Comcast fees and cable cards

Are you negotiating in an Xfinity Store or ..................................? Much I believe might depend on the where.

I'll need to be very concerned 7/21 and the newest 'Rate Card' is very difficult to sort out options etc.

 

I believe the phone is a mistake. If there's an Xfinity Store anywhere near you and it has hours I'd make an appointment and do it there.

 

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We have competition in Burlington VT with Burlington Telecom. The thing is (stability and quality of the fiber aside) that to get the same "stuff" we have now would be a little bit more than comcast. My plan is if the move to IP comes sooner than later here or if my Bolt has significant issues that I am not capable of fixing then I would prob make the switch then.

 

Try Twitter to ComcastCares if phone call doesn't work, just re-upped my 2-year deal for $130/mo. all-in for HSI+cable. Painless but takes longer than a phone call.

Also when you call select cancel/downgrade service option to get a retention rep more likely to cut you a deal. But if you don't want a contract you won't get a great deal IMO - they do have 1-year contracts so it's no biggie.

 

Also, bear in mind that the contractual penalties entailed in the Comcast bundled agreements are only imposed if you want to cancel ALL of your Comcast services prior to term. You can drop HSI or CATV (or both if you keep yet another service such as, say, Home Security) or sign up for a new agreement at different tiers of service without penalty.

I have yet to encounter a situation where Comcast will not waive any penalties as long as you either retain one of their services or agree to a new contract.

 

Your experience SHOULD be typical as everything you mentioned is standardized under the current Simple & Easy scheme.

Now, IF all you have is Performance Starter (25Mbps) and Extra with no other services or equipment, that bundled service fee should amount to $80 per month, or roughly $115 p.m. with all fees and taxes starting January 1 (perhaps even less counting the $15 COE credit for your two CableCARDs). And you can shave another $10 off if you sign a 12-month agreement; unless you anticipate cancelling ALL of your Comcast services within the next year, it is to your advantage to go with the agreement. Although it doesn't appear that you would benefit much from it, you could even bump your HSI tier up to Performance (100Mbps) with a 12-month agreement and still save $5 p.m. over your current no-contract deal. Or, here's another wrinkle: you could bump your HSI up to Blast! (200Mbps) and lock in the price for 24 months for the same price ($80) that you are paying now. That way you would not have to worry about service price increases or renegotiating for the next two years and you would have plenty of broadband room to grow. And with this deal, you could get another $10 discount if you added (or already have) Xfinity Mobile cell phone service.

FWIW, you can change or cancel any arrangements you make within the first 30 days without penalty.

 

Not true if you're moving to an area where Comcast is NOT offered, they WILL let you out of your contract w/out penalty. They WILL require you to send in proof of your new address...but other than that, no big deal to get out. A friend of mine had Comcast down here on a contract & when he moved to a condo in Chicago where Comcast was NOT offered, when he called to disconnect, they said they would require the proof; when he did then they canceled the contract & any penalties.

 

What you now have is exactly as I described in my previous post.

Digital Starter is a legacy package, i.e., it is no longer offered in those areas like yours and mine that have transitioned to the Simple & Easy scheme (N.B.: I myself still have Digital Starter, but that is because my agreement runs through May of next year). Under S&E there are just three tiers of Comcast CATV service: Basic, Extra, and Preferred, with Extra being the equivalent of Digital Starter. Those missing channels might have migrated to one of the add-on packs, such as More Sports & Entertainment, that entail an additional monthly fee.

As for Streampix, that is an IP-only series of channels that is included in your Extra pack (there should be no charge for it). You will need to use the Xfinity Stream app or web portal to view them (see screenshot below). The 20 hours of cloud storage likewise is only accessible through the app since you are not using any of Comcast's X1 TV boxes.



Regarding the costs that you were quoted by the Comcast rep, the system is designed to reflect fees at the time of the order; future increases do not factor unless you ask for them expressly or the rep voluntarily offers a look-ahead.

Assuming your new deal is already in effect, you should be able to verify the operability of your CableCARDs by testing out reception on your TiVos. If there is any reception issue, contact Comcast for assistance.

Please refer back to my previous post for further guidance as to your options and further discount opportunities. Note that without a term agreement you are subject to service fee increases from month to month; if you sign a 12- or 24-month agreement before the end of this month you will not incur any increase for the HSI or CATV services (although you are not protected from increases to BTV or RSN or other "pass-on" fees such as the Franchise Fee) through the end date of your agreement AND you will save another $10 per month. It's your choice.

 

Small correction: Streampix is Xfinity's own ad-free on-demand service that comes with just about all of their cable TV packages. I don't think it has its own app, it just exists in their native on-demand platform in X1/Flex and the Xfinity Stream app. (I always figured Streampix would just get shut down and absorbed into Peacock when that launched but, nope, it still exists, although gets virtually no marketing love from Comcast any more.)

ScreenPix is what you described -- a set of IP-only classic movie channels from Epix.

 

You are correct that Streampix does not have its own app, but then I never intended to imply that it did (although I can see how you could interpret my phrasing that way). I wrote that OP would need to access it via the Xfinity Stream app (I even linked to the pertinent XS support web page for clarification) or web portal since he/she is not using any X1 STBs.

BTW, Streampix is not part of the Digital Starter tier; you have to upgrade to Extra or Preferred (or the legacy equivalent) in order to get it. Or pay $4.99 p.m. for the Streampix add-on pack

 

Yes, the S&E pricing for your deal would be $80 p.m. without an agreement and $70 with a 12-month commitment (that is the current pricing, which is due to increase on January 1, but which increase you could avoid with an agreement). To that amount add any extra programming ("add-on packs" or premium channels), rental equipment, and taxes and fees--less credits or additional discounts.

Here's a screen shot of your bundle with the "always on" discounts: