 
LordMalak
join:2003-07-02
Brazil
1 edit | Retaliation One can only wonder what the retaliation will be for those customers who opt out of the agreement... lower speeds, caps, heavy packet loss??
Maybe they're just better off dropping Comcast altogether.
EDIT: first post! | |
|
 | 
Cabal
Premium
join:2007-01-21
Boston, MA
| Re: Retaliation The notice that was included in this month's faux-bill claims that opting out will in no way change your relationship with Comcast or the services they provide. Whether that's true (or if you get a little asterisk next to your name when Support brings up your account information) is anyone's guess.
--
Anonymous posts are ignored. If you wish to be heard, speak for yourself.
Interested in open source engine management for your Subaru? | |
|
benecewicz
Premium
join:2005-04-08
Parkville, MD | ... I would opt out, but I dropped Comcast for DirecTV months ago. | |
|
| Lepriapus
join:2002-02-01
Atlanta, GA | Re: ... Does this only pertain to the cable end? What about Broadband? | |
|
| | 
chris231989
join:2006-02-12
Joplin, MO
clubs: | Re: ... it's acrost the board cable/internet/phone. i'm also told it pertains to all comcast cust.s | |
|
pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD | Probably Unlawful Most companies stuff these provisions into their service agreements. However, many get overturned by the courts.
--
Only SHATNER is Kirk. | |
|
| |
| 
swhx7
Premium
join:2006-07-23
Elbonia
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| It is becoming more prevalent. For example, it's practically impossible to get a credit card now without forced arbitration replacing access to the courts.
It seems inevitable that once businesses start catching on to this concept, every individual will have to give up access to the courts as a condition of every consumer contract. You can always decline the contracts, but you will have to end up living like a primitive hermit (like Kaczynski in the woods) to maintain your basic Constitutional rights.
I have no confidence in your assessment that "many get overturned by the courts". There have been a few cases where the consumer did not have an opportunity to opt out, or the clause was extraordinarily over-reaching, but I think most are routinely upheld. | |
|
| | Desdinova
join:2003-01-26
Gaithersburg, MD | Re: Probably Unlawful "...like Kaczynski in the woods..."
I dunno, seems to me Ted found some VERY effective ways of communicating his own customer service needs...  | |
|
apobull
join:2001-05-03
Manchester, MD
| Would be nice if the opt out worked I just tried opting out and get this error when entering my account number
"Please enter your account number exactly as it appears on your bill."
I checked my bill online and my account number is in the format XXXXX XXXXXX-XX. I tried different variations with no spaces, etc with no luck. So much for opting out........ | |
|
| 
shenryyr
@comcast.net
| Re: Would be nice if the opt out worked my account is in the format xxxx xx xxx xxxxxxx, so you might want to check yours again? I'm currently playing phone tag with their "western division corporate office" which gives me a phone number does not exist error when I try to call. I don't know the date that I received that wonderful piece of mail, so doing what I can to get this take care of. | |
|
|
|
christos
join:2002-01-09
Bridgewater, MA
1 edit | Thanks for the heads up! Just did it. now lets see what comcast does.
The notice was a flier included with this months bill
edit: I am in Massachusetts | |
|
apollo80
join:2002-01-31
Richmond, VA | Is this just MD or nationwide? I'm at work, not at home, and don't have this month's bill.
It this local to MD or is it nationwide? | |
|
| apollo80
join:2002-01-31
Richmond, VA
| Re: Is this just MD or nationwide? said by apollo80  :I'm at work, not at home, and don't have this month's bill. It this local to MD or is it nationwide? LOL, looks like a lot of people asked the same basic question at around the same time :> | |
|
| madrhino
join:2004-07-03
 ·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast
| said by apollo80 :It this local to MD or is it nationwide? I'm in Prince Georges,the county adjacent to Montgomery and this is the first I've heard of it.
--
Get Verizon FIOS,The Anti-DIOS | |
|
| bi0tech
join:2003-06-19 | Baltimore Co. here and I've received no such notice.
Of course this is the same company that automatically started me charging their 'insurance fee' 2 months before I got the notice it existed. | |
|
funchords
Hello
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-11
Washington, DC | Thank you! Thank you! I was totally unaware of this.
I have now successfully opted out! | |
|
AnnaS8
join:2005-05-26
Annapolis, MD
| And for new customers? I guess they are screwed from the start or are they also able to opt out?
I ask cuz a friend of mine is moving to Comcast only country for his job in about 6 months. He doesn't currently have Comcast. I would assume you are stuck with it if you are a new customer. | |
|
| |
| 
JTRockville
Data Ho
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-28
Rockville, MD
clubs: | New customers will receive the opt-out notice as part of their "welcome package". | |
|
viperpa33s
Why Me?
Premium
join:2002-12-20
Bradenton, FL
·Bright House
| Will not hold up As with other similar cases, this will not hold up in the court of law. Comcast is trying to take away someones due process and limit there own liability. Comcast is just trying to give themselves there own free pass to do what they want. Comcast's lawyers are not doing a very good job. | |
|
|
swhx7
Premium
join:2006-07-23
Elbonia
·RoadRunner Cable
| Re: Will not hold up said by viperpa33s :As with other similar cases, this will not hold up in the court of law. Comcast is trying to take away someones due process and limit there own liability. Comcast is just trying to give themselves there own free pass to do what they want. Comcast's lawyers are not doing a very good job.
Forcecd arbitration clauses are routinely upheld by courts. They usually include provisions that disagreements about the clause itself are also subject to arbitration. A court will accept the case just long enough to throw it out and tell you to rely on the arbitration process (and you'll then owe court costs).
Most of us in USA have been brought up to expect fairness from the legal system - it's part of the propaganda in textbooks, etc.. The reality is we're increasingly serfs in a corporate-ruled feudal system. | |
|
| | |
| | |
swhx7
Premium
join:2006-07-23
Elbonia | Re: Will not hold up That's a good ruling IMHO. However, the last paragraph:
"While this ruling came down on the side of consumers, it also points to the importance of reading the fine print. We might not be so lucky the next time." | |
|
Chuckles
Premium
join:2006-03-04
Saint Paul, MN
| How about... If you want to sue and you didn't opt out can you just cancel your service and then sue?
How can this work? Can I send someone a letter that says if you don't reply to this saying you do not want to owe me $20 then you will owe me $20?
--
kustomerservice.net | |
|
|
swhx7
Premium
join:2006-07-23
Elbonia
·RoadRunner Cable
| Re: How about... said by Chuckles :If you want to sue and you didn't opt out can you just cancel your service and then sue? How can this work? Can I send someone a letter that says if you don't reply to this saying you do not want to owe me $20 then you will owe me $20?
Usually these things take the form of a contract. It's called an "agreement" even though there is no chance of negotiation. The corporation has so much more bargaining power than any individual, they offer these so-called "agreements" on a "take it or leave it" basis (a "contract of adhesion" in legal terms).
Also, usually they have clauses saying that the arbitration clause "survives" the relationship. So in other words, it applies to any controversy related to your relations with the company, even after you're no longer a customer. | |
|
| | 
Morac
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ
·Comcast
| Re: How about... Except in this case no "agreement" was ever made. Comcast can't just change the terms of service on their end and never tell you. You have to "agree" (in some way or form) to the terms.
--
The Comcast Disney Avatar has been retired. | |
|
| | |
swhx7
Premium
join:2006-07-23
Elbonia
·RoadRunner Cable
| Re: How about... Usually the so-called "agreement" is the customer continuing to use the service after the provider changes the terms. Credit-card-issuing banks do this every few months: they send a little flyer with a lot of tiny print, and it says if you don't close your account, or if you use it after this is sent to you, you've thereby consented to the new terms. With software companies, online stores, etc. the terms may be only online and not even sent to you, and the "fine print" itself declares that this is adequate notice.
It's totally one-sided, and these may not be real contracts in a philosophical sense, but legally they are. At least, the courts usually uphold these arrangements. | |
|
quatrix
join:2005-02-11
Davie, FL
| People don't understand ROI Is it really worth a few minutes of your time for the 1-in-1,000,000 chance that you'll sue Comcast? Is it worth a couple of bucks for a lottery ticket that has no chance in hell of winning? A hundred dollars for a warranty that will very likely be worth less than that amount to you? Sure, each one isn't a big deal, but they add up to a lot of time and money.
And is it worth a few minutes of my time to post this? If it helps some people stop wasting time, then yes. | |
|
|
swhx7
Premium
join:2006-07-23
Elbonia
·RoadRunner Cable
| Re: People don't understand ROI There's a slight chance you'll want to make some sort of claim against Comcast, and a slight chance they'll make some sort of claim against you.
The rational way to evaluate it is: ask what is the worst that can happen, and multiply by the probability, and likewise for the second-worst, and so on, down to the point where you don't care. The integral of this series is the probable cost of either litigation or arbitration.
The worst case might be, for example, they arbitrarily add a million dollars to your bill and won't admit it's a mistake. Would you rather have such a case decided by the laws of the USA and your state, or by the judgment of an arbitrator (who might be Comcast-friendly), without any constraint of laws?
Of course it's improbable. But there are myriad other things that could happen which would cost more or less. Court cases can be expensive, but in some scenarios it would be worth it.
I think it's better to have the choice. | |
|
|
Chuckles
Premium
join:2006-03-04
Saint Paul, MN | I just hate the arbitration process and never want to be bound to have to use it. What warranty? 
--
kustomerservice.net | |
|
newview
Ex .. Ex .. Exactly
Premium
join:2001-10-01
Parsonsburg, MD
| Just for the record . . .
Opted Out as of 7/27/07 |
| |
|
|
Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL
| Contact your Congressmen - Get back our rights Senator Russ Feingold introduced the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007. »thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:S.1782:
The bill aims to void pre-dispute mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer and employment agreements, which require an individual to go through arbitration instead of civil court.
Contact your Senators and Congressman and tell them to support S 1782. | |
|
|
|
|
Retain Your Right to Sue Comcast
·
·
·
Montgomery County MD Council recommends opting out
·