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Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

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Joe12345678

Member

[Comcast Equip] Seniors displaced by fire could be charged for cable boxes

"The spokesperson would not guarantee there would be no fees, but said in most cases like this, they will waive charges"

Now if comcast forces you to rent the box they should have some kind of (insurance) even more so in an Apartment / home that has cable as part of rent / tries to ban dishes and if they want to pass the the bill to homeowner’s or renter’s insurance then should NOT ask for someone to make up the difference as the insurance will pay there real cost not the cost of a new box for one that is 5-6+ years old or for mark up if they had DTA's then $120 is over X2 the cost of the boxes.

and Why can't you buy a box for that same $120 and not have to pay $8-$10 mo to rent it? as any time after 1 year it's cheaper to buy then rent.

»www.wwmt.com/shared/news ··· z9rGTFu0

»www.wzzm13.com/story/new ··· 0651457/

DaveDude
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

DaveDude

Member

in my view Comcast shouldn't be allowed to rent cable boxes. It should be something the customer buys at the store, and is compatible. This is yet another reason why i hate comcast. Home gateways are the answer .
Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL

Zoder

Member

To be fair, it's not just Comcast, it's the whole industry that has this screwed up model.

gar187er
I DID this for a living
join:2006-06-24
Seattle, WA

gar187er

Member

blame the FCC.

DaveDude
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

DaveDude

Member

said by gar187er:

blame the FCC.

Didnt comcast buy them ?

gar187er
I DID this for a living
join:2006-06-24
Seattle, WA

gar187er

Member

no, theyre like a mercenary. for hire by anyone.

Streetlight
join:2005-11-07
Colorado Springs, CO

Streetlight to Joe12345678

Member

to Joe12345678
said by Joe12345678:

Now if comcast forces you to rent the box they should have some kind of (insurance) even more so in an Apartment / home that has cable as part of rent / tries to ban dishes and if they want to pass the the bill to homeowner's or renter's insurance then should NOT ask for someone to make up the difference as the insurance will pay there real cost not the cost of a new box for one that is 5-6+ years old or for mark up if they had DTA's then $120 is over X2 the cost of the boxes.

It turns out that one can buy home owners/apartment renters insurance that has replacement cost of stolen or otherwise lost property as part of the plan. It obviously costs more than insurance without out that clause but can be well worth it if some property is lost by theft or fire that's old but still valuable to the owner. Also, there's always some kind of deductible that must be paid by the insured on the total claim.

We recently had thefts by breaking and entering and had we not had that clause in our home owner's insurance we would have only received 10% of the replacement cost for much of our valuable old stuff.

I strongly recommend folks check to see if they have replacement cost coverage on their homeowners/apartment renters property insurance and if not do a cost-benefit analysis regarding the extra cost vs. the cost of any loss.

DaveDude
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

DaveDude to Joe12345678

Member

to Joe12345678
Well why does doesnt comcast include insurance in the rental, oh wait that would put them in positive view, and they dont think thats important.
mariod
join:2009-06-16

mariod

Member

Because the majority of people have insurance on their home already. I don't want to pay comcast an insurance fee when I already pay Allstate for home insurance.
If you choose not to insure your residence, then you owe comcast a new box.

You need to report it to your insurance company as a destroyed item, and then forward that amount of the insurance check to comcast. If you chose not to have insurance, you accepted the risk of having to replace the stb.

What is the problem here? Why should comcast have to pay for a new box because your house burnt down? If you had a netflix disc in the home at the time, should netflix have to replace the DVD themselves? If you rent a moving truck and crash it, should Uhaul have to eat that cost?

chip89
Premium Member
join:2012-07-05
Columbia Station, OH

chip89 to DaveDude

Premium Member

to DaveDude
I know WOW offers insurance. Even Verizon offers insurance on cell phones.
Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

Joe12345678 to mariod

Member

to mariod
you can buy your DVD and buy your own truck but you can't buy your cable box.

Also Uhaul can't bill the cost of an NEW truck for an one that is 5-6 years old.

DaveDude
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

DaveDude to mariod

Member

to mariod
said by mariod:

Because the majority of people have insurance on their home already. I don't want to pay comcast an insurance fee when I already pay Allstate for home insurance.
If you choose not to insure your residence, then you owe comcast a new box.

You need to report it to your insurance company as a destroyed item, and then forward that amount of the insurance check to comcast. If you chose not to have insurance, you accepted the risk of having to replace the stb.

What is the problem here? Why should comcast have to pay for a new box because your house burnt down? If you had a netflix disc in the home at the time, should netflix have to replace the DVD themselves? If you rent a moving truck and crash it, should Uhaul have to eat that cost?

The problem is comcast constant contempt for there customers. Even if a rent a car, i use their insurance , because i dont want it to hit my insurance .

DocDrew
How can I help?
Premium Member
join:2009-01-28
SoCal
Ubee E31U2V1
Technicolor TC4400
Linksys EA6900

DocDrew to Joe12345678

Premium Member

to Joe12345678
said by Joe12345678:

you can buy your DVD and buy your own truck but you can't buy your cable box.

There are Samsung and Tivo boxes available. There used to be more boxes available, but most stopped making or selling them to the public.
saratoga66
join:2002-08-22
Saratoga, CA

1 recommendation

saratoga66 to Joe12345678

Member

to Joe12345678
Even if these people had purchased a Comcast box they would still have to pay full price for a replacement box.

I can't see Comcast offering insurance for cable boxes/modems. They are already willing to exchange the equipment for no charge if it fails or newer equipment is available. The insurance would only been need for cases like this of fire or other natural disasters. Homeowners and renters insurance already covers this equipment. If you choose to rent a home without insurance that is your choice and you take the risk.
Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

Joe12345678 to DocDrew

Member

to DocDrew
Still need to rent the cable card. service electric was / still is?? one the few systems to let you buy the cable card without outlet or other BS fees.
Joe12345678

Joe12345678 to saratoga66

Member

to saratoga66
but then say after 2-4 years they will have saved vs paying rent fees over all of that time and even with buy the box they can offer some kind of protection plan.

Also Homeowners and renters insurance will not pay the cost of an new cable box for one that is 5-6 years old. also if you are able to buy the box the cost should be like $50 or less for an DTA maybe $100 for an full size HD box and maybe $200-$300 for an DVR.

Muilt room / gateways at about $250-$350 main box with mini boxes at about $50-$100
mariod
join:2009-06-16

mariod to Joe12345678

Member

to Joe12345678
Did someone put a gun to your head to rent a cable box?

If you don't want to accept the responsibility of replacing equipment that is damage under your control, then don't rent the equipment.

These are basic legal principles here. If you borrow/rent/etc. something, and it is damaged in your possession, you are liable to repair/replace it.

DaveDude
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

DaveDude

Member

said by mariod:

Did someone put a gun to your head to rent a cable box?

If you don't want to accept the responsibility of replacing equipment that is damage under your control, then don't rent the equipment.

These are basic legal principles here. If you borrow/rent/etc. something, and it is damaged in your possession, you are liable to repair/replace it.

Yes, did Comcast offer a list of manufactures i could buy from , and they will support without question. Comcast can barely support Tivo. It needs to go the way of cell phones, with sim card type access.

DocDrew
How can I help?
Premium Member
join:2009-01-28
SoCal
Ubee E31U2V1
Technicolor TC4400
Linksys EA6900

DocDrew

Premium Member

said by DaveDude:

Yes, did Comcast offer a list of manufactures i could buy from , and they will support without question. Comcast can barely support Tivo. It needs to go the way of cell phones, with sim card type access.

Replace SIM card with CableCard and it's pretty close... missing the plethora of box models being sold retail by the numerous makers.... nevermind the CEA wrote off doing that years ago.

Maybe Comcast should subsidize box sales with 2 year contracts and offers for new box discounts at the end of those contracts. You could've bought all the latest DCT, DCH, and DCX boxes running the slightly newer versions same software for the last 14 years. Last upgrade could've gotten you a DCX with X1 software though...

chip89
Premium Member
join:2012-07-05
Columbia Station, OH

chip89

Premium Member

Expect you own the SIM card & you have to rent a cable card.
saratoga66
join:2002-08-22
Saratoga, CA

1 edit

saratoga66 to Joe12345678

Member

to Joe12345678
said by Joe12345678:

Also Homeowners and renters insurance will not pay the cost of an new cable box for one that is 5-6 years old.

Sure it will if you have a policy that covers replacement cost instead of actual cash value. I don't know anyone that doesn't have insurance with replacement cost coverage. The price difference between the 2 policy's is minimal.

FureverFurry
RIP Daphne: 3/12/05 - 6/19/12
Premium Member
join:2012-02-20
49xxx
Zoom 5341J
ARRIS WBM760
Vonage VDV-21

FureverFurry to mariod

Premium Member

to mariod
said by mariod:

If you borrow/rent/etc. something, and it is damaged in your possession, you are liable to repair/replace it.

Yes, but not a NEW box for one that is many, many years old. And these old folks did not have a choice about what provider to use.
mariod
join:2009-06-16

mariod

Member

said by FureverFurry:

said by mariod:

If you borrow/rent/etc. something, and it is damaged in your possession, you are liable to repair/replace it.

Yes, but not a NEW box for one that is many, many years old. And these old folks did not have a choice about what provider to use.

Yes, a new box.

It's called "replacement cost". If you chose to go the cheap route in insurance and only insure for "actual cash value" then, once again, that's the risk you chose to run, and you have to make comcast whole. But good insurance insures for "replacement cost" not "actual cash value".

Either way, you owe comcast for a box, and boxes can only be obtained new, so you owe them for a new box.

And they absolutely had a choice. Unless someone put a gun to their head, they had a choice of whether to get comcast or not. They may have contracted that choice out to someone else to make, but cable tv is not an obligation, it is a choice. They always could've said "I'm not comfortable with this liability, I don't want an STB."

FureverFurry
RIP Daphne: 3/12/05 - 6/19/12
Premium Member
join:2012-02-20
49xxx
Zoom 5341J
ARRIS WBM760
Vonage VDV-21

FureverFurry

Premium Member

said by mariod:

And they absolutely had a choice.

Senior apartment community. They did NOT have a choice (of providers) other than to have TV or not. At any rate, we're talking about ELDERLY folks who lost EVERYTHING and CC is ever so quick to bug them about their money. "Awesome" (not).

Smart PR move is for CC to demonstrate some compassion in light of their erstwhile problems. Sez me.
mariod
join:2009-06-16

mariod

Member

So they contracted their right to choose a provider away to their landlord. That's their choice. They still had the choice not to accept the liability for a comcast STB, and to not have renter's insurance which covered their liabilities.

Again, if they had leased/rented a car and the garage they kept it in burned down too, should the dealership just not get reimbursed?

Why on earth should comcast just lose money because these people are elderly? When you get old, do you get to just not pay taxes anymore? Do you get to crash your car but not be liable for the damage you cause?

You can go ahead and donate to pay for the boxes for them if you'd like. Since that's what all of us are doing if Comcast doesn't recover their loss from the responsible parties anyway.

I don't want my cable bill increasing to cover people who damaged Comcast's equipment and didn't pay for it.
Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

Joe12345678

Member

said by mariod:

Again, if they had leased/rented a car and the garage they kept it in burned down too, should the dealership just not get reimbursed?

So what if the dealer forced you to lease and did not let you buy the car and the lease price added up to over the price of car after about 2 years and then when your 5-6 year old car burned down they wanted you to pay them the price of an new car.

Also after buying that new car you still have to keep paying the lease fee if you want to have an other car as well.

Why should comacst get to make you buy the box and then trun around and still bill you that rent fee?
mariod
join:2009-06-16

mariod

Member

1) No one forced these people to have cable. They could go without cable tv just like someone in your example could go without a car.
2) Comcast lets you buy your own equipment. Google: "Tivo". And if these people had a Tivo, they'd be forced to buy a new one now.
3) If you had a leased car that burned, you would be responsible for the Replacement Cost of the car, just like these people are. Motorola and Cisco do not sell used STBs like a car dealership does. So Replacement Cost is for a new box from the manufacturer.
4) Do you think if you leased a car and it burned, you would just get another car for free? After you bought out the old lease, of course you'd still have to pay if you wanted to get a replacement car.

Have you ever actually read a contract in your life? Good god...

Insurance
@68.42.244.x

Insurance to chip89

Anon

to chip89
said by chip89:

I know WOW offers insurance. Even Verizon offers insurance on cell phones.

WOW offers a Service Protection Plan for $5/month but it does not cover things like fire damage. Comcast has a similar Service Protection Plan for $3.95/month but again it doesn't cover fires.
Comcast Guy
join:2008-01-16
Harrisburg, PA

Comcast Guy to Joe12345678

Member

to Joe12345678
I have had DirecTV since early 2000s. They went from "Walk into Circuit City and buy your own box!" to "Now pay us up front for the box AND rent it every month...and we want it back."

They went completely backwards. But they do tell me I am eligible for a new box sometime next year. A new DTV box and a VZW cell phone in the same year? Well be still my heart.

DaveDude
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

DaveDude to mariod

Member

to mariod
said by mariod:

1) No one forced these people to have cable. They could go without cable tv just like someone in your example could go without a car.
2) Comcast lets you buy your own equipment. Google: "Tivo". And if these people had a Tivo, they'd be forced to buy a new one now.
3) If you had a leased car that burned, you would be responsible for the Replacement Cost of the car, just like these people are. Motorola and Cisco do not sell used STBs like a car dealership does. So Replacement Cost is for a new box from the manufacturer.
4) Do you think if you leased a car and it burned, you would just get another car for free? After you bought out the old lease, of course you'd still have to pay if you wanted to get a replacement car.

Have you ever actually read a contract in your life? Good god...

Thats just lame, Comcast simply doesnt care about it clients. Why dont they have rent to own, i would think after 6 years , the box is paid for. Oh wait this is comcast , we can about money, and not providing cable service.