this is where my brand-new unwrapped xfinity modem will live, unused, forever.
i recently did some deep cleaning and found the (two years) old modem sitting in a closet. unused because i am perfectly satisfied logging into the xfinity hotspot broadcast from my neighbors and there is no co-ax outlet in my place.
i considered just tossing the thing into the trash, but decided to be a responsible consumer.
after returning the old device to the xfinity store and subsequently discovering that my hotspot access was turned off, i got to take repeat train ride into the city to pick up a new device. it turns out that even though my account is in good standing, a physical device is required to be attached to my account in order to maintain hotspot access.
should i have just tossed the old one? should i just toss this one?
They do not forget! I had Comcast/Xfinity from 2005-2022. They wanted to charge me for an old cable box from 2005 that I didn’t have when I cancelled service. Turns out it was in the back of my garage and super rusty but they accepted it. They also said that while they would charge me if I didn’t have it, they are going to throw it out as it’s no longer supported and corroded.
Years ago I had an issue with my service, so a tech came by and replaced my modem. I stress that it was My modem. I provided it. I canceled the service when I moved halfway across the country and kept the modem. I actually gifted it to my roommate, but that doesn’t really matter.
At no point did I sign up for the rental of a modem, I never agreed to the additional terms of renting a modem. No one at Comcast could provide me with anything regarding my approval of anything as the sole end user of their service. I told them to kick rocks.
A couple months goes by, I get a formal letter issuing me an invoice for a couple hundred bucks in rental and fines for late payments. I call them, tell them the scenario and that I am not going to pay them another penny.
Couple weeks later, another letter. This time informally responded with a written letter, stating all the facts and asking for anything showing my agreement of rental of the modem. Never heard back.
A year goes by, I get a letter from a collections agency. I responded exactly like before, asking for anything proving I owed anyone anything.
Another year, another letter. At this point it’s three years later or so, and they stopped for a while. Until five years later and I get another letter. Fuckers are relentless. At this point I am sure they are just trying to catch anyone dumb enough to pay, but that ain’t me.
Fuck Comcast. And fuck Janet jaurez, who I have been getting collections phonecalls for since I got my current cell phone number in 2005.
I demand that Janet Juarez have the same pronunciation of the J in both of their names.
In my experience, Comcast shit never shows up on your credit report. I have had this exact same experience and got no where arguing with them so I just ignored it forever and nothing happened. This was over 7 years ago.
If it does hit your credit, you can dispute it and there’s a decent chance you’ll win. I’ve had that issue with direct TV where they claimed I never returned equipment I had returned. But these companies get in to this situation because they are terrible at record keeping.
Also, any time your speed dips below advertised, file a complaint with the FCC. They won’t get in trouble but it will annoy them enough you’ll get fast tracked customer service. I used to have some VPs phone number and I tried for like 40 minutes to get her to just admit to being evil. She wouldn’t. But they changed the phone number because I posted it everywhere after I stopped having to have Comcast or I would give it to you.
I hate Comcast with every fiber of my being.
You usually need to return those when you cancel service so hold onto it unless you want to pay the replacement cost if you ever change service.
Comcast is literally the most hated ISP in the US.
The question is, are paying a lease on that modem? If so return that and buy a Netgear or similar
