Comcast is great at the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

Quite a while back I called to downgrade my package (which was identical to my mom's across town but her's was $10 cheaper than mine) According to Comcast's website I should have been dropping only 3 channels with a savings of about $15 per month. They told me there was NO charge to downgrade. Then we get into it over the fact their website listed those 3 channels as a separate package, but the lady on the phone is telling me I'd have to drop about 1/2 my package because one is required for the other. After alot of pointless arguing I say fine, drop me down to the next level of service.

Time goes by, I get my next bill, at the LOWER rate, AND there's a $20 charge on it for 'technician visit' to downgrade. Aside from the fact they told me that there was NO charge to downgrade, I still had all my regular channels during that time so I KNOW that NO technician came out to the pole out back!!

Well I called, was on hold about 1/2 hour, finally got a person and complained ALOT about that charge, and the guy agreed to drop the fee.

Time passes, next bill arrives, I still have ALL my channels, and at the lower rate, but now there are TWO 'technician fee's' on my bill!!!

So now I spend another hour total on the phone between hold and arguing with people over the double charge. The lady tells me that the guy messed up and instead of deleting the charge, added another instead. Ok fine, she'll drop the additional charge, but will not take off the first one either. I repeated that I was told there was NO charge to downgrade! (Of course I didn't tell them I still had all my channels while paying the reduced rate though)

Time goes by, I get another bill, again at the reduced rate, minus the double charge but the $20 technician fee is still on there, and now it says 'past due' for that charge!!! By this time I'm HOT!! I spend another hour on the phone and another 2 hours online with their service people who all tell me the first person who told me no charge to downgrade was lying. (I should have told them their techs were ripping them off since I know they never came out, but I kept my mouth shut).

So in the end I finally paid the bogus $20 'technician fee'.

However for the next 13 MONTHS I had my full cable package at the lower tier rate!!!!! ROFL

So once that finally caught up and the channels dissapeared down to what they should have before (I checked, no tech fee then), I decided to downgrade my package to the bare bones of network only cable. The lady said they would 'flip a switch' at the office and everything would be changed by that evening.

Time passes, bills come, at the new reduced rate, (NO technician fee this time) however cable channels remain as they were for the next 8 MONTHS!!!

So considering for a total of 21 months I was getting more channels than I was supposed to but at a reduced rate, can't say that I regret the time I had wrapped up in calls, or the measly $20 charge I paid. It served them right, and I enjoyed the channels while they lasted.

Moral of the story: sometimes you can benefit when one hand doesn't know what the other is doing.