MediaCom Stinks worse than smelly fish!

[yippie]

OK!! I am up and running. I am NOT screaming but my DSL IS!!! Calling David was the best thing. He had been on vacation and this morning was his first day back. BUT, he is in quite a high position. We have not had anyone screaming for us locally since he has been gone.

Not long after speaking with him and arriving at my office, there were THREE Embarq trucks including David. He actually cares and had all the trouble reports, e-mails with him and I gave him names, etc. He is rather pissed!!!

But, never the less, I am now up and running in both areas. I will never call those bozo's again, I will only call the guys locally.

Most impressive was the two local technitions. As I was telling the story to David, they were telling him the problems they also face when things like this happens. They, too, are left in the dard, can't find out anything, and can;t get things fixed. It think it was a very good meeting and I am waiting to hear back again from David on some major apologizing and A** kissing.

We were also able to speak about the need for more speed in this neighborhood and how we are all screaming for at least a 5 M connection.

Anyway, I am now a happy camper. But, updates to come. David has this thread by the way, so voice any other opinion you have!!

Lastly, I took a beautiful photo this morning of what I saw when I walked out of the house. Made me think..... Hummmmm... this IS going to be a good day afterall! Please enjoy this photo as much as I do.

 

[kathydwells]

OK!! I am up and running. I am NOT screaming but my DSL IS!!! Calling David was the best thing. He had been on vacation and this morning was his first day back. BUT, he is in quite a high position. We have not had anyone screaming for us locally since he has been gone.

Not long after speaking with him and arriving at my office, there were THREE Embarq trucks including David. He actually cares and had all the trouble reports, e-mails with him and I gave him names, etc. He is rather pissed!!!

But, never the less, I am now up and running in both areas. I will never call those bozo's again, I will only call the guys locally.

Most impressive was the two local technitions. As I was telling the story to David, they were telling him the problems they also face when things like this happens. They, too, are left in the dard, can't find out anything, and can;t get things fixed. It think it was a very good meeting and I am waiting to hear back again from David on some major apologizing and A** kissing.

We were also able to speak about the need for more speed in this neighborhood and how we are all screaming for at least a 5 M connection.

Anyway, I am now a happy camper. But, updates to come. David has this thread by the way, so voice any other opinion you have!!

Lastly, I took a beautiful photo this morning of what I saw when I walked out of the house. Made me think..... Hummmmm... this IS going to be a good day afterall! Please enjoy this photo as much as I do.

Beautiful Rainbow!!!!!! Glad all is well again!

 

[yippie]

UPDATE - This is too much!! I laughed about this. I am still up and running and very happy about that.

The local person I mentioned I called has taken an interest to try to find out what when wrong.

He has e-mailed, called, etc the "upper managment" and is still waiting for answers....

HOWEVER, one person he called had the nerve to tell his there NEVER WAS AN OUTTAGE:angry: and they were only performing NORMAL MAINTENANCE and it DIDN'T AFFECT THE PUBLIC. Yea Buddy, sure...

He didn't buy that and told them so..... We'll have to see what tomorrow brings.

 

[Smiling JOe]

So I thought I would check my new balance today, to see if it reflected the removal of the cable tv. My usual monthly bill for the three services of Cable TV, phone, and internet was $150. Now, my new total for internet and telephone, both of which I still choose to have, (in addition to the Mexican channel and the upper level movie channels, which they still cannot seem to delete from my account) is $35. Perfect! Much better than overbilling, but this sounds too good to be true. I am sure that I will be losing some service any moment now. According to their reps, depending upon the one you believe, my new monthly bill should be somewhere between $95 - $105.

 

[yippie]

So I thought I would check my new balance today, to see if it reflected the removal of the cable tv. My usual monthly bill for the three services of Cable TV, phone, and internet was $150. Now, my new total for internet and telephone, both of which I still choose to have, (in addition to the Mexican channel and the upper level movie channels, which they still cannot seem to delete from my account) is $35. Perfect! Much better than overbilling, but this sounds too good to be true. I am sure that I will be losing some service any moment now. According to their reps, depending upon the one you believe, my new monthly bill should be somewhere between $95 - $105.

Ya gonna call them to try to straighten it out? I DON'T THINK SO. Imagine being on the hold que to try to tell them they are not billing you enough!!

 

[scooterbug44]

Yeah, until they figure it out and charge you late fees and interest on their mistake!

 

[danhall]

I have a theory, bear with me here.

I think television (overall) is very bad for us. You could ask me at any time over the last ten years if I would like to have cable television, and I would answer a resounding no. That is why I asked only for high-speed internet from MediaCom when I moved into my residence over a year and a half ago. Well, guess what. I have had free cable television for the entirety of the time.

Let me say that again, loudly.

I GET FREE CABLE.

The techs that came to install my cable internet told me that they "didn't have the right boxes" so I "probably have the cable tv signal, but don't worry, you won't get in trouble".

Well, I hooked up the television and lo-and-behold, there are all the channels (except the premiums). I didn't want this. I am not perfect, and I have fallen to temptation.

Now, I know what you are thinking: "just don't hook it up, nobody is making you watch it." Well, that is what it has come to. Tonight I will remove the coaxial cable from my television and I will not hook it back in.

I have had numerous service calls regarding a weak internet connection, and in all instances the tech would have a clipboard with my service information on it, stating that I have "Internet Only". I wouldn't even bother unhooking the TV from the signal splitter. So, right there in front of the guy is a cable modem and a splitter going to the television. Pretty obvious, huh? Yet, never a word was said about it.

Theory:

They need us to watch that mindless crap, so that we will buy those mindless products. They need to keep us engaged in the grand illusion of the consumer utopia, so that we don't start making too much of our own culture. They need us to need them. They need us to suck on their one-way fantasy machine. They would rather give it away than have someone tune-out.

I'm done. I've lived with absolutely no television for over five years before, and though I can't throw out the current appliance itself, (not mine) I can stop the flow of inanity and violence very easily.

I wonder what they would say if I called them and told them I do not want their free mind-crap. I might have to try that.

Thanks for listening, hope this isn't too far off topic. I'm glad that yippie finally got his issue resolved. The internet is great. It is an inclusive, two-way medium. Also, I love SoWal. Can't go on without my SoWal. It is actually real.

 

[Smiling JOe]

DanHall,
After reading your story, I doubt that you will be surprised to to find out that when I moved into my current residence, I, too, had free cable. I never bothered to check. I just called the cable company and requested internet, cable and phone package. The installer told me that I already had cable, just not the cable channel changer which also has the on screen tv guide. I enjoy the one way medium in the form of a good movie, but most of tv is rather boring and needless.

Since I now get the Mexican channel and the high number movie channels, without having cable tv, when I return the cable channel changer, I will be able to receive only the Mexican channel, because I think my tv channels go up to only 13 on my tv. Just kidding, it is still old, but not that old. The channels stop at 99, so I will not be getting the movie channels which start at 401.

 

[danhall]

movies (of course) are great, I think because they are a well developed and complete thought (excepting Howard the Duck). They are not constantly fractured by any ads for revolutionary shaving equipment or male enhancement pills.

I will have to get a Netflix account soon.

 

[yippie]

LOL. This letter was in the May 26th issue. After that letter, a follow-up was published today:

May 26, 2007 Issue

The ongoing saga of local telephone and cable woes
Thank you for publishing my letter of May 26 in The Sun (?Phone and cable services need competition?). At this time, after 10 days of no telephone or Internet service, I am happy to report that I now have both. The only problem that I have now is that when I make a call to someone, they receive a message that Ernest Davis called. When someone calls my number they receive a message that my voice mail box is full, or that I am unable to take their message, even though I have established my voicemail with Embarq. I was not able to call out or receive calls for those 10 days, although I had been in constant contact with both Mediacom and Embarq. My mother is in a nursing home and I need to be in contact with her at all times. If there had been an intruder or a fire, I would have had no way to call 911 because my cell phone does not work inside my house. I had to change my phone number to get phone and Internet service, and will need to let all my contacts know of the change. I am very happy to have telephone and Internet service, although it is far below the standard that I expected. I have contacted every resource I have been able to find for help in resolving this matter, including the state?s attorney general. I think that I and the other residents of this area deserve better treatment than we are getting from our communications services. I hope that someone will come up with a solution soon.

June 9, 2007

Phone and cable services need competition
I have problems with Mediacom that I think people should know about. Mediacom offered me free long distance service a year ago. The service has been unsatisfactory, and after numerous phone calls, being on hold for up to 45 minutes and many broken promises, I have switched my telephone, cable and Internet service to another provider. However, Mediacom is still holding my voice mail calls. June 6, 2006, I chose Mediacom for my telephone, cable TV and Internet service. I was able to receive most telephone calls, but some prefixes, specifically 231 and 267, were not able to go through. I called Mediacom and reported the problem. They told me that Sprint was still holding those numbers and promised to resolve the problem. An Embarq (formerly Sprint) representative told me Mediacom had ported my number without proper authorization. Each time I called Mediacom I was required to supply three telephone numbers, dates, and times when the problem occurred. They said they would issue a work order to fix the problem. After months of telephone calls, I still was not able to receive all my calls. Around May 18, 2007, a technician from Mediacom advised me to phone Embarq: ?Maybe you can get them to release the numbers faster than we can.? I phoned Embarq. A representative told me that I needed to talk to Mediacom because they had ported my number without proper authorization. I did not know which provider to believe. Frustrated, I threatened legal action if the problem was not resolved. That night, a representative from Mediacom called and told me the problem indeed was Mediacom?s failure to properly port the numbers. The representative told me that I could either change my number, or if I chose to keep my current number it would take two weeks to get service. She apologized and told me my telephone charges would be reimbursed. I chose Embarq as my provider. On May 22, an Embarq technician switched my phone service to Embarq. I was able to receive calls from the numbers that I had been missing However, after I initiated my voicemail with Embarq, I could no longer receive any calls. An Embarq representative told me it was because Mediacom was still holding my voicemail. When I called Mediacom, I was kept on hold for 45 minutes, and then told they would issue a work order and it would be resolved within 24 or 48 hours. But first I had to supply three numbers, dates, and times when the problem occurred. Because I have received so many promises from Mediacom that they have been unable to fulfill, I am not confident that I will receive telephone service in the near future.
DeLene Sholes South Walton