Learn me: Dealing with comcast

So to make a long story short, an apartment had to be found on a months notice. Found apartment is wired for comcast internet, no escaping that, I need an internet connection.

Is it possible to yell at them enough to not get ripped off, or am I berkeleyed no matter what I do? All I want is internet that doesn't suck(over 10Mbps)! None of this 6 month special BS, no TV, just some damn straightforward services for reasonable amounts of money.

Any tips/tricks? Just poking around the smoke and mirrors website give me a bad feeling about this.

I've had good luck going to the office and talking to a live person. Then again, I think I have the worlds most atypical Comcast office. I went in and said "I can't afford this" and the gal went to work cutting corners for me.

Don't do it! If you must. You just sign up for the 6 months then in 6 months call and ask for the promotion again. They will do it you will just have to remember to call before they bill month 6. Oh and their billing sucks so bad that in after month 2 they will start billing you in advance. it really sucks balls

In reply to xd:

If I could avoid it I would, but this is a 1000ft hardwood floor apartment in a part of town (Palmer Park Apartment Building Historic District) I probably wont be killed in for $625 with offstreet parking and everything but electricity. Found right when the other more prepared students have already taken everything worth renting in midtown, new center, medical center, etc.

I dont want to rely on stolen wifi, so I've kinda got no choice here.

the wifi isn't "stolen" if they can't be bothered to secure it...

In reply to Kenny_McCormic:

I work for them. Aside from what DoctorBlade already told you about going straight to a local office and dealing with them, what you need to know is that they will always try to sell you the current promotion, you can turn it down if you want, but hey, why not take that discount for a few months?

What you need to do with them is confirm what the price will be after the promotion. A lot and I mean A LOT of customers do not know what the after promotion cost is going to be, generally due to the fact that they forgot. The sales rep on the phone is supposed to repeat that to you before you get off the phone.

Some of the promotions come with basic TV with a cable box. If that's the case, Take it, it's like getting discount internet with free TV. If you don't want TV, when the tech comes to install, just tell him you don't want to hook the cable box, you just wanted the discounted internet. They'll understand. When the promo is over, take the cable box back to the office (or call to have a tech pick it up) and have them remove TV services from your account. A little bit of a hassle, but I see people do it all the time to get the discounts. Like I said before, if you really don't want or care about the discounts, then just tell them you want the straight deal, you don't want the promotion.

If you want wireless, Make sure to tell them that, don't assume you will get it if you don't ask, the company still offers non-wireless internet, so if you don't ask, they won't give you wireless.

If you opt for self install, just realize that if your apartment isn't hooked up outside and you can't get it active, they will charge you install fees to have a tech come out to get you hooked up and running, so it may be wise just to have a tech come out to install you in the first place.

Another thing is that people try to avoid paying the $7.00 a month rental fee for the modem by buying their own $60-$80 modem. That's fine and all, but just realize that if that modem craps out for any reason, you have to buy another one. If you rent one from Comcast and it dies, they replace it with another.

Oh and going to the local office is a better idea than the phone to deal with anything. Just make sure you go either when they open or after lunch before 4:00. That's usually peak hours for walk in service. The website sucks for setting up any form of service.

In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid:

Oh I want TV, I just don't want to pay for it, if I could get just Cartoon Network(i.e. Adult Swim), Comedy Central, AMC, and a couple others for $7 a month I'd take it, rather than paying an ongodly amount of money for E36 M3 I wont watch. If it works out cheaper to bundle, I can roll with that.

Whether or not they provide some lowest bidder wireless router built into the modem (though Im kinda surprised they dont) is of little concern to me, my roommate has a commercial grade router that will push wireless N through anything short of a faraday cage.

I'll take any discount I can get my hands on, just hate the practice of that being the only number readily available. Especially as a student living on lump sums and having to budget things 8 months ahead.

Also, am I gonna end up in some sort of service agreement/contract? This sort of thing is all new to me.

In reply to Kenny_McCormic:

If you want TV, Comcast has a Economy Digital and Economy Digital Plus which is basic cable (local broadcast) with a select number of cable channels. I'm not sure how it is in your particular area, but in the Chicago area, the three channels you listed are on it. It always helps to ask the service rep if they can tell you what channels are on it.

Right now, I know there is Performance internet (12 Mbps) with Economy Digital package for like $39.99 a month for 6 months. But once again, that's in the Chicago area.

This could also be a regional thing, but Comcast doesn't have contracts unless you get yourself into a 2-year price lock agreement. That usually only comes with triple plays anyway.

This is why I say to take some time out of your day and stop by the local office. They can run you through everything and give you all the costs with the details.

Also, if you have your own wireless router, great. That works out for everyone. Our Wireless Gateways are OK, they aren't spectacular, but they get the job done.

It sounds like you are in a College Town? If so, see if there is a discount for students for the particular college. Sometimes that is available depending on if the College has an agreement with Comcast.

Plead poverty and tell them you need internet access for cheap in order to complete your studies. Nowadays, internet access is not a luxury, but a necessity to which all Americans are entitled.

Yes, that's a joke, but it's also the way a lot of people think, and probably worth a try with Comcast. See what they can offer you.

1988RedT2 wrote: Plead poverty and tell them you need internet access for cheap in order to complete your studies. Nowadays, internet access is not a luxury, but a necessity to which all Americans are entitled. Yes, that's a joke, but it's also the way a lot of people think, and probably worth a try with Comcast. See what they can offer you.

You're closer than you think to the truth. There's already groups in MN set up to provide internet/cell/cable to the less fortunate as it were.

mndsm wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote: Plead poverty and tell them you need internet access for cheap in order to complete your studies. Nowadays, internet access is not a luxury, but a necessity to which all Americans are entitled. Yes, that's a joke, but it's also the way a lot of people think, and probably worth a try with Comcast. See what they can offer you.

You're closer than you think to the truth. There's already groups in MN set up to provide internet/cell/cable to the less fortunate as it were.

They have that in Illinois for internet, but you have to have a child in school that has to be on the free lunch program or something like that. They get the lowest speed internet free.

mndsm wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote: Nowadays, internet access is not a luxury, but a necessity to which all Americans are entitled.

You're closer than you think to the truth. There's already groups in MN set up to provide internet/cell/cable to the less fortunate as it were.

Hrrrm, try the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. They decided several years ago that free internet access was a basic human need, and mandated it in public housing. [puts deep-sea fishing tackle away]

You might also want to check if Clear or some other 4G wireless Internet service is available in your area.

In reply to MadScientistMatt:

I'm not trusting a Detroit cell phone signal in a 90 year old structural brick apartment building, and the rates appear competitive at best.

Just pony up for that. Stream or download everything.

Does anybody know I I'll hit any snags trying to sign up or service at not a local office? It'd be a lot more convenient for me to do this sooner rather than later, when I'm 100 miles from my apartment.