Comcast is CONCAST (Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint: house, lease, work)

[kathys]

I just want to rant a little bit. Last month when I went in to pay my cable bill I was charged an extra $1.99 for a new fee, an agent assist fee. So now you have to pay on line, or send a check or money order to pay, or you can drop it off in a drop box they said. Well this months bill had the same $1.99 on the actual bill as another one time charge. Like the cable company does'nt already charge enough. They raise their rates every six months. Now it is every bill that you get, every month they have these extra service charges on them, in addition to all the taxes and other fees that you have never heard of.Is'nt that already included in the actual bill. What is the deal with these companies not having to pay any operating expenses whatsoever anymore. I am sure they also get some kind of tax write offs for expenses, so they are actually double dipping on top of that. Even the auto shops are charging shop fees. What sucks is what are you going to do about it? You have to have gas, electric and a phone. You need to get your car fixed. As for cable. I guess that could go. Oh another thing if Comcast owes you money forget it. it will take forever, but if you owe them PAY UP.

[scottmi]

Comcast is a rip-off - they were pretty much the only option in most apartments when I lived in Chicago a year or so ago.

I recommend just getting Netflix/Blockbuster Online and ordering all the shows you want on DVD and get the newest shows off iTunes for $1.99/each.


Most people don't watch the majority of the crap on TV anyways - its just filler killer.

[kathys]

you are right on that. I could do away with the ten or twelve home shopping, the religous ones, the Cspans, etc. I know about the apartment & comcast, been there done that. You pretty much need cable nowadays though just for your local statios. I tried the antennae and they don't work. Have to get some more info on Netflix, Blockbuster.
I do like the Biography, Discovery, Animal Planet,History, A&E, and Bravo channels on cable though. I watch those the most. Cable is just a scam, and Comcast is the worse. They still owe me $9.00 from about three years ago, never got it.
I am turning in my box on Monday.Looking for something else. You really can't win though, one is as bad as another.

[magellan]

We switched to basic cable through Comcast and don't miss the other channels that much. I think it's only $13.00/month or so.

[scottmi]

Well, the nice thing about iTunes and the net nowadays is that you can watch a large number of major network shows right on your computer for far less than what you'd pay for the lowest cable service.

For example - say I like the show Lost, the show Monk, Battlestar Galactica and Desperate Housewives. Yeah, there are other shows out there but really, these are the main ones I love. And if I had to watch regular TV, I'd need to have access to Sci-Fi, USA, and ABC. That means I'd need to have the basic expanded cable package, which is normally around $50/mo, after taxes.

If you went on iTunes and ordered a full season of those four shows (all commercial free and saved to your computer for repeat viewings!) you'd maybe spend $135 MAX. For you to get the same deal w/ cable, you'd have to spend $600 annually at a minimum.

And if you combine that w/ Netflix or Blockbuster online (which have many Discovery Channel, National Geographic and History-type A&E shows on DVD), you can easily save HUNDREDS of dollars annually and have much more control over what you want to spend your money on.

[tuebor]

A funny thing about antennae--I tried an expensive antennae set in Grand Rapids and got better reception on a couple of VHF stations, but not on UHF, or so it seemed, so I returned them and just used the plain old rabbit ears that came with my tv. I bought some moderately priced amplified antennae in Muskegon and found that now I could get UHF, but the stations weren't where they were supposed to be--like I pick up Fox 17 on channel 108, and PBS 35 on channel 86, etc. Reception isn't great, but it's usually watchable. If you've got a set of amplified antennae that don't seem to work, try cycling though all the stations slowly and see if you can pick anything up.

[Mommyofboys]

Originally Posted by magellan

We switched to basic cable through Comcast and don't miss the other channels that much. I think it's only $13.00/month or so.

Wow!! $13 a month for basic cable? I tried to get that and they told me it would be almost $40.

[funmudder]

Look into NetFlix and WOW Cable. We were really pleased with them.

[kaypurdue]

I have Charter where I'm at, which isn't terrible, but the only option I have.

I had to ditch my cable for a bit while my husband was unemployed. I live in an apartment building with a shared roof antenna, and a hookup in each apartment (right next to the cable hookup - very confusing). I got a few of my local channels through that - but then purchased a signal amplifier (around $40, that was for a Motorola which is one of the best kinds) and holy moly, what a difference! I was pulling in the Flint channels and many Detroit ones clear as day, and even getting a few as far away as Lansing and Bay City. So if you already have a roof antenna and don't get as many channels as you think you should, you could try that.

I still use it now to boost my cable and internet signals, since the wiring is quite old. It does make a difference in my download speeds.

[kathys]

Everyone thanks for the info and suggestions.