Don Libes reports,
Comcast was hit with a fine in the 2nd quarter and for the 3rd quarter has not submitted sufficient data to even know if it is in compliance. But partial figures show some decreases in customer service performance.
Complaints to the Cable Office are up 31% from 2nd quarter with 76% for service. (Complaints for RCN are down 40% for the same period.) CTC reported 2450 violations, up 11% from the 2nd quarter and 53% from a year ago. While many have now been corrected, CTC reports 1830 violations outstanding.
Picture freezing is mentioned as a notable problem which the county is receiving complaints about. Hasn’t this problem been going on ever since Comcast rolled out its digital service? Another problem mentioned is the issue of standard installations. This was supposed to have been settled but evidentally customers are still being overcharged.
Comcast is also well behind on its obligation to provide cable service to public facilities. Jane’s report shows 33 outstanding requests.
C. Benjamin Ford writes in the Gazette,
Montgomery County’s cable office received complaints about Comcast from 1,156 people, including from 506 in the past three months.
Comcast’s own records showed the company failed to meet customer service standards under the Montgomery County franchise agreement in six of the first eight months of this year. Data for the ninth month was not provided to the county.
‘‘I’m getting more and more complaints about this when I go to the grocery store,” said County Councilwoman Marilyn J. Praisner (D-Dist. 4) of Calverton, chairwoman of the Management and Fiscal Policy Committee which reviewed the cable office’s quarterly report on Monday.
Gaithersburg has its own cable franchise, but has the same franchisees, Comcast and RCN. I will try to obtain equvalent data for this contract. Notwithstanding this,
Janice Cadel, 48, of Gaithersburg recently found herself one of those who experienced Comcast’s customer service problems first hand, she told The Gazette.
When she called Comcast to change her billing because she added Comcast’s telephone service to her television and Internet service, ‘‘they literally closed out my Internet account,” Cadel said. ‘‘When I called the customer service line, I got hung up on several times.”
She managed to get through the next day and was told her Internet service would be restored in 24 to 48 hours. When it was not restored, Cadel said she called again and was told there was no record of her previous call. Her Internet connection was restored the next day, but Cadel said the e-mails the family received during the outage were lost.