Why Comcast Frustrates me

12 years ago

My neighbor has bundled Comcast. She could not use her Outlook Express. I looked at her Port numbers -incoming and outgoing-and they looked wrong.Comcast help desk will only refresh or make sure your WiFi is working they said. They said she needed to pay for extended service and gave me a number to call. I called the number for higher service a couple of times. The recording said she needed to have another phone besides the one Comcast phone. They said they I would get disconnected and I did - twice. What the hen?
Back at the Help Desk the third time after being told I had to call Microsoft, I worked my way to a man who said he knew how to look up port numbers and yet those didn't work. I gave him my phone numbers and he said those have been replaced. They work for me and I live next door.This was 4 hours later. He finally said Comcast is having problems internally and they can't help anybody which no one else mentioned. I used my port numbers and she has e-mail. What gives with Comcast? Someone was lying.

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Comments (16)

Elmer J Fudd
12 years ago
I'm missing something. Outlook is a program (app) on your neighbor's PC, why would that be something Comcast should be involved with?

They furnish an internet signal, and maybe the router. If the PC connects to the internet, their job is done.

I do sympathize with your frustration with customer and tech support calls in general. Sometimes getting help or even getting pointed in the right direction can be a challenge.
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acraftylady
12 years ago
Wow guess I am glad we dont have them here. Was this how you had to set it up? I think I helped an online friend set up comcast a while ago and used this page. I know timer warner and verizon also have similar pages so I figure other providers must. Mary

Here is a link that might be useful: comast e-mail
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I am canceling my service with Comcast. I have the $4.99 charge to cover me in case I need to have a service call. Well in April I did have a service call as one of my two phone lines was not working. The technician who came out broke my phone and did not tell me that he broke it. I found that out much later -- it should have been a hint when he did not want me to hold the phone. Then he or Comcast put a $70.00 charge on my account. When I called Comcast, I told them about this, they admitted that it should not have been there and they told me that they would credit my account on the next bill, but that I was expected to pay it and they would issue a credit. I need to check the statutes but I don't think you can collect on disputed charges, especially when you are aware that YOU made the mistake. For the $70.00 that should not have been billed, they interrupted the service. I refuse to pay it and have notified my local jurisdiction and the FCC. If you are looking for a cable or internet or phone provider, don't walk past Comcast, run as fast and as far as you can.
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ravencajun Zone 8b TX
12 years ago
I have comcast also and their responsibility Is to provide internet connection,and email through their email client. If she is using outlook that is her choice and up to her to set up properly. Comcast would have nothing to do with outlook. Has she tried using her comcast email account on their website?
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acraftylady
12 years ago
I am on road runner with time warner and they would help me set up any email client. Before it was time warner we had adelphia here that went defunct and when we first got internet with them they were very helpull in showing me how to set up outlook express. You would think since comcast has the instructions on their site they would help over the phone too but maybe they just want people to use the online instructions. Mary
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User
Original Author
12 years ago
acraftylady, those are the exact settings ---587 and 110 or 25 and 110 for the ports. Thank you for understanding that they should know that since they change them. It was the essence of the problem.

My neighbor has been using Outlook Express for years and something went wrong and I looked through her menus and port numbers which seemed wrong compared to what I remembered were mine. Comcast person who knew what port #s were gave me port numbers that they said were newer than the ones above. However, they didn't work.

I, myself, deal with the Comcast regional director ever since I put a response in the New York Times to Comcast's profit. It brought in a mob of comments. My complaint then was they kept bringing me refubished DVRs that still had other home's tapes on it. What the hen? Then it stopped about 10 hours later. This went on for weeks. And I had to be there to let them in. They never took them off the truck and fixed them. It was a big joke to the area manager. I named names. I am the lucky one. That jerk is gone.

I used to call Comcast late at night. There were very knowledgeable people who worked very hard and didn't just look at wifi and routers. These guys didn't hang up or tell me they couldn't analyse it. I believe they were layed off people who were well-trained and proud of their problem solving abilities. I don't know what you think Comcast is supposed to do but if they can change the port numbers then they can tell me what they are when Outlook doesn't work. And did you read that when I said they told me 4 hours later of my time that they were having internal problems all evening and that no one before the last techie entered any documentation on my calls.

Also, my point was that she had a bundled Comcast account. This means her phone, tv, and computer are all with Comcast. They said they couldn't work with her because she was calling from Comcast phone and it is interconnected. This can all be true but why don't they advertise that.
So I went from help desk people who didn't know what a port number was to those who looked it up and gave me what they had. That is the frustration. Since I have not had to call the main number for a couple of years I have not been aware of how narrow their scope is or how ( and i'm gonna say it, I know I am) they are one chapter behind me in their computer knowledge. It has never been this bad.
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User
Original Author
12 years ago
Oh, Raven we could not get on Comcast.com to check her email because I guess it wasn't working.
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acraftylady
12 years ago
It seems most info for stuff like this is put online these days as they would rather you do that than call in to tech support. I feel calling an actual person will soon be a thing of the past and it will all go to online chat for help. I don't get not being able to call them from your home phone if you have a bundle, very bizzare. Mary
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Elmer J Fudd
12 years ago
"They said they couldn't work with her because she was calling from Comcast phone and it is interconnected. This can all be true but why don't they advertise that."

When trying to troubleshoot a connection, they might ask you to reboot the modem and router (if separate). What happens to a VOIP phone connection if that's done? Exactly, it disconnects. Now you understand why. Give it a little thought before getting outraged.

Most everyone has a cell phone, that's what you use.

It's gotten to the point in the the consumer marketplace that price is more important than quality. That why goods come from China, why call centers are in India and the Philippines. And even when you reach someone who speaks English, you may find yourself talking to an under-trained and under-empowered call jockey who can't provide much help.

We brought this upon ourselves. Be happy there's someone to call today, tomorrow, it will be only a website as Crafty says. Get used to it.
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acraftylady
12 years ago
My 85yr old Mom does not have a cell phone and signed up for time warner phone last year. She already had them for TV and went from verizon old fashioned copper line to time warner phone. She didn't have long distance and figured for the price now she gets unlimited long distance.

I had no clue she was doing this so don't know if they told her about no phone if the power goes out since they don't have battery back up like verizon fios but I told her after the fact and I think she still doesn't understand it and thinks as long as she has an old fashioned phone plugged in and not a cordless one she is fine when power is out, sigh, I try to explain as best I can.

She could get a trac phone or something but that would defeat the purose of the savings and one more thing for her to learn that just would not go well. Power seldom goes out in our area unless a very bad storm so no biggie and good neighbor who has fios knows about the situation in case she did need to use a phone in a power outage.

If most stuff goes to online tech support gonna be hard for elderly like my Mom that don't have a computer. Heck even most prodcuts today don't come with a paper manual and the manual has to be found online in PDF. Maru
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User
Original Author
12 years ago
Snidley, why is it you never get/read what I'm saying or your remarks are unnecessarily rude. I will defend my outrage toward Comcast as my city tries to get Verizon in our town so we have a choice.
It was not a sweetheart gift{{gwi:807}} from Comcast when they gave me the regional director to fix my problems permanently. And the New York Times readers who jumped in and agreed when I was outraged will take a pass on your advice as well.

My experience with those folks from India and other out of country call centers that Comcast uses give excellent advice and stay with you until they fix it. I admire their study ethic. Sorry, but I am not getting any wakeup calls from you.
I fixed my neighbor's email luckily or she would have had to buy their "signature service" to unlock the secrets they no longer want to tell you for free like comcast is having internal problems.

This post was edited by ellie45 on Sat, Dec 15, 12 at 18:14
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acraftylady
12 years ago
Did you have to use the port numbers that were on the website I gave or different numbers? Also does comcast have online chat for help? I know time warner does as I had to use it once when I had a similar incident years ago with port numbers being suddenly changed. Was 11pm and my mail client wouldn't connect. Mary
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Elmer J Fudd
12 years ago
I wasn't trying to be rude, though perhaps my response was colored by your trying to be smug.

I think a bit more patience and understanding would serve you well. You're getting high level attention (from someone who may know no more than you do) because you publicly complained. Most people try to solve problems in less extreme ways. But hey, do as you wish, I just wouldn't brag about it.

(Oh, and there's no points for getting any number of NYT readers to agree with your outrage. Their readership is composed of a lot of people who tend to agree with any outrage)
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User
Original Author
12 years ago
Mary, I forgot to tell you Thank You for making screen snips or copying those menus from a website of exactly what I was talking about.
I want to do this for my friend who will keep the documentation and try it herself next time. I don't know why you would have numbers very close to mine unless you lived near me and I live in Virginia or why Comcast was waay off with theirs. Something like 496 and 995. I finally went home and got my cell phone and put them in and it worked. There is nothing proprietary about them I learned.

Comcast.com was not working because Comcast was having internal problems so chat room help would not be possible.

Thanks again for your kindness.
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acraftylady
12 years ago
We don't have comccast here but an online friend got comcast and needed help setting up her email client with it so I googled how to set up email with comcast or some such and found the comcast site for port numbers. Most Providers have the info on their site with directions like that for setting up an email client. Here is another site I found that might be usefully. Mary

Here is a link that might be useful: comcast forums
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User
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks, Mary
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Patricia M
9 years ago
I am canceling my service with Comcast. I have the $4.99 charge to cover me in case I need to have a service call. Well in April I did have a service call as one of my two phone lines was not working. The technician who came out broke my phone and did not tell me that he broke it. I found that out much later -- it should have been a hint when he did not want me to hold the phone. Then he or Comcast put a $70.00 charge on my account. When I called Comcast, I told them about this, they admitted that it should not have been there and they told me that they would credit my account on the next bill, but that I was expected to pay it and they would issue a credit. I need to check the statutes but I don't think you can collect on disputed charges, especially when you are aware that YOU made the mistake. For the $70.00 that should not have been billed, they interrupted the service. I refuse to pay it and have notified my local jurisdiction and the FCC. If you are looking for a cable or internet or phone provider, don't walk past Comcast, run as fast and as far as you can.
0

Why Comcast Frustrates me

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