Comcast fails to make simple fix

Post-Tribune (IN) November 27, 2011 D ear Fixer: My husband and I separated in April, and he signed up for Comcast cable in his new apartment. The Comcast account in our home was still in his name, so I contacted Comcast to change the home account over to my name.

I was told that he and I both needed to go to a Comcast service center together, each with a photo ID to transfer the service. We did this several months ago. We thought everything was fine until we realized that Comcast had changed both accounts into my name!

I contacted Comcast again, and was again told that they were unable to make the change over the phone and that he and I would need to go to their service center.

We had already given up an entire afternoon to do this the first time, so I questioned why we had to do this again when it was Comcast???s error. I was told a form would be mailed to me to make the change. I never received it.

I called Comcast again and was told that we had to go to the service center and there was ???nothing they could do because it involved personal information.??? I informed them that they already had all of our information but was told they ???could not access it.???

I am having a great deal of difficulty with their poor customer service and the fact that they would require their customers to be inconvenienced in order to fix their errors. web site comcast service center

Laura Moore, Aurora, Ill.

Dear Laura: Well, someone obviously got their cable wires crossed, because when we took this frustrating problem to Comcast???s corporate headquarters, they said there???s no need to appear in person unless there???s some sort of hurry.

They???re supposed to be able to make a change like this by form (which that one rep somehow failed to mail to you).

Alas, we got this fixed anyway. Since they already had your basic info, they were able to confirm by phone which information was supposed to go on which account, and everything has been straightened out. They also apologized for the hassle.

Who???s your elf?

We???re still taking submissions for our annual ???The Fixer???s Good Guys (& Gals)??? feature, so if you encountered a particularly wonderful retail elf on Black Friday, please let us know. Or if you have a tale of unusual kindness on the part of a business owner or employee at any time of the year, please let us know that, too. Please send your stories to goodguys@suntimes.com and we???ll publish the best ones next month.

Getting the runaround over a consumer problem? Tell it to The Fixer at suntimes.com/fixer.

Costly Lessons A consumer???s tale of woe Barbara???s neighbors were having some tuck-pointing work done on their home last summer when the crew told Barbara he could offer her a good price, too. see here comcast service center

Barbara ordinarily checks things out first, but her computer was on the fritz and she figured if the neighbors had hired these people, why not?

Big mistake.

???This company does shoddy and inferior work,??? Barbara wrote The Fixer. ???They tuck-pointed the base of my house to keep the water from entering my basement, and did a small amount of tuck-pointing around the house.

???I thank God this company didn???t do a lot of work on my house, because I will have to repair what they did. The work they did in the front of my home left an ugly appearance,??? Barbara wrote The Fixer. Her neighbors??? front stairs also are a mess.

On top of all that, the crew demanded a higher price than was quoted, claiming they used more materials. Barbara guesses it will take $1,500 just to undo their damage.

When Barbara???s computer finally came back on, she found a slew of complaints and a variety of different business addresses for the company. Curiously, the voice mailbox of the sales rep she dealt with won???t accept any calls.

???I know I won???t get a refund, but this is what I want senior citizens and other people to know: Let no one work on your house who is riding around in your neighborhood offering their service,??? Barbara told The Fixer. ???People will do anything to get money now.???

We???ve heard from other readers who???ve been scammed by itinerant home-repair crews. The best advice is to avoid them, but if you???ve been scammed, file a complaint with your state attorney general???s office.

Getting the runaround over a consumer problem? Tell it to The Fixer at suntimes.com/fixer.

Fact Box: THE FIXER HAS SAVED YOU $1,191,065