Comcast exorbitant with fee increases

[phoaglan]

As a long-term customer of Comcast for Internet and TV service, I have seen my annual increases soar by double digits every year. This year's increase is up 20% and my annual rate has doubled in only a few years.

In recent years, I have been helped (somewhat) by regional executives but now they longer respond to my communications. These seem to have been directed to Tom Karinshark's exec office at Comcast. An assistant there responded with a new two-year agreement that is effectively the same price as what i had received. Not helpful whatsoever. And she even wants me to buy or a new modem (not necessary) which would make the rate increase even higher.

As a senior citizen, these rate increases are unaffordable and don't compare to what they are willing to offer new customers. I would hope Comcast would appreciate their long-time customers and not try to constantly gouge them. Has anyone else had success in getting Comcast to appreciate this?

 

[weihlac]

You may wish to look at the channel selection you are subscribed to as well as your internet speed, and consider changing the channel group selection to a lower tier and opt for a slower internet speed. This may allow you to reduce your monthly bill significantly. Many of us who use Comcast get far more TV channels than we ever use and a higher internet speed than we might need. A new 2-year contract with different channel selection and slower internet speed would save you money.

 

[Neil Maley]

I have Comcast/Xfinity and they are the only provider in my area and we have the same problem. There is no competition and they can do what they want. We were getting our local channels from Hulu and pays even more and they dropped CBS so we went with Comcast.

I did go to one of their stores and a clerk actually found me a one year deal on services. Unless there are competitors in your area - this is what Comcast does. The only alternative here is Dish and they are worse with their connectivity.

 

[phoaglan]

You may wish to look at the channel selection you are subscribed to as well as your internet speed, and consider changing the channel group selection to a lower tier and opt for a slower internet speed. This may allow you to reduce your monthly bill significantly. Many of us who use Comcast get far more TV channels than we ever use and a higher internet speed than we might need. A new 2-year contract with different channel selection and slower internet speed would save you money.

Thank you for your suggestion. Unfortunately, when I negotiated last time, Comcast had already reduced my services as a negotiation.

 

[Sam]

Last time Comcast raised my rates, I called them and said that I would like to cancel, as their rate increased quite a bit.
They then put me in a new package deal that included cable, internet and home security (which I already had)
My internet speed was increased, I got more channels and a cheaper price.

I have found that if I call to cancel, they will often lower the rate and make it a better package deal.

 

[Jane4321]

I know this depends on where you live, but I get a slew of channels with the proverbial rabbit ears--digital now. I pay zippo for TV. I stream movies from Amazon or other sources either free or pay per view.

And so what I pay is for internet ONLY. It costs a whole lot less. In the Fall I got a rate of around $40 a month for a gigabit download and 40 upload, internet only. A friend nearby missed the special and pays $59 for the same speed. Both are a lot less than the "special" rates that include TV, phone, and movies with the Internet.

Seems to me, if you have a cellphone or home phone, you don't need a Comcast telephone. Depending on the area you are in, you can get TV channels with the basic stuff for free, and, with internet alone, you can always stream movies without paying anything extra from Comcast.

And here's another thought. I only got the cable internet in the Fall due to Pandemic-caused work needs. Before that I didn't pay for Wifi at all! I had no cable and simply tethered to my cellphone either by WiFi or just with a usb cable. Voila. Internet. For movies, I just hooked the TV to my cellphone with an HDMI cable and streamed from Amazon or whatever service.

Just some ideas. And of course I agree wholeheartedly with the folks saying to call Comcast and say you want to cancel your account. if they refuse to lower your bill, then I recommend cancelling Comcast and getting whatever cellphone service that will allow you to make a hotspot for your computer. I use T-Mobile for that. Later, Comcast will surely have a deal for "new" customers that you can have a look at.

 

[phoaglan]

I have been a T-Mobile wireless customer since 2005. They called the other day with their new high-speed internet offer of $50 per month! Then video channels would range from $40 to $50 a month. CNET had an article about this in relation to Comcast and suggested you could try Comcast and see how it works. If it does, one can then drop Comcast who seems arrogant and unresponsive.

 

[Neil Maley]

The problem is, in many areas with Comcast, there are no other providers available. In Florida it’s either Comcast or Dish network. And satellite dishes don’t work well with rainstorms in Florida. So not everyone has a choice.

 

[phoaglan]

Yep and Comcast seems to be taking full advantage to that. My thinking is to try T-Mobile for a month to see if it is a good replacement then make a decision from there.

 

[Neil Maley]

Yep and Comcast seems to be taking full advantage to that. My thinking is to try T-Mobile for a month to see if it is a good replacement then make a decision from there.

Again- T Mobile is not an option in my area.

 

[rasalas]

For other's wondering about a Comcast alternative: T-Mobile's internet service is slowly rolling out across the country, and you can go to its website to see if it's available in your area. Here's a well-written CNET review about how it works and what you can expect: https://www.cnet.com/news/i-signed-...ed-home-internet-service-heres-what-happened/.

But one caution, the T-Mobile option will surely follow every other similar initiative in Internet/TV, such as PlayStation TV: It will start as an on-demand service with no contracts at a lower price. Prices eventually will start going up and/or services will be reduced. At that point, if there aren't enough users, the service will end and you will be back where you started. Or if it catches on, the month-to-month service will turn into annual contracts and higher prices. And you'll eventually be looking for an alternative.

 

[Comicman]

I am in an area with competition. With both Verizon's FIOS, satellite and Comcast's Xfinity. I can assure you they are all equally bad. They are equally overpriced. I think I need a new homeowners loan just to pay their bill.
I wonder if they are all trying to grab as much cash as possible before we all just stream instead of cable channels.

 

[Chris in NC]

We also live in an area with competition, and I agree with @Comicman that everyone is equally bad. (AT&T U-verse, Verizon FIOS and Comcast Xfinity)

The solution may be to ditch the cable package, and price out naked DSL service. If desired, add a TV subscription service.

 

[Carrie Livingston]

Hulu plus is up to like $90 in my area with the taxes.

 

[sittingstill]

Yep and Comcast seems to be taking full advantage to that. My thinking is to try T-Mobile for a month to see if it is a good replacement then make a decision from there.

It has been my experience that you never get the best offer until you set a cancellation date. Call Comcast and set a cancellation date for the furthest date out that you can; I believe that's 30 days. (Tell them you want to be sure you have enough time to get things set up with the new T-Mobile service, if you want!) My bet is that within a few days you'll have a call from Comcast's retention department with a better offer than you've had thus far. (Worst case scenario you call them back again before the disconnect date and say you've changed your mind and want to cancel the cancellation.)

I did this a few years ago leaving Comcast for RCN; Comcast quoted me HALF the rate they'd offered before I set the cancellation day. (It was still $5 over the RCN offer, so I thanked them but still completed the switch.) First rate increase after a year with with RCN I talked them down to an increase of just a couple of dollars. Next year's rate increase was almost 50%, so I made plans to go back to Comcast as an eligible "new subscriber"... but wouldn't you know, once I set the RCN cancellation date, the phone rang shortly afterward. Wound up staying with RCN at the same service level for LESS money than I had been paying in the year previous!

 

[Bobthebuilder]

Comcast's video service is expensive, but that's really not Comcast's doing - they make very little money on cable TV. The large bulk of what they charge for TV gets paid to the programmers (Disney, Viacom, Fox, Time Warner, etc.). For example, if you have ESPN, your "cable" company (whether that's cable like Comcast, or satellite TV like Dish or DirecTV), is paying Disney about $10/month just for ESPN.

 

[Neil Maley]

Hulu plus is up to like $90 in my area with the taxes.

And Hulu doesn’t have CBS due to a price dispute. Their pricing is outrageous

 

[VoR61]

An approach with which we have been successful is to purchase Internet through the cable provider (ISP) and TV through a satellite provider. In our case the latter was Dish. Here are some links you may find to be helpful:

Current Dish Rates: which shows the Welcome Pack: at $40
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We have selected this package before and found it to meet our needs. The Channel List can be found at this link: Welcome Pack

Local channels are included, and although it states "40 channels", the total is actually more like 60. And we did experience outages when it rained or snowed, but given the very high price for cable TV, this was not a major inconvenience.

Finally, we learned to call the ISP each year (January 2nd always worked best) and ask for the "going special rate", which was usually $40. All in all, this totals less than $100 per month. You can also check DirecTV for pricing.

 

[yman74]

I think this would be a great time to pass a law that forces the providers to allow the consumer to pick and choose what channels they want. This would force channels to compete for viewers and lower costs.

 

[Bobthebuilder]

I think this would be a great time to pass a law that forces the providers to allow the consumer to pick and choose what channels they want. This would force channels to compete for viewers and lower costs.

Maine tried that. It was ruled unconstitutional on 1st Amendment grounds.