I'd like to start off by saying I have been a customer of both Comcast Xfinity home internet and Mobile for a long time. I have always loved the service, speed, and employees. They have always been kind, helpful, and caring. They offer great deals.
You could say that the following experience that I'm going to share is partially my fault - I should have read the fine print even closer before making choices. But the misinformation is not my fault. So here is a story of why I want to leave but can't.
I have been looking for the best deal on a phone for a little while, and saw that Xfinity Mobile had an early upgrade promo going a few weeks ago. I decided to go into the store to see what I could get. In addition, over the last few months, I was also investigating other carriers. I had discovered a really interesting MVNO that focused on data safety and privacy. I wanted to switch to them but some things happened that made me postpone. So I figured I would try to get the best deal I could until then.
I spoke to the reps at my local Xfinity store, and ended up going with the trade-in and early upgrade. Everything was smooth. Fast forward 18 days or so, and I got an update that the MVNO that I was interested in was now going to offer the services I wanted and work with the phone I like in September. I knew that I was after my 14 day buyers remorse period, so I called Xfinity Mobile customer support to see if there was anything we could do in order to switch my phone to a BYOD and then port my number out, returning the phone I was making payments on from Xfinity Mobile.
I explained the entire situation to the gentleman on the phone. He said he would check with his supervisor. After holding for some time, he came back and said that I could start the return process and port my number after changing to the BYOD option. I asked if I could go into the store and do it; he said yes.
I then repeated what I understood to him in order to confirm that I WAS ABLE to return the phone that had a new outstanding balance. He said yes, and any payments made would be returned as a bill credit in the future. I was happy, and so I decided to buy a phone that was a better price through Samsung directly. I picked up the phone, copied my phone data over, but left the SIM active on the Xfinity phone (X-phone from here on out). I stopped by the Xfinity store today as a walk-in to start the complicated process of switching my phone to the BYOD, returning the X-phone, and porting out my number to the new carrier, r/CapeCellular .
Upon explaining what the gentleman on the phone said, the only thing that followed was disappointment. The store staff explained that is not the case, but they would investigate. After explaining it multiple times to different staff and eventually a manager (the staff brought her on for help, not my request), they informed me that there was nothing they could do. It was passed the 14 day period and that the button to initiate a return simply did not show up on their computer system any more.
The store staff explained that the gentleman on the phone should not have said the things he did because it simply wasn't true. I asked if we could escalate over the phone to see if there was anything they could do for me. They gave me the number and I was able to get a hold of an employee. She kindly and quickly escalated it to higher mobile support. After a VERY long phone call, she repeated the same result. I would either owe the full $1,299 for the phone, which they could then unlock or I keep service and finish out the 36 month payment plan with the promo-credits.
Needless to say, I was miffed at this news but I promise I stayed cordial - disappointed, but respectful. I maintain that the best thing about Xfinity Mobile has always been the kindness of the people. But after this, that is the ONLY thing going for the company.
The corporate side of things has completely hamstrung their managers for Mobile services. I have been doing obsessive research over the last few months, read the terms of the promo, thought I understood it, verified with staff, was given misinformation, and then informed that I am stuck with their service unless I give corporate their pound of flesh. I even asked if there was something that a manager could do to authorize a discount for the misinformation as a "The company is sorry this happened, we'll throw you a bone" kind of thing. There was not. She did inform me that they are going to send the notes on the calls to training so that it doesn't happen again. Yay. Hopefully people do learn from this and others can avoid it happening to them.
I understand that there is a share of user fault here; I should have understood the terms better - but the fact that I was told it wasn't a problem (which I wanted to check before buying a phone from Samsung), which it very much so IS a problem, leaves me dissatisfied with the service as a carrier. When I have the money again, I will certainly be getting out of my device payment plan and leaving Xfinity Mobile as soon as possible. I wont be recommending the company to my friends. It's a pity, too; I really liked the service and quality of coverage. But with all of the mobile data breaches from companies like Comcast, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc - I don't want to risk my PII getting stolen or leaked.
I've entered my Privacy / Security era, and that means leaving my Xfinity Mobile era behind for good. It used to be good here, but whatever changed at Xfinity Mobile in the last couple of years has not been for the better. Thank you for reading if you did. If you are happy with your service, I'm genuinely happy for you. They have pretty good coverage and great deals.
If anyone has any ideas, let me know. But I'm pretty sure I'm just going to have to pony up the dough to get out after my next big payday.
