Self installation fee?

I set up my Comcast yesterday. I opted NOT to have them do installation and just did it myself to save money. I provided all of my own cables, etc.

How is it that Comcast can charge me a "Self installation fee"?

Since when can somebody charge somebody else for them to NOT do anything?

The apt complex had modern addressable system which means that at no point did a technician have to come over here.

Furthermore, when I talked to the sales rep, first my total was $88 something according to him. Then when I asked for what my TOTAL was going to be later after I gave him all of my info it went up to $97 something. Then yesterday they charge me $102 something ("something" always referring to cents obviously). According to my father, I should expect this trend to continue northward with Comcast.

I hope he's wrong. So far I'm not thrilled with what I'm seeing and am quite frankly questioning the legality of it. The self installation fee aside, I don't see how a rep can say one price as the total including all fees, tax, etc.... then pop another higher figure after I agree to service and give my CC#.... and then actually charge a third even higher figure in the end.

How is that legal?

Do you have the first price quote in writing? Do you have the reps name? If the conversation was on the phone was it recorded?

It does sound rather shady to me....

Oh yes, been there, done that with multiple companies. Always utilities. It's not just Comcast, it's all of them. They give you the base price, and conveniently "forget" to add in all of the usage and because-we-can fees, and the taxes out the wazoo. The mob would probably treat you better as a customer than most of those companies!

I would call their corporate line and complain. In my experience with Comcast and other similar companies, if you call and complain in the right way, usually they will refund you their BS extra fees. I did this over a late fee once when I paid on time and I was pretty angry. Got refunded right away. I'd give it a try!

Good luck!

When I"ve had questions with Comcast and AT&T, if I first set my expectations at zero, and have a nice cup of tea handy, and then make the call, it seems I end up walking away with reversals of fees and credits. Just once did they hold the line. Comcast is particularly weird since they seem to have a million tiers of service, and half the time I don't know exactly what I actually signed up for, so it's hard to argue. But, I agree , worth giving them a call but try to stay very very calm

We paid $30 for a self-install kit- granted that was for the phone and internet from Comcast. I can't believe the cable self-install is so pricey! Shesh, I wonder if having the cable guy do the install would have been cheaper?

When I got DSL back in March 2000, I paid $150.00 for them to come install it for me. If I were to do it myself the price would have been something like $75 or $90. They shipped me the box that contained everything and then the tech came out another day. I had to pay the installation price up front.

Want one even better? Last year we had one of the "small dish" satellite companies come out to install a system, actually, all he had to do was attach their system to the already there wiring from another company a couple of years back. He came out, puttered for a few minutes, then told my husband that he "couldn't work in those conditions" ie- all the cats and some cat hair.....and left....they STILL wanted to charge us for his work....don't think so!

Let's be upfront about this: The installation fee is a way for the company to recoup some of their costs, since many of them are "giving away" the satellite receivers.

I've been debating internally whether I want to do anything about this issue.

At the end of the day, Comcast is my only option because dishes aren't allowed at this complex and Comcast is the only cable provider supposedly.

I'm worried about what might happen if I rock the boat.

I do have the reps name and direct line number though.

Originally Posted by LawGuy

At the end of the day, Comcast is my only option because dishes aren't allowed at this complex and Comcast is the only cable provider supposedly.

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That's not true! It is federal FCC law that every complex and HOA must allow equal access to dishes as well as at least one cable option. It's been a law since 1996.

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

They can dictate how many hoops you have to jump through to put the dish up, but they have to allow it as long as you have a patio or balcony (an area that you have exclusive access to that could receive signals from). The caveat to this is that you have to have a clear view of the southern sky to get the signal, so if you don't have that they can deny your ability to put up a dish on their common areas.

A lot of these apartment complex management companies sign contracts with cable companies and they get a cut or dollar amount for every one of their tenants that signs up with them. They will tell you they don't allow anything else, but they don't have that option, unless it is a fully enclosed building where there is no exclusive outdoor access to any of the tenants.

Originally Posted by LawGuy

Furthermore, when I talked to the sales rep, first my total was $88 something according to him. Then when I asked for what my TOTAL was going to be later after I gave him all of my info it went up to $97 something. Then yesterday they charge me $102 something ("something" always referring to cents obviously). According to my father, I should expect this trend to continue northward with Comcast.

Click to expand...

My cable company does this too. The excuse they like to use is that they have problems with the customer service department giving out the wrong information because all these people apparently are "new" employees. I was going to get high speed internet service through this cable company, but I changed my mind when they changed their prices.