Comcast seems hard at work making sure it collects all the monthly modem rental fees it can. I’ve already chronicled the firm sending out unwanted modems to consumers, and charging for them; and Comcast’s fee increase from $8 to$10. Here’s comes another fee-capturing technique to watch for:
Comcast is conducting audits and sending letters to consumers, saying it has added $10 monthly fees because the consumers aren’t paying to rent their modems. Problem is, at least some of the letters are going to consumers who own their own modems. Some say when they complain, the firm is demanding proof, such as a modem purchase receipt. Others worry that the fee will appear despite assurances from Comcast customer relations.
“They sent me a letter saying they’d audited my account and discovered I wasn’t paying a monthly fee for my modem (true), so on my next bill, I’d start to see the … charge,”a customer named Kathy wrote to me. “When I called, the Customer Solutions person was puzzled, as my account clearly says I have a customer-owned modem. It’ll be my job to watch my bill and make sure there are no extra charges. Makes me wonder how many other people they’re billing incorrectly.”
There is a smattering of complaints around the web about these audit letters. One particularly frustrating narrative was left on Comcast’s own message boards, from a consumer who says he first received the audit letter in October.
“I called the number on the letter and explained this is a mistake. I was told that my account was flagged as customer-owned modem and the problem was fixed. Whatever they did apparently involved resetting my modem and I wasn’t able to get back online. So I spent another hour or so on the phone trying to get back online. Ok, that was frustrating but problem solved..right? Nope, letter No. 2 arrived that next month,” the consumers writes. Again, after calling to complain, the customer was knocked offline for a while. Then, on Jan. 5, a third threatening letter appeared.
“I feel I’ve exhausted every option available to me. I’m tired of going through this dance every month. I’ve spent far too much of my time trying to fix this. So here’s one final Hail Mary pass: Can anyone fix this or is it time for me and Comcast to part ways?”
I contacted Comcast public relations about the audit letters. Spokesman Charlie Douglas apologized for the trouble the consumers were experiencing but did not offer a sense of the scope of the audit letters.
“It was triggered due to inconsistent flags in our billing system about the status of her modem,” Douglas wrote about Kathy’s modem letter. “One flag showed it to be a customer owned device, but a second flag indicated it was a leased modem. The team reviewed the information and confirmed (Kathy) owns her own modem and the letter should not have been sent to her,” he said. “We have reviewed our internal review processes to prevent further instances of similar cases happening going forward (with conflicting flags) so that additional letters will not be sent out.”
If you are a Comcast customer with your own modem, be on the lookout for an audit letter. And as always, watch your bill carefully for surprise fees, in case you miss the letter.
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