HtownWxBoy Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 So today while using my car as a power source my boyfriend was able to deduce that although we don't have power, we also don't have cable or internet. He asked me to get Comcast to credit us for not having either service since the hurricane hit... I told him he was crazy for thinking Comcast would credit us, especially since our power is still out... well, guess I was the crazy one. ha ha ha Just came across this article while bored at work. http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories...22/daily16.html Not sure if you have to actually call them or email them or if they will know who didn't have power and just credit your bill... I am going to call just to be safe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desirous Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Mine went out for about 18 hours. Hmm, the $2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1956 Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 (edited) I'm spitting mad at Comcrap. I still don't have any services and they told me they can't send someone out because my zip is classified as 'Outage', even though all power was restored days ago. Some neighbors with other providers were up and running within 24 hours. BatRastards. Edited September 24, 2008 by Paul1956 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karick42 Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Yes, I know what you mean about Comcast not being very customer friendly. They lost us as customers last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkultra25 Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 I have power, but haven't had cable or net access since Ike. Well, I sorta have cable access, but not all channels are available and the ones that are, are near-unwatchable due to static (at least I have analog cable - if it were digital, I'd probably not be getting anything at all). When I called to report it, the CSR told me this was a sign of a weak signal. My aerial drop is partially down in the backyard, but the cable itself doesn't appear to be damaged - a service tech was supposed to be out yesterday to check it but never showed up, and when I called last night, was told that my appointment had been rescheduled to Thursday. Looking at the status maps here on Comcast's site, however, it looks like my area still has significant node outages, so maybe that's the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwilson Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 We were on the phone with them today and even though it has been down since that Friday night (6pmish) and only came back on Monday ~5pm (immediately after I purchased a Verizon air card so I could get online, lol). They said they'd only credit 5 days, even though it was down for 10 days.Should be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 interesting indeed. Apparently electric bills will not reflect all the days we've had w/o power because no one was reading meters. It will be up to you and your middleman to argue over exactly how many days you had no power. Should be fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westguy Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 In that case, I've been without power for two weeks and not running the a/c whether I need it or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HtownWxBoy Posted September 29, 2008 Author Share Posted September 29, 2008 I called Comcast yesterday... they are crediting me for 16 days w/o cable or internet which is exactly how many days I was without it... not bad. interesting indeed. Apparently electric bills will not reflect all the days we've had w/o power because no one was reading meters. It will be up to you and your middleman to argue over exactly how many days you had no power. Should be fun. I am confused. I didn't have power for 2 weeks... so obviously my meter wasn't running those two weeks... when they read the meter next will they not see that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brerrabbit Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 I sent an e-mail to Comcast requesting the credit for days without service. I got my power back 5 days before cable came back. Comcast sent back an e-mail saying I needed to open an online chat session with a service rep or call them. No way was I spending hours on the phone so I went online. The person I was chatting with said they could only authorize up to a $25 credit and mine was going to be bigger than that so I had to copy and paste the e-mail Comcast sent to me before she would give me the full credit but, I finally got it.As for power if you buy electricity from someone other than CenterPoint then most of your bills are estimated as they only true up to the meter about once every six months. I use TXU and my last bill went through September 12, and said it was an estimate. If the next one is an estimate I'm sure it will be high and unless I negotiate a deal with them I won't see the effect of the power outage until the next true up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HtownWxBoy Posted September 29, 2008 Author Share Posted September 29, 2008 I sent an e-mail to Comcast requesting the credit for days without service. I got my power back 5 days before cable came back. Comcast sent back an e-mail saying I needed to open an online chat session with a service rep or call them. No way was I spending hours on the phone so I went online. The person I was chatting with said they could only authorize up to a $25 credit and mine was going to be bigger than that so I had to copy and paste the e-mail Comcast sent to me before she would give me the full credit but, I finally got it.As for power if you buy electricity from someone other than CenterPoint then most of your bills are estimated as they only true up to the meter about once every six months. I use TXU and my last bill went through September 12, and said it was an estimate. If the next one is an estimate I'm sure it will be high and unless I negotiate a deal with them I won't see the effect of the power outage until the next true up.I was only on the phone w/ Comcast for like 10 minutes yesterday... was really simple... it didn't take long at all. I buy electricity through Reliant... I guess we will see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunsets Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 I was only on the phone w/ Comcast for like 10 minutes yesterday... was really simple... it didn't take long at all.What number did you call? I've been calling them repeatedly to ask them about our lack of internet service (though we have cable), and every time I bring up the credit for the cable outage issue, they just tell me to "wait until everything is back on line, and then we'll talk".They're pissing me off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 My Comcast TV and internet services were up when the power came on Friday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HtownWxBoy Posted September 29, 2008 Author Share Posted September 29, 2008 What number did you call? I've been calling them repeatedly to ask them about our lack of internet service (though we have cable), and every time I bring up the credit for the cable outage issue, they just tell me to "wait until everything is back on line, and then we'll talk".They're pissing me off.1-800-COMCAST. They did tell me the first time I called to wait until both my cable and internet were back up before I called about the credit... which I did... but both time I was able to talk to someone within a few minutes of calling... no long wait at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 What number did you call? I've been calling them repeatedly to ask them about our lack of internet service (though we have cable), and every time I bring up the credit for the cable outage issue, they just tell me to "wait until everything is back on line, and then we'll talk".They're pissing me off.You want the credit before you know when the service is back? How can you know how much credit you get until after the lack of service ends? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HtownWxBoy Posted September 29, 2008 Author Share Posted September 29, 2008 You want the credit before you know when the service is back? How can you know how much credit you get until after the lack of service ends?That's why they ask you to wait until it's all back up and running... then their computer shows how long you were out of service... then they can calculate how much they will credit you.... that's what they did w/ me it was easy and quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h8s Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 TODAY IS DAY 17 WITHOUT POWER. I brought up my TV and cable modem for a few hours last week w/ my neighbor's generator and it actually worked. If that action voids the credit I was supposed to get, I'm gonna be pi$$ed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thStDad Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 TODAY IS DAY 17 WITHOUT POWER. I brought up my TV and cable modem for a few hours last week w/ my neighbor's generator and it actually worked. If that action voids the credit I was supposed to get, I'm gonna be pi$ed.Just don't volunteer that info to Comcast and I think you'll be fine. In theory you were without service anyway since you weren't able to partake in their offering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Just don't volunteer that info to Comcast and I think you'll be fine. In theory you were without service anyway since you weren't able to partake in their offering.I doubt they'll pay a credit for the time the power was out. They don't give a credit when my TV or PC are broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonMidtown Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 I doubt they'll pay a credit for the time the power was out. They don't give a credit when my TV or PC are broken.They are giving credit for the entire time your power was out - since you wouldn't have cable/internet during that period - I just finished my "online chat" with them - it took a while - but got $35 off my bill. They asked me how long my service was out and calculated my credit.There is a bit more at this link: http://www.click2houston.com/investigates/...162/detail.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 (edited) They are giving credit for the entire time your power was out - since you wouldn't have cable/internet during that period - I just finished my "online chat" with them - it took a while - but got $35 off my bill. They asked me how long my service was out and calculated my credit.There is a bit more at this link: http://www.click2houston.com/investigates/...162/detail.htmlDang! That's incredibly generous of Comcast.Edit: Wow, I just spend 2 minutes on the chat thing and got 2 weeks credit for cable TV and internet. Edited September 30, 2008 by memebag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdmarc Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 My Comcast high-speed is still down. Calls to customer service are frequently disconnected. Nobody seems to have a clue when it will be fixed. And my consolation prize is a credit to my account??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Which came back first?CableSatellitePhone line (for DSL)Pick the one that survived the storm, or came back first and make that your provider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Which came back first?CableSatellitePhone line (for DSL)Pick the one that survived the storm, or came back first and make that your provider.My cable was up when power came on. My mom's satellite dish is still pointing at empty space. I haven't had a phone line for 8 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonMidtown Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 (edited) Dang! That's incredibly generous of Comcast.Edit: Wow, I just spend 2 minutes on the chat thing and got 2 weeks credit for cable TV and internet.Woo Hoo !! Edited September 30, 2008 by u080570 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark F. Barnes Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Never lost the T1 feed and Hardwire phone, all the fiber is buried. The CO's in the area all have backup power so there was no interuption in service. Direct TV was always there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HtownWxBoy Posted September 30, 2008 Author Share Posted September 30, 2008 (edited) I doubt they'll pay a credit for the time the power was out. They don't give a credit when my TV or PC are broken.They are crediting me for all days I was w/o cable and internet, including those days when the power was out. They said it came to 16 days... $80 or so. Edited September 30, 2008 by HtownWxBoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 I guess I'll get to play this game with AT&T. Never lost phone service during or ofter the storm until last Friday. Still waiting on a service call. There is still a very faint dial tone, but lots of weird noise in the line, and we appear to be crossed with at least one other phone number. Anybody ever experienced something like that? No DSL, pooh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Never lost phone service during or ofter the storm until last Friday. Still waiting on a service call. There is still a very faint dial tone, but lots of weird noise in the line, and we appear to be crossed with at least one other phone number. Anybody ever experienced something like that?Dial tone? How 20th century. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Never lost phone service during or ofter the storm until last Friday. Still waiting on a service call. There is still a very faint dial tone, but lots of weird noise in the line, and we appear to be crossed with at least one other phone number. Anybody ever experienced something like that?sounds like the lines got wet. my parents used to get this all the time. here's some other info we got at work.CABLE AND COMMUNICATIONS PROVIDERST-Mobile is topping off pre-paid cell phones that were running low at no charge to make sure people don't run out of service, and it has suspended collections calls in Houston and Galveston.Sprint is waiving roaming fees, call-forwarding, late fees and overage charges for customers who use more minutes or text messages than they're allowed between Sept. 9 and Oct. 11, said spokeswoman Kristin Wallace. The company is also offering free call-forwarding service and Sprint has suspended collections calls and service disconnections.AT&T has suspended all disconnections and collection activities. The company is providing free local and long-distance calling in all of its retail stores, and is offering free Wi-Fi service to anyone at all area Barnes and Noble locations, said spokesman Dan Feldstein. AT&T will work with customers on their billing on a case-by-case basis. AT&T also offers its customers rollover minutes, allowing them to absorb a month in which their usage is heavier than normal.Verizon Wireless is giving one month of free service in the 409 area code and has suspended collections calls in the Greater Houston area, said spokeswoman Gretchen LeJeune.Verizon which provides landline phone service in several cities around Galveston Bay, has suspended collections calls and disconnections, said spokesman Lee Gierczynski.Comcast has suspended disconnections and collections, said spokesman Ray Purser.Time Warner Cable, which provides cable service for Beaumont and parts of Southeast Texas, has credited customers' accounts back to Sept. 12 and will extend credits until service is restored, said spokesman Gary Underwood. The company also is not disconnecting customers or making collections calls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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