One of the biggest problems I've encountered in my old age is handling stressful situations. I don't know if it is because this is the digital age, but times just seem more stressful now.
A prime example: I spent several hours this morning on the phone with Comcast again trying to straighten out a billing problem. Over a year ago I turned in my Comcast modem rental because I got tired of the ever increasing monthly cost. When I started the modem used to rent for seven dollars a month. Gradually the monthly rental went up from eight, to nine to ten then eleven. That's when I decided to buy my own modem. I turned in my Comcast modem and my bill was reduced accordingly. Then in March I returned home to find an envelope from Comcast with URGENT! printed in red on the envelope. They needed my modem serial number. I called and got someone with a heavy foreign accent who recorded my model and serial number after I had to crawl around on the floor the try to read black on black serial number on my dusty modem/router. Then he tried to convince me to rent a Comcast modem. I told him I didn't want to rent a Comcast modem, I had bought my own modem/router. He put the hard sell on me. I couldn't convince him that I did not want to rent a Comcast modem. I finally had to hang up on him because he wouldn't take "NO!" for an answer. His supervisor called me back. He did the hard sell again to rent a Comcast modem. Had to hang up on him too.
I thought that was the end of it. Oh how wrong I was. A couple of months later I noticed on my paperless bill (which I did not give them permission to stop my paper billing), I was being billed $11.00 a month for a modem rental!
I called Comcast and went through all the menu items and identifying myself. I explained my situation. The Comcast customer service person on the other end of the line understood my situation but said they were having a problem stopping the billing. She said she would "turn it over to her supervisor." I thought the problem was solved, foolish me.
This morning, while I was talking to my friend Lar and lamenting at how the past few weeks have been relatively stress free, I mentioned my problem with Comcast billing. I told him how Comcast was billing me for a modem that wasn't theirs. I thought I would check my bill. What I discovered got me hot. They were still billing me!
I called them this morning, went through the menu choices and identifying myself. I finally get a live person. He wants my modem's serial number. I tell him "I've already given that to you several times. Don't you record this information?" He found the information. He listened to me and understood my billing problem. He tried to correct it but after about twenty minutes of trying, he couldn't. He put me on hold. I waited another fifteen minutes. Nothing. I call back. I go through the menu items again, identify myself and then get a live person. I explain my situation all over again to "Sharon." She understands my billing problem. She tries to correct it. She can't. She said she will have to "write a ticket to her supervisor". I tell her I've been told this before. What makes this time different? She gives me a ticket number.
I marked my calendar for this time next month. What are the odds this problem will be corrected? I have to tell you folks, I don't have a lot of faith. Comcast is the only game in town down here in Sussex County, Delaware.
If this isn't corrected by next month I call the fraud unit of the Delaware State government. This is ridiculous.
