Comments on: Comcast HSI Abuse http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/ Confessions of an Information Addict Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:22:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Jamison England http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-9189 Jamison England Wed, 12 Mar 2008 06:28:38 +0000 http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-9189 I was canceled back in Oct 07' for 'excessive bandwidth' With no explanation of how much is too much in their eyes. I see it as false advertisement. They did tell me that i downloaded around 500GB that particular month, but as i see it im allowed 1.99TB. (6mbit per second @ 30 day month = 1.99TB). But anyway, class action count me in. I was canceled back in Oct 07′ for ‘excessive bandwidth’ With no explanation of how much is too much in their eyes. I see it as false advertisement. They did tell me that i downloaded around 500GB that particular month, but as i see it im allowed 1.99TB. (6mbit per second @ 30 day month = 1.99TB). But anyway, class action count me in.

]]> By: Benjamin Rickett http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-7471 Benjamin Rickett Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:56:26 +0000 http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-7471 One more thought, I have not been disconnected, but they did threaten it if I didn't slow things down. Many years ago I was having trouble with US West now (Qwest) and was able to go to the public service commission and they act as an advocate when dealing with the "big boys" including comcast. I plan to contact the public service commission regarding this issue. Benjamin One more thought, I have not been disconnected, but they did threaten it if I didn’t slow things down. Many years ago I was having trouble with US West now (Qwest) and was able to go to the public service commission and they act as an advocate when dealing with the “big boys” including comcast. I plan to contact the public service commission regarding this issue.

Benjamin

]]> By: Benjamin Rickett http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-7470 Benjamin Rickett Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:53:09 +0000 http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-7470 I got the same call from the network abuse center. He worded things extremely carefully and directed me to the terms of use page. Everything he said to me on the phone was later verified when I read through the terms of use. Comcast advertises no limit internet, but has an imaginary one. This guy seemed like he was either well trained, or he was an attorney. I have reduced my usage, but I still don't know how much was or is too much. :( rickett@xmission.com Benjamin I got the same call from the network abuse center. He worded things extremely carefully and directed me to the terms of use page. Everything he said to me on the phone was later verified when I read through the terms of use.

Comcast advertises no limit internet, but has an imaginary one. This guy seemed like he was either well trained, or he was an attorney.

I have reduced my usage, but I still don’t know how much was or is too much.
:(

rickett@xmission.com
Benjamin

]]> By: Jed Leslie http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-7151 Jed Leslie Thu, 10 Jan 2008 20:30:42 +0000 http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-7151 I'm an IT professional and just received one of Comcast's threatening calls. The number came from 1-856-317-7272. The person on the phone told me that last month I used 480GB of bandwidth (EXTREMELY hard to believe as I was on vacation for 1.5 weeks and my computer was disconnected for service all month). I attempted to squeeze all the information out of the person on the phone as possible. They would not provide an employee number, the ability to speak to a manager, their full name, their location (beyond NJ), the actual amount of bandwidth I'm not allowed to go over, weather or not they are legally affiliated with Comcast or anything of use to me AS THEIR CUSTOMER. The only thing they said was refer to the terms of use document (which, as we all know, provides no actual limitation or specifics). On top of it all, I pay for the highest tier of bandwidth possible (8Mb/sec). Assuming I use the full allocated 8Mb for every second, it would only take me 5 and a half days to reach the 480GB which they consider reason to cut my service off. The calls are threats. They are disrespectful, uncalled for and completely out of line. As a customer, I refuse to be treated like this. I will be bringing legal action against Comcast if there is no existing class action lawsuit out there. I urge you all to stand up for your rights as consumers and do not let them threaten you. I’m an IT professional and just received one of Comcast’s threatening calls. The number came from 1-856-317-7272. The person on the phone told me that last month I used 480GB of bandwidth (EXTREMELY hard to believe as I was on vacation for 1.5 weeks and my computer was disconnected for service all month). I attempted to squeeze all the information out of the person on the phone as possible. They would not provide an employee number, the ability to speak to a manager, their full name, their location (beyond NJ), the actual amount of bandwidth I’m not allowed to go over, weather or not they are legally affiliated with Comcast or anything of use to me AS THEIR CUSTOMER. The only thing they said was refer to the terms of use document (which, as we all know, provides no actual limitation or specifics). On top of it all, I pay for the highest tier of bandwidth possible (8Mb/sec). Assuming I use the full allocated 8Mb for every second, it would only take me 5 and a half days to reach the 480GB which they consider reason to cut my service off. The calls are threats. They are disrespectful, uncalled for and completely out of line. As a customer, I refuse to be treated like this. I will be bringing legal action against Comcast if there is no existing class action lawsuit out there. I urge you all to stand up for your rights as consumers and do not let them threaten you.

]]> By: Comcast Year-End Report Card: D at Garrett Gee http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-6888 Comcast Year-End Report Card: D at Garrett Gee Mon, 31 Dec 2007 07:08:58 +0000 http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-6888 [...] They banned me without proper notice! I documented my experience here, here and here. [...] […] They banned me without proper notice! I documented my experience here, here and here. […]

]]> By: ggee http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-6887 ggee Mon, 31 Dec 2007 07:05:51 +0000 http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-6887 Julia, Sorry to hear that a fellow photographer got banned for using a service with no defined limits. About bandwidth monitoring... you have several options. If you have a home router, the built in firmware might already be tracking those statistics. If you have a single Microsoft Windows computer that you want to track, I use NetStat Live from AnalogX at http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/network/nsl.htm . On another note, ATT DSL is treating me well so far, and I hope they are doing the same for you. Happy holidays! Julia,

Sorry to hear that a fellow photographer got banned for using a service with no defined limits. About bandwidth monitoring… you have several options. If you have a home router, the built in firmware might already be tracking those statistics. If you have a single Microsoft Windows computer that you want to track, I use NetStat Live from AnalogX at http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/network/nsl.htm .
On another note, ATT DSL is treating me well so far, and I hope they are doing the same for you. Happy holidays!

]]> By: Hugo http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-6670 Hugo Sun, 23 Dec 2007 23:23:08 +0000 http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-6670 (I meant "he totally *fits* the description", not "he totally *FIFA* the description"). It looks like most people that got cut off were using upwards of 200 or 300 Gb/s, and there is no way we could have been using that much, unless somebody else was piggybacking on the wireless router... Also, there is no DSL in this area, so my in-laws are basically screwed. Unless there is some kind of satellite internet service, that means they're forced back to the Stone Age dial-up connection. It is frankly outraging that Comcast can have such a monopoly and terminate people with no warning and no recourse... (I meant “he totally *fits* the description”, not “he totally *FIFA* the description”).

It looks like most people that got cut off were using upwards of 200 or 300 Gb/s, and there is no way we could have been using that much, unless somebody else was piggybacking on the wireless router…

Also, there is no DSL in this area, so my in-laws are basically screwed. Unless there is some kind of satellite internet service, that means they’re forced back to the Stone Age dial-up connection. It is frankly outraging that Comcast can have such a monopoly and terminate people with no warning and no recourse…

]]> By: Hugo http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-6642 Hugo Sat, 22 Dec 2007 18:00:18 +0000 http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-6642 Hi, the exact same thing just happened to my in-laws's Comcast internet service yesterday. The internet connection just stopped working and after about an hour on the phone with Customer Support, we found out that the account had been terminated for HSI abuse. I was unable to get the person from the abuse department to explain anything: he refused to say how much bandwidth use was being considered excessive, refused to send a bandwidth log for this account documenting the abuse and said he had no obligations to do so; and overall he totally FIFA the descriptions made in the posts above. I find it *extremely* hard to believe that my in-laws used an excessive amount of bandwidth. They barely know how to use the Internet, and the main bandwidth use most likely comes from a little software that allows them to monitor remotely four video cameras in their store. I have to check on the actual bandwidth draw but given the picture quality and refresh rate, I highly doubt that it goes above a couple of hundreds kb/s. The only thing I suspect is that somebody could have been using their connection (i found out their wireless access point was not secured) but I don't think Comcast is going to want to listen to that or help us confirm it. I will call them back today. I'll give more details later, I have to write this from a cell phone since the acount was suspended for 12 months with no appeal. I also wanted to agree that their "acceptable use policy" document is a legal joke. It says that you are prohibited to use the Internet in a way that degrades other users's ability to connect. Cable Internet service works as a shared pipe for a whole neighborhood, so by definition there is a fixed pie for a group of people. If one user starts to use the Internet, it automatically degrades the other people's use since it takes some amount away from the total available bandwidth. This is a typical example of how their legalese makes no sense. I also cannot believe that they are not under an obligation to prove you abused the bandwidth, with a written, recorded statements and bandwidth logs. Is there a class action suit already under way? Hi,
the exact same thing just happened to my in-laws’s Comcast internet service yesterday. The internet connection just stopped working and after about an hour on the phone with Customer Support, we found out that the account had been terminated for HSI abuse. I was unable to get the person from the abuse department to explain anything: he refused to say how much bandwidth use was being considered excessive, refused to send a bandwidth log for this account documenting the abuse and said he had no obligations to do so; and overall he totally FIFA the descriptions made in the posts above.
I find it *extremely* hard to believe that my in-laws used an excessive amount of bandwidth. They barely know how to use the Internet, and the main bandwidth use most likely comes from a little software that allows them to monitor remotely four video cameras in their store. I have to check on the actual bandwidth draw but given the picture quality and refresh rate, I highly doubt that it goes above a couple of hundreds kb/s.
The only thing I suspect is that somebody could have been using their connection (i found out their wireless access point was not secured) but I don’t think Comcast is going to want to listen to that or help us confirm it. I will call them back today.

I’ll give more details later, I have to write this from a cell phone since the acount was suspended for 12 months with no appeal.
I also wanted to agree that their “acceptable use policy” document is a legal joke. It says that you are prohibited to use the Internet in a way that degrades other users’s ability to connect. Cable Internet service works as a shared pipe for a whole neighborhood, so by definition there is a fixed pie for a group of people. If one user starts to use the Internet, it automatically degrades the other people’s use since it takes some amount away from the total available bandwidth. This is a typical example of how their legalese makes no sense.
I also cannot believe that they are not under an obligation to prove you abused the bandwidth, with a written, recorded statements and bandwidth logs.
Is there a class action suit already under way?

]]> By: Julia G http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-6027 Julia G Sat, 01 Dec 2007 19:21:54 +0000 http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-6027 I was recently terminated by Comcast for being a bandwidth bandit. (I am a photographer and upload many GB of image files every month so it's not surprising that I was a high bandwidth user, just frustrating that I was never told what the exact limit is.) Does anyone know of any user groups or forums made up of people that this has happened to? or some other way to keep apprised of any legal action against Comcast for this practice? Also, when my husband received the messages (the service was in his name), he was so disgusted he didn't even bother to call back... we went ahead and switched to AT&T. But, I am assume we're under a 12-month ban since that seems to be their MO. Any ideas whether I could skirt around that if we sign up in my name rather than his? Oh, one last question - what is the best way to monitor one's own bandwidth consumption? I'd love to have the facts in black and white if I have to defend myself. :D Thanks, all - interesting discussion!! I was recently terminated by Comcast for being a bandwidth bandit. (I am a photographer and upload many GB of image files every month so it’s not surprising that I was a high bandwidth user, just frustrating that I was never told what the exact limit is.)

Does anyone know of any user groups or forums made up of people that this has happened to? or some other way to keep apprised of any legal action against Comcast for this practice?

Also, when my husband received the messages (the service was in his name), he was so disgusted he didn’t even bother to call back… we went ahead and switched to AT&T. But, I am assume we’re under a 12-month ban since that seems to be their MO. Any ideas whether I could skirt around that if we sign up in my name rather than his?

Oh, one last question - what is the best way to monitor one’s own bandwidth consumption? I’d love to have the facts in black and white if I have to defend myself. :D Thanks, all - interesting discussion!!

]]> By: Wodz http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-4908 Wodz Fri, 09 Nov 2007 23:23:58 +0000 http://garrettgee.com/2006/12/19/comcast-hsi-abuse/#comment-4908 Did you guys hear? Verizon just got busted for doing this same thing!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now all of the customers they tossed for HSI Abuse are going to get ppppaaaaiiiiddd! We wont even have to put in a class action suit. They will get caught and the courts will hire a company to find users who were terminated for HSI Abuse and contact them. That way the prosecution cleans their clock Only a matter of time until Comcast gets pwnd as well! Then I will clean their clocks, SOB's! Did you guys hear? Verizon just got busted for doing this same thing!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now all of the customers they tossed for HSI Abuse are going to get ppppaaaaiiiiddd!

We wont even have to put in a class action suit. They will get caught and the courts will hire a company to find users who were terminated for HSI Abuse and contact them. That way the prosecution cleans their clock

Only a matter of time until Comcast gets pwnd as well! Then I will clean their clocks, SOB’s!

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