Comcast customers say billing tied to digital upgrade was 'deceptive'

“To tell you the truth, I don’t understand Comcast,” said Tom Flanagan, a retired Ann Arbor resident who spends 10 percent of his income - $171.64 a month - on cable, phone and Internet services. “They’re making a ton of money, they’re going to buy NBC. Why are they nickeling and diming their customers? Really it’s ridiculous.”

Comcast this month completed the digital upgrade of its network in Washtenaw County. Due to the upgrade, customers were told to install a digital cable box or digital adapter on their TVs to ensure uninterrupted service. Customers were offered free equipment to make the transition. An official Comcast blogger in May said analog cable customers would receive "digital equipment for three TVs at no charge" and that "digital customers also get some free equipment."

Comcast, interviewed several times Thursday, now says that customers who already had a digital cable box were only eligible for two free digital adapters. They were not offered an additional cable box for free, Comcast spokesman Patrick Paterno said. Customers who did not previously have a cable box were offered a free cable box and two free digital adapters.

Flanagan said a Comcast representative told him that he would receive three pieces of equipment for free. But when he got his bill, a $1.99-per-month charge had been added.

"I said, 'I'm trying to reduce my cable bill, not expand it,'" Flanagan said.

Ypsilanti resident Jeff Smith said he has four TVs - one that already had a cable box and three that were receiving an analog signal.

Believing that he would receive free equipment for three TVs, Smith requested a cable box and two adapters. When he opened up his bill this week, he was surprised to find an extra $1.99 charge.

After contacting the cable company about the extra charge, a Comcast representative told Smith in an e-mail provided to AnnArbor.com that he “would have access to the two free digital adapters only” because he was already a digital cable customer. “Any additional equipment would involve a monthly charge," the representative wrote.

Smith said he plans to return the cable box to Comcast, because his fourth TV is housed in his basement and is used only occasionally by his children. But he said he was still annoyed.

“I think it was deceptive. I’m not going to lose sleep over it. It’s just the principle of the thing,” Smith said. “We’ve just had issues with these people forever. They can’t just seem to run their business.”

Roger Sutton, chair of Ann Arbor Cable Communications Commission, said he was not aware of any complaints filed directed to the commission about the digital upgrade billing situation. But he said that legislation approved by Lansing lawmakers a few years ago shifts influence on the cable operators from the city to the state.

"There’s nothing we can do about it," Sutton said. "We’ve had our legs cut out from under us by the state legislature."

The billing confusion comes after customers complained that they were not given enough time to acquire new equipment and that their digital video recorders no longer work properly due to the upgrade.

About 84 percent of Comcast cable customers statewide have at least one TV using digital equipment, Paterno said.

Paterno said customers who have only one cable box and two adapters “should not be charged $1.99 for equipment.”

“It’s a pretty straight forward network enhancement that we’re doing,” he said.

Comcast officials have repeatedly said the company is investing in digital upgrades to free up network capability to provide customers with faster Internet and more cable channels.

Comcast announced Thursday that it is now providing access to 44 new high-definition channels, such as CNBC HD and MTV HD, to customers who pay a monthly fee for HDTV service.

Comcast, which has about 100,000 employees, including about 4,200 in Michigan, reports annual revenue of about $35.34 billion. The company, whose Michigan operation is based in Southfield, has 1.2 million customers in the state.

The upgrades come as Comcast increased its monthly rates as of Nov. 1. Nationally, the average Comcast customer is paying an additional 1.4 percent, Paterno said.

"The process of migrating a market to all digital service is not related to this (price) increase," Paterno said in a statement issued in response to an AnnArbor.com request. "We have made an investment in our customers’ future with the promise of an all-digital experience and we intend to continue to deliver on that in the simplest and easy way possible for the consumer. The increase for video service is linked to the cost of doing business, which includes programming increases."

Customers with questions about the digital upgrades can visit www.comcast.com/digitalnow.

Customers who had limited basic cable are still being offered analog service. Expanded basic cable customers, however, are impacted by the upgrades.

Contact AnnArbor.com’s Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter.