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CommieGIR
Aug 22, 2006

The blue glow is a feature, not a bug


Pillbug
That robo call has valled 7 times today. Nobody picks up the phone.

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Red Oktober
May 24, 2006

wiggly eyes!



The second and final part of that Reply All episode is up, and it's just as weird as you'd hope. Pro-listen for sure.

Fil5000
Jun 23, 2003

HOLD ON GUYS I'M POSTING ABOUT INTERNET ROBOTS

CommieGIR posted:

That robo call has valled 7 times today. Nobody picks up the phone.

A robocall that no one answers is practically free, so they'll try it a LOT of times.

many johnnys
May 17, 2015

I downloaded Mr. Number just because of this poo poo.

Maw
Feb 18, 2013

Mere minutes after discovering the new technology, it was used to send me a crude ASCII dong.


Red Oktober posted:

The second and final part of that Reply All episode is up, and it's just as weird as you'd hope. Pro-listen for sure.

Yeah I listened to that one on the way to work this morning and it was great. Definitely a recommended podcast

Depressio111117
Oct 18, 2014

A whole world of imagination beyond the oompah band.
Got a call several times from a number in Texas, they left a message after the fourth call or so.

Robot voice tells me I'm being sued by the IRS, and to call a certain number back.

I call the number, get a a woman with a very thick accent who asks for my name and the first line of my address (?). I didn't even want to give her that much, so my venture didn't last long. I shoulda been braver (or better on my feet), just to see how far the rabbit hole went.

peanut
Sep 9, 2007


one of many good reasons to keep a post-it with Martin Shkreli's personal info nearby

goatsestretchgoals
Jun 4, 2011

Depressio111117 posted:

I call the number, get a a woman with a very thick accent who asks for my name and the first line of my address (?). I didn't even want to give her that much

So what information did you give her?

EL BROMANCE
Jun 10, 2006

COWABUNGA DUDES!
🥷🐢😬



peanut posted:

one of many good reasons to keep a post-it with Martin Shkreli's personal info nearby

Inmate #16431, New York Prison System, etc

peanut
Sep 9, 2007


Is he going to come out with powerful new friends like Martha Stewart did?

BiggerBoat
Sep 26, 2007

Don't you tell me my business again.

Proteus Jones posted:

Did you turn in the equipment at a depot/servive center? If so, you've got your receipt


If you're still watching cable, then you are still on the hook up until the day it turns off.

I went through this about 2 years ago, told them to kill the TV service but keep the Internet, and then shipped the boxes back using UPS. I never checked to see if there was a TV signal after that, but then again I haven't seen a charge for it.


Yeah, I have the receipts for what I returned.

I gathered up the boxes and remotes and poo poo out of the two bedrooms I wasn't using about 2 or 3 days after the cancel order and when I went to do the living room, I left it on to see if they'd honored my request to shut it off and was surprised when it worked. I've had instances in the past where TV service came through even though i wasn't ordering so decided to hang on to the remaining box and remote until the TV went out.

I've canceled cable Tv in the past like when I moved or something and had the signal go dead that day no matter how long I kept the equipment. I simply got charged for not returning the boxes/DVR/whatever, which on occasion took a month for various reasons. This smells like bullshit where I can't prove that I CANCELLED the service over the phone so they can bill me for another month and wear me down trying to prove it. They never said anything about 10 days or even having to return stuff at all other than being charged for those boxes and poo poo if I didn't do it within a time frame.

They're supposed to shut off the TV and bill me the monthly fee for any equipment.

Platystemon
Feb 13, 2012

as a person who never leaves my house i've done pretty well for myself.

BiggerBoat posted:

I gathered up the boxes and remotes and poo poo out of the two bedrooms I wasn't using about 2 or 3 days after the cancel order and when I went to do the living room, I left it on to see if they'd honored my request to shut it off and was surprised when it worked. I've had instances in the past where TV service came through even though i wasn't ordering so decided to hang on to the remaining box and remote until the TV went out.

What does holding on to the box get you?

If they say “oh actually we were piping cable to your address for the last six months and we’re billing you for it” you say “I returned all your equipment. Here is a copy of the receipts. So what if your techs failed to cut off the feed? I clearly wasn’t using it because I no longer had any cable boxes.”

BiggerBoat
Sep 26, 2007

Don't you tell me my business again.

Platystemon posted:

What does holding on to the box get you?

To confirm that they canceled the service like I asked. Without it, I can't check.

Absurd Alhazred
Mar 27, 2010

by Athanatos

BiggerBoat posted:

To confirm that they canceled the service like I asked. Without it, I can't check.

:what:

The fact that you didn't return the box means you have not done your part, and the fact that you use the service means you're aware they haven't canceled it. So they're going to charge you, and you've no right to expect otherwise.

Meanwhile, if you'd returned everything and got a receipt, and they tried to charge you in future, you could show them the receipt, and it wouldn't matter if they'd "really" cut it off or not.

Honestly, you're conning yourself at this point.

BiggerBoat
Sep 26, 2007

Don't you tell me my business again.

Absurd Alhazred posted:

:what:

The fact that you didn't return the box means you have not done your part, and the fact that you use the service means you're aware they haven't canceled it. So they're going to charge you, and you've no right to expect otherwise.

Honestly, you're conning yourself at this point.

No. It means I should only have to pay the $10 bucks/month or whatever it is for the loving box I didn't return yet, since that is itemized on my loving bill as a rental service, or pay for it in full if I fail to return it. They told me to "return the equipment at my convenience but by the next billing cycle to avoid being charged for those items ". What if I lost a remote or a modem or some poo poo during a move and it took me a few weeks to find it? Which has actually happened...

I moved my mother from Delaware to Florida last year and didn't return Verizon's poo poo for 3-4 weeks but we didn't get charged for her non existent "service" at another address. The loving TV was off the same day I called. Same when I moved my family. Took us a few weeks to get around to unpacking and returning the boxes/remotes but our "service" was immediately cancelled and not billed. "Holding up my end" has nothing to do with it. If I wanted, I could continue to "rent" the box without TV service in perpetuity as long as I pay that itemized rental charge, which has in fact always been the case in my experience.

Why is this difficult for you to grasp? Do you work for a telecom or something? I'll return the one remaining loving box tomorrow if it makes you feel any better and then report back.

Absurd Alhazred
Mar 27, 2010

by Athanatos

BiggerBoat posted:

No. It means I should only have to pay the $10 bucks/month or whatever it is for the loving box I didn't return yet, since that is itemized on my loving bill as a rental service, or pay for it in full if I fail to return it. They told me to "return the equipment at my convenience but by the next billing cycle to avoid being charged for those items ". What if I lost a remote or a modem or some poo poo during a move and it took me a few weeks to find it? Which has actually happened...

I moved my mother from Delaware to Florida last year and didn't return Verizon's poo poo for 3-4 weeks but we didn't get charged for her non existent "service" at another address. The loving TV was off the same day I called. Same when I moved my family. Took us a few weeks to get around to unpacking and returning the boxes/remotes but our "service" was immediately cancelled and not billed. "Holding up my end" has nothing to do with it. If I wanted, I could continue to "rent" the box without TV service in perpetuity as long as I pay that itemized rental charge, which has in fact always been the case in my experience.

Why is this difficult for you to grasp? Do you work for a telecom or something? I'll return the one remaining loving box tomorrow if it makes you feel any better and then report back.

You're using the cable service, though. I am usually on the consumer's side because cable companies are assholes, but you're literally keeping the box and using it, and wondering how you're going to get away without paying for this service you're using, because you asked them to shut it off. :shrug:

Lutha Mahtin
Oct 10, 2010

Your brokebrain sin is absolved...go and shitpost no more!

BiggerBoat posted:

No. It means I should only have to pay the $10 bucks/month or whatever it is for the loving box I didn't return yet, since that is itemized on my loving bill as a rental service, or pay for it in full if I fail to return it. They told me to "return the equipment at my convenience but by the next billing cycle to avoid being charged for those items ". What if I lost a remote or a modem or some poo poo during a move and it took me a few weeks to find it? Which has actually happened...

I moved my mother from Delaware to Florida last year and didn't return Verizon's poo poo for 3-4 weeks but we didn't get charged for her non existent "service" at another address. The loving TV was off the same day I called. Same when I moved my family. Took us a few weeks to get around to unpacking and returning the boxes/remotes but our "service" was immediately cancelled and not billed. "Holding up my end" has nothing to do with it. If I wanted, I could continue to "rent" the box without TV service in perpetuity as long as I pay that itemized rental charge, which has in fact always been the case in my experience.

Why is this difficult for you to grasp? Do you work for a telecom or something? I'll return the one remaining loving box tomorrow if it makes you feel any better and then report back.

your question of "but did they actually cancel the service" makes sense in a certain logical way. but unless you're going to start quoting us all the legal agreement(s) that you entered into back when you signed up for stuff with comcast, then, well, GLHF trying to prove that you aren't in violation of some bullshit contract clause that was designed specifically for people doing exactly what you have already done. one of the reasons they are as profitable as they are is by extracting "nickel and dime" type fees and penalties from their millions of customers. i am not a lawyer or any kind of expert in this area, but unless you have pre-cleared your course of action by some kind of legal activist organizaiton with which you've secured a contract to cover any monetary losses should Comcast come after you, well, you should be prepared to eat fees and lose in court

BiggerBoat
Sep 26, 2007

Don't you tell me my business again.

Absurd Alhazred posted:

You're using the cable service, though. I am usually on the consumer's side because cable companies are assholes, but you're literally keeping the box and using it, and wondering how you're going to get away without paying for this service you're using, because you asked them to shut it off. :shrug:

I don't think you read anything I wrote, especially since you ignored half of it. See if you can spot the flaw in your sentence up there.

Just shut off the loving cable TV and itemize me for the equipment until I get around to returning it. I'm not "trying to get away with anything" beyond paying for what I asked for (internet only) and a willingness to pay for the box/remote I still have.

I don't even really watch TV. 3 or 4 days later after cancelling I was surprised it still worked and wondered if they'd hosed up, which, being Comcast and all, has happened a LOT and seemed within the realm of possibility. I've cancelled my phone service before and still had the phone they leased me. Phone was OFF quick. Same with internet and a modem.

I've dealt with several deceased relatives where service was shut off and equipment took me forever to find and return. I can't believe we're arguing about this.

Lutha Mahtin
Oct 10, 2010

Your brokebrain sin is absolved...go and shitpost no more!

BiggerBoat posted:

Just shut off the loving cable TV and itemize me for the equipment until I get around to returning it. I'm not "trying to get away with anything"

again, can you quote us all of the contracts you entered into re: this? if not i feel like it's totally reasonable for everyone itt to tell you "um please don't set yourself to be screwed by comcast"

monster on a stick
Apr 29, 2013
Dear Comcast,

Please cancel my cable TV immediately. I will return your cable box and remote eventually, and I promise to only use my cable box to see if you've disconnected my cable TV yet. Please only charge me for renting the cable box and remote, and not for cable TV which I just admitted to watching.

Your best friend,

BiggerBoat

Absurd Alhazred
Mar 27, 2010

by Athanatos

BiggerBoat posted:

I don't think you read anything I wrote, especially since you ignored half of it. See if you can spot the flaw in your sentence up there.

Just shut off the loving cable TV and itemize me for the equipment until I get around to returning it. I'm not "trying to get away with anything" beyond paying for what I asked for (internet only) and a willingness to pay for the box/remote I still have.

I don't even really watch TV. 3 or 4 days later after cancelling I was surprised it still worked and wondered if they'd hosed up, which, being Comcast and all, has happened a LOT and seemed within the realm of possibility. I've cancelled my phone service before and still had the phone they leased me. Phone was OFF quick. Same with internet and a modem.

I've dealt with several deceased relatives where service was shut off and equipment took me forever to find and return. I can't believe we're arguing about this.

I'm trying to read what you're saying, but nothing of what you're saying makes "I shouldn't pay for this service" consistent with "I am using equipment I have but have not returned, although I was supposed to, to 'check" whether the service I canceled is still working" unless you think cable companies are suckers.

Platystemon
Feb 13, 2012

as a person who never leaves my house i've done pretty well for myself.
Common scam: be a telecom company and write your contracts to take advantage of rubes.

BiggerBoat
Sep 26, 2007

Don't you tell me my business again.

Absurd Alhazred posted:

I'm trying to read what you're saying, but nothing of what you're saying makes "I shouldn't pay for this service" consistent with "I am using equipment I have but have not returned, although I was supposed to, to 'check" whether the service I canceled is still working" unless you think cable companies are suckers.

They didn't say I had to return it in a given time frame or that cancellation was contingent on sending back their magic precious box, only that I'd be billed for it (the equipment charge) once it hit the next billing cycle if I didn't. Christ. i still have internet service through them and lease a modem for instance which I pay for both.

BiggerBoat fucked around with this message at 00:46 on Aug 7, 2017

Lutha Mahtin
Oct 10, 2010

Your brokebrain sin is absolved...go and shitpost no more!

BiggerBoat posted:

They didn't say I had to return it in a given time frame, only that I'd be billed for it (the equipment charge) once it hit the next billing cycle if I didn't. Christ. i still have internet service through them and lease a modem for instance which I pay for.

why do you keep avoiding the issue of the fact that you signed legal contracts with this company, yet you don't want to address these actual contracts that you signed? you signed contracts, thus if you have done your homework legally this would be pretty easy to sort out right? post the text of the contract(s) imo

Absurd Alhazred
Mar 27, 2010

by Athanatos
Isn't this getting a little bit off-topic for this thread?

Lutha Mahtin
Oct 10, 2010

Your brokebrain sin is absolved...go and shitpost no more!

imo, considering that it's comcast....................no

BiggerBoat
Sep 26, 2007

Don't you tell me my business again.

monster on a stick posted:

Dear Comcast,

Please cancel my cable TV immediately. I will return your cable box and remote eventually, and I promise to only use my cable box to see if you've disconnected my cable TV yet. Please only charge me for renting the cable box and remote, and not for cable TV which I just admitted to watching.

Your best friend,

BiggerBoat


Right. Pretty much. I still have service with them. Just canceled the TV/DVR and stupid landline phone part that my mom wanted. I should go see if the phone still works. I bet it does and it's not related to equipment rentals.

I'll say it one last time: they said return the equipment before the next billing cycle to avoid being charged for the equipment. Nothing and no one anywhere said that cancelling my service was contingent on a timely or scheduled return of the god damned box.

Christ, OK. You guys win. I'll surrender to the Comcast police tomorrow and confess. No one here has ever cancelled service, moved somewhere and taken a while to find or return equipment? Did you get billed for the entire service for the whole month anyway from your previous residence?


Lutha Mahtin posted:

why do you keep avoiding the issue of the fact that you signed legal contracts with this company, yet you don't want to address these actual contracts that you signed? you signed contracts, thus if you have done your homework legally this would be pretty easy to sort out right? post the text of the contract(s) imo

Because cancelling the loving TV was not contingent on a time frame for returning the equipment and I asked them that specifically when I cancelled. I have one box and one remote. It's been like a loving month. I still have (internet) service with them and lease a modem. They said for every cycle I still have their stuff, I get billed FOR THAT STUFF. Christ, I'll jump right on it tomorrow and remember to consult a lawyer next time but good job dogpiling on me in the scam thread and defending the second shittiest company earth behind Amway.

I get that it's funny.

And, yeah, hang on, give me sec. Let me go find, scan and post the loving contract from Comcast, lol.

Midjack
Dec 24, 2007



Is your concern that they stop providing signal to your house, or merely that you not be billed for it? You are attempting to prove the former, while making the latter more difficult for yourself.

Watermelon Daiquiri
Jul 10, 2010
I TRIED TO BAIT THE TXPOL THREAD WITH THE WORLD'S WORST POSSIBLE TAKE AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS STUPID AVATAR.

Midjack posted:

Is your concern that they stop providing signal to your house, or merely that you not be billed for it? You are attempting to prove the former, while making the latter more difficult for yourself.

to be fair to him, every time ive had to return equipment it had absolutely zero to do with the service, billing or otherwise. The only thing that was ever mentioned about the dvrs/routers was that we'd be charged the full price for it if it weren't returned on time, not that they'd continue the service and the charges for the service in perpetuity.

goatsestretchgoals
Jun 4, 2011

:allears:

Fake edit for content: I used to work for Comcast and their customer service reps are graded on how many 'saves' they can make, where they convince you not to cancel your service when you call to do so. Combined with lax oversight, there's a very good chance your service isn't actually cancelled. If you had returned your cable boxes, you'd have a leg to stand on when you dispute it. Unfortunately you left your cable boxes plugged in, which Comcast's equipment provisioning CAN see. So when you call back in a month, the conversation will basically be 'LOL nope, you were watching cable the whole time.'

BiggerBoat
Sep 26, 2007

Don't you tell me my business again.

Watermelon Daiquiri posted:

to be fair to him, every time ive had to return equipment it had absolutely zero to do with the service, billing or otherwise. The only thing that was ever mentioned about the dvrs/routers was that we'd be charged the full price for it if it weren't returned on time, not that they'd continue the service and the charges for the service in perpetuity.

Thank you. Thank you for reading my loving posts. The DVR was returned. It's been ONE MONTH and I have one box and one remote.

I'm gonna let it drop now, return the mother loving box tomorrow and maybe I'll report back.

But I got a call yesterday from an old friend I haven't heard from in years who wants to show me this great business opportunity where I can work for myself and be rich working from home. I also got two voicemails: one from some Prince i Egypt or some poo poo and one from the IRS so I need to look into that.

So maybe Tuesday.

maskenfreiheit
Dec 30, 2004

Old Binsby posted:

Common courtesy is pretty weird. A good con man can use it that to put you on the wrong foot, so you instinctively make wrong decisions that he can exploit

but a couple bucks for a breakfast is just not worth getting into trouble over probably. Botching a dine and dash may or may not be something you can explain away depending on how smooth you are. But deliberately putting a room number other than your own down on the bill that's quite hard to weasel out of and probably not something people take to very kindly. Also, that the hotel might lose what you owe for breakfast sucks for them and you, but probably a bit more troublesome is attempting to put that charge on some random room number, since your attempt at simply stealing food now involves a third party you're also defrauding.

I noticed at my hotel in Vegas they required an ID to bill anything to the room.

Other places I've seen that allow this tend to be nicer - either rich people or people whose work is paying for the trip, so there's less incentive to cheat.

peanut
Sep 9, 2007


grad school lol

impulse 7 effect
Jun 2, 2011

maskenfreiheit posted:

I noticed at my hotel in Vegas they required an ID to bill anything to the room.

Other places I've seen that allow this tend to be nicer - either rich people or people whose work is paying for the trip, so there's less incentive to cheat.

So what was your favorite part of defcon, this year?

Original_Z
Jun 14, 2005
Z so good

Red Oktober posted:

The second and final part of that Reply All episode is up, and it's just as weird as you'd hope. Pro-listen for sure.

I feel like they wasted their chance. Like, they flat-out told the guy that their objective for coming was that they wanted him to admit to scamming people? Why in the world would they be so confrontational, especially in a country like India, and even more where it's obvious that you're dealing with real gangsters. They had a chance to hang out with some of the real higher ups and get an interesting story by just being friendly and trying to slowly get information whole enjoying the entertainment, but they just go full-on reporter mode from step one and poison any potential relationship.

PT6A
Jan 5, 2006

Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

Old Binsby posted:

Common courtesy is pretty weird. A good con man can use it that to put you on the wrong foot, so you instinctively make wrong decisions that he can exploit

but a couple bucks for a breakfast is just not worth getting into trouble over probably. Botching a dine and dash may or may not be something you can explain away depending on how smooth you are. But deliberately putting a room number other than your own down on the bill that's quite hard to weasel out of and probably not something people take to very kindly. Also, that the hotel might lose what you owe for breakfast sucks for them and you, but probably a bit more troublesome is attempting to put that charge on some random room number, since your attempt at simply stealing food now involves a third party you're also defrauding.

One time, I was having breakfast with some people at a hotel, and they billed the entire bill to my room despite the fact that the person who signed for it used their own room number and their own signature, and the restaurant hosed it up, I assume, because both rooms were booked at the same time. I disputed the charge with my credit card company and won, because I did not sign for the charge. The fact that I knew who actually did sign for the bill in question never came up, because the restaurant was so incompetent they couldn't produce the actual receipt. If they asked me outright, I wouldn't lie, but they never did and I don't feel any obligation to cover their rear end for them.

goatsestretchgoals
Jun 4, 2011

PT6A posted:

One time, I was having breakfast with some people at a hotel, and they billed the entire bill to my room despite the fact that the person who signed for it used their own room number and their own signature, and the restaurant hosed it up, I assume, because both rooms were booked at the same time. I disputed the charge with my credit card company and won, because I did not sign for the charge. The fact that I knew who actually did sign for the bill in question never came up, because the restaurant was so incompetent they couldn't produce the actual receipt. If they asked me outright, I wouldn't lie, but they never did and I don't feel any obligation to cover their rear end for them.

Sorry that you broke bread with someone who was so literally bad at money that even the waiter noticed it.

A 50S RAYGUN
Aug 22, 2011
i got a scam call a month or two back that my iPhone told me was from Chile. whether or not that was true, they attempted to tell my voicemail that they were process servers and something something about my mother. to date my mother has not been audited or arrested or assassinated or what the gently caress ever was supposed to happen unless i gave them 20 dollars of iTunes credit

like, what's the point of the iTunes poo poo? resale?

Red Oktober
May 24, 2006

wiggly eyes!



A 50S RAYGUN posted:

i got a scam call a month or two back that my iPhone told me was from Chile. whether or not that was true, they attempted to tell my voicemail that they were process servers and something something about my mother. to date my mother has not been audited or arrested or assassinated or what the gently caress ever was supposed to happen unless i gave them 20 dollars of iTunes credit

like, what's the point of the iTunes poo poo? resale?

Yes, really high percentage (sell a 20 dollar gift card for around $18.5-19 by the looks of eBay right now), untraceable resale.

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MightyJoe36
Dec 29, 2013

:minnie: Cat Army :minnie:
I find it ridiculous that people would actually believe that the "authorities" (IRS, FBI, Sheriff, etc.) would want you to pay your fine with an iTunes gift card.

On second thought, it's ridiculous that people believe a Nigerian official is going to give them $10 million but it happens all the time.

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