Comcast Digital Phone Service, Bartlett, IL - phone dialtone frequently dead - unable to get consistant service provided

# 14 for October 9, 2003

Complaints.com received the following on October 8, 2003:

From:

RE: Comcast Digital Phone Service, Bartlett, IL - phone dialtone frequently dead - unable to get consistant service provided

I am at the end of my rope (or should I say cable)!! I have Comcast Digital phone service, 2 lines into my home. One is for phone use and one is dedicated usage for my computer dial up.

The problem is at any given time I can pick up my phone or try to dial up on my computer and have no dial tone! This has been happening for a year! NOTE: a year ago it was then AT&T, until they were bought out by Comcast.

Well whether you want to call it AT&T still or the new Comcast, the service is less than very poor, it is non existent!!

I am in Illinois, and maybe its a good thing their offices are not local because I would be on their front stoop with a baseball bat in hand.

Everytime I call about the no dial tone problem, I get the same liturgy of excuses and apologies (they all must have a crib sheet they recite from).

Just this weekend, the phone was yet again dead at 5pm on Sat, I called using my cell phone, and got the same old "blah blah blah". Phone was dead till about 3pm on Sunday. About 4 pm on Sunday a Technician knocks at the door. He checks the outside lines and finds no problem, and ironically says that this type of problem should be checked out while it is happening! OH SURE!!

But when you call customer service you are told they will have someone out in 24 hours, and by that time it is usually working again!! So, the guy leaves, I go back to my computer and boom about 5pm sunday no dial tone again! I AGAIN call customer service telling them to call back that technician since he said it should be checked while the problem is happening, they tell me that that office is closed and they cannot contact the techs until Monday!!

So, anyone out there, what do I do now!! My blood pressure is rising to dangerous levels.

Oh, by the way, when the phone is dead, if someone happens to try to call in to my home phone, they get a recording "all circuits are busy now"... So, what does that say to you? Says to me that it is an area problem and not just my phone!

Frustrated in Illinois!!!!!

email - Email User

I live in Bartlett Il. Since I wrote this letter another tech came out on 10/1, and just by luck (or bad luck in my case), the phone was dead again! He seemed to be very knowledgeable. It seems I had a defective fitting on the cable connection going into my home and the box that was put in my home by AT&T was either old or defective, so he switched that out. It now has been a week and no problems!

Comcast has yet to send someone out to bury the cable better (I forgot to mention this re-occuring problem). The cables run along a fence line in the dirt just before the asphalt drive along the back of the property.

It is barely covered by a little dirt and stone and now I have to be very careful going through the back gate so that I don't trip on the cable. But I am not holding my breath waiting for them to resolve that problem, yet another item they just can't seem to get fixed completely.