Comcast rep 'Federal regulations prohibit self install of Cablecard'

[jjarmoc]

Believe it or not, when calling for my Cablecards, the comcast rep told me self installation is prohibited by FEDERAL LAW! When I asked him for documentation, or citation of what law, specifically, calls for this he backed off.

10/9 is my install date.. holy cow.

[Gregor]

Sad thing is, it probably worked for other customers.

When I asked at Comcast's office why I couldn't self install the cards, I was told "because it always has problems and we have to roll the truck anyway". You would think that they would encourage folks to try installing them themselves on the off chance it might work, wouldn't you?

[jfh3]

Thanks for the laugh.

Remind the rep that Comcast reports to the FCC quarterly, though the industry association, that they permit self-installs. Only 3% at the moment, but still.

[jjarmoc]

Thanks for the laugh.

Remind the rep that Comcast reports to the FCC quarterly, though the industry association, that they permit self-installs. Only 3% at the moment, but still.


Awesome. Do you have a link to (or know where I can find) the FCC report? If so, I just might call back, and insist they waive the install fee. That'd be awesome!

[HomieG]

Sad thing is, it probably worked for other customers.

When I asked at Comcast's office why I couldn't self install the cards, I was told "because it always has problems and we have to roll the truck anyway". You would think that they would encourage folks to try installing them themselves on the off chance it might work, wouldn't you?


Funny, they had seven truck rolls to my place. Nobody could get the card to work. I finally called and asked them if the HOST ID was correct. They didn't have one in their system. Read it to them, they re-hit the card, and voila, it worked. Yes, they credited the $29.50 truck roll for this stupid customer. In fact, I'd like to know how much it cost them to send seven useless techs out here. Fools.

[Unix_Beard]

Sad thing is, it probably worked for other customers.

When I asked at Comcast's office why I couldn't self install the cards, I was told "because it always has problems and we have to roll the truck anyway". You would think that they would encourage folks to try installing them themselves on the off chance it might work, wouldn't you?

I have a ma and pa cable company and they just give the cards out. I installed it in my TV a month ago, called their activation number and that was it. Its not rocket science.

[HomieG]

Its not rocket science.

It is for their installers, so that's what they hear.

[TiVoMonkey]

In fact, I'd like to know how much it cost them to send seven useless techs out here. Fools.

Cable companies say that it costs them at least $50 to roll a truck for a trouble call.

[HomieG]

Cable companies say that it costs them at least $50 to roll a truck for a trouble call.

So they spent at least $350 for the seven techs to come out here and NOT get the CableCARD working. I imagine they could have spend less than that to actually train one of them. All I can do is laugh at this.

[SystemJinx]

I stopped by my local Comcast office and they handed me 2 cards, no charge.

[jjarmoc]

I found the quarterly report filed with the FCC that was referred to earlier in the thread. This confirms that Comcast does allow self installs (to some degree) and that there should be no charge for cablecards. Note that it's hosted on fcc.gov, and has a fairly recent filing date.

This really conflicts with what the Comcast rep told me. I'll probably call them back and try again once I calm down enough to be rational on the phone :)

http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6518372521