Help! Comcast is holding me hostage!

[Parhelion 0]

I'm writing to ask if anyone has found a different cable provider. I cannot stand Comcast because it is so expensive- when I lived in metro Detroit, there were several providers so you could just threaten to switch to a competitor to retain the promo rates. Is there another provider here? My concern is that I live in a condo in an historic buidling, which I'm pretty sure means satellite is not an option. Thank you in advance for any and all assistance!

[jbr12 1]

Not sure where you live, but AT&T has been pushing hard to get their services upgraded to get people on UVerse. Everyone I know that has it would recommend over Comcast anyday.

[Rhino6885 0]

There was a guy by Wealthy/Diamond the other day selling "boxes that get you all the channels." I don't think they came with a warranty though

[Nitro 3]

There was a guy by Wealthy/Diamond the other day selling "boxes that get you all the channels." I don't think they came with a warranty though

[francishsu 0]

What channels do you need? And how much are you willing to pay per month?

I believe that Comcast has a "Family Tier" package that they don't advertise, although you can look up what channels are included on their website "channel guide". The pricing is cheaper than their standard digital package, and also probably less expensive than their standard non-Basic analog package.

http://www.comcast.com/Customers/Faq/FaqCa....ashx?CatId=356

[twoshort 30]

If you're going to have pay TV and internet U-Verse has the best price. After them it's DiSH Network with ATT DSL. At least that is what my research showed a few months ago, things could have changed.

[GRBluefan 0]

I have ATT Uverse (bundle...TV, Internet, Phone) and I love it. We have 4 HDTV boxes with a DVR (recordable on one TV, watchable on all four).

Internet is quick...you can choose your speed (I think we have 3.0 mbs). Phone is what it is...I don't know why I have it, but the wife likes to have 'roots'.

Price is good...way less than what I paid at Comcast.

[amylynne 14]

I have ATT Uverse (bundle...TV, Internet, Phone) and I love it. We have 4 HDTV boxes with a DVR (recordable on one TV, watchable on all four).

Internet is quick...you can choose your speed (I think we have 3.0 mbs). Phone is what it is...I don't know why I have it, but the wife likes to have 'roots'.

Price is good...way less than what I paid at Comcast.

[GRBluefan 0]

Unfortunately U-verse is still not available in most of the downtown area. You can check on their website, but I just checked our address in Midtown and we still can't get it.

[grrwymg 0]

Unfortunately U-verse is still not available in most of the downtown area. You can check on their website, but I just checked our address in Midtown and we still can't get it.

[suydam 1]

Weird...I live in EGR, which is obviously pretty darn close to Midtown...hopefully they make it available shortly.

[grrwymg 0]

I was at the AT&T store the other day getting someone an iPhone as a gift (the Apple store was closed for remodeling).

When I was done listening to people from Ft. Wayne complain that they drove 2 hours to get to the Apple store only to find it closed (and they were complaining to people in the AT&T store... whatever), I asked about UVerse in EGR.

The woman told me that parts of EGR have UVerse and parts do not. My part does not.

At any rate, original poster: When you lived in Detroit you had a choice beteween cable vendors? Where did you live and what were your choices??? I always thought (apparently incorrectly) that cable was one of those utility monopolies where you get one vendor and that's that.

[RegalTDP 477]

I was at the AT&T store the other day getting someone an iPhone as a gift (the Apple store was closed for remodeling).

When I was done listening to people from Ft. Wayne complain that they drove 2 hours to get to the Apple store only to find it closed (and they were complaining to people in the AT&T store... whatever), I asked about UVerse in EGR.

[MuskeMI 0]

Out in the sticks (Caledonia) we get to choose between 2 evils: Charter and Comcast. Kind of a zero-sum game.

[Parhelion 0]

Thanks for all the advice! Unfortunately, I still cannot get ATT U-Verse. I used to live in Royal Oak, and you could always play Comcast and WOW (Wide Open West) against each other so you'd get a promotional rate all the time. We had Limited Cable from Comcast for a couple of years, but (I'm ashamed to say) I love VH1 and Comedy Central too much to go back quite yet.

I'll look into those black boxes, Rhino (hee).

[Rhino6885 0]

I'll look into those black boxes, Rhino (hee).

[crinzema 304]

I'd kick the tube If i was living on my own. http://www.hulu.com/ and www.rev3.com are where i solely consume my media nowadays. ABC and Disney just bought a massive stock in HULU on top of all the other networks that already have their content on the site. It won't be long before Hulu will become a household name. Just buy yourself a $500 media PC to set up next to the tv, wireless mouse and keyboard. 10-12 months and you'll have had payed off the cost of the hardware. It's all on demand, 15-30 sec commercial breaks. Oh, and anther great site to watch a lot of great content is the new movie/tv section on youtube. I love the PBS content! NOVA is by far my favorite show. I also have a tv tuner for my computer so i can pick up some broadcast channels.

[blondie 0]

Comcast does NOT like it if you cancel their service. My advice is to call them and tell them you've lost your job and need to cancel. Under no circumstances will they allow this, and will suddenly find an affordable rate for you. I did this exact thing when my introductory rate was set to expire. They informed me my fee's would essentially double after that. I called, told them I had no job, and voila! the intro rate was good for another year. Is it wrong?

[GRDadof3 3692]

Comcast does NOT like it if you cancel their service. My advice is to call them and tell them you've lost your job and need to cancel. Under no circumstances will they allow this, and will suddenly find an affordable rate for you. I did this exact thing when my introductory rate was set to expire. They informed me my fee's would essentially double after that. I called, told them I had no job, and voila! the intro rate was good for another year. Is it wrong?

[MuskeMI 0]

informed me my fee's would essentially double after that. I called, told them I had no job, and voila! the intro rate was good for another year. Is it wrong?

[twoshort 30]

You don't usually even have to lie. We called up after our 12 months came and went. We said, gee this is really expensive now, is there anything you can do? And our digital cable/internet package dropped almost $40 a month. Just be nice!