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Don't Lose $2,000 to Comcast Business

kellegous.com

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Re: Don't Lose $2,000 to Comcast Business

#11

Post by kellegous »

Someone1234 wrote: post #7

I hate Comcast, but what an absolute load of nonsense: > I asked her what I needed to do and her response left me stunned. She explained that even though they were no longer able to uphold their part of the contract, I would still needed to pay them. YOU are moving. YOU are trying to change the terms of the agreement, not them. If you stay in your current home I'm sure they would happily continue to provide you servi…

The point is that changing the service location is not covered in the contract. I wrote the article to warn people that Comcast believes this is covered in the contract and will enforce it. So we fundamentally disagree here on whether I'm changing the terms of the agreement. Maybe my expectations are misguided, but I would expect that conditions where they do not give me service and I continue to pay (especially a common one like moving an office to a non-servicable area) it would be explicitly included in the ToS. This is the reason that I think warning people is a legitimate thing to do.

Re: Don't Lose $2,000 to Comcast Business

#12

Post by Someone1234 »

kellegous wrote: post #11
Someone1234 wrote: post #7

I hate Comcast, but what an absolute load of nonsense: > I asked her what I needed to do and her response left me stunned. She explained that even though they were no longer able to uphold their part of the contract, I would still needed to pay them. YOU are moving. YOU are trying to change the terms of the agreement, not them. If you stay in your current home I'm sure they would happily continue to provide you servi…

The point is that changing the service location is not covered in the contract. I wrote the article to warn people that Comcast believes this is covered in the contract and will enforce it. So we fundamentally disagree here on whether I'm changing the terms of the agreement. Maybe my expectations are misguided, but I would expect that conditions where they do not give me service and I continue to pay (especially a co…

> I wrote the article to warn people that Comcast believes this is covered in the contract and will enforce it

But they aren't enforcing the service location, they're enforcing your minimum term, which is covered in the contract. You can continue to receive service at the current service location if you wish. Instead you're trying to terminate the contract early.

> Maybe my expectations are misguided, but I would expect that conditions where they do not give me service and I continue to pay (especially a common one like moving an office to a non-servicable area) it would be explicitly included in the ToS.

Then what happens if someone starts a new service, Comcast pays the installation costs, and then that individual moves a month later. Comcast would be out the full cost of the installation.

Now, 36 months is absolute greed on Comcasts part, I'm sure they recoup the cost of installation after less than a year. However in principle Comcast deserve to get reimbursed for the full cost of the installation regardless of if someone moves or not.

Re: Don't Lose $2,000 to Comcast Business

#13

Post by [deleted] »

kellegous wrote: post #11
Someone1234 wrote: post #7

I hate Comcast, but what an absolute load of nonsense: > I asked her what I needed to do and her response left me stunned. She explained that even though they were no longer able to uphold their part of the contract, I would still needed to pay them. YOU are moving. YOU are trying to change the terms of the agreement, not them. If you stay in your current home I'm sure they would happily continue to provide you servi…

The point is that changing the service location is not covered in the contract. I wrote the article to warn people that Comcast believes this is covered in the contract and will enforce it. So we fundamentally disagree here on whether I'm changing the terms of the agreement. Maybe my expectations are misguided, but I would expect that conditions where they do not give me service and I continue to pay (especially a co…

[deleted]

Re: Don't Lose $2,000 to Comcast Business

#14

Post by [deleted] »

pm24601 wrote: post #9
Arzh wrote: post #5

It's $2000 to break your contract. It is not really Comcast's fault that you are moving to an area they don't service, and if you want to cancel the contract you have to pay the fee. Makes total sense to me.

Maybe ... but think about this: is there any provision in the contract where if Comcast fails to deliver Comcast is on the hook for $2K? If not may it is time for you to recognize that the contracts that are 1-sided, screwage contracts don't deserve to be respected.

[deleted]

Re: Don't Lose $2,000 to Comcast Business

#15

Post by [deleted] »

pm24601 wrote: post #8

I agree you were screwed. But you were screwed because you didn't recognize that: * contracts where you as have no negotiation leverage to change the terms of the deal - are always bad. * business-to-consumer contracts are always set up to maximize the screwage. The contracts were written by Comcast's lawyers to protect Comcast. * lawyers (that you hire) are your friend. I have had to sign screwage contracts. In my c…

[deleted]

Re: Don't Lose $2,000 to Comcast Business

#16

Post by kellegous »

Someone1234 wrote: post #12
kellegous wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point is that changing the service location is not covered in the contract. I wrote the article to warn people that Comcast believes this is covered in the contract and will enforce it. So we fundamentally disagree here on whether I'm changing the terms of the agreement. Maybe my expectations are misguided, but I would expect that conditions where they do not give me service and I continue to pay (especially a co…

> I wrote the article to warn people that Comcast believes this is covered in the contract and will enforce it But they aren't enforcing the service location, they're enforcing your minimum term, which is covered in the contract. You can continue to receive service at the current service location if you wish. Instead you're trying to terminate the contract early. > Maybe my expectations are misguided, but I would exp…

I understand your perspective, but I still think this is a reasonable thing to warn people about.

Re: Don't Lose $2,000 to Comcast Business

#17

Post by mrgriscom »

elecengin wrote: post #3
mrgriscom wrote: post #2

So you moved out of the service area and complained that they could not continue to provide you service? And that you had signed a contract stating you would be provided service for 36 months?

You are right, but I think Comcast Business sits at a weird intersection between consumer and business. In a business context, for example, many dark fiber deals have terms this way - it is expected. I have suffered when a cross-country line with a long minimum term was no longer needed, but I knew what I was getting into. On the other hand, most people expect to get out of their home phone deal when they move. The a…

There are plenty of analogues to the consumer world so I don't think there is any naivete to be taken advantage of. Cell phone contracts have pretty strict cancellation terms and I wouldn't expect "I'm moving to where you don't provide service" to have much more weight than "I don't want to have cell phone service anymore". I've had to eat the remaining cost on a gym membership contract when I moved away.
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