EQUIFAX/NCTUE and the great fallacy of the credit reporting agency circus

CASE CLOSED. Success!

EQUIFAX/NCTUE and the Great Fallacy 

of the Credit Reporting Agency Circus

I have decided to create a new entry for EQUIFAX. This post grew out of my DirecTV post. I  am not going to repeat here what is in that post, so, if you want the detailed background material, I recommend that you start on that post and work your way forward to this post in order to more fully understand the situation.

Notwithstanding the above comment, I include here a very short summary for those not inclined to look at the details: I received a notice from DirecTV that the credit reporting agency that they use, NCTUE, was unable to locate a credit file on me and so, in effect, DirecTV was not really going to offer me servies like normal people. In other words, I was given a denial of service based upon the inability of NCTUE to locate my file.

After a lengthy interaction with both DirecTV and NCTUE, it was determined that the letter was sent to me by DirecTV in error and I was not denied any service based upon a bad or non existent credit report. Additionally, NCTUE, did not really lose my file, they are just incompetent, and couldn't access it in their own database. In the face of all this incompetence, I have requested to see the credit file on me that NCTUE has.  They also go by the names Exchange Service Center and Equifax.  Since Equifax is the most recognizable name I will use their name from now on and have started this post to deal with their incompetent handing of this matter. Only time will tell how really bad they are.  It is totally up to their performance.

At this point I have spent about 15 hours of my time trying to get a copy of my credit file.  After reporting twice to me that they could not locate any such file, they have subsequently located my file. They have attempted to mail it to me four distinct times. As of today we have the working hypothesis that they mailed it to the wrong address in spite of the thirteen times we have tried to verify the address that they allegedly sent it to.

I found this interesting blog on NCTUE that has background information on the organization should you be interested. Here is another interesting blog entry, and one more.

By way of background information, according to their website, "the National Consumer Telecom & Utilities Exchange (NCTUE) is a consortium of over 60 member companies from the telecommunications, utilities and pay TV industries. The board is comprised of member companies in these industries. The exchange is managed by an executive director and a 12-member board of directors. NCTUE membership is governed by member agreements, operating guidelines and bylaws."

"Their mission is to serve as a Fair Credit Reporting Act compliant credit data exchange service for the telecommunication, payTV and utility industries by submitting industry-specific payment information to enable members of the exchange to better identify and manage financial risks and to better monitor customer relationships during the life of the service affiliation." 

The NCTUE "database contains information on over 325 million consumers.  NCTUE members are required to comply with FCRA requirements as data furnishers to a consumer reporting agency and as users of consumer reports, including adverse action notification requirements.  The NCTUE database does not include EQUIFAX credit information, and EQUIFAX is not a member of NCTUE."

They go on further to state, "In the late 1980s the business credit executives of long-distance carriers and the National Association of Credit Management Southwest (NACMSW) formed the National Telecommunications Credit Group...

During a February 1993 meeting, an informal committee was formed, made up of Credit Group members and a representative of NACMSW, to pursue the establishment of a national database to be owned and operated in accordance with guidelines set by the members.

The members of the committee requested approval from their legal departments to proceed with the establishment of a national database. Attorneys gave permission for the committee to proceed under the legal guidance of a senior attorney from AT&T and a senior attorney from MCI.

In October 1993, after numerous meetings and teleconferences, the National Telecommunications Data Exchange (NTDE), a non-profit corporation, was founded by AT&T, MCI, Sprint, Allnet, Business Telecom, Inc., Cable & Wireless, Inc., LDDS Metromedia, and Wiltel, Inc. A representative of NACMSW was chosen as executive director and vice president of NTDE.

In November 1993, NTDE started the process of interviewing potential vendors and developing the Request for Proposal to be sent to the vendors. The attorneys emphasized the importance of keeping NTDE independent from any vendor. At the same time, the attorneys started the process of obtaining approval from the Department of Justice Antitrust Division. Approval was obtained on March 8, 1994.

Equifax was selected to be the vendor, and NTDE and Equifax signed a contract on July 25, 1994. In August of 1995, after numerous meetings, teleconferences and extensive testing, the national database became active.

In 1996 telecommunications consumer executives, with the assistance of NACMSW, started the process of developing a national database of consumers who do not pay their local and long distance phone bills. The process followed very closely the process of the development of the NTDE database, with the exception of having to address the laws governing consumer credit and the utility regulations of the various states.

The National Consumer Telecommunications Data Exchange (NCTDE) was founded in 1997 by AT&T, Bellsouth, Citizens, Frontier, IXC, MCI, NYNEXLD, Sprint, and Worldcom. A representative of NACMSW was selected as executive director and vice president of NCTDE. In September 1997, the Department of Justice approved the creation of the database, and Equifax was selected as the vendor."

NCTUE claims that "The Exchange Service Center is a third-party contractor of NCTUE and provides services to consumers on behalf of NCTUE." I translate this to mean that EQUIFAX has set up a subsidiary unit named Exchange Service Center to further obfuscate the whole situation.

My personal experience in dealing with these people is that they use the names EQUIFAX, NCTUE, and Exchange Service Center interchangeably.  So much for the hype about the separation of NCTUE and EQUIFAX.

Right now I am waiting until Halloween to try to receive my credit file after doing so five times.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

10/30/12
Halloween came early this year.  The NCTUE (EQUIFAX) credit file arrived today based upon my fifth request.
Now, to the interesting contents of this report.

The first thing I noted is that they have my address wrong.   I attempted to correct it, but they will only do that if I mail in a copy of my driver's licence and my social security card and give them my phone number, all sent via FAX.  I do not have a FAX machine. I disputed the address and declined to send in my driver's license, etc..
I pointed out to the customer service representative that the address on all my accounts shows as the correct address, but that is not good enough for them.

Next, I noted that they show no inquiry into my credit file from DirecTV.  This is very strange, since it was DircecTV's inquiry for my credit file from them that started this whole incident. They say they cannot deal with this and that I must speak with DirecTV about it.

Next, on my cell phone bill they show incorrect billing and payment history numbers (not off by much, but still off) for just the last three months. I have had this account for nearly 10 years.  Why would only the last three months be in error?

My AT&T telephone account shows no balance amount or payment amount for Dec. 2010 and Jan. 2011 and yet shows account status of 0-30 and 30-60 days overdue respectively. I disputed this.

An old AT&T account shows "account closed/ unpaid final bill". I disputed the unpaid final bill item on two grounds. First, it is not true, I had paid the final bill, and second, if it were true, and it isn't, it is over 7 years old and should not be on my report because the information is too old.

They now have 30 days to research my disputed items and get back to me. I asked specifically how they would communicate with me. They said they would mail it to me at the address the companies use and not the address they have in my file there.  Interesting!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

11/1/12

I received a letter today from NCTUE with regard to my request to have my address changed:

                              Exchange Service Center  NCTUE
                              PO Box 105398
                              Atlanta, GA 30348-5398


October 29, 2012

Dear Consumer:

We have received your request concerning your telecom and utilities exchange data report.

However, the information you provided does not match your information currently in the data report.  Therefore, to protect your service history information, we must ask for some additional information in order to verify your identification and address.

A copy of one item in EACH of the categories below is needed in order to verify your identification and address.  The item you choose in the identification category SHOULD contain your Social Security number, and the item you choose in the address category SHOULD contain your current mailing address of:

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Identification                                                 Address
*US Social Security Card                             *Driver's license
*Pay stub with US SS#                                *Rental lease agreement/house deed
*W2 form                                                     *Pay stub with address
*State or other government                         *Utility bill (gas, electric, water, cable,
  issued ID card                                             residential telephone bills)

To ensure that your request is processed without delay, please enlarge photocopies of any items that contain small print (e.g. driver's license, W2 forms, etc.).  To avoid additional delays, keep in mind that if photocopies are not legible or contain highlighting, they may cause us to ask that you resubmit your request with more legible documents.

These are the reasons for which a data report can be provided at no charge, if you don't meet the criteria below, there may be a charge.

If you have been denied service, credit or another credit-based benefit due to information on your data report within the last 60 days, you are entitled by las to a free copy of your data report.

If you have recently placed an initial 90 day fraud alert on your data report, you may receive a free data report.

If you have recently place an extended seven-year alert, you may receive two free data reports within 12 months.

You are entitled to one free data report during any 12 month period regardless of your state of residence if you are:
 Unemployed and intend to apply for employment in the next 60 days
 Receiving public welfare assistance
 Believe you are a victim of fraud
 Receive a risk based pricing notice

In the event you request the Exchange Risk Score, the charge is $7.95.

Please refer to the chart below to determine your current fee for the telecom and utilities exchange data report.

[Chart Omitted]

If you are entitled to a free data report but you included payment in the form of a personal check, it has been shredded for your protection.  If you included a money order, it is being returned to you in a separate mailing.

Please include correct payment with the new request and make check payable to: Exchange Service Center.
Please submit the requested information and this letter to the address below.

Exchange Service Center - NCTUE
P.O. Box 105161
Atlanta, GA 30346-5161

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to assist you.

Exchange Service Center - NCTUE


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX



November 1, 2012

Exchange Service Center
PO Box 105161
Atlanta, GA 30348-5398

Re: Your letter of  October 29, 2012 (attached)

Gentlemen:

I am in receipt of your letter dated October 29, 2012 (attached). Please change the address in my file to the address indicated above.

In accordance with your request, please also find a photocopy of my Social Security Card and this month’s utility bill from Time Warner Cable showing my mailing address as indicated above.

Sincerely,


XXXXXXXXXXXX


encl: Social Security Card, Time Warner Cable bill (Nov. 1, 2012),
        Letter from NCTUE of October 29, 2012

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
11/28/12
It has been very quiet. No correspondence from NCTUE as of this date.

*************************************************************************************

11/29/12, 12:13pm, call duration 28 minutes
I have called NCTUE/EQUIFAX about their non response.
They have claimed that they did not receive my correspondence of 11/1/12 and have consequently not changed my address.
They claim that all the other errors that I reported have been corrected.
I have requested a corrected copy of my credit file. They will send it within 10 business days.
After almost 30 minutes they have now found my correspondence of Nov. 1, requesting that my address be corrected. They will update the address and include that in the report that they will be sending me. I have been told that I will receive this within 10 business days. That should be around Dec. 13. We will see what happens

*******************************************************************************


12/13/12 8:00am call duration 8 minutes
After going through the third degree on verifying who I was and using the confirmation number supplied, it was determined that I was talking to EQUIFAX and not NCTUE in spite of the recorded introductory message saying that it was EQUIFAX/NCTUE that I was calling. The claim is that NCTUE is another company and they gave me another telephone number, different from the one on the NCTUE letter I received. What idiots.

12/13/12 8:13am duration 8 minutes 
This time the claim is the last time they sent out my credit file was on Oct. 26. not on Nov. 29 as I was informed. Again, I was told that they would send it out within 48 hours and that it will take from 7 to 10 business days for me to receive it. I asked if I would have it by 1/3/13 and they confirmed that that was a good date to expect it by. Also, I confirmed that they were sending it to the correct address by asking them what address they were going to send it to. It was correct.


****************************************************************
December 17, 2012

Today, I received a letter from NCTUE with my "updated" credit file. First, note that they sent it to the wrong address. That appears to be the only problem

Below is the text of my response to them.

********************************************************************
December 18, 2012

Exchange Service Center
PO Box 105398
Atlanta, GA 30348-5398

Re: Your letter of  December 13, 2012
      Confirmation #xxxxxxxxxxx



Gentlemen:

I am in receipt of your letter dated December 13, 2012, which was in response to my request to have certain disputed information changed in my credit file. In part, I had requested that my address reflect my true mailing address. I note that your letter, in spite of multiple previous reassurances that the matter had been corrected, came addressed to the incorrect address. Even your previous correspondence was, at least, correctly addressed. Once again I ask that you please change the address in my file to the correct address indicated above.  I have gone to great lengths to have these addresses corrected because we have had so much difficulty getting mail delivered by the US Postal Service when it is not addressed with the simple and single word change that I have requested, especially from NCTUE.   AT&T, apparently the only member of your service, uses the correct address for billing purposes. Your intransigence on this matter is only a further indication that the data you supply to your member(s) is very unreliable at best.

I find it curious that you only have three of my AT&T accounts reporting into your system. I also find it curious that you do not have my DirecTV account in your system, since it was they who initiated the inquiry that has resulted in all this brouhaha over the information in my previously reported “non-existent” file.

As I indicated in my correspondence to you on September 5, 2012, I have no fewer than twelve utility, telecommunications, cable, etc. accounts with major national companies, and, yet, the only one’s that seem to be tracked by NCTUE seem to be some of the AT&T accounts.  I would think that your members might be greatly dissatisfied with the paucity and incompleteness of the meaningful information that you are really providing to them.

Sincerely,


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
encl: Research Request Form (NCTUE)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

1/2/13
Note to self: I called NCTUE today to follow up on my letter to them of 12/18/12. I spent another 17 minutes trying to see if they have my address correct, since I have not gotten a response to my letter. They claim that they have no record of having received a letter from me. I attempted to deal with the same issue on the phone. They denied that they have the wrong address for me and that they sent the last letter to me to the wrong address. They are going to send me a copy of my credit file showing the address as it appears on my file which they claim is the correct address. I should have this letter from them by 1/15/13

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


1/8/13
Today I have received a letter from NCTUE dated 12/31/12 addressed to the wrong address that I am trying to have them correct

December 31, 2012

Dear Consumer:
We have received your request concerning your telecom and utilities exchange data report.
However, our records indicated that a free copy of your disclosure report already has been sent to you.
These are the reasons for which a data report can be provided at no charge, if you don't meet the criteria below, there may be a charge.
If you have been denied service, credit or another credit-based benefit due to information on your data report within the last 60 days, you are entitled by law to a free copy of your data report.
If you have recently placed an initial 90-day fraud alert on your data report, you may receive a free data report.
If you have recently placed an extended seven-year alert, you may receive two free data reports within 12 months.
You are entitled to one free data report during any 12-month period regardless of your state of residence if you are :
-Unemployed and intend to apply for employment in the next 60 days
-Receiving public welfare assistance
-Believe you are a victim of fraud
-Receive a risk based pricing notice
In the event you request the Exchange Risk Score, the charge is $7.95.
Please refer to the chart below to determine your current fee for the telecom and utilities exchange data report.
[Chart omitted]
If you are entitled to a free data report but you included payment in the form of a personal check, it has been shredded for your protection.  If you included a money order, it is being returned to you in a separate mailing.
Please include correct payment with the new request and make check payable to: Exchange Service Center.
Please submit the requested information and this letter to the address below.
Exchange Service Center - NCTUE
PO Box 105161
Atlanta, GA 30348-5161

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to assist you.
Exchange Service Center - NCTUE

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1/8/13 Notes to self regarding NCTUE letter of 12/31/12
First, I note that the date of this letter is three days before my last call to NCTUE wherein they told me that they would be sending me a copy of my corrected credit file. I am going to wait until 1/15/13 as they suggested in that telephone call before proceeding.
Next, I note that while the address on the envelope is to the correct address, the inner address is the incorrect address.

*********************************************
1/23/13
Okay, I am finally getting back to this open item.  It is clear that NCTUE has no intention of meeting there obligation here, or, for that matter, keeping their word that they would send me a corrected credit file. I will now address another letter to them to try to resolve this matter. I will post it below.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

January 24, 2013

Exchange Service Center
PO Box 105398
Atlanta, GA 30348-5398

Re: Your letter of  December 31, 2012
      Confirmation #XXXXXXXXXX


Gentlemen:

I am in receipt of your letter dated December 31, 2012, which was in response to my request of December 19, 2012 to have certain disputed information changed in my credit file. You will note that in my letter of December 19, 2012 I indicated that in part, I had requested that my address reflect my true mailing address.

I note that your letter, in spite of multiple previous reassurances that the matter had been corrected, came addressed incorrectly. Even your previous correspondence was, at least, correctly addressed. Once again I ask that you please change the address in my file to the correct address indicated above.  I have gone to great lengths to have these addresses corrected because we have had so much difficulty getting mail delivered by the US Postal Service when it is not addressed correctly, especially mail from NCTUE.   AT&T, apparently the only member of your service, uses the correct address for billing purposes on all four of my accounts with them. Your intransigence on this matter is only a further indication that the data you supply to your member(s) is very unreliable at best.

I find it curious that you only have three of my AT&T accounts reporting into your system. I also find it curious that you do not have my DirecTV account in your system, since it was they who initiated the inquiry that has resulted in all this brouhaha over the information in my previously reported “non-existent” file.

As I indicated in my correspondence to you on September 5, 2012, I have no fewer than twelve utility, telecommunications, cable, etc. accounts with major national companies, and, yet, the only one’s that seem to be tracked by NCTUE seem to be some, but not all, of the AT&T accounts.  I would think that your members might be greatly dissatisfied with the paucity and incompleteness of the meaningful (or meaningless) information that you are really providing to them.

Please correct the information in my credit file and then provide me with a corrected copy of my credit file when you have corrected the information in it.  You should also note that in your letter of December 31, 2012, you seem to think that I should have to pay for this report. I might note that I have multiple justifications to insist that I receive a corrected credit file, which I have never received, at no charge whatsoever:

Firstly, I have only this month had my credit checked by AT&T for a new account. Consequently, I am entitled to a copy of my credit file on that basis alone.

Next, until you provide me with a correct credit file I have no way of determining if the credit file is correct. Under provision of the Fair Credit Reporting Act you are required to provide that report at no charge to me.

If you want to dispute that the credit file is incorrect, then I demand that you add a statement from me in my credit file that the address is incorrect in the file and indicate the address above as the correct address.

Please comply with your responsibilities under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and subsequent legislation.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXXXXXXX


encl: My Letter of December 18, 2012
       Your Letter of December 31, 2012

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1/22/13
National Consumer Telecom & Utilities Exchange, Inc.

Dear XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

On behalf of the Exchange, the Exchange Service Center has contacted each source directly, and our investigation is now completed. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact the source of that information directly.

Result of Your Investigation (For your security, the last 4 digits of your account number(s) have been replaced by *).

>>>> We have researched the information you have disputed. Account # XXXXXXXXXXX THE DISPUTED ADDRESS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ACCOUNT HAS BEEN UPDATED. If you have additional questions about this item please contact: AT&T, PO Box 80517 Charleston SC 29416 800 288 2020.

If you have any additional questions regarding the information provided to NCTUE by the source of any information, please contact the source of that information directly. You may contact us regarding the specific information contained in this letter by writing to us at

Exchange Service Center - NCTUE
PO Box 105398
Atlanta, GA 30348-5398
]Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you.

Exchange Service Center - NCTUE


Attachment: My credit report

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I note two things.

First, they have addressed the letter to me correctly and the mailing address is now correct on the report.
Congratulations NCTUE. However, I now note that the addresses reported as part of the report reported by AT&T are incorrect. I have today communicated with AT&T and they have assured me that the mailing address on my four accounts are correct. I do not know what to make of this.

I think this is CASE CLOSED.

I guess it was not quite closed. Today I received yet another letter from NCTUE. The text follows.


January 29, 2013

Dear Consumer:
We have received your request concerning your telecom and utilities exchange data report.
However, our records indicated that a free copy of your disclosure report already has been sent to you.
These are the reasons for which a data report can be provided at no charge, if you don't meet the criteria below, there may be a charge.
If you have been denied service, credit or another credit-based benefit due to information on your data report within the last 60 days, you are entitled by law to a free copy of your data report.
If you have recently placed an initial 90-day fraud alert on your data report, you may receive a free data report.
If you have recently placed an extended seven-year alert, you may receive two free data reports within 12 months.
You are entitled to one free data report during any 12-month period regardless of your state of residence if you are :
-Unemployed and intend to apply for employment in the next 60 days
-Receiving public welfare assistance
-Believe you are a victim of fraud
-Receive a risk based pricing notice
In the event you request the Exchange Risk Score, the charge is $7.95.
Please refer to the chart below to determine your current fee for the telecom and utilities exchange data report.
[Chart omitted]
If you are entitled to a free data report but you included payment in the form of a personal check, it has been shredded for your protection.  If you included a money order, it is being returned to you in a separate mailing.
Please include correct payment with the new request and make check payable to: Exchange Service Center.
Please submit the requested information and this letter to the address below.
Exchange Service Center - NCTUE
PO Box 105161
Atlanta, GA 30348-5161

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to assist you.
Exchange Service Center - NCTUE

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
There they go again repeating themselves.

I think this is a wrap.

The Quagmire of dealing with DirecTV

I signed up for TV service from DirecTV on August 30, 2012.

I am having some trouble interfacing with the company, so I decided to start a trouble ticket on this item on this blog. For right now I will start with the correspondence, since I think it is self explanatory.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


September 20, 2012

Mr. Michael D. White, CEO
DirecTV
2230 East Imperial Highway
El Segundo, CA 90245

Re: Account # XXXXXXXXXX

Dear Mr. White:

I write to you as a last resort to clear up a quagmire of incomprehensible communications between DirecTV and myself.  After having spent more than eight hours of my time on this issue I will be forced to terminate my relationship with your firm if the matter is not resolved expeditiously. I cannot devote this amount of time to such an inconsequential matter.  I am a new customer to DirecTV and would prefer to have a simple relationship wherein you provide  the services and I pay for them, not an endless stream of calls and other communications that are going nowhere and where no one on your staff has any inkling of what is going on.

By way of background I provide the following narrative:

On or about August 30, 2012 (approximately 19 days ago) I initiated a call to AT&T for bundled services of DSL and TV services at one of my homes in California.  AT&T was unable to complete the TV portion of the “bundle” and told me to call DirecTV directly. I spoke with the representative of DirecTV and signed up for the service with a two year contract. They were very polite and the technician quickly arrived to set up the receiver and connected it to my TV set.

However, on September 5, 2012 (approximately two weeks ago, and about a week after I signed up for your company’s service) I received a letter from DirecTV dated August 29, 2012 ( a copy with my notations on it is included here). Besides all the incorrect information in the letter, I thought that the letter was strange in that the quality was so poor, there is no address associated with the letter, and no telephone number at DirecTV. My first reaction to it was that it was not sent by DirecTV and might be a letter ffrom someone “phishing” for my personal information. This is still my current belief.



I called DirecTV about the letter. They found no record of the letter having been sent to me, and nothing with the reference number 504697801 as indicated in the letter. I called the telephone number of the Exchange Service Center indicated in the letter. The answering system referred to NCTUE and not Exchange Service Center.

They would not deal with me unless I provided my personal information (social security number and date of birth, etc.). I gave them the reference number listed in the letter, but that was insufficient for them to deal with me. I was not giving them my personal information until I verified that they were a trustworthy party who were who they represented themselves to be.  They could not satisfy me in that regard.

Now, more specifically, the DirecTV letter of August 29 stated that the consumer reporting agency (Exchange Service Center) was unable to locate a credit file for me. I can assure you that I have a credit file. I could only conclude that somehow the representative at DirecTV had gotten my social security number incorrect or something like that, or, even more alarming, that the information provided by DirecTV to their credit reporting agency had been compromised and was being used by some interloper.  I called DirecTV to try to see if this was the case. No one at DirecTV who I was put in contact with could deal with this issue.

The letter further states that I was told certain things, more specifically, that: (1) a fee would be required and/or (2) the offer(s) for which I was qualified were not as favorable as those for consumers with a credit file. Be assured that I was not told any such things.

Being left out to hang in the breeze, so to speak, since I could not get anywhere with DirecTV, I did do some investigation into who this NCTUE organization is and found that they might be a legitimate credit reporting agency. However, I did find many comments about strange letters being received from this organization by many consumers.  Consequently, on the same day I received the letter from them, September 5, 2012 I, wrote a letter to NCTUE (see enclosed letter). I still felt somewhat uneasy about sending my personal information to them so, as you can see from the letter, I provided them with enough information for them to pull a credit file on me.

On September 18, 2012, I received a letter (attached) from NCTUE dated September 12. You will note that they were still unable to find a credit file on me.

After having received the letter from NCTUE I again called DirecTV on the matter. They again reiterated that there was no record of a letter having been sent to me on the subject and I was referred to the retention department who in turn referred me to the sales department. Since I had already dealt a few times with the sales department I decided it was time to rethink this matter. I concluded that it was time to bring in a responsible person at DirecTV to clear up this matter or I would cancel the service.

As you can probably tell from the letter that I sent to the NCTUE I have more utility accounts than most people have underwear and I can assure you that I have a credit file.

Please see that this mess is straightened out and have someone get back to me to assure me that my personal information that resides in the records of your firm is well protected and has not been compromised and the real meaning of the correspondence from your firm.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXXXXXXX

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
                                                                                        DIRECTV
                                                                                          AUGUST 29,2012
Mr. XXXXXXXXXX

Reference Number 504697801

Dear Mr. XXXXXXXXXX

Thank you for your interest in DIRECTV. Based on the identification information you provided to us, the consumer reporting agency listed below was unable to locate a credit file for you.  Because a credit file could not be located, you were told that  (1) a fee would be required and/or (2) the offer's for which you qualified were not as favorable as those for consumers with a credit file.

Since this action was based on the consumer reporting agency's inability to locate a credit file for you, you have the right, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, to receive a copy of your consumer credit report at no charge if the request is made within 60 days of receipt of this letter.  This report can be obtained by writing directly to the consumer reporting agency at the address below or calling their toll-free number (866) 343 2821

           Exchange Service Center
           P.O. Box 105161
           Atlanta, GA 30348-5398

The consumer reporting agency will need identification information from you, which may include:
     A copy of this letter
     Your full name, including first, middle, last and suffix (i.e. Jr., Sr., II, or III as applicable)
     Any other names you may use or have used in the past (maiden name, previous married  name, nickname, etc.)
     Social Security Number
     Date of Birth

The consumer reporting agency listed above played no part in our decision and is unable to supply specific reasons why we took this action.  If, after receiving a copy of your consumer credit report from the consumer reporting agency, you determine that the information is not accurate or complete, you have the right to dispute the matter with the reporting agency.

This notice applies to all requests for service that you made within 30 days after your first request and in response to which we informed you that an action was taken.

Sincerely,

DIRECTV, LLC


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



September 5, 2012

Exchange Service Center
PO Box 105161
Atlanta, GA 30348-5398


Reference Number 504697801
Gentlemen:

I am in receipt of a letter dated August 29, 2012 from DIRECTV with the above captioned reference number wherein DIRECTV indicates that you were unable to locate a credit file for me.
They mailed that notice to me at @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ in spite of the fact that I gave them my mailing address as stated above in South Dakota. I have the right, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, to receive a copy of my consumer credit report at no charge
if the request is made within 60 days of receipt of the above cited letter. Since I am within the sixty day period, I expect you to promptly comply with this request since my relationship with DIRECTV has been jeopardized by your inability to locate my file..

Since there appears to be some confusion involved here since it was reported that you have no file on me, I have provided below some additional information as to the utility companies that I currently have accounts with (cities in parentheses are where the services are provided):

Southwest Gas Corporation, Las Vegas, NV (Incline Village, NV)
Aquarion Water Company, Lewiston, ME (Ridgefield, CT)
AT&T, Carol Stream, IL

(three accounts for Ridgefield, CT, Incline Village, NV, and San Rafael, CA)

AT&T Mobility, Atlanta, GA (Sioux Falls, SD)
Connecticut Light & Power, Hartford, CT (two accounts for Ridgefield, CT)
Comcast, San Rafael, CA (this account went inactive on August 28, 2012)
Marin Municipal Water District, Corte Madera, CA (San Rafael, CA)
NV Energy, Reno, NV (Incline Village, NV)
Pacific Gas & electric, Sacramento, CA (San Rafael, CA)
Time Warner Cable, Flushing, NY (New York, NY)

Needless to say, I have many other active non utility accounts and all the major credit reporting agencies have active files on me.  I look forward to your prompt reply.

Sincerely,


XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mr. XXXXXXXXXXX
Sioux Falls, SD

September 12 2012

Dear Consumer:

We have been unsuccessful in locating a telecom and utilities exchange data report in our database with the information that you provided.

We were unable to locate a data report for you due to one of the following reasons.
You may not have a current data report.
You may not have applied for new services recently or not actively used services (such as telecom, pay TV or utilities) for the last 10 years with a company that reports to the telecom and utilities exchanges.
We do not maintain international addresses.
Your telecom or utilities service provider(s) may not be a company that reports to the telecom and utilities exchange.

You also may want to contact the three nationwide credit reporting agencies list below for a copy of your credit file.

Equfax
Experian
TransUnion

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to assist you.

Exchange Service Center NCTUE

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Further notes on NCTUE.
On September 18, 2012 I called NCTUE (Exchange Service Center) with regard to their letter of September 12, 2012. They assured me that they have a file on me and would mail it to me at my PO Box in South Dakota.

On September 26, 2012 I called NCTUE again, having not received any credit file from them, and they informed me that it takes 7 to 10 days to get the report. That means I should receive it between September 25 and September 28. I will wait until September 29 before calling them again.

On October 1, 2012 I called NCTUE again, having not received any credit file from them. They now inform me that it takes 7 to 10 BUSINESS days to get the report that was SENT on Sept 18. They claim I will now receive it on October 2, 2012, the tenth BUSINESS day. I will call again on October 2, 2012 if I do not receive the report by that time.

On Octover 2, 2012 I called NCTUE again, having not received any credit file from them. They do not know why I did not receive the credit file. They have now initiated an investigation as to why I did not receive the credit file and have initiated a new confirmation number to remail a new credit file to me that should be received by October 16, 2012.  It is interesting to note that the representative of NCTUE (Tom) concluded the conversation by thanking me for contacting "Equifax".  I know that NCTUE is owned by Equifax. At least now I think I am dealing with a real company.  A lot of good that does me.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

October 3, 2012

Exchange Service Center
PO Box 105161
Atlanta, GA 30348-5398
Confirmation numbers xxxxxxxxxxxx and yyyyyyyyyyyyyy
Gentlemen:

I am in receipt of a letter dated August 29, 2012 from DIRECTV wherein DIRECTV indicates that you were unable to locate a credit file for me and that the consequences of that may damage my relationship with them. On September 5, 2012 I wrote to you about this matter. I received a response from you dated September 12, 2012 indicating that you were again unable to locate a credit file for me. On September 18, 2012 I called your company and one of your representatives was able to locate the file and indicated that a copy would be mailed to me at the above address and I would receive it within 10 business days. On October 2, 2012 I called your company since I had not received any correspondence from you and I was told that the credit file was sent on September 18 and that I must have received it. The mailing address is, in fact, a secure lockbox and every transaction received in it is logged and scanned. The lockbox service I use for this is prepared to issue a letter certifying that no such letter was ever received at that location.
Consequently, your representative stated that you would mail to me another copy of my credit file at the above address and that I would receive it by October 16, 2012.

I again reiterate that I have the right, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, to receive a copy of my consumer credit report at no charge in a reasonable amount of time.  My patience is waning and I intend to exercise my rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to collect any damages and attorneys fees I should have should you not comply with the request in a timely fashion.
The request(s) have been made within 60 days of receipt of the above cited letter from DirecTV. Since I am within the sixty day period, I, again, expect you to promptly comply with this request since my relationship with DIRECTV has been jeopardized by your inability to either locate my file or transmit a copy of it to me so that I may determine if you have recorded incorrect information in my file.

I look forward to your prompt reply.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

October 4, 2012

I have received a volicemail from Debbie Barnes from the Office of the President of DirecTV, Attorney General and Better Business Bureau office 800 583-2191 X 20048. The phone number she called from is located in Idaho, (208) 363 6015. They have received the letter I sent to the President and want to discuss the matter with me. I have returned the call and left a message.

Debbie returned my call. She has thoroughly researched the history of my account and has no explanation for the letter I received. They, in fact, did pull a credit report on me and it was fine. They apologized profusely for the confusion that the letter introduced and the inability of their staff to deal with the consequences of that. I asked them to send me a letter assuring me that there will me no negative consequences that will result and that the letter was a misunderstanding on their part and should not have been sent.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

DIRECTV

October 4, 2012

XXXXXXXXXX
Sioux Falls, SD

Re: account YYYYYYYYYY

Dear Mr. XXXXXXXXX

We thank you for taking our call on October 4, 2012. We regret any frustration you may have experienced in regard to your DIRECTV service.

After review, we have determined the letter in question sent by DIRECTV on August 29 was generated in error when the order was placed. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

We have verified your account, which was activated August 30, is in good standing.

We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns and hope you will have no further cause for any complaint in relation to our service.

Sincerely,

Debbie Bond
DIRECTV Office of the President



@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

10/21/12

My letter to Exchange Service Center, or NCTUE of October 3, 2012 has gone unanswered. According to the representative I should have received a copy of my credit file by October 16, which I have not. In a call today they claim that they mailed it again to me on October 3, 2012. After numerous attempts to get the Indian Customer Service Representative to connect me to a supervisor and waiting over an hour on the phone they hung up on me.  The best they could offer, again, was to send it to me at the same address they claim to have sent it twice before. It is now time to file a claim against them for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act.


10/23/12
I just got a call back with a voicemail from a Ms. Huffman from Equifax. She claims to have finally resolved the matter of the four attempts to send my credit file to me. She claims that because my file was sent to a third party and then on to someone else that it was returned to them.  This does not make any sense.  She left a phone number to send a fax to 888 416 9436 to send her information to request that the credit file be sent to my address.
I have tried to contact Ms. Huffman with no success.
So, the conclusion I have come to is that they are trying, for some unknown reason, to avoid sending me my credit file.  The plot thickens.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
10/24/12
After a careful investigation of the circumstances I have concluded that the address to which Equifax, or NCTUE or Exchange Service Center, whatever they want to call themselves has sent the credit report to the wrong address and it has been returned to them each time.
I called the NCTUE and attempted  to speak with Ms. Huffman. She was not available, but one of the customer representatives tried to assist me by changing the address to which I wanted the report sent to.
As hard as she tried, the system would not accept the address and kept changing it to the address that would be rejected by the US Postal Service. She suggested that I contact Ms. Huffman when she was available.

10/25/12
I called the NCTUE (Exchange Service Center, or Equifax) to speak to Ms Huffman. I was put on hold for half an hour. Ms. Huffman is not available today, but Gayle is available. I waited another half hour on hold and the phone was disconnected.  I called back and explained that I wanted to speak with Gayle. After a 25 minute wait I was told that I would have to call back in half an hour. I told them that I would wait on the phone call rather than go through the trouble again.  After about 30 minutes another person came on and explained that Gayle was not available, but that they could help me. I explained the situation again and they said that the correct address was in the system. I explained to her the situation that occurred yesterday with the other representative. She assured me that it would be sent to the correct address and that it would be sent out today. I should have it in 3 to 5 business days.  On the outside that should be by October 31, Halloween. Now, that's a scary thought. I bet I know the outcome already.
Another few hours on the phone, oh well. what to you expect in such a technologically advanced society.

I have decided that this thread has taken on a life of its own and has nothing to do with DirecTV anymore. I am now going to post to a new page called Equifax. Please continue on that post.

Comcast joins Charter Communications in hall of shame

The following is a series of entries that I will continue to post to until I get closure or I reach a stale mate.  If you are interested in the item I suggest you bookmark this page and check back on my progress.  I will remove this message when the post has gone to its logical conclusion.

8/27/12

This all started with my bill from Comcast in late July, 2012. My bill increased from about $120 per month to $153 a month with no apparent reason. On August 3, 2012 I called Comcast to find out why my bill had increased so much. I was told that the promotional rate that I was paying had expired and that this was my new rate.
I asked if there was any way to get the service reduced. They told me there was no way to do it other than to terminate my service.
I told them to terminate my telephone service and keep the internet and Cable TV service.  They immediately offered me a bundled package price of $99 a month for the first year and $119 for the second year. So much for nothing that they could do.
I said that was fine.  They said that in order to get that rate I had to make a commitment for two years and that if I were to cancel before that time I would be subject to a penalty.  They told me that I would receive a letter with the agreement in the mail and that I would have up to 30 days to decline the terms.
I looked forward to receiving the agreement.
I was also told that I would have to be verified by an independent organization that I really wanted to avail myself of this agreement. I agreed to that too and was transferred to them. I agreed to the terms that I would have 30 days to decline the terms of the agreement.

About a week later, August 11, I believe,  I had reason to call Comcast again on an unrelated matter. While I was on the phone it came out that Comcast believed that the last time I had communicated with them was a number of months previously. I told them that I had spoken to them only the week before and that I had tentatively agreed to a bundled agreement, subject to my review of the written agreement just the week before.  They searched and said that they had no record of that, but that I could sign up for that bundled package while on the phone on August 11.

I signed up again and also was verified by the independent organization. I was told that I would be receiving my agreement in the mail and that I had 30 days to decline the agreement. I consented provisionally, subject to my review after I received the written agreement.

I marked my calendar for August 27 and when that day came I called Comcast to find out why I had not received my written agreement for review.
At first they told me that I would not receive a written agreement in the mail, that they would summarize it on the phone and that would be that. I said that I wanted to see the agreement. After being told that they would send it to me again. I reminded them that if I would receive the agreement after September 11, 2012 the 30 probationary period would have expired and I would not be able to cancel without incurring some sort of penalty.  They said that they would extend the deadline by 15 days to mid September.
At this point, while it may not seem possible, I had invested about 4 hours of my time in this endeavor.
I told them that I was not going to start the process over in another 10 days. Could they please send me an email of the agreement. NO.
However they did say that if I were to log onto comcast.com/agreement and put in a id and code which they gave me I could see it there.
Try as I might, the information they gave me did not work. I could not see any agreement.
I called back and was told that I could go to my local Comcast office and they would print it out for me.
I went to my local Comcast office and made the request for the agreement.  They told me that they could verbally summarize the agreement, but that I could not get a written copy of the agreement.

It was at this point that it became clear to me that they DO NOT want me to see this agreement. They want me to give up and just accept the fact that I am accepting the agreement without having seen it.
I again called Comcast and told them of my dilemma. They cannot help me.  While I was on the phone I asked about my bill which had not arrived.  They told be what the charges were and they seemed too high. They told me that they had mailed it to me on August 21, almost a week ago.  Okay, it might still be in the mail. I'll give it a few more days.
In going through the charges it became clear that there was a $10 fee for electing the bundle agreement. How convenient was it that they failed to mention this little detail when I signed up for the service?
As I started to get irritated about this charge they told me they would give me a credit for the $10 charge.
I have never felt so flim flammed by a con artist as by Comcast.  When are they going to grow up and behave like a legitimate business instead of a fly by night siding salesman?

I filed a formal complaint with the local Telecommunications Agency. This is supposed to be the watchdog organization.
Tune in next week to see what the next installment of this saga results in.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
8/28/12

Today, my Comcast bill actually arrived. The $99 special actually came in at $129. I did expect a little bit higher than $99. In dissecting the bill I see a new charge for "HD Technology Fee" at $10. It is in there twice. Now, yesterday, they removed what they told me was a fee for a change of service, but I do not see that in here.  I'll just assume that this is that charge, but twice. If I remove it, I get to about $109, which is about right (cable modem is $7 and there are some taxes for a few bucks). I will have to bring up the double charge to them.

I again called Comcast about the agreement. They disavowed any knowledge about the previous conversations and the extension of the probationary period to mid September. I was clearly running out of time to review the agreement before the apparent deadline of around the end of August. I cancelled the service.

8/29/12
I was called today by the Executive offices of Comcast with respect to the complaint that I filed.
I carefully explained in great detail the wild goose chase that I was put through in trying to get the written agreement.  The person was pleasant and offered to summarize the agreement verbally for me.
She also pointed out that they have 30 days to produce the written agreement and that since I had cancelled the service I would not be receiving the agreement. I pointed out to her that since I had just cancelled the service and they had sent out the agreement in a written form such that I would receive it before the 30 deadline that the agreement would already be in the mail and that they could not rescind the letter's arrival. (By the way, the letter never arrived, so it was a ruse, there never was a letter). She also said that since I had cancelled the service that I could not see what the agreement would have been.

The individual disavowed all the claims that were made by other Comcast personnel, to wit:

That I would receive a written agreement within 10 days,

That I would have the opportunity to review the agreement for up to thirty days from the date I signed up.

That there was a penalty of $480 for early cancellation. 

That I would be obligated for the penalty if I cancelled the agreement yesterday 8/28/12, just 25 days after I signed up

That I could pick up a written version of my agreement at the local Comcast office.

That they did not agree to send me a written agreement and that the verbal agreement was all that was necessary, in spite of the fact that part of the verbal agreement was that I would have 30 days to cancel the agreement upon inspection. 

9/5/12
I have returned the equipment to Comcast today. I have a signed receipt for the equipment and they owe me a refund of $10.57. I do not want them to mail the check to my billing address, but rather here to my home. I called to make sure that they have the correct address. I cannot get into their system since I am now not a customer, even though the account is not settled yet!. I finally got through and they will send a check within a few weeks.
In the meantime I have signed up for DirectTV and AT&T DSL. So far the AT&T ISP service appears to be somewhat faster than the Comcast Xfinity service.  DirecTV seems to be working just fine too. I certainly get more stations on DirecTV than Comcast and it is a lot cheaper.  I am very pleased with the tremendous reduction in price and the increased level of service from both of these carriers.
I did have one problem with representations made by AT&T with regard to the amount of time it would take for them to establish service here. Since there was no AT&T service at this location for many years they had to bring a new line to the house.  They were unable to meet their commitment to have me up and running within 72 hours. Due to the long holiday weekend I had to suffer with withdrawal symptoms of not having access to the internet.
I did also have one difficulty with DirecTV in that they did not get the mailing address I gave them into their system.  The bill arrived today and I have now asked them to change my billing address.  They also were unable to verify my credit report at this billing address (well, I guess they will just have to follow instructions, won't they).

9/21/12
It has been more than two weeks since Comcast said I would receive the refund in about two weeks. I will wait another week just to make sure it is not already in the mail.

9/24/12
I called Comcast to probe the fact that I have not received my check for the credit balance due and the final detail statement of my account did not arrive. Here is the new story they have for me this week.  I was not issued a monthly statement this month because there was no balance due. The representative stated that a credit was posted to my account on 9/15/12 and that it takes two to three weeks for the check to arrive.  I should be receiving my next month statement because it now shows a credit balance due. I will then see the detail of how the credit was arrived at.  This is a good sounding story, though it is somewhat different from the story I got a number of weeks ago. I will mark my calendar to look for the check arriving by the first week of October.

10/5/12
I have waited the prescribed amount of time for the Comcast statement and refund check to arrive, but alas, it has not. I called Comcast today. Here is the flavor of the day from Comcast.  Since I do not owe them any money I will not be receiving a statement. When I pointed out that I had not received a final accounting nor my refund, they said I should receive that by next Thursday, October 11. I will mark my calendar for this event.  If I do not receive anything by next Friday I will file another complaint with the  Telecommunications Agency.

10/9/12
Today, I received a check dated 9/24/12 in the amount of $10.57 from Comcast. No accounting of how they got to that number included. Maybe I will receive that in the next two days as they promised.

10/12/12
Called Comcast. They claim that I was already sent bills covering the periods 8/20/12 to 9/29/12 and 9/30/12 to 10/29/12. I told them I never received them. They are issuing copies to me at the service

10/21/2012
Telecommunications Agency

Dear Ms. Sennett:

If you will recall that I contacted you earlier this year about Comcast's inability to produce the written agreement that I had verbally agreed to in order to get a "package" that they were offering.

If you will recall the agreement was subject to my ability to cancel the contract within the first 30 day period once I reviewed the written terms of the agreement, which they were supposed to send me.

I had not received the written terms in spite of numerous attempts by various Comcast personnel leading me down blind alleys to get the written agreement, including sending me to the local Comcast office to get a printout.  In spite of all these attempts, I have never seen any such written agreement.

After my complaint to you I got a call from the executive offices of Comcast, wherein they explained to me that they would summarize the agreement verbally and that I did not need the written agreement. Since 29 days of the 30 period had elapsed and I had that very morning cancelled the agreement with them since I was not in receipt of the written agreement, the representative said that I would now not be receiving the written agreement (it is as though they had reached into the US Postal Service and retrieved the one they allegedly had sent to me in the mail that I never received).

This is all poppycock. There never was a written agreement in spite of all the promises to produce one.

Now, what I am complaining about is that I have never received a final accounting of how the charges were arrived at to get to my final bill. I would think that I would be entitled to one.

Thank you for your assistance.

-- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

******************************************************

12/2/12

It has been about 6 weeks now and I have not gotten any response to my email. Very curious.
I will have to follow up on this.

********************************************************

2/20/2015

I had been on DirecTV and AT&T Uverse (Internet) and Vonage for about 2 1/2 years.  The service on both DirecTV and AT&T degraded considerably.  They took away quite a few of the channels on the TV and said that if I wanted them back I would have to cough up more money, and the DSL service degraded considerably, to the point were streaming videos on my PC were not running in real time anymore.
I had forgotten many of the detail of the above spat with Comcast and decided to switch back to Comcast.  These are really the only two choices (except, there is alway Dish TV, but then what would I use for internet?).
I researched the deals and picked out the basic Xfinity Triple Play for TV, Internet, and Telephone.
I chose to do my own installation and purchased my own modem for the Internet and their VOIP Telephone.

So, here's what I went through with the salesperson on the phone.
I get:
1. Cable TV with 140 stations including HD
2. Internet with speed up to 50Mbps (this is actually 15Mbps)
3. VOIP telephone service for unlimited calls within the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada
4. A $100 visa gift card

And, I get all this for $89.99 a month for the first 12 months and $114.99 a month for the next 12 months (24 month commitment. Charges would not accrue until I got all my services attached.  The lead time on the phone was 15 business days.
There is a monthly charge for the Cable TV Box.  No installation charge because I did the installation myself.

                           **********************************************************

2/28/2015

I realized that Comcast was going to send the $100 gift card to my billing address and I called them to change that address.  They informed me that they see no gift card as part of the deal.  I told them that if the gift card were not part of the deal that I would cancel the service.  They told me to cancel the service if that is what I wanted to do since there is no gift card that would be forthcoming.

An hour later I decided to call back and ask them for a written copy of the agreement.  After some shuffling on their part they told me that I did not have an agreement with them.  This means that there is no 24 month commitment to them. I asked them what the charges were and they told me to log onto my account to find out.
I complained again about the fact that the "deal" as advertised for my town on their internet ad on their website clearly indicates that there is a $100 gift card in the offer.  They said that they would give me a $100 credit on my account.
I went on-line to find that the charges on my account (which were for paperless billing, which I never agreed to) were $145 and due in about 2 weeks.  This included the $89.99 charge, plus the cable modem, plus a whole bunch of charges for installation, installation kits, etc.  I told them that they did not do the installation and that the kits were not delivered. This will be revisited in a few weeks once I have my VOIP telephone service up and running. More importantly, they are charging for all the services as if I had them all up and running already, as opposed to what they told me on the phone that my billing would not start until I had all my services up and running.

What is clear at this point is that Comcast is running the same scam about contracts that I encountered a few years ago.  There is no such thing as a contract.  It is a myth.  Unless you leave them too early and they want a penalty fee for not fulfilling your contract.  Catch 22.

                       *********************////*****************************

3/2/15

I called Comcast again today about this bill that they generated and send paperlessly to my on-line account that I just happened to stumble upon.
So, I have now learned that they, contrary to their prior proclamation, charged me for all three services from inception, even though I do not have the telephone service.  Today they claim they have annotated my account with a note saying that I should get a credit for the time that I do not have telephone service.  This will be activated when I notify them that I have telephone service.

I have challenged the charges for $30 for the self starter kits that I never received. They have now allege that hey have given me credit for those and they will appear on my bill within 7 days.

I have also asked again if I have a contract with them.  They initially said yes, but then when I challenged that they relented.  They said that I can document this by going to the local office and asking for a printout of the fact that I do not have a contract with them.
These people are sleezeballs.  They will put their hand in your pocket and take your money if you do not watch them every minute of the day.

                       ***********************//////*****************************

3/4/15
I went to the local Comcast office to pick up my documentation that I do not have a contract with them and they have now assured me that I do have a contract, but that they cannot produce it.  They say that it should be mailed to me.  Where have I heard this story before.  Oh, yes, it was the last time I want through this charade with them a few years ago.  This is like an Abbot and Costello reoutine. Who's on first?  I am now going to file a duplicated complaint with the local Telecommunications Commission.

I have called the local Telecommunications Agency over the last few days and left messages.  They have not called back.  I have read through their literature online and it appears that they cannot really do anything except forward a complaint to Comcast. I guess it is not worth pursuing the complaint with them.

I am on the phone with Comcast again.  A very nice agent who has explained that there are two software systems at Comcast. One system says I have a contract, the other says I do not.  I told them that I must get this situation resolved.

They think they have resolved the problem.  They have asked me to answer some questions confirming my understanding of the contract that I am entering. I have answered the questions, but in answer to the question as to whether I understand that I will be responsible for cancelation fees should I cancel the contract I answered that "If I have an opportunity to review the actual written agreement before the cancellation period ends then I would agree to be bound by the agreement."

                           **************************<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>**************

3/17/15
My telephone service with Vonage went dead. I presume it is the cutover time for Comcast's phone service.  They told me that they were going to call me before this happened.  Good thing it happened this morning and not this afternoon when I have a very important conference call.
Comcast is activating my Comcast phone now.  It is now working.
I asked about the fact that I have not received the contract from Comcast yet.  They explained that it was sent to me. I said I did not receive it.  They said they emailed it to me at some email address that I did not know about that they set up for me at comcast.net.  I checked. It is not there.  They now tell me that somehow I got the contract rate, but I do not have a contract.  I told them that I want a contract. They say that they are sending it to me and that I will now have 30 days to review it.
I asked for the credit on the charges for the phone service I did not get from 2/20/15 to present.  They said that it is $16.49. I challenged the number as being incorrect.  They changed the number to $21.00. They just make all this stuff up. I have no idea where they are coming from.

I just called back Comcast to verify that the note is still in their system that I am to receive a contract AND that they will send it to me for revie. no contract and I ca back out when I want without cancellation fees.
I also challenged the monthly recurring charges amount. They have issued me a credit for $8.44. Monthly charges starting next month will be $107.64.

*****************************%%%%%%%%%%%**************************

3/19/15
I am approaching the 30 day limit to get out of the Comcast contract that Comcast has said that they will reinstate, which they had previously renunciated without bothering to inform me. I called to just check on things again today.  Well. Well.  Today the story is that I definitely do not have a contract and that I can cancel at any time without penalty.  I have asked for them to send me some tangible form of that statement so that when they ask for the cancellation fee that I can show it to them.  They say that they cannot do that.  Catch 22 again.  I spoke with Daniel today at extension 301 4291.  He has said that he will research the situation and get back to me and assured me that my cancellation period will be extended until such time as I have reviewed the contract, if Comcast should decide at some later time that they changed their mind and rediscovered that I do have a contract, contradicting what they are telling me.