New problem solver
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9 Messages
Billing error or worse?
Same situation as several others regarding one-time "voice activation fee" in contract on this case, now appearing on first bill under "monthly recurring charges" section. All responses I have read to similar concerns only say they have forwarded the message to a regional office. No one has then replied if that resolved the issue or is still ongoing. Weird!
I called customer service and no disrespect intended, but the rep, supposedly dedicated specifically to resolving billing issues, did not seem to know hiw to explain any of these charges. I'm not kidding. Or was the disinformation intentional to jerk me around until the bill comes due or the 30 day cancellation period runs out??? To add to the confusion, I now found another version of my bill where the $29.95 "voice activation fee" shows up as something called "comcast workplace". God only knows what that is...!
If this doesn't get resolved soon, I'll have no choice but to cancel Comcast altogether or risk getting saddled with a $29.95 recurring charge that's not part of the contract and customer service can't resolve because they don't even know what it is!
I called customer service and no disrespect intended, but the rep, supposedly dedicated specifically to resolving billing issues, did not seem to know hiw to explain any of these charges. I'm not kidding. Or was the disinformation intentional to jerk me around until the bill comes due or the 30 day cancellation period runs out??? To add to the confusion, I now found another version of my bill where the $29.95 "voice activation fee" shows up as something called "comcast workplace". God only knows what that is...!
If this doesn't get resolved soon, I'll have no choice but to cancel Comcast altogether or risk getting saddled with a $29.95 recurring charge that's not part of the contract and customer service can't resolve because they don't even know what it is!
Accepted Solution
wimtek
New problem solver
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9 Messages
11 years ago
I called customer service and no disrespect intended, but the rep, supposedly dedicated specifically to resolving billing issues, did not seem to know hiw to explain any of these charges. I'm not kidding. Or was the disinformation intentional to jerk me around until the bill comes due or the 30 day cancellation period runs out???
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VBSSP-RICH
Advocate
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1.4K Messages
11 years ago
Hello wimtek and welcome,
I am sorry that you have had sub-par billing customer service support. Let me try to provide some assistance on this for you.
First, if you have a single TN number provisioned by Comcast on an installed Telephone Modem (typically and Arris device), then if you read the Installation Charges segment within your Service Order Agreement (SOA), you should find that it is 29.95. This is a one time provisioning and activation fee for getting you TN up and running for your business usage. Now, if your SOA specifically states in the General Instructions that all installation charges will be waived, then your solution is very simply in that you will receive a 29.95 credit to your account.
Second, "comcast workplace" is a very old rate code that is no longer used and it was used for Business Class Information and Entertainment Private View TC package. If you currently do have Business Class (BC) TV on your account then I presume this is what you are being charged for. However, without having my eyes on your billing statement this is purely a presumption on my part. Now, if you do not have BCTV, then a billing representative needs to make any adjustments to your account in oder to exactly match your SOA.
Hope this helps you out.
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wimtek
New problem solver
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9 Messages
11 years ago
Hi VBSSP-RICH and thank you very much for taking the time to help!
Let me clarify:
This is my first bill for the Business Starter Package. A single TN number was installed on an Arris Telephone Modem. The one-time installation fee is $29.95 as per contract. I am OK with that. The general installation fee was waived in exchange for accepting the triple service with TV, which we don't need or care for, but accepted.
The following names of charges and numbers are taken verbatim from the Comcast billing information. If there is a way to send you screeshots and or pdf, I have no problem sharing those.
Bill Summary exactly as it appears on Comcast "My Account" Page:
$14134
Total due by May. 05, 2014
The $29.95 "Recurring Charges" are inclued in the "other charges and credits" section as follows:
When you go to the "Other Charges & Credits" section on the PDF version of the full bill to understand the breakdown, the charge then suddenly appears listed as:
If the $29.95 is in fact the one-time "voice activation fee" from the contract, why doesn't the bill just say so?
Why is it classified under "recurring charges", which it is not?
Why is it then referred to as "comcast workplace" in the breakdown of the charges?
What could be the purpose of creating such confusion out of a simple, straightforward thing?
It's the kind of confusion that earns Comcast the distrust of many customers, according to the stories on this forum.
In my case, should I risk fighting for God knows how long for resolution if this charge starts showing up on my bill every month???
Customer service was unable or unwilling to clarify anything and I'm thinking better to cancel the whole thing tbefore the 30 days, than to just let it go in the hope it will be all OK.
Thanks again.
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Accepted Solution
CC_John
Retired Employee
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1.9K Messages
11 years ago
Hi wimtek. Our Regional Support Center reports contact on 4/21 for Contract to Bill Explanation on ticket CR366134875. Please let us know if the Billing request persist. Also the public xfinitywifi is now disabled on the gateway. The private wifi is still active at this time. I recommend changing your access password and restarting the gateway to ensure that only your allowed devices are connected. Please let us know if further assistance is required.
Thank You
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wimtek
New problem solver
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9 Messages
11 years ago
Dear Comcast_John,
As promised, I restarted my Gateway, several times in fact and the xfinitywifi is still fully operational!
I did speak with technical support and got the person to shut it down, but the next day it was back in full force.
This is such a needless annoyance.
It used to be that one could disable this unwanted "feature" in the user preferences. The link to "manage" it is still there, but there's nothing to manage! That functionality was obviously removed and even your support team is powerless to fix it.
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VBSSP-RICH
Advocate
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1.4K Messages
11 years ago
Hello again wimtek,
Please see my responses / comments below. Thanks much
"
Bill Summary exactly as it appears on Comcast "My Account" Page:
$14134
Total due by May. 05, 2014
The $29.95 "Recurring Charges" are inclued in the "other charges and credits" section as follows:
When you go to the "Other Charges & Credits" section on the PDF version of the full bill to understand the breakdown, the charge then suddenly appears listed as:
If the $29.95 is in fact the one-time "voice activation fee" from the contract, why doesn't the bill just say so?
Why is it classified under "recurring charges", which it is not?
Why is it then referred to as "comcast workplace" in the breakdown of the charges?
Apparently this is both a billing statement charge classification and description error.
What could be the purpose of creating such confusion out of a simple, straightforward thing?
Sometimes this happens by I can guarantee you it is not intentional.
It's the kind of confusion that earns Comcast the distrust of many customers, according to the stories on this forum.
Honestly, I must agree with you in that billing statement erros as such do not build confidence or trust with customers. However, I can assure you this is not the intent and it is an inadvertent error.
In my case, should I risk fighting for God knows how long for resolution if this charge starts showing up on my bill every month???
In my humble opinion, I would pay this bill with the unnderstanding that the "comcast workplace" $29.95 charge was a billing error and to avoid any late fees. However, I would also recommend that you contact a Comcast billing agent at 1800-391-3000 Option 2 on 4/21 after 8:00 AM, and have the agent look at your biller to make sure that there is no reoccurring 29.95 charge shown. Ask the agent to document his Customer Reference ticket , accordingly, then request the CR ticket number from him and keep this handy. This will corroborate that your first bill 29.95 error. Then your next month's billing statement should not reflect any 29.95 charge, which will then be the convincing factor to you.
Customer service was unable or unwilling to clarify anything and I'm thinking better to cancel the whole thing tbefore the 30 days, than to just let it go in the hope it will be all OK.
I completely understand your initial impressions regarding this billing error situation, but only you can make the final decision as to use the "Comcast Guarantee" or not. Comcast Built For Business (B4B) solutions are second to none in the industry and because we value you business we believe our Solutions 4B now and in the near future will help all businesses thrive. Regards.
"
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wimtek
New problem solver
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9 Messages
11 years ago
I will certainly give that a shot, but I'm not hopefull.
I also believe it's just a mistake. I don't think it's intentional, just sloppy work.
The problem will be getting someone at Comcast to accept the facts and actually fix it, before my 30 days expire and I lose all hope of any resolution.
That's the challenge. Once I get locked into the 2 year agreement, there is no way out, short of paying the early termination fees or having my account sent to collection for non-payment. Not to mention the waste of time and aggravation! I totally understand and agree with the premise of the commitment term, but one very real consequence is the loss of any incentive on the provider's part to resolve any issues. The client has no leverage and all the employees know that.
It will still be a leap of faith, no matter how many CR reference tickets or verbal assurances I get over the phone. Comcast business doesn't even have the chat feature, nor can you email them and get an answer!
Case in point: couple of days ago, I asked for my full bill pdf to be emailed to me since I had not yet received my PIN to unlock it on the website. The rep kept insisting I wait for the PIN. When I politely asked for a supervisor, he promised he would have the bill emailed to me "before the end of the day". Needless to say, I'm still waiting. He was willing to lie and promise anything to make me go away.
Do you know what my CR ticket number CR365505775 for that call was entered as? "BC - Pricing Expectations". I'm not kidding. You can look it up!
Not only did I not get the service requested, but the rep forged the reason for my call to avoid documenting what actually happened.
I had also called before to request my xfinitywifi be disabled due to privacy and liablity concerns. CR365279291 was entered as "BCI - Private Wifi Parental Controls". I was promised it had been disabled and sure enough, my xfinitywifi is still up and running!
I'm sorry for the rant and really do appreciate your help and dedication. I also believe Comcast has the intention to offer high quality service. Unfortunately it's a very big company with a lot of moving parts and things don't necessarily work the way you describe them. Not in the real world. Read through the forum!
Now I'll probbly have to cancel my service, which I am very happy with, by the way, all becasue some data clerk didn't enter the $29.95 activation fee correctly!
All the best!
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wimtek
New problem solver
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9 Messages
11 years ago
Dear Comcast_John,
Yes, I did in effect contact suport on 04/21 as suggested by your collegue VBSSP-RICH. Spoke to "Sal".
"Contract to Bill Explanation" is a mis-nomer and perhaps a good symptom of what's wrong with your corporate culture. I don't really care one way or the other except how it affects my bill, but eufemisms and not calling things by their proper names prevents you from understanding what's really wrong with your services and ultimately results in the repetition of the same errors that undermine the quality of your service.
That seems to be a recurring theme in how your customer service handles these issues. Excuses and more excuses....But again, it's not my problem.
My issue has nothing to do with how the contract translates to the bill, but rather with sloppy mistakes/errors or intentional confusion commited by Comcast where my one-time voice activation fee suddenly became a "recurring payment" and subsequently shows up on my bill as "comcast workplace" if I am to believe Sal's explanation.
Having said that, Sal came across as sincere in his explanation and I beleived him when he described it as all just a series of screw-ups and that he could promise me that the $29.95 was not a recurring charge and that the same $29.95 that then appeared incorrectly as "Comcast Workplace" was in effect the activation fee and that it would not show up on my bill ever again!
Based on that, I will let it go and take the plunge. I have nothing in witing and my better judgement tells me to cancel to avoid getting myself in the Comcast billing death spiral, but I will pay my bill and hold my breath for next month's bill.
Hopefully I will be able to count on you to assist if things go bad.
I'll restart the gateway and let you know if the infintywifi turns off.
Thanks again for all your help!
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