D

4 Messages

Monday, April 8th, 2024 8:11 PM

Deceptive and unethical business practices

I am writing to formally complain about what can only be described as deceptive and unethical business practices that I recently encountered with Xfinity.

 

On Thursday April 4, 2024, I contacted your customer service to inquire about servicing new address. I still live and have an active cable plan at my current address. During the call with the rep, I was offered a promotion for my current plan that purportedly would increase my internet speed at a discounted price, without affecting the rest of my existing cable plan. I explicitly sought clarification from the rep multiple times about whether my current channel package would be changed. Each time, I was reassured by your representative that my cable plan would remain unchanged, and this promotion would only affect the internet speed upgrade.

 

The following day, I discovered that all the premium channels included in my original plan were deactivated. Upon contacting your customer service to address this discrepancy, I was informed that the premium channels were no longer part of my package and that reinstating them, along with the newly promised internet speed, would result in a higher monthly charge than my previous arrangement. This was the complete opposite of what was explained to me by the previous rep. I was told that nothing in my cable plan would change, and now Xfinity customer service was telling me that is not the case and I would now being pay more money for the exact service I had previously. You can imagine my surprise and indignation at this information. It was especially frustrating to hear Xfinity acknowledge that I was given wrong information, but they had no intention of rectifying the issue.

 

Despite spending over an hour on the phone with various representatives, the best resolution offered was a one-time credit, which falls significantly short of rectifying the situation. It is apparent to me that either I was grossly misinformed by your representative, or this is a calculated strategy by Xfinity to mislead customers into agreements that are less favorable than originally promised.

 

This situation not only reflects poorly on Xfinity’s commitment to customer satisfaction and ethical business practices but also has directly impacted my trust in your company. I would like this issue to be addressed by offering me an adjustment on my monthly statement that reflects what I was told by the representative during the call on 4/4, that I would have higher internet speed, with no other changes made to my plan.

 

I feel very misled by this experience, and I have contemplated escalating my complaint to consumer protection agencies, as well as terminating my services with Xfinity. Furthermore, I must express my profound dissatisfaction with the opaque and cumbersome process Xfinity employs for lodging complaints. The absence of a direct email address for customer grievances and the inefficiency of the chat support system, where "live" agents circulated in and out without resolving my concerns, suggests a systematic barrier to effective communication. I hope that posting on this forum will earn me an "invite" to have this issue addressed. 

Contributor

 • 

596 Messages

2 months ago

I am an avid reader of these boards and I have seen this situation too many times to think these are isolated innocent mistakes.

Would love to hear if you get "made whole" in your situation.

Expert

 • 

104.1K Messages

2 months ago

Concern moved here to the Customer Service help section for greater exposure to Comcast corporate employees (The Digital Care Team) for assistance.

Official Employee

 • 

1.2K Messages

2 months ago

Hello, @Docletsirk thanks for sharing this experience. It sounds like you had a Grandfathered package that was changed or removed from your subscription. If that's the case I apologize this happened. I will be happy to double-check your account but when it comes to those types of plans there’s no way to get them back. When you have a chance send us a direct message. You can use the Direct Messaging icon at the top of the page to send your name and service address to "Xfinity Support." It's next to the bell icon on the right side of the page. 

Contributor

 • 

596 Messages

So are you saying if your rep clearly makes a mistake , the customer has no recourse other to

pay more because you can't restore a "grandfathered package" ? Or pay the same for less? I have seen

nothing to the contrary about these many incidents that have been reported. I don't understand how a company can

get away with this....

4 Messages

@XfinityJosephA​ 

What can I expect to happen after messaging you? I've been passed around in chats and over the phone, with no resolution of this concern. So how will messaging you impact this process? Is there a different procedure for handling grievances that are posted on this forum? 

Official Employee

 • 

1.2K Messages

Docletsirk to be transparent our team will double-check everything that has been done. When it comes to a procedure for this exact situation we will be following the same process to review services. 

 

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer.tick

4 Messages

I intend to file a formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), my state's consumer protection agency, and the Better Business Bureau. These practices constitute a serious disregard for consumer protection laws, such as prohibitions against unfair and deceptive trade practices.

 

  1. Misrepresentation of the promotion: The Xfinity representative clearly misinformed me about the terms of the promotional offer, stating that my existing cable plan would not be affected, when in reality, the premium channels were deactivated. This constitutes a deceptive and misleading business practice.
  2. Failure to honor the original agreement: When I followed up to address the discrepancy, Xfinity representatives acknowledged the incorrect information provided earlier but refused to rectify the situation by restoring my original plan. This is a breach of the agreement I had with Xfinity.
  3. Inadequate resolution offered: The one-time credit offered as a resolution is disproportionate to the ongoing harm, I am experiencing by being charged more for less service than what was initially promised.
  4. Obstructive customer service practices: The lack of a direct channel for escalating complaints and the ineffective chat support system suggest Xfinity may be intentionally making it difficult for customers to effectively voice and escalate their concerns.

Visitor

 • 

2 Messages

2 months ago

Similar thing happened to me, although not as bad. I changed to a different Internet plan (with chat assistance) that showed a promotional rate at $30/month for 2 years, but when I received my confirmation, the email said $35/month. When I chatted again to clarify, I was told that the previous rep "made a math mistake."  Let's be honest here: Comcast has a near monopoly on cable/internet in the areas they service, and are not interested in the slightest in being honest or customer focused. They also own NBC and Universal Studios. They are only interested in their bottom line profit and seeking out more $$ for the squillionaire shareholders and the C-suite.

4 Messages

2 months ago

I just submitted a complaint to the FCC and I intend to file one with my state's consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau. [Edited: "Solicitation"]

(edited)

Official Employee

 • 

976 Messages

We do apologize for any inconvenience,  in order for us to make changes to your account we have to send you an e-mail or a text for you to agree to the order,  also if you go into a Xfinity store and make changes if you did it that way they would have a tablet that you need to agree to the order,  which the order will show what you ordered and what was removed.

 

 I would like to look into your account in more detail to see if I can help you get the channels back that you did not intend to remove,  with most of our newer plans they don't come with any premium channels but we can add them on ala carte and depending on those channels there could be a discount.

 

 If you send us a direct message we can access your account and go over your old plan and your new plan to see if we can get you the channels you love and need.

 

To send a "Direct Message" to Xfinity Support:

Click "Sign In" if necessary

Click the "Direct Messaging" icon or https://comca.st/3EqVMu7

Click the "New message" (pencil and paper) icon

The "To:" line prompts you to "Type the name of a person". Instead, type "Xfinity Support" there

- As you are typing a drop-down list appears. Select "Xfinity Support" from that list

- An "Xfinity Support" graphic replaces the "To:" line

Type your message in the text area near the bottom of the window

Press Enter to send it

 

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer.tick

2 Messages

@Docletsirk​ 

be careful with them “attempting” to make it right and “fix” your issue and make you sign for the order.  When you sign they slip in there that they’re locking you into 2 year long contract and if they still never fixed your issue your locked and they make it so unbelievably difficult to cancel no matter how unhappy of a customer you are…they could care less

2 Messages

2 months ago

We have been trying to cancel their service for months, can’t even tell you what a nightmare that has been.  The unethical business practices run deep.

1 Message

24 days ago

I have unfortunately experienced a similarly bad experience with a rep who lied to me and screwed up my account.

Official Employee

 • 

724 Messages

I am sorry to hear you had this experience,user_sdwuow! Were you able to get it resolved? If you need assistance, please send a direct message to us by clicking the chat icon in the upper right corner of the page, click on the pen and paper icon, then enter “Xfinity Support” in the “To” section. Please include your full name and complete street address. Thanks! 

 

 

(edited)

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer.tick

1 Message

@user_sdwuow​ that is nothing compared to them over charging me by $300 at one time. I hate Xfinity has our market cornered where I live! Plus charging people one month in advance is also robbery to me!! 

1 Message

24 days ago

This is by design. Xfinity does this make more money. What is described in this post can be multiplied hundred of thousands of times to millions. Do the math. Some people will switch to another provider but Verizon or any other company will do the same thing. They don't care about costumer service. That's all an illusion that Xfinity uses in it's advertising. I've tried for months to get a downgrade from a cable TV internet package to internet only but you can't do that. Xfinity won't let people control the service they are paying for. Then there are the cheap boxes and remotes they sell. I've been through 5 boxes in the last 6 years. The remotes seem to stop working after about a year or two. The remote problem is so bad that when I went to an Xfinity store they didn't have any. The store person gave a used store remote. The other thing the clerk slipped out was that the remotes that are returned are cleaned up and sent back to stores. I guess this is a good thing as it's kind of recycling. The thing is they have cheap equipment and this is all about the bottom line. 

As to the Xfinity responses on the forum, they are just BSing people and anything they offer is nothing more than placating people. Most people give up and that is also by design. 

The only way Xfinity and the other large broadband companies will change is through federal regulation. That's not going to happen due to the millions of dollars spent lobbying Congress to keep their profits up. In the first half of 2023, lobbying expenditure by internet companies amounted to $49.69 million dollars.

I have thought of switching, but my only other option is Verizon and they are no better. Better the devil you know...


1 Message

6 days ago

We've had almost the exact same experience in May. I called to see if I could enter a new plan and have my monthly cost reduced. I first tried the chat and got nowhere, so I requested a callback, which I received in less than a minute after being told repeatedly by the chat agent that there could be a long wait. Once on the phone, I got a very helpful agent who informed me she could keep my exact same plan, TV and Internet, and offer it for one year at a reduced rate. "Great, that's exactly what I was asking for - let's do it!" I asked multiple times if everything was the same "Yes, same internet, same TV plan" She then sent the signature request to my wife's phone, we completed the signature and endded the call. A week later when I checked in on the bill, I noticed that my internet package was reduced from 800 'super fast' to 500 'fast'. That's almost a 40% reduction in available download speed, after I was told that my plan would remain the same. I called back and got no concessions offered, simply "I'm sorry that happened sir, would you like me to put you back on the 'super fast' internet plan? It will be about $20 more per month". NO, NO, NO. I want you to honor your sales pitch and give me what you promised and the price you quoted it. I went into a physical location and got the same BS. Now my wife is going through the same thing, trying again. I warned her that her efforts were likely going to fruitless. She's been on the phone for almost an hour and I'm pretty sure nothing is going to come of it

Official Employee

 • 

1.1K Messages

user_jl74tg

Could you please send our team a direct message with your full name and full address? Our team can most definitely take a further look at this issue.

To send a Direct message:
Click "Sign In" if necessary
• Click the "Direct Message" icon
• Click the "New message" (pencil and paper) icon
• Type "Xfinity Support" in the "To:" line and select "Xfinity Support" from the drop-down list which appears.

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer.tick
forum icon

New to the Community?

Start Here