[DickY]

What experiences have Villagers who had Comcast cable services in their old location in transferring that service to The Villages when they moved? It is getting close to that time for me and I plan to keep Comcast television and internet services when I move to TV.

[villages07]

Dicky,

I don't believe it is a 'transfer'; it's a different entity that runs the franchise down here; you will have to arrange installation and setup here as if it were a new account (and should be able to take advantage of any promotions they are running).

If you use a comcast.net account as your primary email account, you might run into a challenge. A friend had Comcast up North and they disabled his account when he cancelled that service and had some challenges getting the same email address along with his contact list re-established when he signed up for Comcast.net/Villages. That's something to check into ahead of time.

For me, I keep a generic yahoo email account so that I'm not tied to any particular ISP provider.

[redwitch]

Don't know what it is about Florida, but it seems many things are part of a major corporation but not. Comcast is in this list. It is Comcast, but a separate entity. So, everything starts new. I've been trying to get my old email address since I moved here. No luck. Fortunately, most of my stuff goes to Yahoo mail. Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of this issue until after I moved. So, to be on the safe side, I'd recommend you move any important mail you have to another account or just save it to your computer.

Another is but is not is Bank of America. I couldn't transfer my old account. Instead, I had to open a new one. To top it off, this one does not have all the services my California account has. So, I kept my old account and use the new one to deposit funds and then immediately transfer them to my California account.

Verizon California and Verizon Florida seem to have issues with each other as well.

While it has been trying to get some things moved, all ultimately works out.

[dadspet]

Just my opinion > but Comcast has the worst service I've come across. It takes forever to get them on the phone. You get incorrect incorrect information (they told me no connection fee for internet connection then charged me $50 ). No manager will call you back or get on the phone with you (about my connection fee). I have a cable box top missing and contacted them but they don't come out. The list goes on. Just a awful company. They need competition!

[Muncle]

I don’t quite understand this. It seems that periodically in the forum, there is someone complaining bitterly about of company with which I’ve dealt quite satisfactorily. Maybe I’m a pushover, maybe not. I could understand it if it were one unsatisfied customer or even two, but when there’s a bunch of them . . . :dontknow:

Anyway, let’s return to Comcast. The guy was here to install cable television within a day or two of closing, exactly when promised. Really a nice kid who happily shared the oversupply of tacos we’d gotten for lunch and discussed, from a local’s perspective, the growth and impact of TV. Very interesting. A couple months later, I decided to switch to cable modem from the AT&T dial-up I was using. Ordered it online with the free modem, etc. Had minimal problems. When anything did come up with installation, I got quick responses from the service tech by phone. I thought connecting with a live person via phone was a breeze, especially after dealing with the AT&T telephone system for years. And in the 2+ years that I’ve had Comcast internet service, I’ve not had one problem. I wish the television side would carry Fox Business and the NFL network on the basic package, but the cable’s been good to me.

[DickY]

I just got a reply from TV on Comcast. Comcast Corporate in PA has a different arrangement in most markets than in The Villages. The "sales office" makes the arrangement to get the installation done. When I am ready I will call the number on the brochure I got on closing to have the installation done. We'll see where it goes from there. :dontknow:

[another Linda]

So far Comcast has been ok, but I am a bit frustrated at the moment. I've been trying to set up a villages.net account from Syracuse. Must I really go to the Comcast office in person to do this? I keep getting transferred all over the place always ending up at villages.net who tell me to have Comcast do it. Irksome.

[Villages Kahuna]

It's like two different companies. You'll have to close your account up north and open a new one here.

But I have a recommendation...don't use Comcast for TV at all! Even though I had a DirecTV dish in Illinois, and used Comcast only for broadband internet and phone service, I made the mistake of signing on with them for TV down here. What a mistake! They are awful. After many complaints they admitted that they have not invested in up-to-date wiring and infrastructure in central Florida and the service and features available elsewhere in the country won't be available here for a long time.

I returned all their equipment, cancelled my Comcast TV account and had the DirecTV dish installed. I use Comcast only for broadband internet service now, with Embarq for landline phone. I use Verizon Wireless for cell phone. I couldn't be happier, particularly with the DirecTV service and content.

[Muncle]

Originally Posted by travelstiles

Kahuna, your experiences with Comcast were similar to mine.
In response to an earlier post about "complaining bitterly" I don't understand how an honest reply to an experience someone had can be construed as "complaining bitterly" :dontknow:
I've learned from both the positive and negative posts and made decisions accordingly. And I appreciate an honest reply, either way.
BTW, if a negative comment is considered "complaining bitterly" then a positive review I suppose is "praising extraordinarily." I'd give Embarq the thumbs up for service & pricing :bigthumbsup:

Well, you can praise Embarq extraordinarily or glowingly or any way you'd like. I wish you good luck with their internet service. Several people I know use them. Some have complained, at least bitterly enough to switch to Comcast. Others are satisfied, maybe even extraordinarily satisfied. The same applies to most service providers. Some customers are satisfied, like what is provided, and some even praise the provider, extraordinarily or not. Other customers are dissatisfied. Some just a bit, not enough to change. Others enough to look for alternatives. And still others are dissatisfied enough to inform everyone they know or meet how incompetent the service provider is. Some actually complain bitterly. As anyone who's every been in the business knows, communication services of any kind bring out the most extreme reactions in customers. To each his own.

Sorry if my use of the word "bitterly" upset you so much. If it's anything serious, maybe you can get some help for it. :dontknow:

[captain1202]

My only complaint with Comcast so far, other than the "separate company" annoyance was being charged extra to hook up my 4 additional rooms for TV. This when my wiring was already in place and the installer did nothing. ??? I'm pursuing a refund ($95). Don't fall for this one!

[Skip]

Originally Posted by captain1202

My only complaint with Comcast so far, other than the "separate company" annoyance was being charged extra to hook up my 4 additional rooms for TV. This when my wiring was already in place and the installer did nothing. ??? I'm pursuing a refund ($95). Don't fall for this one!

Yup and if you say that you want cable in only one room, then they will actually cut the cables to the other pre-wired rooms so you get no signal in those rooms. Isn't that nice of them?

Had a cable modem die on me. They insisted it was my computer. I insisted they make a service call to check it out, so I got an appointment (about 4 days out mind you). They told me that if it was my computer, they would charge me for the service call. Waited all day. No show. Was going to dinner that night so didn't call them until the next day to complain about the 4 day wait and then no show. They told me they were going to charge me for that service call because the service tech reported he was at the house but no answer at the door. So if he came to the house, it had to be after 5:30 PM (when we left) or he lied on his work sheet. I believe the latter since my neighbor didn't see a Comcast truck that night (and no note on my door). After much haggling, they made another visit and yes my cable modem WAS dead. I insisted on an 7 day refund or credit for the number of days my ISP was out. I never got it.

They have you by the short hairs and don't really care if you terminate because they add 60-80 new accounts per week in The Villages.

Your only hope is to complain to the VCDD who licenses Comcast as the carrier of choice. Have you noticed that Bright House moved out of the area because they don't stand a chance getting in here? "Lake County Comcast" must pay a huge fee to the VCDD to be the carrier of choice here. What a lucrative business (for both).

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[redwitch]

I think Comcast is one of those things you either like or truly loath. I've been lucky here -- absolutely no problems. Of course, I don't ask much of the TV portion -- give me TMC and SciFi and local channels and I'm pretty much set. (I whined constantly in California that I couldn't get those two stations without paying an additional $40/month to move up to the next level.) Don't need HDTV. Don't really need all the other stuff. It's background noise most of the time. So, Comcast works just fine for me.

Internet is something else, though. I want fast!!!! I want little breakdowns. I want a company where I can drive to them to kvetch if necessary (I gave up on calling internet providers a long time ago -- in person just works so much better). Comcast has all of this, so Comcast has my business.

They came on the day they said they would, at the time agreed upon. The guy who did the work was a sweetie -- even set up my router for me at no charge. Helped me snake a cable into my daughter's room (again, no charge). So, a lot depends who you get to do the work, the mood they're in and how much you can con them into doing. I'm pretty good at getting them to do a little extra -- a smile and soda usually does it.

Now, if you start talking about AT&T, my hackles rise and I can give you horror story after horror story. Verizon is finally trying to make things right for me but I'm not convinced I'll stay with them when this contract ends in September but we'll see on that one. We all have companies we like and dislike. The best we can do is share our stories and experiences with as little emotion as possible and let the next person pick what is best for him/her.

[Skip]

BTW. Comcast uses contractors sometimes. Not Comcast employees but still Cable savvy. Many installs are done by contract.

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