Small victory against Comcast

Summary: I self-installed Comcast cable internet with my own modem, which avoids installation and hardware rental fees. I called Comcast to tell them to activate my modem, but they pretended there was something wrong with my installation. They sent a technician, who changed nothing and made the same phone call, at which point it started working. They charged me $50 for this technician's time.

note: I started off asking the wrong question because Comcast's HTML billing statements are missing information. It wasn't until I opened the detailed PDF version that I figured out what the extra charge was for. I thought my first payment failed, but they were actually applying the installation charge to the second payment.

chat id: ee9718db-2fa5-485f-9d1d-f008dfc6a3a7
Problem: I paid my monthly bill by checking account online on 9/20/2013. The amount was debited from my account, but still appears on this month's Comcast bill under Previous Balance.
Benjamin > My Issue: I paid my monthly bill by checking account online on 9/20/2013. The amount was debited from my account, but still appears on this month's Comcast bill under Previous Balance.
Cristy > Hello Benjamin, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Cristy. Please give me one moment to review your information.
Cristy > Glad to have you on chat today! I hope you are doing well.
Benjamin > hello
Cristy > Hi, Benjamin.
Cristy > As I understand it, you have questions with your payment, is that correct?
Benjamin > i re-read my bill and the extra $50 seems to be coming from "failed CHSI SIK"
Benjamin > not sure what that is or why i'm being charged for it
Cristy > I understand that you have questions with your bill. I myself would want to have a clear picture when it comes to the services I'm being billed for. I'd be happy to get this resolved for you.
Cristy > To better assist you, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?
Benjamin > go ahead
Cristy > Thank you.
Cristy > For security purposes, can you please verify your account number?
Benjamin >
Cristy > Thank you for the information, Benjamin. Please give me 3 to 4 minutes to access your account. Also, after we resolve your concern, would it be okay if we can go over with your account to check if you're getting the best value for your money?
Benjamin > i'm happy with my current service, that won't be necessary
Cristy > I understand, Benjamin.
Cristy > May I know how much did you pay?
Cristy > You have opened a window for Comcast Support and I don't want to miss an opportunity to support you. Are we still connected?
Benjamin > yes
Cristy > May I know how much did you pay?
Benjamin > my current plan is $65/month after the first 6 months
Benjamin > my first bill was $35
Cristy > Just to confirm, may I know if the technician came to fix the service?
Benjamin > a technician arrived and got it working.
Cristy > Thank you for confirming,
Cristy > Since the technician came to install the service, the Failed SIK charge is a valid charge.
Benjamin > i asked him what i did wrong to make the self-installation fail and he said the cause was that comcast didn't remotely activate my modem. all he did was ask comcast to activate the modem and the internet started working
Cristy > Since the self installation did not work and the technician came, the $50 charge is a valid charge, Benjamin.
Benjamin > i did everything i could to self-install, and comcast prevented it from succeeding from their end, it's not my fault it failed
Benjamin > what should i have done differently?
Benjamin > the technician confirmed it was a problem on comcast's end, not mine
Cristy > I understand, Benjamin.
Cristy > As I can see here, I do not see any notes on the account about it. Since the technician came, the service fee of $50 is a valid charge so we cannot waive it.
Cristy > It is a onetime charge only,
Benjamin > do any customers get a self-install to work without a technician being sent?
Benjamin > it seems like an awfully easy way for comcast to get $50 per installation
Cristy > Yes, Benjamin.
Cristy > We only send a technician when a customer failed to install the service and the technician's service has charges applied.
Benjamin > in my case, the customer did not fail to install the service. comcast failed to activate the modem after the customer installed the service
Cristy > Since you were the one installed it, and failed, the Failed SIK charge is really valid, Benjamin.
Benjamin > i didn't fail. when the technician arrived all he did was call comcast and tell them to activate the modem, same as i did
Cristy > You have opened a window for Comcast Support and I don't want to miss an opportunity to support you. Are we still connected?
Cristy > I can try to process half of the charge for you, Benjamin.
Benjamin > that would be great
Cristy > Alright, please give me 3-5 minutes to process it.
Cristy > Thank you for patiently waiting.
Cristy > Benjamin, I already process the credit of $25 in your acocunt.
Cristy > This will reflect on your next billing statemnt.
Benjamin > thanks
Benjamin > do you know when the online account balance page will update?
Cristy > You are most welcome.
Cristy > To recap, we have resolved your issue by processing a credit of $25 in your account.
Cristy > it will be updated on your next billing date, Benjamin.
Benjamin > ok
Cristy > Will there be anything else i can assist you further?
Benjamin > no, that's it
Cristy > Great!
Cristy > At the end of this chat, there will be a short survey that will let us know if I was able to resolved your concerns and on how I assisted you today. If you have other comments/complaints for Comcast or other analyst, I would very much appreciate if you state your concern on the verbatim part and not include it in the rating since the survey is about how I was able to assist and resolve your concern.
Cristy > If you again need assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us through Live Chat which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week or you can also reach us through our Hotline at 1- 888-739-1379. Comcast also offers great FAQ and Help forums located at www.Comcast.net to help you solve many issues on your own. Don't forget, you can watch full TV shows and movies online, check out www.xfinitytv.com for more information. Thank you for contacting Comcast! We appreciate your business!
Cristy > Have a great day! Take care and be safe.
Benjamin > you have a great day too
Cristy > Thank you.