because every time I call, I get someone abroad, usually Mexico, and they don't know how to respond to these kinds of issues.  I escalated the chat to a guy in Oregon.  He was kind.  He said he would reverse some charges, and have someone come to my unit within 2 business days. I told him that it need to be much more than a lower level rep/tech as the problems are significant.  Strangely, I received a call at 10:15 am on a Sunday, which I did not appreciate.  It was a woman from an Asian call center.  I said to her, you have to be kidding me. She said it was escalated to her.  I responded that I was told a high-level tech would come.  She proceeded to ask me what happened.  I scoffed, and said I spent 2 hours on line the day before, and you are asking me this?  She said she did not have the online record.  I asked to be escalated to someone in the US.  I was, and it was a level 1 tech.  She was kind, and even smart, but admitted this was way beyond her.  She also said there weren't many notes in my file, because it was a network issue, not an issue in my unit, and that that department doesn't log repair issues.  I said, "isn't that interesting."  I said to her, what I've said to every  person I've spoken to at Comcast -- "It's like everyone works on a separate island, and no one has a phone."  I told her that I disconnected my auto pay because I was paying for what I wasn't getting.  She she'd enter that and request a further refund, as I requested.  She also told me she's work on the appt.  It's now been 4 days since my call, and on one has come, or called to confirm an appointment.

I am so regretful I left Directv and AT&T.  I thought I'd never say that about AT&T, as its customer service is abysmal as well, but at least they give me what I pay for.  Comcast could learn a lot from Directv.

I intend to call my credit card company, and dispute every past payment to Comcast.  I will also publish this story, along with pictures of my cable picture so people are well aware of what they may be getting if they order Comcast, and how Comcast trivializes such issues.  And if they treat you like me, they will improperly charge you for installation and service calls (to repair their defective system and installation).

What Should Have Comcast Done Instead?

They also should have set my system up properly, including replacing face plates, and not leaving cable strewn across my living room.  They should stay until the repair is complete, The installer was in a hurry and left before he finished.  They should properly maintain records of all calls and actions, and stick to it until they diagnosed the problem and then fixed it.  If they make an appointment, or call you and you call them back, they should dignify you by following through with their word.  The fact that the district supervisor won't return my calls, even though he called me first, pretty much tells the story -- they just don't care.

Contact Michael at : whooped_cushion at yahoo.com