ANOTHER 90 MINUTES OF MY LIFE, GONE FOREVER

Once again, Comcast has taken time from me I can never get back. In the mail on Monday, I received two digital converter boxes which I needed to install in order to be able to continue to receive all the digital channels. Following the directions in the box, I installed the converter box on the TV in my bedroom as well as a TV in my basement. I received an error message on both TVs telling me that I had to call Comcast to active the digital box. I called Comcast and after 10 minutes waiting for a technician, I was able to activate the digital box and use the Comcast remote (which is a cheap piece of junk) in my bedroom, but I was unable to activate the box and use the digital remote for the TV in my basement. I tried all 12 codes listed for Sony (the brand of all my TVs) but none of them worked. I also tried to capture the code from the TV using the Comcast remote but that did not work, either. The technician told me that Comast has found that some of the remote have been faulty and did not work, and that she would forward my call to Billing in order to have a new remote sent to me.

I then sat on hold for 32 minutes and a then a person from Billing tried to help me. He asked me if I had followed the directions to program the remote, which I told him I had and that I was walked through the programming with the previous technician. I told the technician what the first technician had said to me, that Comcast was having problems with some of the remotes that were sent out. He said that was untrue, that Comcast would never knowingly send out remotes to the digital boxes that were defective. He asked me to try one more time to program the remote, and I obliged. I repeated the attempt to program the remote which did not work. I said to him that I was done doing anything more with the equipment that had been sent to me and that I wanted a digital box and remote sent to me. He said that he would, and I told him that I was going to throw out the equipment that did not work. He told me not to do throw the equipment away as I would be charged for the equipment. I asked him what I should do with it. He then told me that I could drop it off at a Comcast center, or be sitting at home and wait for a technician to get it, or I could ship it back via UPS.

I told the tech that under no circumstances would I take time out of my day and drive to a Comcast center, nor would I wait for a technician to get the box. I told him I would be happy to put the box and the remote in a plastic bag and leave it on my front porch for a Comcast technician to pick it up. He said I should not do that as if the equipment is not picked up or is missing when the technician shows up that I would be charged $30. He once again offered to send me the pre-paid shipping paperwork, which I told him to do. I told him that the defective box will sit in my basement until a UPS delivery person comes to my house, and I happen to be here, so I can give it to UPS.

On Monday night, I spent an hour and a half trying to get these two cable boxes to work and at the end of it all, only one set of the equipment Comcast sent to me works. I am then told that I have to be further inconvenienced and take the time and effort to return the defective equipment to Comcast. I told the technician that I will be happy to leave the defective box on the porch for Comcast to get it and I was told not to leave the box on my front porch. I was then asked to take up my free time and take the box to a UPS store and ship it back to Comcast. I will not do either. The defective box will sit in my basement until a UPS delivery is made to my house, and I happen to be home when it happens. I will not be charged for this defective equipment. If Comcast really wants the equipment back, they can come get it at my convenience.

To their credit, both the people I spoke to tonight were polite and apologetic, but at the end of the day, I was sent defective equipment. I was asked by a company to whom I am paying for a service to be further inconvenienced to return their defective equipment. The defective box will sit in my basement until I happen to be home for a UPS delivery, or until the sun grows cold. Hopefully, the next digital box will work. I do not want to repeat again what happened to me Monday night.