Fight the cable company with persistence

This post comes from Lynn Mucken at MSN Money.

You're reading a blog post on a site called Smart Spending, so, in theory at least, you're looking for advice.

Here's mine: Never let the (…) wear you down.

• Calculator: Do I have too much debt? 

We all have horror stories, but for me, Comcast has more recurring roles than Freddy Krueger in the nine-movie "Nightmare on Elm Street" series. The cable giant appeared as No. 3 on MSN Money's first Customer Service Hall of Shame in 2007, with only 10% of those surveyed rating its service "excellent" and 30% rating it "poor." Four surveys later, Comcast was still No. 3, but the excellents had dropped to 7.2% and the poors risen to 34%. 

For three years, my wife and I spent seven months annually in San Diego and five in Seattle, living in apartments at each end. One fall we dutifully returned our rented TV and Internet equipment to a Comcast representative and headed south, leaving our forwarding address.

A month later, a notice comes in the mail: Their DVR had not been returned, so please send it immediately or pay $120. I call, ask for the serial number, and explain I have a receipt verifying that piece of equipment had been returned. Do they want a copy? "Oh, you have a receipt? No. Sometimes it takes awhile for this information to work through the system," she replies. "I wouldn’t worry."

A month later, another notice, again wanting either DVR or $120. Same routine, same offer of a copy of the receipt. Again, I'm told, no need. Post continues after video.

I then ask why the DVR was valued at $120, then suddenly $60. "That’s just what we decided to charge," she says.

I mail a copy of the receipt; case closed.

My wife and I talk about this bizarre sequence of events. Is it possible that a company would randomly send out such notices in hopes that no receipt was kept and the $120 would be paid? Or that, eventually, after being hounded, the customer would be willing to pay half-price to end the aggravation?

Naw, that couldn't be, we decide. But we double the size of our receipt box nonetheless.

A couple of years later, we decide, as a birthday present, to give my son-in-law the Extra Innings baseball package, so he can watch every game of his beloved New York Mets' season on cable in Lake Stevens, Wash.

Can't do that, the Comcast sales rep says. Only the person whose name is on the account for that address can order services. That's a good policy in some cases, I agree, but note that I am not ordering a porn site as a joke, but giving a gift of baseball to a homesick former New Yorker. Can't do that, she repeats.

• Try the 50-30-20 budget 

I hang up and call back. This one tells me I can order the baseball package, but only if I give her the last four digits of my son-in-law's Social Security number.

I don’t have that, I explain. Call and get it, she suggests. "It’s a birthday surprise," I say, stubbornly. (Note: I could have gotten the information through my daughter, but then I would have had to hear the lecture about this ruining her life.)

"Let me get this clear: This is March 1," I say. "I am willing to pay in full on my credit card and you will have the money long before the baseball season begins next month. You are turning down $179?" That's right, she says.

I ask her to forward me to a person who specifically handles the baseball packages. "I’ll do that," I'm told, "but the answer will be the same."

After I explain my dilemma to the next voice, she chirps (and I still can't believe she said this): "Of course we can do that. Those people over there are idiots. You should have called me first."

So what are the lessons here?

• Always keep your receipts. Honest mistakes are made; less-than-honest ones, too. A copy of a receipt usually ends the debate right away.
• Be persistent. Try hanging up and calling back. Believe it or not, this usually works; Sales and customer-service reps appear to be erratically trained.
• Ask to talk to a supervisor. The rep answering the phone doesn't like to do this; I suspect it looks bad on their record. Keep insisting. As long as you are polite, they eventually will give in. Keep climbing the ladder until justice is served.

All this said, sometimes the (…) do wear you down. Despite the advice of the Social Security Administration, I eventually gave my number up to Comcast. Hey, the Masters was going to begin in two days. I'm only human.

More on MSN Money:

• How to fight with customer service -- and win
• Right way to hide from creditors
• Yes, you can haggle at Macy's
• How much tech do you need? 
• Many empty-nesters spend more, not less
• 4 ways we keep wasting money