Comcast

I finally did it — I have released myself from the shackles that were placed upon me by Comcast and OH WHAT A GLORIOUS FEELING IT IS TO BE FREE OF COMCAST’S UNCONSCIONABLE PRICINGS. And from what I hear from others, Comcast’s bullying tactics were not specifically targeted toward me — it’s just how they do business.
My story has been going on for years but 2012 was the final blow; at years end I was not working but never missed a payment with Comcast. However, they seemed convinced that my payments are always late as I never paid them on time. That’s because COMCAST CHARGES ONE MONTH IN ADVANCE and I only pay for the month of service I use. They confirmed that they do indeed charge one month in advance but insisted that, because I never paid the additional charges, this is what put me behind on payments; WHOAT?
I explained my financial situation at the time and Comcast being the nice guys they are forced me to pay out of pocket almost $ 500 to continue my service (had I not had a roommate I would have quit the service then). Then after they forced me into a 2-​year contract for services I didn’t need (triple play). I rarely use my cell phone so why would I need a landline in my home (which was NEVER USED)? And although I had my own router for Wi-​Fi Comcast forced me to use their box instead (part of their triple play package).
In two years’ time what should have been a straight forward monthly fee of $ 89 plus charges for boxes and taxes, the fees continued to creep up and up to where the final bill was $ 160 (almost double to what was agreed). When I inquired about the increases I was always met with excuses which were total B.S. Admittedly, 6 months ago I added a premium channel at $ 10 a month but nothing else in the plan changed so why the monthly increase.
During the two years I promised myself that on October 15, 2015, I would give Comcast the «Old one two» and be done with them and on September 14, 2015, I made the call to Comcast and cancelled my service.
Unfortunately my plan of installing Direct TV and/​or Disk TV didn’t work out, so I crawled back to Comcast and requested service for BASIC TV. I had a 40 minute conversation with an agent (who appeared to be stoned) that went round and round with him trying to convince me that a triple play package would be cheaper than that of a single service. I went round and round explaining that my phone and internet service is with ATT and I didn’t need a triple package. The Agent replied «oh, sorry to hear you went with a company with subpar service.»
Right because Comcast offers superior service — eek, me thinks not! Especially when I think back where in the last two years because I was forced to use their box (and not my own) for Wi-​Fi, always around the time my bill was due, Comcast would PURPOSELY SLOW MY INTERNET SPEED and jack-​up certain channels I watched on the regular. I guess they didn’t think I noticed.
Needless to say I agreed to a monthly fee of $ 97 (which included boxes and taxes, etc.,) for BASIC TV — NINETY SEVEN DOLLARS A MONTH???
Comcast staying true to their BULLYING TACTICS pulled the same BULL SHIT on me as they pulled in 2012 and jacked up my current bill to $ 300 plus the additional $ 97 because for as long as they can see (which was less than a years’ time (I’ve been a customer for 10 years)) I have been late every month because I didn’t pay the proposed advanced monthly bill.
I went round and round for 30 minutes with the Comcast agent who continued to repeat herself. I said to the agent that because Comcast bills reflect two charges: one for the month of service rendered and one for the upcoming month in advance; I only pay what is due at the time and not the proposed advanced month’s fee. I continued to tell her that in front of me I had an excel spreadsheet from my bank that reflected every payment made to Comcast from January 2014 through to November 2015; it also reflected the flux in payment amounts, what it does not however reflect is a non-​payment — so I asked her «where and in what month was I late???» Comcast agent who continued to repeat herself. I finally said «you know what — we are never ever going to agree on this so CANCEL MY SERVICE, I’m done fighting with you.»
After this call I did some research and found alternatives to Cable/​Satellite companies and I’m here to share this research with you.
First buy a SMART TV — then buy a Roku box. With the Roku you can then subscribe to channels you enjoy watching. Also buy an indoor antenna which pulls in the radio waves from most local TV stations in your area. I found that an RCA ANT 1650 was the best model for my area. You can check RCA’s website by typing in your zip code and they can suggest what model works best for your area.
You might also look in to buying a TiVo Roamio OTA (over the air) DVR which also works as an antenna. For streaming subscriptions: HuluPlus, SlingTV, Netflix, Amazon Prime
My monthly bill now $ 30