Journal Journal: Comcast gets tough on HighSpeed Internet Customers.
I've been a Comcast customer nearly 4 years and have had a pleasant experience with them until recently. We received a phone call in December from someone claiming they were a Comcast rep to warn us of excessive bandwidth usage. After multiple calls to Comcast Customer Service that same day, we were told to ignore the call since their records said our account showed no issues.
Even the reference number provided in the call wasn't found in their databases. They mentioned it was probably someone trying to scam us. Now we've been disconnected. No follow up call or letter of concern and no internet service for 12 months. You get a single call then you're gone.
It seems other companies such as Verizon are having similar problems with the word unlimited. At this point I'm back to dial up as Comcast has no competition in my area. I've created a blog to help spread the word and warn people. Everyone in my neighborhood still thinks they have an unlimited residential account. I've educated them recently with articles such as this.
This has become such a problem that dslreports now has dozens of articles discussing this situation. Personally I'm ok with whatever the limits are. What's frustrating is Comcast reps are "not allowed to divulge data transfer limits" and cite a fuzzy AUP/TOS link which is helpful only to lawyers (no offense those who are lawyers).
While apologetic, Comcast Abuse department originally suggested we upgrade to a business account. Now we're told we should upgrade to a commercial account. The connection fee alone is $1700 and $1000 monthly for the line! Seems Comcast hasn't passed the word to their customer service either. I called them asking what the limits were, they will still tell you they have none. Archive.org shows the Comcast advertisement we received when we signed up
Personally I'm hoping Utopianet will become available in my area. After this experience, I'd love to get rid of Comcast permanently. I'm also hoping to encourage broadband competition so companies (such as Comcast) will feel the pinch financially when they become this arrogant.
A word of warning. Make sure you are fully aware of what your provider offers. If it's unclear then get it in writing or find another provider if possible.