Television Providers Stink!

I think it would be funny if a TV provider went to a restaurant and the maitre d' told him he would be served sometime between 7 and 10.

I am now convinced that TV providers are evil. I mean it. They lure you with fabulous promotions, then stick it to you after six or twelve months, however long the promo lasts.

I used to have Dish Network, but my bill kept inching slowly up to $129 per month. I think the first 12 months it was $49. Then a Comcast rep came by and offered us a promotion of $39.99 per month for the same programs we had from Dish. Sweet!

Six months later, we were paying $129 per month again. I called recently to get the price down. I was told by customer service that $129 was the best they could do. Right. I told them I wanted to quit. They immediately transferred me to the customer retention department. I explained the situation to them and voila, $58!

I dropped their Internet, because I could use my phone as a hot spot. I have a 10 GB plan with AT&T, so I could easily make that happen.

We moved a little more than a month ago, and I had to call Comcast because the "on demand" feature wasn't working. They said I owed them more than $400! It wasn't showing up on my bill, because unbeknownst to me, when you move, they start a brand new account, which doesn't show up on your electronic statement, which is always the one I look at.

It turns out that the person I spoke with before never changed my billing to the $58, as promised. I was still being charged $129! I finally found a sane human being who was willing to walk through the process with me. Turns out I owed $215, not more than $400.

I still quit the service and went back to Dish Network because they were offering $90 for great programming and a free ipad 2. So, they were going to install on June 1st, and Comcast would stop as of midnight on May 31st.

It is now June 4th. Dish Network has yet to install one piece of equipment, but luckily, Comcast is so inefficient, it's still on, so we're not missing any shows.

I'm going to put $30 per month away so when Dish Network screws me over in twelve months, I'll be able to buy the remaining year and go with someone else. I'll still come out ahead because of the ipad.

That business is crazy. Little concern for the customer, only the money. I thought about just using Hulu plus and Netflix, but they don't have a deal with CBS yet, which is where most of the shows we like are broadcast. The minute they make that deal, we'll be finished with other providers.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I just saw an add for a car with zero down, zero percent financing and zero payments for twelve months! I'm going to check it out.

See you tomorrow.