Comcast Cable Card users - billing question

[jkalnin]

I am trying to see if Comcast is being shady or just nickel and diming me...

Nutshell - my cablecard was/is free, but I am now seeing a $9 "additional box" service fee on my bill. I already have one digital box from Comcast for PPV and On Demand stuff, and on another TV I have my TivoHD with the cablecard installed.

Does anyone else here get charged for service to their TivoHD box? Is this common, or are they just sucking me dry? When I called Comcast they said the charge is for service to the box (the TivoHD is considered a digital box), which sounds like a load of BS to me.

[NA9D]

That is a load of BS unless it's a Comcast Tivo box. If it's an HD or S3, t's not their box and they can't charge you for having it on your system. If you are getting digital cable already then the use of the box with the cable card is free for the first cable card. Additional cable cards on your account are $5.95 each (or at least they are here).

[jakerock]

The Comcast website actually talks about what they should be charging you for a Tivo and multiple cards.

http://www.comcast.com/customers/faq/FaqDetails.ashx?ID=4156

Comcast's pricing policy provides your first CableCARD for free. This applies to TVs and the TiVo Series 3 HD set-top box. Any additional CableCARDs that are required on the same outlet will be subject to a nominal charge. No additional cards are required for the TV so there is not a charge.

Here is another snippet:
How much will I be charged to use a CableCARD?

There is no charge for the first CableCARD that you use as it is already included in the primary outlet fee. If you have a multi-card device on the same outlet (i.e. TiVo Series 3 or two Digital Cable Tuners connected to the same personal computer), you will be charged an additional regulated fee of up to $1.91 for the second CableCARD.

If additional CableCARDs are needed for other devices that are installed on additional outlets, you will not be charged for the first CableCARD installed on this outlet as the cost is included in the additional outlet fee. In addition to the cost of the digital cable service, you will be charged a regulated fee of up to $1.91 for the second CableCARD on the additional outlet.

**Note: The same pricing schedule will be applicable to additional outlets with multi-CableCARD devices, e.g. no charge for the first CableCARD on the third outlet and an additional regulated fee of up to $1.91 for the second CableCARD in addition to the digital service charge.

Disclaimer: Regulated Prices quoted above may not apply in all markets. Please call 1-800-COMCAST to learn more about Regulated Prices for your area.

(Search for Tivo on Comcast.com for more information in a variety of 'help' topics.)

I just went through a couple months of trying to get my bill fixed. They were charging me $5 for each of three cable cards and listing them as outlet fees. I argued I should be paying at most $5 for two "outlets" and a small charge for the second card in my Tivo. I finally emailed their head CS guy (Rick Germano - SVP Customer Operations, Comcast) you can find him by going to "contact us" on their website. He supposedly straightened out the billing situation and gave me a month's credit since I had already gone through several phone calls to Comcast. (I say supposedly only because I have not gotten this months bill.)

Now that he got it fixed (hopefully) I just changed my service by adding another Tivo HD so it is entirely likely that I will be repeating this process again.

Good luck!

[jkalnin]

Let me clear this up a bit. On my bill it says cable card - $0. Then on the next line it says:
Digital Plus Additional Outlet - $8.90

So they are charging me for an additional outlet? Sounds like a made-up fee to get more of my money.

[NA9D]

They tried to tell me that the "outlet" term meant your whole home and that you only get 1 free cablecard per account. I'm going to have to follow-up on that...

Thanks for the info...

[jakerock]

Digital Plus Additional Outlet - $8.90

So they are charging me for an additional outlet? Sounds like a made-up fee to get more of my money.

Yes the fee is designed to get more of your money. :) The question is can they charge you for individual digital outlets and I don't know the answer to that. They were doing that to me and I assumed they could, but were also charging my second Tivo HD card as an outlet which I assumed was wrong. When the guy went in and fixed things, he made it sound like I shouldn't be charge for any 'additional outlets' but just a bunch of 'additional cards' at $1.50 each.

$8.90 seems excessive by any stretch of the imagination. That is more than I would be paying for a cable box from Comcast (which would include the additional outlet fee if it applied).

[jkalnin]

They need to be more clear about the outlet charge - $8.90 a month for them to do absolutely nothing seems like a rip-off to me, but I have no real billing knowledge to argue with the reps. That's why I came here, and thanks for all the info!

[MScottC]

They have tried this BS on my bill over and over again... I keep having to call up and argue this out with them... "I DO NOT have a second outlet, I DO NOT have 2 boxes, I don't even have ONE BOX." Every month its a new bill with them and every month it seems like it's hours on the phone with them. I can NOT wait till FIOS comes my way.

[jkalnin]

But I do have two outlets, so maybe the charge is correct? I have one TV with the digital box, and another with the TivoHD and cablecard. It just seems like an excessive amount for a box I already paid for.

[Hokie-Dave]

But I do have two outlets, so maybe the charge is correct? I have one TV with the digital box, and another with the TivoHD and cablecard. It just seems like an excessive amount for a box I already paid for.


I think you just hit the nail on the head. The cable card is "free" in place of their digital box. Unfortunately you don't get ppv or on demand that way. If you want those, I think you need to retain the "2nd" outlet and use their box.

I didn't keep the digital box when they installed my cable card, so my bill is just the digital tier + HD.

[NA9D]

But I do have two outlets, so maybe the charge is correct? I have one TV with the digital box, and another with the TivoHD and cablecard. It just seems like an excessive amount for a box I already paid for.

For , Comcast HD, I pay $7 a month for HD service. I also have an HD cable box for which I pay $7 a month. The first cable card is free.

You should ONLY have to pay for the service AND whatever number of boxes you rent from them. You do NOT have to pay a per outlet charge.

[dianebrat]

Let me clear this up a bit. On my bill it says cable card - $0. Then on the next line it says:
Digital Plus Additional Outlet - $8.90

So they are charging me for an additional outlet? Sounds like a made-up fee to get more of my money.

For comparison sake, I have Comcast in Malden, MA
They used to word it differently, but with the last round of pricing changes it's First CableCARD free, and now $5 for the ADDL Digital Outlet.
It used to be First card free, and then CableCARD A/O (betting additional outlet) $2.75

This is also in line for the January price increases they socked us with.

Diane

[c3]

An "outlet" includes one set top box OR one CableCard. One outlet is included as part of the Comcast cable service, and each additional outlet is ~$7 here.

[kdmorse]

In our area, they only tack on charges by the outlet, not the cablecard, and the rules are pretty simple.

A cablecard in an existing device (ie, second card in a tivo) is *not* an outlet. So your second cable card doesn't cost you anything.

An additional Tivo *is* and additional outlet.

Two Tivos. Four cablecards. One additional outlet fee.

-Ken

[NA9D]

An "outlet" includes one set top box OR one CableCard. One outlet is included as part of the Comcast cable service, and each additional outlet is ~$7 here.

That's crap. I can split my cable line as many times as I want. They have no control over how many "outlets" I have...

[gear]

For comparison sake, I have Comcast in Malden, MA
They used to word it differently, but with the last round of pricing changes it's First CableCARD free, and now $5 for the ADDL Digital Outlet.
It used to be First card free, and then CableCARD A/O (betting additional outlet) $2.75

This is also in line for the January price increases they socked us with.

Diane

Diane,
Same prices up here in Beverly. Does anyone else find it odd that Comcast has so many different pricing schemes throughout the country?

[jlb]

I'm on Comcast here in Newburyport. I just have the lifeline service at $10/month. I have an M-series card. My bill has not changed. First card free, as expected, no A/O charge or anything else.

And my usual $.02.......I pay $10/month and I get local HD. By law, on the lifeline (and maybe basic) service, they are required to pass the local QAM HD channels for free. So, by buying a new HDTV, getting a HD TiVo, and 1 free cable card, I now get awesome local HD, and my bill has not changed.

[jkalnin]

So when everything goes digital and you need a converter box on every TV in the house, Comcast is going to rake in another $9 plus the digital box fee for every TV that gets cable. I see most of you pay under $7 for the ADDT outlet fee, so I guess my local comcast (outside Philadelphia) is one of the more expensive branches.

Time to call and complain again, maybe I'll get free HBO for a few months.

[lessd]

That's crap. I can split my cable line as many times as I want. They have no control over how many "outlets" I have...

The cable cos started to charge for each outlet when they first started to install cable in 70s and 80s but they found most people just took one outlet than put in their own in without paying the cable co any extra money for the additional outlets. It was easy to purchase cable amps if you needed to split the signal many times. The cable co than changed their pricing to $14 (one time charge) for each addition outlet when first installing cable in your home, they would provide the amp if needed. For most people this was reasonable as the cable co provided the cable and jack. With the cable box that you had to use for premium channels (analog) they just rented the box for a few $ and you paid for your HBO etc that would work in all the rented cable boxes in your home. With digital the total picture changed as the Cable cos could now, for the first time, control how many outlets were getting digital cable so they charged for each outlet over one (in my area its $5) 1st cable card free 2nd CC used in the same outlet $1.50. Friends that don't use TiVo are not happy that a 2nd digital HD box cost more than the first, but that $5 outlet charge is the reason. I think our local collage is giving a course on cable co charges, you can get PHD credit for taking this course.

[sfhub]

That's crap. I can split my cable line as many times as I want. They have no control over how many "outlets" I have...
They have complete control if you want to watch encrypted digital channels.

What C3 said is correct for most Comcast areas. There are some variations.

Internally the outlet fee actually has 2 components, a digital mirror fee for the programming and an equipment fee. Most Comcast areas don't break it out and simply annotate as additional digital outlet fee.

Every package includes one free outlet. The equipment fee silently bundled into that outlet covers a standard STB or CableCARD, your choice (additional charges for cable-provided HD/PVR equipment). In many areas, there is a special price (around $1.79-$2.00) for a second CableCARD in the same device (ie TiVo that needs 2 cards)

If you have a 2nd (3rd, 4th, etc.) device, they charge you an additional digital outlet fee. Since this fee silently bundles in the equipment fee, they claim the CableCARDs and STBs are "free"

It's just a shell game of "hide the charge"

[sfhub]

And my usual $.02.......I pay $10/month and I get local HD. By law, on the lifeline (and maybe basic) service, they are required to pass the local QAM HD channels for free.
They are required to place broadcast locals (digital/analog) that they carry in the basic tier. Basic tier cannot be encrypted. The law doesn't say anything about HD or free. You pay for the basic tier and you get the broadcast locals. You can view that as "free" because there is no additional charge, but the wording of the law is different.

[nirisahn]

I'm glad I read this thread. I recently got my first bill after having my cable card installed and they are charging me for the card. It's an m card, so I only have 1 card and should not be getting charged. I'm on the phone with customer service as I type and I'm walking her through the FAQ that's linked to in post #3 because she's insisting I have to pay for the card.

Update. Just got off the phone. She checked the FAQ and then talked to a supervisor. She said the FAQ is incorrect and that they'll be contacting the web design department to update it. In the meantime, she credited me $18.00 to cover the cost of the cablecard for one year. I asked why if the cablecard is free if I stick directly into a tv, do I have to pay for it if I stick it in a Tivo. She said "that's just the way it is". Sounds like a bunch of hooey to me.

Edit: I did a search in the Comcast FAQ for 'cablecard' and there are two different questions that mention that the first cablecard is free.

[NA9D]

The first cablecard is indeed free.

The real question is it one cablecard per household or one per outlet?

[c3]

The real question is it one cablecard per household or one per outlet?

If you have 100 TiVos, would Comcast give you 100 CableCards for free?

The first CableCard is free because the first outlet is "free". One CableCard rental is included in each outlet fee. Second CableCard for each outlet is $1.79 in my area.

[sfhub]

As mentioned before, you get one "free" access device (standard STB or CableCARD) per digital outlet. You get one outlet included with any package. Digital outlets after the first are charged for separately.