Cancelling an Xfinity Account

Post by Boris
I am authorized to, and have been, handling my mother-in-law's Xfinity home
account (internet/TV/voice) for 10 years. She is not under contract. She
now has to leave home for a board and care home, so I need to cancel her
Xfinity account.
Apparently, I can't do that on line. The robotic assistant throws up all
sorts of roadblocks, such that one has to either go to the store or get a
call back from a live person to cancel an account. The call back option
has been 'out of order' for days. Hmmm...
She rents all equipment, which includes a modem (not a gateway, as we use
our own wifi router) an X1 TV main box, a second TV box, and the voice
hardware. I will eventually go to the nearby store to return equipment,
but in the meantime, I'd like to close the account either online or by
phone.
Any comments?

I think packing up the equipment and taking to the store would solve all your issues. They should be able to do the
job. The only issue I could foresee is that you my not (maybe you do) have the right to cancel her account. Like no
power of attorney.

--
Al

Big Al

2023-04-03 21:38:41 UTC

Sorry, just saw you're comment that you are authorized to handle the account.
KenW +1

--
Al

KenW

2023-04-03 21:34:24 UTC

Have a bill ? for her account number. Bring the equipment to a store
and close it there.

KenW

Boris

2023-04-03 21:59:41 UTC

Post by KenW

Post by Boris
I am authorized to, and have been, handling my mother-in-law's Xfinity
home account (internet/TV/voice) for 10 years. She is not under
contract. She now has to leave home for a board and care home, so I
need to cancel her Xfinity account.
Apparently, I can't do that on line. The robotic assistant throws up
all sorts of roadblocks, such that one has to either go to the store
or get a call back from a live person to cancel an account. The call
back option has been 'out of order' for days. Hmmm...
She rents all equipment, which includes a modem (not a gateway, as we
use our own wifi router) an X1 TV main box, a second TV box, and the
voice hardware. I will eventually go to the nearby store to return
equipment, but in the meantime, I'd like to close the account either
online or by phone.
Any comments?

Have a bill ? for her account number. Bring the equipment to a store
and close it there.
KenW

Sure do.

Adam H. Kerman

2023-04-04 03:58:16 UTC

Post by KenW

Have a bill ? for her account number. Bring the equipment to a store
and close it there.

Also, make sure they put on record that all service ended as of the
first time you tried to contact customer service, because you want the
service cancellation backdated. Don't forget to ask for credits given
the number of unsuccessful tries.

Char Jackson

2023-04-03 21:59:59 UTC

Is that a legal authorization or simply a verbal authorization? When you
show up at a Comcast store to close the account and return the
equipment, they may want to see something that says you're really
authorized to make those changes.

Post by Boris
Apparently, I can't do that on line. The robotic assistant throws up all
sorts of roadblocks, such that one has to either go to the store or get a
call back from a live person to cancel an account. The call back option
has been 'out of order' for days. Hmmm...
She rents all equipment, which includes a modem (not a gateway, as we use
our own wifi router) an X1 TV main box, a second TV box, and the voice
hardware. I will eventually go to the nearby store to return equipment,
but in the meantime, I'd like to close the account either online or by
phone.
Any comments?

I'd skip the online/phone options and gather up any equipment and head
to the nearest Comcast store. You'll want to get hard copy receipts for
everything you turn in. There are plenty of stories about getting billed
for non-return of equipment that has been returned.

Boris

2023-04-03 22:10:21 UTC

Is that a legal authorization or simply a verbal authorization? When
you show up at a Comcast store to close the account and return the
equipment, they may want to see something that says you're really
authorized to make those changes.

Authorization was made almost 10 years ago, over the phone. Comcast
asked to speak to the account holder to make the authorization, and
asked the account holder to verify birthdate, last four ssn, etc. I
thought it was all too easy, but has let me make changes for years. Who
knows if this will carry weight for cancellation. Comcast is really
unpredictable.

Post by Boris
Apparently, I can't do that on line. The robotic assistant throws up
all sorts of roadblocks, such that one has to either go to the store
or get a call back from a live person to cancel an account. The call
back option has been 'out of order' for days. Hmmm...
She rents all equipment, which includes a modem (not a gateway, as we
use our own wifi router) an X1 TV main box, a second TV box, and the
voice hardware. I will eventually go to the nearby store to return
equipment, but in the meantime, I'd like to close the account either
online or by phone.
Any comments?

I'd skip the online/phone options and gather up any equipment and head
to the nearest Comcast store. You'll want to get hard copy receipts
for everything you turn in. There are plenty of stories about getting
billed for non-return of equipment that has been returned.

I've got all @Home, ATTBI, Comcast, etc. receipts going back to 1999.
I did once return hardware by mail (never again), but Comcast said they
never received it, even though I had receipts from Comcast that they did
receive the equiopment. They eventually gave in.

Bizarro Roy

2023-04-03 22:33:37 UTC

Is that a legal authorization or simply a verbal authorization? When
you show up at a Comcast store to close the account and return the
equipment, they may want to see something that says you're really
authorized to make those changes.

Post by Boris
Apparently, I can't do that on line. The robotic assistant throws up
all sorts of roadblocks, such that one has to either go to the store
or get a call back from a live person to cancel an account. The call
back option has been 'out of order' for days. Hmmm...
She rents all equipment, which includes a modem (not a gateway, as we
use our own wifi router) an X1 TV main box, a second TV box, and the
voice hardware. I will eventually go to the nearby store to return
equipment, but in the meantime, I'd like to close the account either
online or by phone.
Any comments?

I'd skip the online/phone options and gather up any equipment and head
to the nearest Comcast store. You'll want to get hard copy receipts
for everything you turn in. There are plenty of stories about getting
billed for non-return of equipment that has been returned.

I did once return hardware by mail (never again), but Comcast said they
never received it, even though I had receipts from Comcast that they did
receive the equiopment. They eventually gave in.

I had Comcast in NYC. Called and canceled when I moved here to
Maryland. They continued to bill me for months (the bills were
forwarded here), and nothing I said or did seemed to persuade Comcast
that I no longer lived in NYC and had canceled service. I finally got
it all reversed when I wrote the president of Comcast and enclosed one
of the forwarded letters, which had USPS forwarding stamps and so forth
on it. I think the past due was well over $300 when they finally
relented.

That kind of thing must happen a lot.

Big Al

2023-04-04 02:45:59 UTC

Post by Bizarro Roy

Is that a legal authorization or simply a verbal authorization? When
you show up at a Comcast store to close the account and return the
equipment, they may want to see something that says you're really
authorized to make those changes.

Post by Boris
Apparently, I can't do that on line. The robotic assistant throws up
all sorts of roadblocks, such that one has to either go to the store
or get a call back from a live person to cancel an account. The call
back option has been 'out of order' for days. Hmmm...
She rents all equipment, which includes a modem (not a gateway, as we
use our own wifi router) an X1 TV main box, a second TV box, and the
voice hardware. I will eventually go to the nearby store to return
equipment, but in the meantime, I'd like to close the account either
online or by phone.
Any comments?

I'd skip the online/phone options and gather up any equipment and head
to the nearest Comcast store. You'll want to get hard copy receipts
for everything you turn in. There are plenty of stories about getting
billed for non-return of equipment that has been returned.

I did once return hardware by mail (never again), but Comcast said they
never received it, even though I had receipts from Comcast that they did
receive the equiopment. They eventually gave in.

We cancelled Verizon in 2016 and got a $0.00 bill from them for about 4 years if not more.
They just wouldn't cancel the account. We even sent them a check for $0 to close the account. They have wasted so much
money on postage over the past 5-6 years.

--
Al

KenW

2023-04-03 22:51:24 UTC

Century Link does the same thing. Save receipt from shipping forever

Post by Boris
I did once return hardware by mail (never again), but Comcast said they
never received it, even though I had receipts from Comcast that they did
receive the equiopment. They eventually gave in.

KenW

VanguardLH

2023-04-04 04:39:17 UTC

That also means losing her e-mail account at Comcast. She doesn't get
any e-mails sent to there? Not sure if the loss of the e-mail service
is immediate when closing the account, but I doubt you get to keep her
Comcast e-mail address for long after closing her account. Log under
her account and enable auto-forward of e-mail to point at your e-mail
address (and then test to ensure it works).

Adam H. Kerman

2023-04-04 11:42:32 UTC

None of this is correct.

If his mother-in-law checked email via the Comcast Web interface within
90 days prior to cancelling the account, the email address will not be
purged. Thereafter, it must be accessed once every nine months. Same is
true for secondary email addresses; each must be accessed separately.

https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/using-email-only

VanguardLH

2023-04-04 14:14:31 UTC

None of this is correct.
If his mother-in-law checked email via the Comcast Web interface within
90 days prior to cancelling the account, the email address will not be
purged. Thereafter, it must be accessed once every nine months. Same is
true for secondary email addresses; each must be accessed separately.
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/using-email-only

Seem contradictory that after the account has been cancelled that you
can still access services. Guess they let you keep your login as long
as you keep it alive. The OP gets to be the guinea pig testing their
statement.

You confirmed my suspicion, but gave a possible expiration when the
Comcast e-mail account disappears. So, has his mother-in-law accessed
her e-mail account within the 3 months prior to when the OP kills her
account? Is 9 months a long time for you if you've relied on your
Comcast e-mail address for years?

If the OP just goes ahead now to kill the account, the e-mail address
could very well die, too. So, regardless of when the e-mail service
gets killed, the OP must take actions BEFORE killing the account, like
logging in as his mother-in-law using Comcast's webmail client.
Thereafter, the OP will need a reminder at 9 months, or less, to keep
alive the account.

If the OP already killed the account, too late to ensure it was accessed
within 3 months before.

Boris

2023-04-10 21:04:25 UTC

None of this is correct.
If his mother-in-law checked email via the Comcast Web interface within
90 days prior to cancelling the account, the email address will not be
purged. Thereafter, it must be accessed once every nine months. Same is
true for secondary email addresses; each must be accessed separately.
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/using-email-only

Hi, Adam,

Yes, you are correct.

I returned equipment and closed the account today, in person. It was not
surprising that the counter person didn't know the policy for what
happens to an email account when the Comcast account is closed. I was
told that I had to log into the email account every day (he later said
once in a while) to keep the email account active, but that at the end of
30 days, the email account would be inactive. He mentioned nothing about
logging in 90 days prior to cancelling the Comcast account.

The Comcast account was under my father-in-law's name. There was only
one email address that both husband and wife used. (No need for separate
email accounts...married for 75 years.) It was used very little.

My father-in-law passed in early 2014. I 'administered' the account for
my mother-in-law ever since. Two days after Christmas, while still
living at home, she fell and broke her femur. After surgery, she went to
a skilled nursing facility. She passed away three days ago. She was two
months short of 100 years old.

When I went to Comcast to cancel the account, I took my father-in-law's
certified death certificate. I offered it up front, right away. The
certificate wasn't needed (below), but I just wanted to get in and out.

https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/account-holder-passed-away

Adam H. Kerman

2023-04-10 23:02:57 UTC

None of this is correct.
If his mother-in-law checked email via the Comcast Web interface within
90 days prior to cancelling the account, the email address will not be
purged. Thereafter, it must be accessed once every nine months. Same is
true for secondary email addresses; each must be accessed separately.
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/using-email-only

Hi, Adam,
Yes, you are correct.

I'm glad Comcast did what it said it would do in practice.

Post by Boris
I returned equipment and closed the account today, in person. It was not
surprising that the counter person didn't know the policy for what
happens to an email account when the Comcast account is closed. I was
told that I had to log into the email account every day (he later said
once in a while) to keep the email account active, but that at the end of
30 days, the email account would be inactive. He mentioned nothing about
logging in 90 days prior to cancelling the Comcast account.
The Comcast account was under my father-in-law's name. There was only
one email address that both husband and wife used. (No need for separate
email accounts...married for 75 years.) It was used very little.

The problem is phone numbers and email addresses are used in on line
profiles that just never go away. We all have to keep every phone number
and every email address we ever used to protect are own privacy and to
help mitigate against identity theft using these old credentials.

Post by Boris
My father-in-law passed in early 2014. I 'administered' the account for
my mother-in-law ever since. Two days after Christmas, while still
living at home, she fell and broke her femur. After surgery, she went to
a skilled nursing facility. She passed away three days ago. She was two
months short of 100 years old.

I'm so sorry.

Post by Boris
When I went to Comcast to cancel the account, I took my father-in-law's
certified death certificate. I offered it up front, right away. The
certificate wasn't needed (below), but I just wanted to get in and out.
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/account-holder-passed-away

Boris

2023-04-11 01:35:48 UTC

That also means losing her e-mail account at Comcast. She doesn't
get any e-mails sent to there? Not sure if the loss of the e-mail
service is immediate when closing the account, but I doubt you get
to keep her Comcast e-mail address for long after closing her
account. Log under her account and enable auto-forward of e-mail to
point at your e-mail address (and then test to ensure it works).

None of this is correct.
If his mother-in-law checked email via the Comcast Web interface
within 90 days prior to cancelling the account, the email address
will not be purged. Thereafter, it must be accessed once every nine
months. Same is true for secondary email addresses; each must be
accessed separately.
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/using-email-only

Hi, Adam,
Yes, you are correct.

I'm glad Comcast did what it said it would do in practice.

Post by Boris
I returned equipment and closed the account today, in person. It was
not surprising that the counter person didn't know the policy for what
happens to an email account when the Comcast account is closed. I was
told that I had to log into the email account every day (he later said
once in a while) to keep the email account active, but that at the end
of 30 days, the email account would be inactive. He mentioned nothing
about logging in 90 days prior to cancelling the Comcast account.
The Comcast account was under my father-in-law's name. There was only
one email address that both husband and wife used. (No need for
separate email accounts...married for 75 years.) It was used very
little.

The problem is phone numbers and email addresses are used in on line
profiles that just never go away.

Exactly right.

We all have to keep every phone number

Post by Adam H. Kerman
and every email address we ever used to protect are own privacy and to
help mitigate against identity theft using these old credentials.

I do exactly that.

Post by Boris
My father-in-law passed in early 2014. I 'administered' the account
for my mother-in-law ever since. Two days after Christmas, while
still living at home, she fell and broke her femur. After surgery,
she went to a skilled nursing facility. She passed away three days
ago. She was two months short of 100 years old.

I'm so sorry.

Thank you.