February 18, Dear Commissioner

Transcription

1 February 18, 2016 Dear Commissioner The next Telecommunications Commission meeting is Wednesday, February 24 at 7 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, and will be carried live on Civic TV channel 17. If you can t attend the meeting, please let me know. Documents in this packet include: Agenda for 2/24/ Work Plan Minutes: 12/9/15 Comcast complaints logged by City staff CenturyLink complaints logged by City staff Memo: 2015 ParkTV Program Report Letter from Comcast 2/12/16 re: Customer Set-top Boxes Letter from Comcast 1/11/16 re: Crossings TV Letter from Comcast 12/11/15 re: correction of 12/10/15 letter Letter from Comcast 12/10/15 re: OWN, RLTV, WDAF If you have any questions, please call me at Very truly yours, Reg Dunlap

2 Agenda St. Louis Park Telecommunications Advisory Commission Meeting of February 24, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. City Council Chambers 1. Call to order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Minutes A. Telecommunications Commission minutes: December 9, Adoption of Agenda 5. Public Comment 6. Reports & Discussion A. Park TV marketing, publicity & program report B. Cable TV technology presentation, including fiber optic technology C. Brainstorm future topics for Commission action, based on discussion at the Council Study Session February 22 D. Comcast HD enhancements and set-top box exchanges E. Complaint logs 7. Communications from the Chair, Commissioners and City staff 8. Adjournment Auxiliary aids for individuals with disabilities are available upon request. To make arrangements, please call the Cable TV Department at 952/ (TDD 952/ ) at least 96 hours in advance of meeting.

3 2016 Telecommunications Advisory Commission Work Plan January: Written Annual Report to City Council February 22: Meeting with Council at Rec Center Banquet Room February 24: Council Chambers Cable TV technology presentation, including fiber optic technology Park TV marketing, publicity & program report Brainstorm future topics for Commission action, based on discussion at the Council Study Session February 22 April 2-15: Park TV Producer and Volunteer Recognition Event May 11 Review Comcast complaints and first quarter complaint log Review staff report on CenturyLink first quarter (establish baseline of possible Prism customers, set the standard for 15% additional buildout) July 27 Review staff report on CenturyLink second quarter Tour of CenturyLink facility? Possible demonstration of fiber splicing October 26 Save the date, if needed Tour Comcast facility? December 14 Customer service update from Comcast Cable company presentation on new cable rates and/or changes in the channel lineup (if applicable) Draft Annual Report for 2016 Set meetings for 2017 Draft Work Plan for 2017 Elect Chair & Vice Chair, effective next meeting Proposed Annual Meeting with Council Program

4 UNOFFICIAL MINUTES ST. LOUIS PARK TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MEETING OF DECEMBER 9, 2015 ST. LOUIS PARK COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: OTHERS PRESENT: Maren Anderson, Bruce Browning, Dale Hartman, Toby Keeler and Rolf Peterson Cindy Hoffman and Andrew Reinhardt Reg Dunlap, Civic TV Coordinator; John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator; and, Jacqueline Larson, Communications and Marketing Manager Karly Werner, Comcast Cable; Tyler Middleton, CenturyLink 1. Call to Order Chair Browning called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. 2. Roll Call Present at roll call were Commissioners Anderson, Browning, Hartman, Keeler and Peterson. 3. Approval of Minutes A. Telecommunications Commission minutes: August 12, 2015 It was moved by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Keeler, to approve the minutes of August 12, 2015, without changes. The motion passed 5-0. B. Telecommunications Commission minutes: September 23, 2015 special meeting It was moved by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Keeler, to approve the minutes of September 23, 2015, without changes. The motion passed Adoption of Agenda It was moved by Commissioner Keeler, seconded by Commissioner Peterson, to approve the agenda. The motion passed Public Comment - None 6. Reports & Discussion A. CenturyLink Franchise update Mr. Dunlap stated that the City Council adopted the proposed franchise on November 16 th and staff is in the final stages of getting it finalized with signatures from CenturyLink. The effective date of the franchise is December 12 th. A CenturyLink representative was invited to talk about when service will be available in St. Louis Park.

5 Tyler Middleton, CenturyLink s Vice President for Operations, said service would be available in a matter of days and certainly by the end of year, after they finalizing some things system-wise. Once that is done, residents can go to their web site to see if they are eligible. They will also be mailing marketing brochures to eligible households and have sales teams going door to door. Chair Browning asked how long does it would take to get connected? Mr. Middleton replied statutorily it is seven days, but it usually takes two days. There is a lot of interest and demand. The final date is fluid, but by 12/23 for sure. Chair Browning asked what the cost of service and how it compared to other areas? Mr. Middleton replied the best way to look at options was on their web site and cost depended on what customers wanted to have. Mr. Dunlap asked if they have to be CenturyLink telephone or Internet customers for this service? Mr. Middleton replied telephone was not required, but it runs over their Internet, so they work hand in hand. The pricing offers are the same across Metro area, and eight cities are live right now. Commissioner Keeler asked what channel they got for St. Louis Park? Mr. Dunlap said channel 22. Mr. McHugh noted they came up with the slogan Choose Your View on 22. Mr. Dunlap said he d talked to CenturyLink engineers and had several on-site visits, and it will be 180 days before the local programming equipment is installed. B. Customer service update from Comcast Ms. Werner said that Mr. Dunlap prepared the annual compilation of complaints. Comcast has a multi-year commitment to transform the customer service experience. They are investing $300 million into customer service call center improvements based on customer feedback which will create 5,500 new jobs in U.S. with 400 in the St. Paul office. Hiring will begin in January. Chair Browning asked if there are specialists for customer service? Mr. Werner responded that was the intent a couple years ago where they went from generalists to more specialists and they are still building on that. Ms. Werner noted that bills will be simplified in the next quarter and they are also simplifying the credit approval processes. They will no longer be charging for self install kits for customers. They can send a truck or tech if a customer needs assistance at no charge. They will continue to keep the Commission updated. Chair Browning commented that the co-pilot was interesting and a really great idea. The cable box is a computer, and to be able to walk a customer through a problem is a good use of technology. Will there be another speed increase coming next year for the new

6 DOCSIS standard, and will new modems be required? Ms. Werner replied that they doubled most of the speeds in the fall at no additional price. In November they increased speeds in the most popular bundles. Customers need to reset their modems to take advantage of the new speeds. They will be rolling out the new DOCSIS 3.1 services by the end of 2016, and every customer will have access to 1 gig service with the new modem. Chair Browning asked if there was any idea on the price for the new services, and Ms. Werner said that information isn t available yet. Mr. Dunlap put up a table with tabulated Comcast complaints for the last five years. The total complaint calls so far this year were 73, which so far is down 25% from last year. Total cable service complaints so far are 115 this year, compared with 130 last year, so far down 11%. A trend in the right direction. The commission was asking about the complaints and what they could do about it. They can consider as a work plan item doing this report each quarter to track the trends. If calls went up, they could consider action. Commissioner Peterson asked if previous years could be broken down into quarters? Mr. Dunlap said that he wasn t thinking of tabulating the past quarters, but tabulating the 2016 first quarter. Commissioner Keeler noted that the number of complaints was ½ of a percent of the 13,000 subscribers. Mr. McHugh said Comcast currently had some service areas in certain states that have data tiers. Is there anything like that planned for Minnesota? Ms. Werner replied they are piloting that in a number of markets, but there were no plans at the moment to institute that in the Twin Cities. C. Comcast update on new rates or changes in the channel lineup Chair Browning said that there are no changes at this time. D. Complaint logs Chair Browning said that the numbers look better. Most complaints are typically billing questions. Having a new bill was a good step. Are bills the same on-line versus paper? Ms. Werner replied yes. Mr. Dunlap noted that there would be CenturyLink complaints now as well. E. Proposed Annual Meeting with Council 2/22/16, Draft Annual Report for 2015 and Work Plan for 2016 Mr. Dunlap presented the annual report and work plan, and described the Council s plans for these reports. All Commissions will meet with the City Council on the same night and have a ten-minute presentation and ten minutes for question and answer. This Commission s time slot is 6:40 to 7 p.m., and all commissioners are invited. The report and work plan have been started, but Commissioners need to brainstorm topics they d

7 like to pursue for the work plan. The Cable TV technology presentation was not completed in 2015 because it was an extremely busy year for the Commission. For 2016 he suggested that they consider touring the Golden Valley CenturyLink facility. It would be great to see how the technology differs from Comcast. Chair Browning liked the idea of touring CenturyLink, said that fiber was the ultimate broadband and suggested having a speaker discuss fiber technology. He would like to know how the fiber installations in other cities could impact St. Louis Park. The city has some dark fiber now and he d like to see if the city could utilize existing infrastructure with partners like Park Nicollet s eating disorder institute or with Southwest Light Rail. He said he didn t know if the city should lease it out or wanted to take that responsibility on. Fiber is the future of broadband, and it would be good to find out how much data can move across it, since that s changed over the years. Mr. Middleton said that CenturyLink could arrange a fiber splicing demonstration, and Chair Browning liked that idea. Commissioner Keeler stated that the City Council has a vision for communications and technology engagement. It would be a good exercise to see what elements of that vision that this Commission could take on to provide recommendations or support. Chair Browning indicated they could attend a City Council study session and hear Council s vision and get suggestions. They had articulated that generally, but maybe they need to get more specific about it, and what they would like to see. Mr. McHugh identified second Wednesday s of the month were a conflict for him. Mr. Dunlap said that he started with the fourth Wednesday of each month but some of those weren t available. Mr. Dunlap suggested that Park TV marketing be part of the work plan and get suggestions on February 24 th. He might have some ideas at that point from the graphic artist staff working on the marketing. Chair Browning stated it would be nice to change City Hall signage to reflect Park TV and perhaps have logos on the trucks. Let s toot our own horn a bit. Mr. Dunlap noted that the production van does have significant logos for the local channels. They will be adding a different channel on CenturyLink and that will be part of the marketing update, to educate customers how to find ParkTV there. Chair Browning suggested displaying messages on local electronic signs, like at the church on Minnetonka Boulevard. Mr. Dunlap would update the reports and send to commissioners. F. Set meetings for 2016

8 Commissioners set the 2016 meetings as follows: February 24, May 11, July 27, October 26 and December 14. G. Elect Chair & Vice Chair, effective next meeting Chair Browning opened the nominations for Chair. Commissioner Keeler made a motion to nominate Commissioner Peterson as Chair, Commissioner Anderson seconded. Chair Browning called twice more for nominations. The motion to approve Commissioner Peterson as Chair passed 5-0. Commissioner Browning made a motion to nominate Commissioner Anderson as Vice Chair, Commissioner Keeler seconded. Chair Browning called twice more for nominations. The motion to approve Commissioner Anderson as Vice Chair passed Communication from the Chair, Communications from City Staff Chair Bruce said it was an interesting and fun year, and he was glad to have CenturyLink in the mix now. Commissioner Keeler wanted to recognize the St. Louis Park staff for an excellent job in the negotiations with CenturyLink, and commended the CenturyLink staff as a pleasure to work with. Mr. McHugh distributed programming to date for TV15. He said it was the first year he and Scott Smith had broken 100 programs, and it was a great feeling to be able to go out and find and produce all that programming. Chair Browning felt it was phenomenal that it s primarily two people were doing that programming. Commissioner Keeler wanted to recognize Mr. Dunlap for volunteering to serve on the MACTA Board beginning in 2016 and be the membership committee chair. 8. Adjournment Commissioner Peterson made a motion, Commission Keeler seconded to adjourn at 7:45. The motion passed 5-0. Respectfully submitted by:

9 Amy L. Stegora-Peterson Recording Secretary

10 To: Telecommunications Advisory Commission Re: Park TV Programming Report for 2015 Date: February 17, 2016 From: Reg Dunlap Memo: ParkTV is the brand name for the City of St. Louis Park s Communications Department, headed by Jacquelyn Larson. Staff includes Communication Coordinator Nicole Pribbenow, Program Producers Scott Smith and Paul Broden, Multimedia Artist Misty Lewis, Community TV Coordinator John McHugh and Civic TV Coordinator Reg Dunlap. Communications Intern Mary Schreier has recently resigned to take another position, but was a Life in the Park co-anchor for about five months, after Program Producer Intern Jane Kim left for graduate school in New York. ParkTV produces programs for Comcast cable channels 14, 15, 16, 17 and 96. Each of those channels is also streamed live on the internet, and most of the programs are also available on You Tube. What follows are the new, original program totals over the last two years, both the number of new shows and the total hours of new programming for each channel. Some programs are played back on more than one channel; for example, the 42 Life in the Park shows produced by Scott Smith were played on each channel, for maximum reach. The charts show the variety of programming that is played back on each channel. Channel 14: Educational Access Channel 14 is the Educational Access channel managed by Paul Broden, and runs School Board meetings, high school sports from St. Louis Park High and Benilde-St. Margaret s, and concerts in the schools recorded by John McHugh. Total shows/hours: / /163

11 Channel 15: Community TV Channels 15 and 96 are the Community TV channels managed by John McHugh. Programming is produced by St. Louis Park residents (Westwood Lutheran Church, Cry Holy) or produced elsewhere but submitted by a Park resident (Baby Blue Arts, Country Music Jubilee), or produced by John McHugh or Scott Smith. Total shows/hours: / /282 Channel 16: On Location Channel 16 is the On Location channel, managed by Producer Paul Broden, and shows high school sports, Concerts in the Park and other community events. ParkTV relies on about 20 volunteers that announce, run cameras or otherwise assist these productions. Total shows/hours: / /197

12 Channel 17: Civic TV Channel 17 is the Civic TV channel, programmed by Reg Dunlap, and includes City Council, Planning and Telecommunications Commission meetings and other City topic programming. Total shows/hours: / /84 Channel 96 Community TV #2 Channel 96 is the second Community TV channel managed by John McHugh. Programming includes longer programs produced by St. Louis Park residents or staff. Total shows/hours: / /109 The ParkTV internship program was managed by Misty Lewis and trained 5 interns in 2015 that assisted with about 30 hours of programs for On Location channel 16. In addition, they produced these public service announcements which were seen over 17,000 times on You Tube: Crosswalk Safety Video: Who Has the Right of Way? Concerts in the Park series promo STEP promo

13 Comcast Complaints logged by City staff. To Telecom Commission for 2/24/16 meeting Name/ address Date/ logger Complaint 1 11/22/15 JL 12/1/15 First issue, he tried to change the telephone number listed on the account about a month ago and they still haven t changed it. He disconnected his land line, and wants his cell phone number to be the listed phone number. This comes in handy when calling in for tech support, since the automated system always asks for the telephone number associated with the account. Second issue, yesterday his wifi stopped working. He called, talked to three or four people, none of whom he could understand due to their accents. Asked to be transferred to an English-speaking rep and was told that wasn t possible. The wifi was fixed; rep said his router was out of date and scheduled an appointment for a tech to bring out a new router, said it would be at no cost. Now Fred s bill has gone up nearly $50 and his account shows he has new phone service he never requested. The Comcast reps have asked him before if he wants to lower his bill; he does want that, but not to start telephone service. He now has a bill for over $200 and includes a one-time installation fee of $50 but he canceled that appointment. He s irritated that he can t understand the customer service reps, that they can t seem to get a simple request to change a phone number done, and that he was told the new router would be free and his bill has gone up significantly. 2 12/3/15 My bill went up recently, so I m wondering if you can tell me how to get it reduced. I pay $151 for internet, TV and phone. 3 12/4/15 3:05pm My bill raised $8 in November, then nearly $60 in December. I was told that the lower price was permanent, and every year I have to call and talk to them about this. Resolution Suggested Digital Economy or Family Tier, to lower Comcast bill. He likes the HD DVR. Price list says HD DVR not available to Limited Basic customers, but I am not sure about Family Tier or Digital Economy with an HD DVR. Please review the bill to remove the telephone installation charges. Wed 12/2/2015 3:07 PM I spoke with Mr. on December 2, 2015 regarding his concerns. I apologized for the frustration he experienced attempting to get his phone number corrected on his account and an explanation on his billing. I explained that the phone number had been corrected. I applied a promotion for his Internet and cable service. $99.99 for months 1-12 and $ for months 13-24, this pricing does not include equipment taxes or fees. The promotion started on 12/2/2015 and will end on 12/2/2017. I have forwarded his feedback to management for review. Deb K. That s the retail price. Suggested Digital Economy TV, but customer is a sports fan so that won t work. Suggested customer call and ask for a discount if he signs a one year contract for Sureprice. Referred to Escalation. Wed 12/9/2015 9:51 AM I spoke with Mr. as requested on December 9, 2015 and explained the options available to lower his billing. I also explained that Comcast does not have pricing for life. Mr. understands however does not agree with Comcast pricing. Deb K. 1

14 Name/ Date/ address logger 4 12/9/15 11: /10/15 12:40pm 6 12/11/15 11:30am 7 12/17/15 3:30pm Complaint I just moved to St. Louis Park last month, and have connected to Comcast internet. My bill is due in 2 days so I called to check to see how much it is. They say I have a past due balance, so instead of $66, I owe $167. This isn t right. When they signed me up, it was supposed to be for internet at $49 per month, plus a $15 one-time self install kit. Then it wasn t working right for a week, but we have that fixed now. I started internet service in August, and use my home and work laptops with a Comcast wireless gateway device. The last two months Comcast has added new items to my account and billed me for them. Last month they added $10 for a wireless gateway device, and also charged me $10 for a modem lease. I have one Comcast box, and it was supposed to be $10 to lease that. So I spent an hour on the phone with them to get that charge removed. The new bill has arrived and again there are charges for services I didn t order. The bill is so confusing, the way they list the internet service, then service discounts, and then it totals to more than they told me it would cost. I ve had it with Comcast. They just can t get my internet service working reliably. A few months ago when it failed I had a tech out who said I had an outdated modem. It was their modem, I just lease it from them! So I bought my own modem, and have had trouble off and on. One time when I called when it wasn t working, a tech said it wasn t registered correctly. So I think I ll try somebody else. Who is the new provider coming into town? What s going on with my Comcast bill, it s going crazy! It went up $29 this month. Will there ever be competition for Comcast? Resolution Referred to Escalation. Customer didn t make a payment yet, so it could be two months of service due. But that should be more like $115 for service plus taxes and fees of another $12. Please review the account to see if the customer deserves a credit for the time without service. 12/10/15, 11:11 a.m. I spoke with Mr. as requested on December 10, 2015 and gave a thorough explanation of his billing statements. I also waived the installation charge which will be reflected on his billing statement dated January 6, Mr. understands and considers this matter closed. Please review the account billing and contact the customer. Thu 12/17/ :26 PM I apologize for any difficulty you experienced while attempting to resolve your concerns with Comcast and have forwarded your feedback to management for review. It is our goal to ensure every customer is satisfied and to resolve issues quickly. I removed the 2nd modem and charge. I backdated the change to October 28, Deb K. Provided CenturyLink phone number. Warned her that she may not be able to use her modem with CenturyLink, and that she may need a new address. Customer s special offer just ended. Reviewed the bill, suggested dropping HBO or Showtime to save $15 per month. Explained that CenturyLink can now offer TV service. 2

15 Name/ Date/ address logger 8 12/28/15 2:40pm End of /5/16 JM 10 1/6/16 voice mail 11 1/7/16 JL, Complaint I have the triple play of services from Comcast, and our Homeowners Association has arranged for a discount of $118. I didn t receive the credit on my November or December bills. I just spoke with a Comcast rep for about 30 minutes to try to correct this, and it didn t go well. Her English was not very good, and she kept referring to the discount as a promotional rate and was looking to enroll me in another promotional rate. It is an HOA discount, not a promotional rate. Customer has an on-going cable box problem. She returned to her home in early December, and her cable box displayed a message that she needed to upgrade her box. This message obscured the screen and made viewing impossible. She called Comcast and was told to come to the cable store and pick up a replacement box that was easy to install. She brought it home and tried to install it but was confused by the instructions and box connections. She called Comcast and a service call was made. The Comcast service person was also unable to connect the box. Ms. called her entertainment center vendor who talked on the phone with the Comcast service person, and they agreed that the box would not work. The original box was reconnected, and worked. The service person left and Ms. made another trip to the cable store to return the un-needed box. The original box worked OK for a week or two, then displayed a screen "need to contact Comcast" with a telephone number that disappeared before it could be written down. Also disappearing was the full screen display and now the box uses only the center of the screen instead of the full HD width. Ms. would like Comcast to contact her, and make things right, in one service call, with an equivalent cable box, which doesn t interrupt her viewing with messages. I am calling to complain. It seems like every month Comcast tacks on extra fees that are not warranted. They have been very polite about removing the extra fees, but it s inconvenient to have to dispute this every month. I m calling on behalf of my 96 year old parents. A few months ago, they were billed for the Latin tier, and they didn t order that since they don t speak Spanish. On 11/27 they were billed $99 for the NHL Center Ice, and they are not hockey fans. Customer would like to know if there s a way to get his Comcast bill down. It s been $120 per month for the past year and now went up to $170 per month. Resolution Referred to Escalation. I spoke with Mr. after a service call was completed. The technician reported the service issues had been resolved before he arrived and Mr. confirmed his services are working to his satisfaction. Mr. stated he will contact Comcast if any other issue arise. Regards, Kathy B. Logged complaint, will forward to Comcast when receive customer address and contact person. Discussed customer s services, and made suggestions to cut the bill. 3

16 Name/ Date/ address logger 12 1/12/16 10:45am 13 1/14/16 11am 14 1/19/16 1:30pm 15 1/22/16 1pm Complaint What is going on with my Comcast bill? The December bill was $100.72, and the January bill is $ What a jump! I am very upset with my cable bill. I had basic cable and wanted to add internet. They told me I could get a double play package for $89 per month, their cheapest package, and that my total bill would be $115 per month. In addition, I would get Digital Starter TV, plus HBO, SHO and Starz for that price. Instead, my new bill is $145 and I can t afford that I am having billing problems with Comcast. I talked to a sales consultant named Jacob who set me up with a package for Basic cable and internet for $69, for 1 year. As we talked he then offered 120 channels of HD cable for only $10 more, so I accepted that offer. Maybe that s why the bill is messed up. They are billing me for $350, which is insane. I ve talked to Comcast several times and they keep transferring me to somebody new. I am having a problem with Comcast. They are so unreasonable. My bill just went up $37, from $138 to $175. They say that since I am in the second year of a two year contract, that I must pay a $130 fee to make any changes in service level. Resolution There wasn t a price increase in January, so probably it is the end of a promotional package. Will contact Escalation to confirm. 8:15am 1/15/16 I spoke with Ms. on January 15, 2016 and advised her the promotion she was on had expired. A new promotion was applied for a duration of twelve (12) months for her cable service. Ms. is satisfied with this offer and considers the issue resolved. Kathy B. Comcast offers internet service called Economy Plus, which costs $29.95 per month if you have TV service like Basic Cable. Then, add the cable modem for $10 per month. If they can t straighten out the price to your satisfaction for the double play bundle, I suggest you switch back to Basic cable, plus Economy Plus internet for a total of about $60 per month. The customer likes that price point. 1/22/16 4:16pm I spoke with Ms. on January 22, 2016 regarding her billing concerns. I was able to place her into a promotional rate for 24 months for the HD Starter Triple Play. This package is bound by a minimum service term agreement which was explained to Ms.. Equipment, taxes and fees are not included in the price of the package. Kathy B. Referred to Escalation. Wed 1/27/ :11 AM I attempted to contact Ms. ; regrettably, my attempts were unsuccessful. In review of Ms. account, my findings were that the balance on her account is correct after changes she made to her account in December, Early Termination Fees were applied to the account; however they were all credited on January 1, 2016 and are reflected on the statement dated January 24, I left my contact information for Ms. via voice mail in case she has any further questions or concerns. Kathy B. Customer has the triple play + HD, and $175 is still a discounted price. At the end of year 2, the price will go up and revert to the retail price. When that bill comes, call Comcast to request a new promotional offer. 4

17 Name/ Date/ address logger 16 1/25/16 11:50am 17 1/26/16 1:40pm 18 First called 12/28/15 2:40pm Second call: 3:05pm 1/28/ :20pm 2/1/16 Complaint Customer moved out of town in early December, and notified Comcast of a change of service. The telephone and TV service should be discontinued at that time. Internet service should continue because customer uses it for home security. Customer called in early January to report the bill was incorrect and he was still being billed for telephone and TV. Customer services said it was fixed, and changes would show up on next bill. Customer has received a statement for February for $416, with a large past due balance, and charges for telephone and TV continue. Customer expects to pay about $50 per month for internet service. My December bill was $110.83, but my January bill is $ It says adjustment for service, HBO. I didn t order HBO and don t want it. My bundled service package was discounted $64.96 in December, but only $39.96 in January. What s going on? How do I reach Comcast? I have the triple play of services from Comcast, and our Homeowners Association has arranged for a discount of $118. I didn t receive the credit on my November or December bills. I just spoke with a Comcast rep for about 30 minutes to try to correct this, and it didn t go well. Her English was not very good, and she kept referring to the discount as a promotional rate and was looking to enroll me in another promotional rate. It is an HOA discount, not a promotional rate. On 1/28/16, customer called again. She has not heard from Comcast Escalation. Today I checked my Comcast statement online and again there is no credit for my homeowners association discount. I called Comcast and waded through there telephone tree and finally got a service rep, who said that it doesn t show up in the statement. This seems crazy to me; how am I supposed to know they are charging me the correct amount? Their bills are very hard to understand. I have Digital Starter, and one of my favorite channels has disappeared, channel 34 Spike TV. I never received any notice, it just wasn t there anymore. I checked into Dish TV but they have plenty of fees there too, so I feel stuck. Refer to Escalation Resolution Provided the Comcast customer service phone number, and address of service center which is close to where caller lives. Referred to Escalation. 12/29/15 10:02am I spoke with Ms. on December 29, 2015 regarding her billing concerns. I explained her bill and the promotion she is on, including the portion her HOA pays. Ms. was provided a promotional rate for the Comcast Starter Triple Play for twelve (12) months. At the end of the twelve (12) months, this rate will increase to its regular rate, minus the HOA paid portion. Ms. states she considers this issue resolved. Regards, Kathy B. I ll refer to Escalation again, and let s give them another chance to do the right thing.* *note from Reg: I didn t have Kathy B s summary available when I spoke to the customer, which was sloppy administration on my part. Researched Comcast notice letters, and received notice about Spike TV moving from Digital Starter to Digital Preferred on 11/16/15. Typically the customer notices are in a box on the Comcast bill. Logged complaint. 5

18 Name/ Date/ address logger 20 10:30am 2/11/ /15/16 10:16am voice mail, 22 2/15/16 12:07pm voice mail END of complaints Complaint I can t afford $70 a month from Comcast to get the few channels I really want. Their prices keep going up and up. All I really want is channel 63, Fox News, and the weather channel. I ve been without service for over an hour, I have the triple play. I can t get through to Comcast. Can you help? I have a major complaint with Comcast. We have 6 lines and they have us so screwed up. Our phones don t ring; 1 of my 2 business lines are working; my husband s lifeline is not working, which is a major problem. I called and asked for a tech service call today, and they have no techs available. This could be a medical emergency, I can t go to work now until this is sorted out. Resolution Comcast has Limited Basic cable for about $12 per month, but it has neither of those channels. However, both are included in the Digital Economy tier, which costs about $40 per month so that would save some money. Customer had called a service number displayed on the TV, an 800 number related to cable boxes. I provided the customer service number. Forwarded call to Escalation; called customer who reports that they went to Comcast s Excelsior Blvd. office to report the problem and a tech will be sent. 6

19 CenturyLink complaints logged by City staff. To Telecom Commission for 2/24/16 meeting Name/ address Date/ logger Complaint 1 December 29, :50 AM 2 1/29/16 4pm I was given your as a contact person for problems with CenturyLink internet service in St. Louis Park. I've been a customer of them for several years and have had nothing but problems since the beginning and am just tired of trying to talk to one of their customer service reps and getting no where. My current problem is that about 9 months ago I realized I was paying a ridiculous monthly amount for their slowest speed internet and had been a long time customer so I called to see if there were any changes that could be made to my account. They got me set up on a new promo for $19.99 a month for one of their higher speed options that lasts for 12 months. Since the beginning of this "promo" there were problems, faulty wiring and equipment outside of my house (their equipment not mine), a tech being sent out and breaking an electrical box in my basement, and still not having "high speed internet" (I can't even connect to YouTube or Netflix often). The other issue was them failing to tell me that I had to sign up for autopay AND paperless billing in order to receive the actual promo price. I kept being charged $40 per month and would call and not get anywhere with them, finally someone told me I had to sign up for autopay so I did that. The next month I was still charged $40. I called back and was informed I had to also sign up for paperless billing so I went online and signed up for that also. Frustrated I spoke to a rep that promised me I would get back paid for all the months I didn't receive the promo price. The next month I wasn't back paid so I again called and they told me that was incorrect and that they didn't offer back pay but could offer me a $7 credit on my next months bill. I gave up and accepted that, I was finally (on month 7 or 8) being charged the promo price of $ Then my bank account got hacked and I had to open a new account with the same financial institution. That same day I went online and updated all of my bills to the new bank account. They next month I notice my bill had jumped up to $78 or something and called trying to figure out why, was informed that since my bank account had been closed and they tried to take out a payment they cancelled the autopay and my rates jumped. I could re-sign up for auto pay and have my next months bill go back down. My promo has almost ended now and I've literally only received the promo price a couple of months. They are claiming that I never updated my bank account but I know I did the same day I opened the new account. The last time spoke with them I couldn't get anyway and just said I wanted to cancel and this was causing so much stress and they told me that of I canceled they would charge me an early cancellation fee. If there's anyway you can help facilitate this I would really appreciate it. Long time Comcast customer, but would like to consider CenturyLink. I went to their web site last night to find out about Prism. I enter my address and it says I can get 12 mbs. I didn t think that would be fast enough, so I selected the chat box to find out. I started as number 12 in the queue, and after 20 minutes was up to #4, but then dropped back to #8. After 45:00 I gave up and sent them a message. That was a surprise. Resolution I ve had great luck with the chat window, sorry to hear that. Provided the phone number for future reference. 1

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