Oh to be so poor

[Carl]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002261200

It starts as a gripe about Comcast having a scheduled maintence outage but then shifts to this (in red):

DebJ (4,819 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

Comcast could have killed my husband tonight. I'm furious.

If you know people with medical issues that means they MUST have phone service for emergencies, and those people only have Comcast, please pass this information on to them. It could save someone's life.

About an hour ago we experienced a total service outage: internet, TV, and phone.

Because my loving daughter provides me with a cell phone (I can't afford one), I was able to call Comcast and inquire about the service outage.

After an extended wait on the phone, a Comcast rep advised that the service was out due to SCHEDULED maintenance, and would be back on some time in the morning.

This was like at 1 am. I said, "WHAT time? 6 am? 10 am? She said that they had no way of knowing, just that it would be 'fixed in the morning'.

Because of the late hour, it took a few minutes before what she said sunk in: Comcast routinely schedules outages of our phone service for maintenance, does not warn anyone that they will be without telephone service, and they can not determine how long the service will be out when they do this. OMG.

At least the bums could give customers a heads up, so people in need could borrow a cell phone or at least know they would not be able to reach 911 if needed.

Just a few weeks ago, I had to call an ambulance late at night for my husband, who suddenly could not breathe properly, and has a medical history where this could be (will be?) a repeated need.

WHAT IF I WENT TO CALL 911 AND THE PHONE WAS OUT FOR 'PLANNED MAINTENANCE', FOR AN UNDETERMINED AMOUNT OF TIME, AND I HAD NO IDEA WE WOULD NOT HAVE PHONE SERVICE BECAUSE THEY DON'T EVEN LET YOU KNOW, and I didn't have access to another phone service?

Our Comcast service was actually out tonight for about 30-40 minutes. Yep, well long enough for my husband to have died.

We live in Pennsylvania, land of more elderly than anything else, with needs to have access to phone service in case of life and death emergencies. And I bet none of them with Comcast Services is aware that their phone service will be unavailable for undetermined amounts of time, that Comcast PLANS to take their service down, and that Comcast won't bother to let them know.

Of course, Comcast did this in the wee hours, because fewer customers should theoretically notice during those hours. WELL GUESS WHEN MOST HEART ATTACKS OCCUR...IN THE WEE HOURS. Even a 20 minute outage of service could result in an unnecessary death.

No doubt this maintenance need is spelled out in microscopic print somewhere to avoid charges of deception. But they certainly do not announce when the outages will happen, so you are still screwed. Or dead.

I called Comcast back to complain about this lack of notice regarding SCHEDULED maintenance outages and to state how dangerous this could be. The rep told me every company has to do that. I said I had AT&T/Verizon for 38 years and they never once cut my service for 'scheduled maintenance'. Never. He did not dispute that.....but does Verizon now do this? If I switch to FIOS, is it the same process as Comcast???

I was already steaming about Comcast's crappy service and ever-increasing prices.

Since I am currently seriously under-employed, I am online many hours a day. The internet connection has been dropping repeatedly almost every single day.

The sound goes out in the middle of tv shows constantly...and I do mean constantly, every show, several times.

When you record a show and this happens, sometimes if you 're-wind'/back=up and then replay you can access the sound....often you must attempt this 6-8 times to be succesful however. And often, you just can't get the sound. Watching an hour long drama only to miss the climax of the story because Comcast sound just screwed up AGAIN is infuriating, when this happens every day every TV show. I have come to the point where the DVR isn't much use. Either I am able to sit and watch the shows as they are broadcast, or I can't insure that I will get to enjoy them. And if you are watching a current broadcast but pause the play so you can answer the phone or go to the restroom....when you play again, the sound will go out. i mention this because if you are watching the live broadcast at the moment the sound goes out, you can channel up and channel back down to recover the sound, losing only a few seconds. But if you pause it for several minutes, you will lose picture and sound for that several minutes if you channel up and down.

We have had to get a new DVR so many times in the past 4 years I have lost count...about once every 6 months....usually when we have had to record quite a few of our favorite shows, and then the DVR dies, so we still don't get to see them. And we have new electrical wiring and a dedicated circuit breaker for the relatively new tv and sound system; it isn't our end that is the problem. But of course, Comcast has steadily increased the charges for the DVR.

A technician told me this is because Comcast was saving money by buying software for the DVRs that does not really work with the old hardware...they didn't want to trash the contract with the hardware maker. He said they are 'working on' getting software and hardware that will sync better. Meanwhile (however long that is...years?? who knows...) screw the customer.

Cut service reliability, while simultaneously jacking up the rates.

I am hoping FIOS is available in our area. I will have to check it out ASAP. I just can't stand this. And I think I need to write a letter to the editor in the local papers so everyone will know that in an emergency, all they might get is no dial tone, at any time, without warning, and without a breakdown.

rdking647 (1,487 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

5. it wasnt comcast that could have killed your husband it was your trying to save money.

a landline doesnt go down. cable does,as anyone who has it knows.

you only have a cell phone because your daughter gives you one and yet you can afford cable tv and internet + a DVR + a relatively new tv and sound system?

im sorry but if your husbands condition is such that a loss of phone service thru the cable is a real threat to his house maybe you should cut the DVR and get a landline.

im sorry but i really dont blame comcast in this case....

 

reformatted by franksolich; sorry for the inconvenience

[Karin]

Klukie (2,073 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

17. File a complaint with the FCC

You can do it online.

Someone should let Obama know about this!   

[jukin]

Klukie (2,073 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

17. File a complaint with the FCC

You can do it online.

The FCC has control over cable companies now?

[GOBUCKS]

The FCC has control over cable companies now?

That's one of the DUmp's most cherished, consistent mistakes.

It ranks up there with "marshall law".

[Bodadh]

I wish I had HIS problems. I do not even have a TV much less cable or a DVR. And the only net I have at home is my free 3G on my kindle since paying for gas is more important then 50 bucks a month on my Virgin Mobile 3G card.

I have to get some cheese and crackers from the dollar store so I have something to snack on while listening to the Super Bowl on the radio this Sunday. At least I hope they put it on the radio.

[Skul]

Fri Feb 3, 2012, 03:30 AM
 DebJ (4,812 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore


 Comcast could have killed my husband tonight. I'm furious.
If you know people with medical issues that means they MUST have
phone service for emergencies, and those people only have Comcast,
 

Why doesn't this DUmpmonkey just get some good old fashioned basic land-line service?
Stupid DUmpmonkey.

[Bodadh]

Why doesn't this DUmpmonkey just get some good old fashioned basic land-line service?
Stupid DUmpmonkey.

Just plug a plain old phone in the wall jack. Even disconnected phones can still reach 911. Hell a crappy ten buck cell phone can reach 911 when the service is off so long as it has a charge.

[DLR Pyro]

Since I am currently seriously under-employed, I am online many hours a day. The internet
connection has been dropping repeatedly almost every single day.

The sound goes out in the middle of tv shows constantly...

If you are so seriously under-employed, how about getting another job rather than pissing away so many hours a day online watching TV?

[dixierose]

If you are so seriously under-employed, how about getting another job rather than pissing away so many hours a day online watching TV?

My thought exactly.

Speaking of COMCAST, though, there have been so many complaints against them in Savannah that they have set up a special 311 phone number and they are having 4 "town hall" meetings about it. I had Comcast for 6 months about 15-16 years ago and will NEVER use them again. I'm happily set up with Directv.

[miskie]

My thought exactly.

Speaking of COMCAST, though, there have been so many complaints against them in Savannah that they have set up a special 311 phone number and they are having 4 "town hall" meetings about it. I had Comcast for 6 months about 15-16 years ago and will NEVER use them again. I'm happily set up with Directv.

Comcast has 'uneven' service quality at best. Up here, they are by far the most reliable provider, outdoing both phone and DirectTV.

I have maybe one outage every 18 months...Maybe. And internet keeps getting faster even though I haven't done a thing to upgrade it.  Currently Speedtest.net pegs my service at 30Mbps down & 5Mbps up.

[GOBUCKS]

We've had Comcast for about 18 years. The first few years it would go out for a few minutes during electrical storms, but that hasn't happened for at least ten years.

I've never had any of the problems the DUmbass is describing.

Any time I've had a question or problem, their customer service has been excellent.

My only complaint is the price.

There probably are legitimate problems in some towns, but it's also become fashionable to bitch about Comcast, like Microsoft or WalMart.

[kraven]

Uh, if she used the cell phone to call the cable company to bitch about her cable being out, why the heck couldn't she use the cell phone to call 911?

[Celtic Rose]

Uh, if she used the cell phone to call the cable company to bitch about her cable being out, why the heck couldn't she use the cell phone to call 911?

I think her rant is actually meant to be more hypothetical, along the lines of "what would happen if I didn't have a cell phone."  Just very poorly written.
 

[Karin]

Well then her headline is stupid.  Good question kraven, I skimmed it, reading only every 25th word or so, so I missed that. 

[kraven]

I think her rant is actually meant to be more hypothetical, along the lines of "what would happen if I didn't have a cell phone."  Just very poorly written.
  

But that is stupid. What would happen if she had to call 911 on her fully functioning Comcast service phone and a giant bear suddenly burst through the window and snatched the phone and ran? See you could make up any type of hypothetical situation. Bottom line, she had a phone that worked and the ability to call 911. Who the hell wastes time worrying over hypothetical problems?

Guarantee you her real outrage had a whole lot more to do with having her internet fix cut off than any worries about her DH needing 911.

[delilahmused]

I think her rant is actually meant to be more hypothetical, along the lines of "what would happen if I didn't have a cell phone."  Just very poorly written.
 

With a good dose of "corporations are evil".

Cindie

[MoshMasterD]

[Celtic Rose]

With a good dose of "corporations are evil".

Cindie

Of course, a DUmmy post wouldn't be the same without a good rant about corporations

[BEG]

With a good dose of "corporations are evil".

Cindie

But they love them some "Abortion Industrial Complex".

[Ballygrl]

Magic Jack Plus says you don't even need a computer anymore to use their system:

http://www.magicjack.com/plus-v05/

[Traveshamockery]

This DUmmie is obviously putting her own entertainment desires above those of her husband's life but somehow it's Comcast's fault.

Gotta love that DUmmie (il)logic. 

 

[Evil_Conservative]

We don't have some of the things the DUmmie listed, so we must be more poor.  Or maybe we just don't feel the need to buy things that aren't really a necessity.  I still don't understand how the DUmmie can't call 9-1-1 from a cell phone if her home phone doesn't work.  My old phone, which hasn't been used for almost two years, can still call 9-1-1 without having a calling plan attached to it.

[BlueStateSaint]

My old phone, which hasn't been used for almost two years, can still call 9-1-1 without having a calling plan attached to it.

IIRC, Federal law stipulates that the above must be able to happen.

[Carl]

More then a couple DUmmies noticed the same thing so she had to embellish the story.

DebJ (4,819 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
55. A few things:

Comcast's bundle reduced our expenses; land-line $80 a month, Comcast, $40

My problem with Comcast is that they do not tell consumers in advance that they regularly
take out phone service for extended periods for non-breakdown situations, neither before
you sign up, nor when the outages are actually going to occur.

I am concerned for ALL the residents here in Pa, not just myself.

What bunch of luxuries? Our house was broken into 2 years ago and they couldn't
find anything worth taking except an old piggy bank. We have one tv, and one
computer, that we paid for with cash when my husband's mother died three years ago.
We were replacing a 12 year old TV that was no longer functioning properly, and
a 10 year old computer doing the same. And we hope to not need to replace either
for another 10-12 years.

When we signed up in 2009 (though not for phone) I had a full-time temporary job
that was supposed to go permanent after a year, as a newly certified teacher with student loans.
Then the furloughs started in 2010, and that job and many others were cut. I work day to day
sub work when I can get it; there are now fewer teachers for whom to sub: 1 in 4 jobs
were cut in 2011, and now the entire school system might close its doors in a manner of weeks,
and hubby works there. In 2011, we switched to the bundle to cut costs,
unaware of Comcast's scheduled outage policy.

Other luxuries: two vacations in 8 years...wow, that week in Boston was outrageously
ridiculous and irresponsible. We do not go out anywhere except to a friends house for dinner,
or three times a year to movies using a gift card we get at Christmas. My husband works,
I work the few days of subbing I can find and look for better work (not easy at 56), we
pay our bills, watch politics and go to bed. That's it. Sometimes we go to the library.
We do not drink or party, or as I said, go anywhere at all, except to the back porch in
nice weather. Just old quiet farts trying to survive and do some political volunteer work
to stop all this madness. And pay for our big mistake: me going to college to be a teacher,
to be re-trained so I could work because the physical disabilities caused by my previous
profession prevent me from earning an income that way now. High rollers, that's us!

PS: the DVR is $15 a month and will be going away either when: 1) our contract expires
shortly or 2)my husband's school district stops paying him in a few weeks because they
have no money for payroll.

[MrsSmith]

DebJ

Comcast's bundle reduced our expenses; land-line $80 a month, Comcast, $40  Serious?  $80 a month?  When we had our ATT taken out a couple years ago, it was $35 a month.


When we signed up in 2009 (though not for phone) I had a full-time temporary job
that was supposed to go permanent after a year, as a newly certified teacher with student loans.

...

I work the few days of subbing I can find and look for better work (not easy at 56)

56??? She is a newly certified teacher at 56 years of age??  And has no other job skills to fall back on.  Oh, I feel SO sorry for her.