Comcast's service flub adds to mounting complaints

When Louis Moravec and Susan Thauer moved into a new home in Philadelphia, it took 24 days for Comcast to set up TV and Internet service.

When technicians did show up, they repeatedly came without the right cables or equipment to outfit the newly built house. When they didn't show, the couple heard what seemed like bizarre excuses. They were told, for instance, that when a service representative offered an emergency appointment, the representative was merely making a request to dispatchers free to turn it down. Moravec and Thauer estimate that they spent more than 50 hours on the phone with Comcast employees, often on hold for as long as two hours. Amid the mess that Moravec said "borders on the Kafkaesque" came the final absurdity: notice that they were about to be billed for another month's service. After finally connecting the couple's home, Comcast admitted fault in a statement. Comcast also said the customers would be given a credit for the weeks they went without service.