Apparent Retail Fraud - Xfinity Store

Hello,

Went to an Xfinity store on January 6th this year to return cable boxes we were no longer using. The representative told me she could lower my bill and give me a "FREE" pad. I hadn't checked my plan in a few years (it was currently about $350/month) so I said sure, why not. At the end of an excruciating 90 minute ordeal she said I would need to pay a $40 fee. I asked her what that was for and she said it was a service fee. She also tried to hand me the ipad but I said I didn't need an ipad and that she could keep it. She turned to her manager and had a quick conversation. She came back to me and said I had to take it or I wouldn't get the cable bill deduction. So glad to get out of there I took the ipad and left. I threw the unopened box on a shelf when I got hame and never looked at it again.

Lo and behold at the end of February I was direct billed $33 for a cellular connection. At this point I started calling Xfinity for an explanation. It became apparent that they had signed me up for a cellular account without my knowledge. I have been an AT&T cellular customer for over 30 years and had no need of an Xfinity cellular account. It also became clear that the $40 "service fee" I was charged at the Xfinity store was the payment of my first month of cell service. At the store the neither the manager or the representative ever mentioned the cellular account. This became important as I learned from the phone representative that I couldn't cancel the cellular account because 30 days had passed, which began the catch 22 saga...

Needless to say I began woking through Xfinity's arduous phone tree and have now talked to seven different representatives. Two of which said they could solve the problem. They indicated that they would refund he cellular charges after I returned the iPad. I said great as I had never opened the ipad box. They promised to send me a return label and that the charges would be refunded as soon as the ipad was received. I waited two weeks both times but a return label never came.

This led to the call to the 7th representative last week. I had been out-of-town for a few weeks and wasn't able to follow up until I returned. This representative said he couldn't escalate the problem and that I would need to return to the store and talk to the manager (the one who helped perpetuate the fraud in the first place) The store is an hour and a half round trip from my house. In the meantime I received Xfinity's second month's debit to my credit card for unwanted cellular service.

To say I'm fed up with Xfinity is an understatement. Since we built our home 20 years ago Comcast/Xfinity has been our internet and cable provider. Over that period I'm thinking we've spent between $60,000 and $70,000 on Comcast cable and internet services. Little does Xfinity care. I've spent hours on the phone, have several case numbers that went nowhere, and now they want me to go back to the store where the fraud occurred. It's unbelievable. I'm caught in a catch 22 with nowhere to turn. I can't get a decision maker on the phone and the representatives I do talk to completely fail to follow through. So, let my experience be your guide. From where I'm sitting, it seems clear that fraud is an acceptable method at Xfinity to bolster its cellular numbers. They allow it to happen at their store and they do nothing to fix the problem when it's brought to their attention,

In my personal life I have been the president of three companies. Great customer service was the hallmark of each one. It's a crime that we see the failure of customer service in today's large organizations. They seem. to feel immune to basic decency and customer responsiveness. It's clear Xfinity does not care about me even given the amount I spend with them, so don't think they're going to care about you.

My next step will be to file a retail fraud complaint with the police agency in the town where the Xfinity store is located. I don't have much hope that this will help, but i will give me some peace of mind that at least it's been reported.

Brad